2018 June

End of the year! Everything is all set for The Wild Robot summer reading program. I created a packet of resources to distribute to teachers. In addition, I worked to obtain access to MyOn for entire educational community.

In other news: I have been approved to work 30 hours next year! I am looking forward to next year and my expanded role in assisting all educational facilities! 

2018 May

• Presented educational resources at new teacher dinner. 
• Finished curriculum booklist and created metrics to show its improved diversity focus. 
• Processed book donations

This month I focused on prepping for summer reading. We selected The Wild Robot and it provides a wonderful framework for students to study STEM, compare/contrast literature and discuss community and emotions. I began collecting and creating resources for the programming.  Can’t wait to see where the teachers take the lessons. 

2018 April

I continued working on the curriculum booklist. This update focused on increasing titles that focus on diversity and connecting books to specific curriculum standards. 

This month I also dove into research with the elementary students. I want them to have basic research skills when they move up to middle school. We focused on research using physical books and online databases. The end goal is to create a research guide for them to print and have for their own reference. 

Idea TRAILS...

This year the library moved to a new 'satellite' room at school. The move ended up being representative my evolution of duties at the school. For the past three years I have acted as a typical school librarian, managing the physical library space, providing literacy related programming and sharing resources with teachers. This year, I have found myself in a new territory.

Through serendipitous happenings, I was made aware of two organizational infinitives: Google Classroom and e-book implementation. I was surprised I had not been asked for input on the two projects, so I made an effort to contact the representative teams and ask if they would like a librarian's perspective. Happily, the answer in both cases was, 'YES!'.

In working with these two groups, I have forged relationships with both the Technology Director and Curriculum Coordinator. I have also had the opportunity to provide comprehensive technological training to staff and administration. Expanding beyond the traditional librarian roles has been exciting. Technology has always been a passion of mine and having the ability to be on the front lines has been eye opening. Eye opening to the point where I have begun to brainstorm about a whole new type of educational position.

I call it the TRAILS Coordinator.

Earlier this spring I chatted with Brighton's first S/T/M Coach about her new role. I realized there was significant potential for a librarian to morph into a similar position. For the past few weeks, I've been playing around with the idea and came up with an acronym to represent areas I would like to focus on: Technology, Reading Advocate, Information Literacy, Science (TRAILS).

No acronym can ever encompass a complex idea like education, but it gave me a tangible word to grasp when I feel brainstorming getting out of control. I am looking forward to continuing my research and exploration of new ways a librarian can improve the educational environment.

Further Reading:
- DeChenne, S., Nugent, G., Kunz, G., Luo, L., Berry, B., Craven, K., & Riggs, A. (2014). Coaching in a science, technology, engineering, and math professional development experience: A case study (R2Ed Working Paper No. 2014-7). Retrieved from the National Center for Research on Rural Education: r2ed.unl.edu (http://r2ed.unl.edu/resources/downloads/2014-wp/2014_7_DeChenne_Nugent_Kunz_Luo_Berry_Craven_Riggs.pdf)

2018 March

Accomplishments

• Superintendent’s Conference Day presentation
• Coordinate book donations from BML
• Audiobook grant
• Curriculum book list creation 
• Decorating bookends with students
• Bind student portfolios
• If You Give a Hawk a Hamburger and Hotdog with Hot Sauce book
• Prep summer reading options
• Coordinate with foundations and school store

I partnered with the curriculum coordinator to present a full day conference on inquiry based learning. I focused on surveying a variety of resources for teachers and teaching students to effectively evaluate research resources. We went full C.R.A.A.P. mode and it was wonderful!

Our school has recently rewritten the curriculum. I have been working with the curriculum coordinator to create a comprehensive booklist for staff. It’s been an amazing exercise in selection and curriculum connection. A HUGE thanks to Commonsense Media for helping me with book reviews and educational value measurements!

I also finally got to publish another book with the primary students. If You Give A Hawk a Hamburger and Hotdog with Hot Sauce is a crowd-pleaser!

Hands of the authors! 

2018 February

Accomplishments

• Train entire staff on Google Classroom
• Quatrains with Ms. Rs’ Class
• Print student handbook
• Principals meeting to discuss e-books
• Prep presentation for Superintendent's Conference Day

This month I shared my e-book pilot results and recommendations at the principals meeting. A gutted version of my principals report follows.

