Librarian Mrs. Charles brings reading to life for all students at Gomes ES. It was an honor to visit the library and see all the reading and activities!  Not only are students reading a novel together, but 3rd-grade students are also writing short stories to create a book just for the library.

I love seeing library lessons going on in schools! Today I had the pleasure of watching Mrs. Rice teach students how to utilize Destiny Discover to gather resources and build a bibliography of resources for their Public Service Announcements. Students were utilizing books and web resources from Destiny WebPath and Statewide Databases to build convincing announcements.

Passport to High School Success Family Information Nights! Check out the Library Services table.

Great opportunity to learn about high school opportunities!  Join us for three more evenings: Nov 16, 28 and 30.  Check out the great opportunities at your school library!

I was so excited to meet Hilda Weisburg, the author of Leading for School Librarians: there is no other option, at the AASL Conference. I attended her presentation "Which type of Leader are you?" in which she discussed the different business leader archetypes. It was very helpful to not only identify my leadership style, but the leadership styles of the people I work with. Hilda pointed out that understanding one's leadership style (or the person with which I am communicating) can help with perception and the communication process to be sure one's message is being received.  Thank you Hilda for your years of service and sharing your expertise!

Dry Ice Ice Cream at Palmer ES!

SELFIES WITH SUE!

Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum and Billinghurst Library Collaboration

It was all about dinosaurs in the Billinghurst Middle School library for the first quarter of the school year.  With “SUE” on display in Reno, the Billinghurst library partnered with the Discovery Museum so that students and their families could receive a discount for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  SUE is the largest, most complete T-Rex fossil ever found.  The fossil was purchased at auction by the Chicago Field Museum and two casts were made.  One cast is on permanent display in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom in Florida, and the other is currently on display in Reno!  At 40 feet long, 14 feet tall at the hip, and over 67 million years old, SUE is a sight to behold.  Billinghurst students and their families were encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to visit the museum and take a “selfie with SUE.”  Any student who submitted a selfie had their name entered into a drawing for a Virtual Reality headset complete with accessories and VR dinosaur cards.  Students also had the opportunity to check out dinosaur books from the Billinghurst library, including brand new books about SUE.  Dinosaur books aren’t very popular in middle school, so any student who checked out a book received a 1-inch, totally cheesy, plastic dinosaur toy (think Kindergarten here…).  Within the first two weeks of school, all 50 dinosaur books were in the hands of students.  Who knew plastic dino toys could be so popular with 13 year olds?!  Besides dinosaur books, the Billinghurst library also had a three foot dinosaur puzzle on display from the Learning Resource Center at UNR’s College of Education.  Students could check out a 4-D puzzle of a T-Rex and discover where scientists believe the internal organs of a T-Rex may have been located.  This puzzle is a challenge and took groups of students several lunch periods to complete.  Finally, students could play around on their own devices with Evo Dino, an augmented reality book that brings dinosaurs to life.  Using their smart phones and the free Evo Dino app, students watched dinosaurs walk, swim, or fly around the tables of the library while learning the global regions of each dinosaur and how each dinosaur moved, ate, and protected itself against predators.  The combination of print resources, digital resources, games, technology, and community outreach through the Billinghurst library provided an enriching learning experience for students and their families during our “Selfies with SUE” promotion.

Professional Development

I recently purchased two books by Lynda Barry for the Billinghurst professional collection.  Barry writes about writing and teaching writing in a “smash book” format.  Her books not only provide ideas for teachers, but they are beautiful examples of what a smash book assignment or full smash-notebook can look like.  I introduced the books to teachers in all departments and the books have been checked out ever since.  In the photo is a science teacher’s smash book assignment for thermal energy, her student example, and the Lynda Barry books that inspired her to try something new.  When we, as teachers, require students to write, we all become writing teachers.  It’s the same when we require students to use technology and we suddenly become computer teachers!  Current and relevant professional resources that can be used across curriculums help teachers move beyond their comfort zones and give them confidence to try new things.   (Lynda Barry book titles:  Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor and What It Is)

With the removal of the American National Parks curriculum from the 6^th grade science standards, I was concerned about the circulation of our National Parks fiction class sets.  So, I created a reading challenge for 6^th graders only that piggy-backed on the Camp Read theme for this year’s Reading Week.  Any 6^th grader who reads four National Park adventure books and passes four Accelerated Reader tests during the 4^th quarter earns a prize.  Using Amy Hybarger’s (TL, Shaw Middle School) advice and research on badging incentive, 6^th grade students who accepted the challenge created their own scout-style sashes.  When students check out a book, I provide an information sheet about the specific National Park.  When students finish the book and pass the AR test, they earn a merit badge sticker for the National Park that goes with their book.  I created the merit badge stickers using Avery products.  Prizes include Wild Waters day passes, Coconut Bowl day passes, Amazon gift cards, and Yogurt Beach gift cards.  Circulation of the books have soared, and students are learning about America’s National Parks at the same time.

Many fun activities for students and staff to celebrate Library Week!
Check out YSMS Library Landing Blog for more fun ideas!

Student Bingo Activity                             

Match a book to the map

Make a bookface                         

Pixel Art and LED flashlight - STEM activities with Science and Art!

Wonderful to see students dressed to impress with resumes in hand and ready to interview! Very impressive! Students also had the opportunity to visit with TMCC, UNR, military recruiters, NV Builders Alliance and many more. Great opportunity to combine student interviews with a career fair to get students ready for the workforce.