GCS School Library Media News
May 2019
Happy School Library Month
Submitted by:
Laura Pekarek
Springfield Elementary, SLMC
A Plea From Robin Jordan.....
The May Day Rally in Raleigh was a great success. The numbers of people who turned out included teachers, staff, parents, students, and other interested parties. It was great to see how well supported we are in our profession. I do not wish to try to coerce you but would like to invite you to join NCAE, NCSLMA, and ALA if you have not. Unions function only by their membership. There is strength in numbers and our numbers have dwindled over the years.
As a quick history lesson, NCAE was mostly responsible for getting teachers in NC sick leave, vacation pay, workdays, and health insurance. Our very own Linda Rader was an active part in the building of the beautiful NCAE Center in Raleigh. Our NCAE roots go deep. This year, School Library Media Specialists, along with other school support personnel were at the top of the agenda. It may seem like a lot to pay but broken up over 10 months, it’s hardly noticeable, particularly if you make use of the NEA Click-n-Save and Member Benefits programs. I have already saved almost $400 this year on things that I would have bought anyway - and that’s as a result of these programs. I’m sure that my dues will be covered by the end of the year! So, it is doable financially. We all spend money...it’s where we spend it that counts the most.
Additionally, should you ever have any problems in the library or classroom, NEA provides attorneys, at no cost to you, that are on retainer to the NCAE and at your side the moment you need them. As one member put it, “If you never need it, maybe it was too much, but if you ever NEED it, it wasn’t enough.”
NCSLMA provides excellent professional development and networking opportunities. If you have not been to our conference - you should. The chances for meeting colleagues and growing your Professional Learning Network are out of this world. You get the chance to see things before they come out, before they happen, and give feedback to authors and the state department of public instruction. Plus the new President is our very own Laura Long from Highland School of Technology - nice to know who to talk to have our voices heard, huh?
ALA do I really need to sell this? Without ALA, censorship would be a fact. Without ALA, school librarians may very well be gone…
You have to remember, if we don’t advocate for ourselves, who will? Change really does begin with YOU!
To join anyone of the following, please visit the links below:
If you’d like to see what kind of benefits are available through NCAE/NEA check here.
Submitted by:
Robin Jordan
North Gaston High School, SLMC
Annual Book Dedication at Bess
The W.A. Bess Library just celebrated their 25th year for the annual Valentine Book Dedication. This major library fundraiser was started by the previous librarian, Mrs. Stuart. It has become a much loved W.A. Bess tradition that highlights new titles added to the library's collection and motivates students to love reading. This year 170 books were added to the library. Over the course of 25 years, 5308 books have been added to the library!
The special presentation ceremony was held on April 30 for both parents and students to attend. The event was hosted by librarian, Julie Shatterly and Gaston County Public Librarian, Emily Winfrey. Mrs. Winfrey was able to give teasers about the public library's upcoming summer reading program.
Submitted by:
Julie Shatterly
W.A. Bess Elementary, SLMC
A Universe of Stories: The Summer Reading Program
I want to remind you all to please remember to let your students know about all of the exciting events happening this summer with the Summer Reading Program through the Gaston County Public Library System. I contacted the summer reading program coordinator and received the following information:
Summer Reading is quickly approaching, and Gaston County Public Library (GCPL) will continue its focus on early literacy education through baby, toddler, and preschool story times, as well as library-sponsored and co-sponsored educational and cultural programming for young people and adults. This summer’s theme is A Universe of Stories, and there will be tons of space and science fiction-related programs throughout the GCPL system.
We will kick off Summer Reading with our Fifth Annual GCPL Comic-Con on Saturday, June 1 at 10:00 a.m. The event uses comic books and science fiction to promote literacy and encourage a lifelong love of reading. There will be plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy including face painting, superhero inspired activities for children, door prizes throughout the day, a scavenger hunt based on the X-Men, drawing workshops, and costume contests for children, teens, and adults.
Bright Star Touring Theatre and the ScienceTellers will present family-friendly programs at the Main Library and the branch libraries during the first two weeks of Summer Reading. These programs are made possible by the generosity of the Friends of the Gaston County Public Library, the Gaston and North Carolina Arts Councils, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Ralph S. Robinson Family Foundation.
In addition, there will be two new film series this summer. The Main Library will host “A Universe of Stories” film series, and the Ferguson Branch Library at Erwin Center will present a “Family Summer” film series. Other branch libraries will host various film events throughout the summer.