Digital School Library Next Steps

• Redraw Contract with Overdrive: Add remaining schools to the Digital School Library. 
• Reactivate Reading Options: Technology has configured browser only reading options. Reading via devices and apps has been disabled. The purpose of utilizing a Digital School Library is to increase student reading, if we don’t allow students to utilize reading apps on ipads or utilize kindles, we critically limit accessibility. The limitation was made due to inconsistent results when testing books being returned early when devices are disconnected from the internet. It’s possible that the book assignment feature can alleviate these issues. If testing results are positive, the reading options will be re-activated. 
• Activitate Simple Login: Simple Login is an easy-to-use, easy-to-remember login option that allows students to borrow titles for 2 hours. It’s ideal for teaching students about using OverDrive, getting students reading before accounts have been set up, classroom reference or research projects, or for younger users. 
• Install OverDrive Application: Install OverDrive application on all devices, including teacher and student laptops and iPads. 
• Explore Free options: Overdrive is a wonderful tool, but it is severely limited to our budget. There are a few free options available via Overdrive, but they only support a small fraction of the English and reading curriculum. 
• EPIC!: (https://www.getepic.com/app/personalize_educator_welcome)
• Open e-books (http://www.fbmarketplace.org/openebooks)
• Approve Kindle Readers: Explore purchasing Kindle readers. Benefits over iPads: cheaper, more durable, easier to read, less eye strain, longer battery life, less distractions for students (other apps).
• Add Advantage Plus feature to Overdrive: The Advantage Plus feature will allow for Title I purchasing and other campus restricted collections.

Conclusion
Using OverDrive as a Digital School Library will help bring our schools into the 21st century. With some adjustments and training, a Digital School Library can help improve education by providing affordable, shareable reading resources.

2018 January

Accomplishments

• Littles with Ms. R’s Class
• Newsletter
• Distribute art donation books
• New Study Island in library
• e-book evaluation
• Yoga advertising
• Magic Tree House & Google Classroom Pilot Unit
• Explore interlibrary loan between campuses
• Train staff on school technology
• Pencils and Paper donation coordination
• Initial meeting with curriculum coordinator on book list creation

FInally got the Google Classroom pilot lesson going. I selected Magic Tree House Earthquake in the Early Morning as the book to frame the next few weeks of lessons. I also choose to infuse primary resources into the lesson by examining life in 1906 San Francisco. I found some wonderful resources on the Library of Congress website. Other topics in the unit included the science behind fire, plate tectonics, and quatrains.

2017 December

Accomplishments

• E-book evaluation
• Google Classroom research and training
• Book on Every Pillow
• Expanded responsibilities proposal meeting
• Overdrive phone calls
• Tortuga Squad with Ms. R’s Class

Dove headfirst into Overdrive evaluation. It’s been a wonderful learning experience. I know nothing about the back end of Overdrive. So I called a few local BOCES directors to get some inside information. I also called Overdrive themselves and had very long conversations with representatives. They have been so helpful and wonderful trying to figure out everything.

I also distributed books to all units for students to open over the holidays. Another adventure in super readers advisory! ~80 kids with atypical reading levels and a variety of triggers.

2017 November

Accomplishments

• Story units with Mr. W and Ms. R’s class
• e-book research & evaluation
• Setting & Habitat unit with Ms. R’s class
• Focus on resource sharing across campuses
• Book delivery to other campus
• Meeting with Technology director on e-books
• Student volunteer - scanning
• Lesson plan writing
• Lesson observations
• Laurie Halse Anderson visit negotiations 
• More Google Classroom Training
• Prep Book on Every Pillow books

Technology seems to be the theme for this year. I found about another pilot through the grapevine...e-books. Again, I was surprised I wasn’t consulted for the implementation. I contact the technology director and asked if I could assist with the pilot in any way. Turns out they didn’t have anyone to evaluate the program. Say hello to the new e-book system evaluator!

I started to focus on writing lesson plans for the next few months. I plan on integrating Google Classroom to help model appropriate use for our teachers. A quick note on the Google Classroom program: Technology has set up the pilot to be utilized withOUT students. Yep, a student focused program is being piloted without students. That’s OK I am going to plow through and get this thing up and running.

