February in the Library 2020

February was here and then it was gone! It felt super fast even though it had an extra day this year. We celebrated Black History Month, Spread the Love Week, Donuts with Dad, and Perot Science Night. Check out some of the other events for this month below!

I added more grade levels to our Book Bites lunch book clubs. I had 8 groups on 4 different days. It was a little crazy at times, but we loved reading biographies and about that crazy Classroom 13.

Our counselor even joined us for one of the club meetings for Book Bites.

We had a bookmark contest to celebrate Love Your Library Month. They entries were all so great and promoted reading. 

Leading up to MAP testing, we have been reading books that motivate us and show how we can overcome challenges. World Read Aloud Day on February 5th was a great time to read this book about how mistakes can be made into beautiful things. 

I got to share what I learned at the American Association of School Librarians conference in Louisville with my fellow librarians at our PD day. I shared about Making Connections for our secondary librarians and about picture book lessons with the elementary librarians.

The Harry Potter template got lots of compliments...thanks Slidesmania!

Even though we had two long days of Mock STAAR testing, I was able to still find time to do a lesson with my novel study group for Digital Learning Day. The students followed along on a paper map of the United States as each student took turns helping to create a class Google MyMaps about the places the characters traveled in our story The Lightning Thief. I cannot wait to get a few Chromebooks for the library so that more of these lessons can happen. 

I accepted a position doing a Success Academy on some Saturdays for 3rd graders at a different school to give the some extra help in reading. It has been a great experience to put myself back in the shoes of a classroom teacher for a few hours here and there. 

I love that the curriculum for Success Academy includes time for a read aloud. My first pick was a simple one...one of my faves! Of course, we had to finish off the class period with a rock, paper, scissors tournament! 

March is definitely traditionally my busiest month and so far it has been super swamped. I was honored to be nominated for our campus Teacher of the Year and I am so proud of my aide for being nominated as well. We love our jobs, even on the crazy days!

January in the library 2020

January is a shorter month because of days off, but it always feels forever long. This time it was no exception. I am glad to move into February even though there is just so much to do!

My aide Mrs. Lopez and I had "snow" much fun creating this snowman. We used sticks and acorns from outside along with buttons from our makerspace area. I love when an idea in my head actually works out!

My fifth grade novel study group made these butterflies when we were finishing Number the Stars. Butterflies were a symbol of hope during the Holocaust. I hung them up for Holocaust Remembrance Week so that other could learn about them. 

You cannot win if you do not try...I have been entering this contest on Twitter for a while now and I finally won! This whole stack of books has been a welcome addition to our library. 

We had 5 students complete the Bluebonnet Challenge of reading at least 5. They got to come to a voting party with a buddy.

My novel study group has been reading The Lightning Thief and they love illustrating what they are hearing as we read. 

To support the students taking the MAP test, I have been reading books about goals and hard work. Students could really relate to this one about being scared to try something and then just doing it!

They also loved this one about a penguin who wants to fly and gets some support to achieve his goals.

I was so excited to get my Garland Education Foundation grant check. We are going to get four new Chromebooks so that we have some technology in the library finally!

We finished out the month by celebrating the 100th day of school and doing our annual 100 book giveaway. 

February is going to be all about preparation...preparing for book fair, Little Cowboys program, Read Across America, etc. 

December 2019 in the Library

Even though it doesn't feel like Christmas time...it is! December was a packed month and I cannot believe this semester is almost over. Here is a sampling of the many events that occurred this month.

This semester, our book fair was canceled at the last minute due to some production issues. The company did provide us with a credit to buy tons of new books for our library though. These have already proven to be very popular!

I hosted our annual spelling bee this month. Congrats to these two!

I enjoyed being a featured moderator for #GISDChat this month. The topic of growing your PLN is one that I love to talk about since I learn so much from my PLN. 

I attended the Garland Education Foundation's Tinsel and Trivia Night. They had a board with a grant from each school on it. Mine was funded right in front of my eyes so our students will have some Chromebooks to use next year!

I also served as a brain to help give back to the organization that has given our library so much. I was nervous, but it ended up being a great time! I helped the Rowlett Chamber of Commerce to a second place finish and met some awesome fellow brains from across the district. 

My fifth grade novel study group finished Number the Stars on National Cookie day so we enjoyed some Danish cookies. I also used A World of Cookies for Santa as my read aloud for that week since we had a school-wide research project on how other countries celebrate the holidays. The project culminated in an AVID Around the World Night where the students showed off their hard work.

The students in my morning group finished off the year creating their own countries. They had to do a whole packet of prompts like "what land forms do you have?" and "what language do your people speak?" The students then presented their info by doing a press conference. 

My 3rd grade Charlotte's Web group got to have a little makerspace fun by creating a web.

The kids created cards for the teachers to spread some holiday cheer.

My book bites clubs ended for this year. Here is one of the groups celebrating the end of our book by watching The Grinch during lunch. 

This week has been full of Secret Santa fun, sweet gifts, and celebrating the end of 2019. I pray that you and yours have a wonderful break, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

November 2019 in the Library

Another fun, fast month has come and gone! I cannot believe we are about to have Thanksgiving Break. It has been a blast November!

I was blessed to by named Professional Staff Member of the Month for October along with my wonderful aide Mrs. Lopez as Paraprofessional Staff Member of the Month. 

Our campus is proud that we earned a B rating due to last year's STAAR scores! Dr. Lopez helped us throw a huge party to celebrate. 

We received beautiful pins that recognize the accomplishment and this friend helped pin me. She is a joy to teach and always cheerful!

The annual glow walk night is always a blast! We added in a glow dance party area that I was in charge of this year. It was so fun. 

A new Book Bites lunch club started for second and fifth graders. We will read this book until Christmas break. So far, they have really enjoyed this zany tale!

The students love discussing the novel while they eat their lunch.

I had the amazing opportunity to go to the American Association of School Librarians conference in Louisville, Kentucky for three days this month with a great group of library professionals!

A local high school drum line welcomed up to town.

We toured Churchill Downs. 

We made sure to make a fashion statement.

We learned about how Louisville Slugger bats are made during a factory tour. 

A landmark of the town is the factory and museum.

We saw a view of the river next to the Muhammad Ali Center.

Here are some items from his career. 

We were able to hear Ellen Oh speak about diversity.

The exhibits were a great chance to speak with vendors.

I attended lots of cool sessions like this one about literacy initiatives from library professionals from Nashville, Tennessee. 

An author presented about types of nonfiction books.

One of my focus items was to learn more about making connections so I attended a couple of sessions on this topic.

 I also went to several other sessions that included information I will be using on my campus. I will also be sharing what I learned with our other district librarians. 

We received lots of books to take back to our eager readers!

Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka shared about how books helped him overcome a difficult childhood to find success. 

Fun fact: Louisville is the main manufacturer of disco balls...if you believe an Uber driver :) 

I am ready for the break to recharge to wrap up this year's teaching and reading! See you in December for lots of holiday cheer.