For complete details about the Summer Reading programs available at the Gaston County Public Library, please visit our website www.gastonlibrary.org and click on the Calendar of Events.
Submitted by Cheryl Fox, Stanley Middle School
NCSLMA Conference: October 2-4.
Connect, Create & Curate is the conference theme, we are using the hashtag: #NCSLMA19 to promote all things conference related. Peter H. Reynolds is our first featured keynote speaker for Thursday, October 3rd. He is also going to have a special ticketed event/session following his keynote. Olivia Van Ledtje @thelivvits, will be our Thursday afternoon keynote and Steve Black, from Scholastic, Inc., is our all-conference luncheon speaker. Early bird registration opens June 1st. Here is the link to the concurrent Session Form https://forms.gle/fYBNXkfVoFQPuv1T9
The conference will be held at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem. Check the NCSLMA website for more details.
Submitted by:
Laura Long
NCSLMA President Elect
Highland School of Technology, SLMC
New Books at North Belmont
North Belmont houses the county’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing program. Meaning that, elementary students from all over the county have the option of attending North Belmont. We have several deaf and hard of hearing students as well as interpreters. I wanted these students to have a selection of books with deaf and hard of hearing characters as well as adding additional sign language books. I have found that many of our regular hearing students have an interest in signing because it is so integrated within our school setting.
Given this, I created a donorschoose project asking for $296 in funding for fourteen books focusing on deaf and hard of hearing characters and signing. I was blown away at the response! My project was fully funded within three hours! The students were thrilled with the selection of new books! This was my first donorschoose project and I couldn’t be happier with the results!
North Belmont also received a grant from Publix for $200 to add additional Spanish titles to our library. We were able to maximize the money by ordering from First Book! Take a look at all the books we will be adding!
Submitted by:
Brandi Maples
North Belmont Elementary, SLMC
One Book, One School
Hawks Nest STEAM Academy started a new tradition! We had our first ever One Book, One School campaign! We chose to all read the book "The Year of Billy Miller." Our families LOVED the story of Billy. We kicked it off with a parent night all themed with making 2019 "The Year of YOU, your best year yet!" Pictured is a photo of our principal Dr. Payne doing a Billy Miller Breakout with students for parent night.
Every Friday we celebrated our reading with classroom Kahoot trivia competitions and students won 3D printed gold medals they got to wear the whole week. We had assemblies on Fridays with teacher competitions/skits and special guests.
On our final celebration, our whole school added their faces to Mount Hawks Nest (like Mt. Rushmore Billy visits in the story) and we spent the morning all playing games and eating oatmeal cookies! (Billy's favorite)
Pictured are two of our special guests from the book, the Jolly Green Giant, and on our final celebration day... Billy himself (who is all grown up now) came to visit for photos, autographs, and an interview!
We had so much fun and made a HUGE deal about the book. We can't wait for our next One Book One School adventure next year!
Submitted by:
Stephanie Witten
Hawks Nest STEAM Academy, SLMC
A Visit From Alan Wolf
Sherwood kicked off poetry month with a visit from North Carolina poet, Alan Wolf. He taught students about what poems are, he performed original poetry, and also did some book talks about poetry selections from our school library.
Submitted by:
Deborah Hastings
Sherwood Elementary, SLMC
Book Fair Reward
Our students surpassed our Peace, Love and Books (70's style) book fair goal by $600! They earned a Disco Dance during part of their Encore time. They added The Hustle to their repertoire of line dances!
Submitted By:
Terri Hoyle
John Chavis Middle School, SLMC
Katherine Plecnik
GCS K-12 Curriculm Facilitor
Battle of the Books
Belmont Middle school had an awesome day at the Regional Battle of the Books tournament on April 8, 2019. They competed against teams from Charlotte, Crest, West Lincoln, Anson, Cabarrus, Union and Iredell counties along with a winning charter school. The team placed 2nd in this prestigious competition!