2017 October Theme: Community Helpers

 Accomplishments

• Provided Sign Language resources for Ms. H’s class
• Selected personal narrative books for reading teacher
• Community helpers unit with Ms. R’s class
• Coordinated book sale set up with BML
• Open house
• Newsletter
• Reviewed results of teacher survey
• Superintendent Conference day (Assist with presentation)
• Intro to the library for Mr. W’s class
• Google Classroom ‘super user’ Training
• Lots of readers advisory 

This month I was made aware of a new Google Classroom initiative. I attended the ‘super user’ training with other campus representatives. Leading the meeting was the curriculum coordinator and technology director. The meeting was very promising. Technology is very limited at my school due to a variety of factors, so having the opportunity to be part of the Google Classroom pilot was exciting! I walked away with a brain-ful of ideas to ensure the pilot is successful.

This month I also assisted the assistant principal with a curriculum presentation at superintendent's conference day. I shared a variety of resources with teachers.

2017 September Theme: Welcome Back

Accomplishments

• Unpack new library
• Training
• First day back to school cultural survey with Ms. R’s class
• Create displays for new library
• Stocked book cart for Book It program
• Weather & water cycle with Ms. R’s class
• Teacher survey

September was mostly a month of unpacking and setting up. Endless facilities requests and boxes! In addition to physical labor, I worked on creating the new layout of the library. I focused self-service use, since I am only physically in the library less than 10 hours a week. So I tried to make everything as self explanatory as possible, including making maps and tip sheets to post throughout the library.

New Library Map

Walkway to New Library

2017 August

Accomplishments

• Continued Summer of Wonder
• Moved library to original room!
• Positive self-talk with Ms. R’s class
• Final community service project with Ms. R's class

Got last minute word that the entire library needs to move by the end of the month. I spend much of this month weeding and packing up for the big move. It was lots of work, but the move forced me to re-examine the collection in a way only moving can do. I was able to weed books and identify collection holes.

So, it is back to the space where the library was originally located. The location is bigger and nicer. The only downside is that it is disconnected from the rest of the school. I’ll have to work extra hard to keep library traffic flowing.

As a final project for the Summer of Wonder program, the elementary students sorted and packed toiletries for The Center for Youth.

Here's to an exciting 2017-2018 school year!

2017 July

Accomplishments

•  Created reading logs for students to participate in BML summer reading
•  Kicked off Summer of Wonder
•  Processed new donations
•  Utilized Cosmic Kids Zen Den with Ms. R’s class
•  Lead Wonder & kindness lessons with Ms. R’s Class

 I had a wonderful time identifying chapters from Wonder to use with primary students. I selected 3 sections to read and discuss. One of which we read the description of Auggie’s face. Students then drew what they think he looked like. We had a discussion about making decisions on appearance along.

 I’ve been utilizing Cosmic Kids Zen Den to talk about mindfulness and metacognition. It’s been a wonderful tool to spark conversations about how our brains work and how we can improve our thinking.

Summer of Wonder

2017 June

Accomplishments

• Wonder Planning
• Magic Treehouse unit with Ms. R's Class
• BML book sale setup
• Yoga meeting with residential
• BML Booksale setup and volunteering

I continued working to plan the summer Wonder program. Spoke with campus representatives about potential partnerships. I also started making a list of potential guest speakers. I finalized a collection of teaching and activity resources for staff. This included procuring 20+ water cooler jugs to use as kindness jars.

2017 May

Accomplishments

• Wonder Planning
• Yoga Proposal
• Author visit coordination
• Reading time with Ms. R’s Class
• Process donated books
• Summer Reading planning
• TBF Book display
• Performance Review
• Eric Carle unit with Ms. R’s Class

May was an exciting time, as the SBPT took on the Summer of Wonder project. The selected book is Wonder. I dove in to help with logistics.

TBF MONTH!! We had two TBF authors, AS King and E.E. Charlton-Trujillo, come present a writing workshop to a select group of students. I was very impressed with the students and their willingness to share their writings with the group. Thanks to Jen P. another literacy hero, for helping to bring the authors to campus.

Amy, E and Jen

2017 April

Accomplishments

• Yoga with R’s Class
• Prevention lesson with R’s class
• Poetry class with Ms. R
• Meeting with Foundation for funding
• Lesson Observations

This month I continued a final push for the Book Festival with limited success. I was not able to secure volunteers to man the tables. I will attempt to pick up again in the fall or spring next year. I found out that the volunteer coordinator is retiring. I have already made contact with her replacement.

In an effort to secure funding for further Yoga classes and author speakers, I worked with Foundations to identify new avenues to gain funds.

