Discover South East Library
August-September 2015
Welcome!
We work hard to make sure students always feel welcome and excited to visit our library. Our library is a busy place filled with students and teachers learning, exploring, discovering, creating, and sharing! We have several classroom spaces, a large collection of literature and informational books, access to technology, and a growing Makerspace. Our staff helps teachers and students find books and information, troubleshoot technology issues, and keep the library running while our Teacher Librarians Mrs. Schau and Ms. Sims are teaching collaborative lessons in classrooms throughout the school. By co-teaching, we make sure all students at South East learn important information literacy and digital literacy skills when they need them most!
Each month, we will send you updates about how SEJH students are connecting and learning through our library program. Newsletters are published at the end of each month, and we will post them on our library webpage and send out via email.
Collaborative Teaching and Learning
In Literacy, all 7th graders are visiting the library to get a brief orientation and find their first free reading books. All students in Language Arts and Applied Tech have been learning their brand new computer login information, and are getting started using their Google accounts. For many students, this was familiar, but as our district continues to improve our technology access and security, all students received new usernames this year.
All 8th grade students will be learning more about evaluating sources for scientific research using a method called the CRAAP Test. Not only is it fun to say, but the acronym helps us remember that we can judge the quality of a source by it's Currency, Relevance to the topic, Authority of the publication and author, Appropriateness of the reading level, and the Purpose of the article. This unit ties into Science 8 as students learn about Density. Mr. Martin's classes are done, and Mrs. Baur's are starting this week!
A Welcoming Space
For a library to be successful, we believe it must be inviting. This year, we are thrilled to have a brand new circulation desk. The desk is in the center of the library, leaving more open space, and making supervision easier for our staff.
We also continue to develop our Makerspace area, which includes a Lego building station, craft supplies, a poetry challenge, computers to learn programming skills, and comfy seats to read and relax in.
In just the first three weeks of school, about 560 students have visited the library independently! Also impressive, South East students have already checked 2,072 books!
Freedom to Read
Libraries all over the world celebrate the Freedom to Read during Banned Books Week. This year, that celebration will take place September 27-October 3rd. Much like the Freedom of Speech, we believe in the right for every person to be able to read whatever they choose. Banned Books Week is a time when we recognize the books which have been challenged or removed from libraries when someone is concerned about the content being appropriate.
Obviously, not every book is right for each reader, and vice versa. We hope that families will talk with their students when they find a book that doesn't seem quite right to them, and why a different book might work better. The more you talk about what books your family finds enjoyable, the easier it will be for students to make great choices for themselves.