Submitted by:
Linda Cathcart
Belmont Middle School, SLMC
The End
This very quick school year at John Chavis Middle School is almost over. It has been a great year, full of many happy successes. We have had two wonderful book fairs thanks to our students and parents. The spring one was the best we have had in quite a few years. There are some competitors out there but it is hard to beat Scholastic for book fairs! Our Battle of the Books team placed third in the county. Someone said, “Just third?” I was quick to tell them that placing first, second, or even third is something to be very proud of because the competition is fierce! With the addition of our new panel, we rearranged the whole library. It looks bigger and more organized than ever before. We also found out the library is going to get a face lift over the summer! How exciting! Finally, new carpet and furniture! The WOW program from the Gaston County Public Library has been a great hit this year, especially with one particular class. Many of the students in this class pull out chromebooks just as much as they pull out books when it comes to self-selected reading time. They love having access to SO many books! Our sixth graders really enjoyed being introduced to historical fiction through a book tasting activity. The white tablecloths, candles (battery operated!), and place settings gave it a more formal touch. My circulation has been up all year due to our sixth and seventh graders reading so many of our new nonfiction books that were purchased by funds from the county office (thank you Dr. Balknight!) to upgrade our science and technology sections. Even though the nonfiction units are over, the students still can’t get enough of them. The students and teachers are all enjoying the Follett Lightbox books. They like having the book and online resources as well! However, the year is winding down, it is time for inventories, testing, and technology reports. It seems very strange as I do each activity or project or task to know that this will be the last time I will do it. I am retiring this year. I have been asked if I am sad, glad, nervous, happy, excited. Yes! I know August will never be the same. I will miss so much of what I do. The surprise on a student’s face when they come in and tell me the book I helped them pick out was the best they have ever read. When one of my media assistants from years past drives over from the high school to visit me. A teacher’s relief when I get her desktop working again. I will miss the excitement of the first week of school. I will miss the friends I have made at my school. I will miss our media PLC group. The comradery, support, friendship, and just being in the same shoes I am has meant so much to me for the past many years. As we pass the torch on to new librarians, we should all be thankful our county supports what we do and realizes the importance of libraries and librarians in our schools. Blessed.
Submitted by:
Terri Hoyle
John Chavis Middle School, SLMC
Under Construction!
The Springfield media center is getting ready to go through some exciting renovations. The families, staff, students will be starting a new school year with a new space.
Submitted by:
Laura Pekarek
Springfield Elementary, SLMC
Sherwood Book Club
Third grade students have participated in a book club on Fridays in the library. They named themselves the Friday Frenzies. They are currently working on a podcast to share reading strategies with their peers.
Submitted by:
Deborah Hastings
Sherwood Elementary, SLMC
Collaboration with the Art Class
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo day in the library - Pinitas from the Art Class: all students will vote Monday for their favorite Pinita!
Submitted By:
Terri Hoyle
John Chavis Middle School, SLMC
Stay Current in Young Adult Book Trends
YALSA Top Ten for Reluctant Readers
The 2019 top ten for reluctant reader list is out.
Acevedo, Elizabeth. The Poet X.
Anderson, Laurie Halse and Emily Carroll (Illustrator). Speak: The Graphic Novel.
Greenwald, Tommy. Game Changer.
Krosoczka, Jarrett. Hey Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction.
McNeil, Gretchen. #MurderTrending.
Reynolds, Jason. Track series (Sunny [vol. 3] and Lu [vol. 4]).
Saeed, Aisha. Amal Unbound.
Stiefel, Chana. Animal Zombies!: And Other Blood-Sucking Beats, Creepy Creatures, and Real-Life Monsters.
Summers, Courtney. Sadie.
Wang, Jen. The Prince and the Dressmaker.
Of these, Hey Kiddo is on the high school Battle of the Books list for next school year and Sadie was recommended by Jennifer LaGarde at NCTIES as a good book for helping students deal with the news and other situations that happen around the world. Two of the highest nods, in my opinion. Though I know we don’t have monies, at least not in large amounts...Could we maybe each buy one or two and then share? Our ILL has been remarkable over the last two years.
While I’m on the subject, the HBoB list is:
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- Far from the Tree by Robin Benway
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
- Hey, Kiddo* by Jarrett Krosoczka
- The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
- Warcross by Marie Lu
- A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
- I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
- Most Dangerous by Steve Sheinkin
- Scythe by Neal Shusterman
- Odd One Out by Nic Stone
- On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
*Questions for Hey, Kiddo will be drawn from the entire content of the book, cover to cover, which includes graphics and
The NCSLMA NC YA Book Award lists will be out by the end of May - be on the look out for that list and expect to see some of the BoB titles on that list as well.
Have a great and restful summer!
Submitted by:
Robin Jordan
North Gaston High School, SLMC