Re-wiring A Brain

Our brains are amazing. I am so inspired by this video of an engineer learning to ride a backwards bike then re-learning to ride a regular bike.  What a great lesson in the thought that it is never too late!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8JUsJV9a0Q

2017 March

Accomplishments

• Created a new section in the library for writing skills
• Book Festival planning
• Worked with Foundations for special funding
• Title I audit prep
• Wrote book with Ms. R's class
• Initiated yoga classes with two classes
• PD – Curriculum Planning
• Develop new research class unit
• Document formatting for curriculum team
• Author visit planning
• Student volunteering in library
• After writing several books with the elementary students, I have decided to make a new section of the library to highlight tools for writing. This new display is located near the historical fiction area. 

After working with several teachers during a curriculum PD day, I developed a new one day research lesson for high school students. This lesson will be taught to Ms. H's class in preparation for their controversial issues research paper.

Having completed CARE Training, I started doing Yoga story times with the elementary classes. These have been very successful. I am also working with a professional yoga instructor to offer classes for our students this summer.

I have also continued to write books with Ms. R’s class. We wrote a wonderful book called A Whale of a Tale. This has been printed and published and distributed to students.

2017 February

Accomplishments

• Introduced Cosmic Kids to Ms. R's Class (Focus on sorting: both physical and mental)
• Continued Little Bits lessons with Mr. Green’s class
• Brighton Library Book Sale set up
• Begin writing workshop with Ms. R's class
• Begin planning for book festival and author visits in May
• Continued CARE training

In keeping with CARE, I have begun inserting Cosmic Kids meditations, Zen Den and Yoga into primary classes. So for, it has been well received. I am currently waiting on yoga mats to arrive so we can more fully integrate Cosmic Kids into the classroom.

Again, we have a wonderful opportunity to have two nationally known authors speak at our school. I am working with the English teachers and administration to provide a wonderful opportunity for our students. 

Little Bits car built by Ms. R's class!

2017 January

Accomplishments

• Superlatives Lesson with Ms. R's Class
• Magic Tree House reading with Ms. R's class with a focus on research skills
• Began utilizing Little Bits with Mr. Green’s class to teach circuits
• Initiated CARE training
• Re-examine safety of library after several incidents
• Newsletter with a focus on CARE resources

I expanded my Little Bits unit to Mr. Green’s high school science class. Unfortunately attendance in his class was quite low, so I worked 2:1 with his students on expanding their circuitry lesson.

There have been several incidents of students in the library during crisis. This has resulted in books being destroyed, book ends being thrown across the room, shelves becoming unstable and general trashing of the library. Knowing the potential for bodily harm, I worked with administration to educate staff that the library should be avoided when a student is going into crisis. I also removed objects that were readily available to throw and secured items to the wall.

CARE training began this month. I spent much of my time this month, collecting resources for teachers and staff that will support the CARE model. I sent out a newsletter this month highlighting CARE and its impact on our students. 

2016 December

Accomplishments

• New display for hallway
• Update Bibliotherapy list
• Organize audio & video collection and promote to staff
• Little Bits unit with R's class
• Update classroom sets and promote to staff
• Get donated books on shelves
• Deliver books to units
• Title I meeting
• Meeting with Author, Kim Gore

December was a cleanup month. I spend much time going through our existing collection re-organizing in an effort to make materials more accessible.  I focused on the audio & visual collection. In addition to organizing, I secured headphones and batteries necessary to make these materials fully accessible to students.  I also secured a key to be located in the central office. This will make it easier for staff to utilize these materials during my off hours. I also updated and redistributed both our Bibliotherapy and classroom set lists.

I met with an author, Kim Gore to discuss future partnerships. She is a published author and wonderful presenter. I connected her with a director from the residential side and also promoted her availability to a few teachers.

This month I also focused on increasing staff utilization of the library and library materials. I re-organized the audio and visual collection to be more accessible. I also re-inventoried the classroom sets and promoted them to teachers with quick reviews. Finally, I updated the Bibliotherapy resource list. This list contains titles that speak to a variety of mental health issues and trauma. This list has been shared across the agency.. 

Student Published Books

2016 November

Accomplishments

• All American Boys author talk event
• Parts of Speech with Ms. R's Class
• Organize equipment from RCSD Technology Grant
• Little Bits unit with Ms. R's class and Ms. H’s class
• Family Under the Bridge reading and lesson with Ms. R's class

We started this month with a wonderful author event with Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Thirteen students attended the talk and five other students attended a luncheon with the authors and Rochester’s Deputy Harris. Students, staff and guests discussed community and racism.  

I also began utilizing the Little Bits kits that were provided by a RCSD grant. I provided a kit to the OT department. I also developed a lesson for the primary students to learn about the basics of electronics. 

Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely were our guest speakers

2016 October Theme: Poetry

Accomplishments

• Research unit with Ms. H's class
• Sign Language with Ms. H's class
• Poetry with Ms. R's Class
• New Halloween display for hallway
• Represented library during Open House

This month, I implemented research unit with Ms. H's class. This interactive, multi week lesson was integrated directly into the student’s social studies research project. Students focused on learning the research process from brainstorming to citations to final editing of the research paper.

So far, the lesson is going well. Students have been receptive to the information presented and our activities. More work needs to be done on actually getting students focused on researching beyond the basics. Finding a method that can keep students interested on one topic is also needed. I have one student who falls victim to the research rabbit hole (i.e. jumping from one topic to another).

2016 September

Accomplishments

• Processed donations from Mercy
• Weeded materials
• Read Friendship According to Humphrey with Ms. R's class
• PMP Meeting
• Developed Research lesson plan with Ms. H for middle school

This month consisted of wrapping up plans with Ms. H for her middle school research. Having the ability to embed myself into a classroom and be part of a research project from beginning to end is something that I have been looking forward to since I decided to become a librarian. 

Continued reading Humphrey books with Ms. R's class this month. These books are wonderful teaching tools for primary age students. They teach valuable lessons (friendship) and also focus on skills such as work ethic, self-efficacy and writing basics (including great nerdy rhymes). 

2016 August Theme: Summer Reading

Accomplishments

• Distribute books from storage to other campuses
• Weeding
• Olympic programming for four classes with Claudia Herman
• Read at Highland unit
• Began moving library resources to Discovery Ed

2016 July Theme: Summer Reading

Accomplishments

• Summer Olympics Summer Reading display
• Process donation from Parent Magazine
• Read James and Giant Peach with Ms. R’s class.
• Olympic faces project with Ms. R’s class
• Organize Title I paperwork for potential audit
• NYS research assistance for Ms. H
• Prepared title I documentation for potential Title I audit

2016 June Theme: Summer Reading

Accomplishments

• Organized small book order for superintendent with a focus on African American authors and stories.
• Initiated storytelling PD planning for teachers
• Hosted volunteers from Mr. Sterling and Ms. H's class
• PMP Paperwork
• Continued story time with Ms. R’s class
• Summer reading newsletter
• Organized summer reading information and logs
• Brighton Library Book Sale set up with students

June was a wrap up month. I spent time on paperwork and prepping for summer reading. 

Book donations from last month

2016 May Theme: Caring for Others

Accomplishments

• School wide book festival!
• Ellen Hopkins talk to select students
• Delivered ~300 books to the units
• Worked on parts of speech unit with Ms. R's Class
• Processed large donation from City of Rochester library

The Spring Book Festival was a success! In partnership with the St. John Fisher College Senor class of 2016, the Monroe County Library, the Library presented an afternoon celebration of reading. Students spent the afternoon learning about a variety of book genres; including graphic novels, urban fiction, poetry, historical fiction and non-fiction. Each student participated in an informational scavenger hunt where St. John Fish College students provided clues and answers. Over 50 students participated. Students also received free books courtesy of the Monroe County Library System. Local librarians, Shelley Matthews and Darlene Saunders, provided personalized readers advisory. They also distributed over 500 free books to students.

Ellen Hopkins came to speak to a select group of students. It was an interesting talk about the power of not giving up and the downside of drug addiction. After this talk, the superintendent expressed interest in having other, more diverse authors come to speak at our school. I have started the process of securing a local author to speak later this summer or early fall.

I worked with a local librarian to deliver about 300 books to the units. We went from unit to unit and removed old, titles then replaced them with newer books donated by the Monroe County Library.

I continued working with Ms. R's class. We focused on parts of speech. I read them a book on adjectives and verbs. We then used knowledge from those books to complete several hilarious Mad Libs. We also started reading James and The Giant Peach. 

Volunteers getting ready!

Scavenger hunt central

Superhero cape and balloons ready to go!

2016 April Theme: Getting Outside

Accomplishments

• Finalized book festival plans
• Processed new Title 1 and donated books
• Created display for Poetry month
• Poetry unit with Ms. R’s class

This month I really focused on finalizing book festival details. It’s coming soon! A few things I have prepared for the event: BINGO/Scavenger hunt game to reinforce literacy goals of the event, collect and organize prize books, order decorations, finalize directions for St. John Fisher volunteers, finalize schedule and logistics with the help of two wonderful teachers, invite administrators and marketing, coordinate with culinary to provide cookies and select books for 12 table displays.

The Title 1 books came in! I processed the books with Title 1 stickers & stamps and prepped their circulation cards. I also created a new display to highlight the new titles. 

In celebration of poetry month, I worked with Ms. R’s class discuss poetry creation. We read several poetry books including, A Light In The Attic, Poke In The Eye and If I Ruled The School. We then practiced brainstorming and playing with adjectives.

2016 March Theme: Woman’s History

Accomplishments

• Created Women’s History display
• Eric Carle story time and craft with Ms. R’s class
• Prevention and choices with Ms. R’s class
• Focused on administrative tasks

Unfortunately the book club, has fallen to the wayside due to scheduling conflicts. I hope to revive the group in the summer when scheduling may be a bit easier. Several students still are very interested.

This month, I focused on getting the library organized. With the book festival coming, a large donation and Title 1 books coming in, I needed to make sure the library was organized and behind-the-scene tasks were attended to. This included circulation, reporting, physically organizing books and weeding old books. 

I was able to create a new mini unit on prevention and choices with Ms. R’s class. I read them the book, Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day. I then presented the class with visual representations of each ‘terrible’ thing that happened to Alexander. We then worked together to identify if each thing was ‘preventable’ or ‘inevitable’. Of course the ensuing message is that ~90% of the events were preventable. We then had a discussion about prevention in their own lives.

Later in the month, we read several Eric Carle stories and utilized a kit to create our own Eric Carle style artwork. We presented the art to Ms. R.

2016 February Theme: Diversity

Accomplishments

• Created Black History Month display
• Held book club meeting in the library
• Read Anna, Banana to Ms. R’s class
• Coordinated and organized huge book donation from Monroe County Library
• Coordinated with units to attend Wes Moore talk through MCC and provided copies of The Other Wes Moore to clients.

Book Club! Finally! I was able to get a group of students together to start a book club. We held the meeting in the library. The students selected A.S. King’s Everybody Sees The Ants. It’s a wonderful book about bullying, dysfunctional families and relationships. Of course, being an A.S. King book, it has a touch of magic where the main character communicates with his POW grandfather through dreams. Together we read the first few pages and shared our thoughts on what might happen. 

This month I also managed a HUGE donation from the Monroe County Library. I brought in about 30 boxes of books. Our campus does not have enough space to manage these, so I contacted the other campuses and coordinated the delivery of about 12 boxes of books. It was quite the task. I took requests from campus representatives and attempted to match each campus with books that would be most read in each location. Yay, readers advisory practice! 

I also reached out to the units and encouraged them to attend a talk by Wes Moore. I ended up providing one of the units with a set of books, allowing clients to read his book prior to the talk. I heard that some of the clients got to speak with him directly. 

I also continued to work directly with Ms. R’s class. We read a trilogy by new author, Anica Rissi. These books are wonderful conversation starters. They discuss the difficulties of friendships and how to navigate life changes. http://www.anicarissi.com/books/

2016 January Theme: National Book Month with Historical focus

Accomplishments

• Wrote and published a book with Ms. R’s class
• Had a few students volunteer their time in the library
• Planned new AT Book Club
• Continued to plan Book Festival
• Created display for Black History Month

This month focused on library upkeep and maintenance. I worked with a student volunteer to label the spines of books for easy student access. I also worked to process new book donations into the collection.

From the suggestion of Ms. A., I organized a student book club. I identified about 10 students to participate. I have sent official invitations and coordinated snacks and teacher volunteers. We will be having our first meeting at the beginning of February. 

With Ms. R’s class we read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and If You Give A Moose A Muffin. After reading these two books, we wrote our own story, If You Give A Hyena A Ham Sandwich. We worked on re-creating the structure of the book, analyzing the logic between the chains of events and illustrating our own story-line. The book has been published and distributed around the school. A copy resides in the library. 

I have also continued to work on the planning of the Book Festival. There is an opportunity to have Ellen Hopkins speak at school during the Book Festival week. This is a huge draw for many students who love her work. I will be planning and executing her visit with Jennifer Perry. 

2015 December Theme: Give-a-ways

 Accomplishments

• Distributed Book on every Bed books
• Distribute unit library books
• Acquire and process donations from Mercy High School
• Create spine labels for Bibliotherapy titles.
• Provide Monster to Focus unit for book club.
• Compiled student work for poetry book printing
• Created Title I order
• TCI update

December was a busy month. The Book on Every Bed program took many man hours. Although I am still waiting on more feedback on the program, I feel it went really well. I hope to do it next year.  What an exercise in readers advisory!!

Program details:

1. First, creating a pool of about 200 appropriate (no trigger-able topics) books in new condition.
2. Second, matching student reading levels and interests.
3. Third, labeling books and sorting for delivery.
4. Finally, delivering the books.

Aside from the book give-a-way, I focused on collection development. I worked with Ms. Armstrong to re-institute the Title I budget from last year. I also compiled a book order list and got a quote from Liftbridge Books. I am still waiting on final budget approval. 

I also compiled a wonderful set of student poetry for the libraries first student poetry publication. I distributed this book to all students to contributed material and various administrators. I was very proud of their work. The goals of this workshop were to expose students to a variety of classic poetry and also explore self-expression and inspiration. In addition, we focused on poetic structure and techniques.  We started by reading and analyzing Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. We discussed breaking traditional rules of writing. We then moved to the poem, Oranges by Gary Soto. With this poem we discussed similes and metaphors and utilizing imagery in the written format. Finally, we discussed The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. With this poem we discussed symbolism and structure. Students also played with fun poetry formats such as acrostic, concrete and book spine poetry.

 One of my student's work

2015 November Theme: Poetry & Kindness

Accomplishments

• Dug into old files to identify potential funding sources
• Discussed funding with the Children’s Foundation
• Continued weekly poetry unit with Ms. R and Ms. S’s class
• Non-fiction Thanksgiving classes with Ms. R
• Re-organized Storybooks to be Alphabetical
• Children’s book festival display
• Kindness display & unit with R’s class
• Compiled mental health booklist for councilors (bibliotherapy)

 

My Everyday Kindness Display

• This month I focused on a variety of initiatives, the most important being; securing funding for the library. This year, we were left with $0 for the library. This was disappointing, considering that in previous years, we had at least $2,000 in Title I funds. I explored the Laura Bush grant and was told I cannot apply for it and it was not a priority for the grant writing team. This was also disappointing. I then had a great conversation with several Foundation staff members who helped set up a Barnes and Noble wish list and also help get the word out about the library needs to potential donors. This year, I hope to be permitted to participate in the Title I budgeting. I also will communicate with the superintendent on making the Laura Bush grant a priority for the next year.

• Creating a list of biblio-therapeutic books was another great success this month. I compiled a list from several School Library Journal articles into a master list to be utilized by HCC staff. Categories included abuse/assault, addiction, anxiety disorder, ADD, ADHD, ASD, bipolar disorder, depression and mood disorders, dissociative disorder, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, self-harm, suicide, Tourette syndrome, war and death. I have distributed it to all clinical staff and made copies available to teachers.

Raw Data to Published Article

Digging down to find original sources and raw data. It takes time, patience and magic librarian research skills. Most people don't do it, they see an article or picture and take it as fact and sometimes even extend that 'fact' to apply to a broader scope. This is part of the reason why there is so much mis-information in the world. I wonder what the world would be like if everyone understood and valued the importance of information literacy.

I just read an amazing article on TED about the guy that edits photos for NASA. It was a great visual example of how information changes/evolves from it's raw data sources to published/shared post. I hope to use it in a future information literacy class to illustrate how important it is to realize that each article is an interpretation of raw data.

http://ideas.ted.com/gallery-the-art-and-science-of-space-photography/?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=ideas-blog&utm_term=science

Raw Data: 


Final Image: 

2015 October Theme: Poetry

    Accomplishments:

• Weekly poetry writing & appreciation with two classes
• Manned the library during open house
• Attended superintendent’s meeting
• Organized donated books from St. John Fisher
• Obtained free furniture for library
• Began re-writing Laura Bush grant for re-application
• Re-label bookshelves for better access
• Created comprehensive ‘Library Quick Start Guide’ for staff to empower themselves to utilize the library at any time.
• Coordinated BML book sale setup with Mr. L and student council students

    October was a month of donations and access. Through my connections with the greater library community I was able to secure a story time rug, office chair and corner shelf for the library. These items came from Fairport, who has recently remodeled. Fairport also donated several rugs and coat hooks to Ms. R’s class and Dr. S. The library also participated in setting up the Brighton Library Book Sale for the third year since I’ve been here. This resulted in student helpers taking home books for themselves and the library adding a box of new books to the collection. We were also lucky enough to receive a large box of books from St. John Fisher.  All of these new books were processed and added to the collection or student give-a-way shelves.

 

New Storytime Rug

    I also spent a significant amount of time improving access to the library. I worked on re-labeling the shelves, so items can be found more effectively. I also created and distributed a new ‘Library Quick Start Guide’ for staff. This guide provides all the information needed to utilize the library to its fullest potential, even in my absence.

    This month I also began my poetry unit with Ms. R’s and Ms. S’s class. We discussed the major categories of poetry, ways to be inspired, and key literary devices. With both classes we produced mini poetry books and analyzed poems such as Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll, Oranges by Gary Soto and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

2015 September Theme: Fall Into Reading

Accomplishments

• Fall Into Reading book display
• Updated posters in main office
• Connected with teachers, sharing library resources and services
• Distributed public library user guides to both unit staff and school
• Story times with R’s Class
• Book Festival planning kick-off
• Book on every planning pillow kick-off
• Produced guide for college application process
• Produced publishing quick-start guide for student interested in publishing

September was a ‘kick-off’ month. I began planning this year’s big events. These include Book On Every Pillow and the School Wide Book Festival. Smaller projects include, creating a college resource packet, training staff on utilizing the library on their own, teaching writing skills, teaching storytelling and finding funding for the library.

Coordinating with staff was also a focus in September. I reached out to staff, offering a variety of resources and services. I provided Ms. G with a collection of animal books to complete classroom research. I provided Ms. G (Speech) with a variety of simple joke books to assist her students with articulation. I connected with Mr. T (Work scholarship) to inform him that the library has a variety of career exploration texts. I also put feelers out for teachers to take advantage of advisory period for short information literacy classes.

June Theme: Summer Reading

Accomplishments

• Discussed Ben Franklin and the writing process with Ms. R’s class
• Summer reading book display (See below)
• MWC assembly and celebration
• Brighton Memorial Library book sale set up and donations
• Weeded books
• Summer preparations

Much of June was spent preparing for the summer creative writing workshop and preparing for summer reading.This year the summer reading theme is Every Hero Has a Hero so I am giving my summer creative writing workshop the same name. I hope to do a separate post about the workshop details. 

This month I also planned the Million Word Challenge celebration event. Over the course of the last few months, our students have read over 11 million words. It was wonderful to recognize the students who participated. There was one student who was in the library all year, and it was especially exciting to give him his reward.

Year Summary

My first as a school librarian has come to a close! What a great year. Here is a summary of my accomplishments. 

Library Mission: The Library’s mission is to congruently support both student learning and treatment goals by providing access to a variety of reading, viewing and listening materials with a focus on instilling a lifelong love of reading.

Library Goals:

1. Support students by providing individualized materials based on interest and comprehension ability.
2. Support teaching teams with the resources they need to enrich student learning.
3. Support clinical teams with resources that engage and enlighten student healing.
4. Support administrative teams by providing proof that library funding is being used to improve student outcomes.

2014-2015 Library statistics

• The library circulated ~25 books /week.
• The library gave away 250+ books to students through Read Across America and Holiday programs.
• 60+ classes were taught by the librarian.
• 1 student authored book was published and added to the library collection.
• Almost 11 million words were read by students participating in the Million Word Challenge.
• 4 students became the libraries first team of library volunteers.
• The library secured $700+ worth of library equipment through a partnership with a local private school .
• Delivered 4 boxes of books to unit book shelves.

May Theme: Caring for Others

Accomplishments

• Distributed residential library newsletter
• Expanded library’s poetry collection
• Began outlining summer writing workshop lesson plans
• Established regular student volunteer work with 5 students
• Continued library lessons with Ms. T's class. (Current events & spelling)
• Reached out to units to plan book club and graphic design lessons
• Processed new Title I books!!!!!
• Had Ms. R’s class perform Elephant & Piggie as a play for Ms. T’s class

Springtime is organizing time for the library. I focused on identifying 5 student volunteers for the rest of the year. These volunteers did everything from creating check-out cards to writing book reviews to identifying books to weed from the collection. It was a great having the extra help. It was also great to see students with a passion for reading. I hope to see some of these students as future library employees! 

I hope to do a future unit on poetry. To prepare for this, I have sought out poetry books from local book sales to augment our collection.