Displayed work in the Media Center

Mrs. Gregory's AG students displayed their projects after researching those who were not so famous, but did in fact sign the Constitution.

Snow Dudes

Ms. Ebels class wanted to make their own "snow dudes" after we read the book by Daniel Kirk. We compared Snow Dude to The Gingerbread Man. Many students had made a connection to Frosty the Snowman as well. Good job, Huskies!

It's "snow" cold outside...

The display cases in the foyer of our media center are full of books about winter, snow, penguins, and arctic animals. Students may select any of these books for checkout or choose among the other 17,000 books from our collection.

Our Highcroft display also showcases books that have to do with January's dates such as Martin Luther King, Jr. books, A. A. Milne books, as well as Caldecott and Newbery selections to remind students the newest award winners will be announced on Monday, January 18th. I can't wait!

Go for the Gold Bulletin Board

Each class is given a paw print sticker to correlate with the "grade" they received during media special. Golden paw prints are the very best, blue paw prints are given when a class could be a little better, green paw prints show needed improvement, and only a date is given a class is in need of definite improvement. Think of it as standards based grading.

I also award "top dog" stickers! This is given when a class exhibits golden behavior AND has no overdue books. I am happy to say that several "top dog" stickers have been earned by our Highcroft classes. So Huskies, let's go for the gold...and return those books on time!

Happy New Year!

Welcome Back to my blog!

I have been a little lax since last year and one of my New Year's resolutions is to be more diligent in posting to the blog. I am documenting this as a share all for those who are interested in what I do in the media center on a weekly basis. For those who think all I do is pull and read a book off of the shelf...stay tuned... I will dedicate an entire posting to what school librarians really do and how important our position really is in a school setting as well as what statistics show when a qualified, certified media specialist is at the helm of the school library.

(Of course, this is my own blog so I can toot my own horn)

Students and teachers at Highcroft were back into the regular schedule on Monday, January 4, 2010. In the media center, classes in grades k-3 were introduced to Fairy Tales and Fractured Fairy Tales. We played "Name that Fairy Tale"...(the hardest part was remembering to raise hands to be called upon.) We followed up our game with a retelling of the classic tale of The Gingerbread Man. After our retelling of the story we discussed several versions such as The Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Baby, and The Gingerbread Boy.

Once we discussed the elements of a classic fairy tale, we learned that to modernize a classic fairy tale is actually a "Fractured Fairy Tale." Students listened to Snow Dude by Daniel Kirk. Many students made their own snow dudes and several will be displayed outside the media center.

Fourth grade students learned about primary documents and artifacts from a story titled, Polar, the Titanic Bear. This is a true story of a boy named Douglas who was a passenger on the Titanic. He survived, along with his toy bear named Polar. The book shows many photographs of Douglas' travels around the world with Polar. Many facts about the Titanic were brought out which will be researched in detail over the next two weeks in media specials.

Fifth graders made New Year's resolutions of their own after viewing a short video on classroom survival skills. This was helpful in preparing them for middle school as well as aid in their own success as a current student. A short excerpt about the life of Ben Carson was shared. What a remarkable story. If you haven't read Gifted Hands by Ben Carson, it's a must read for everyone!

Also for those that are interested...Martin Luther King's Birthday is January 15! School will be closed to celebrate his birthday on Monday, January 18.

At 7:45am the children's book awards will be announced online....I can't wait! What was your favorite children's book of the year?

Also, A. A. Milne's birthday is on January 18th. He was the author of the Winnie the Pooh books.

Happy Reading!

Why books make the best present!

No assembly required
No batteries needed
Does not become obsolete
Can be taken anywhere
Does not cause carpel tunnel syndrome
No small parts to lose
No annoying sound effects
No updates or upgrades needed
Never needs ironing
Easy to wrap
Good for hours of entertainment
Easy to store
Always fits
Will not cause strife at airport security
User friendly
Easy to share files with friends
Doesn’t need extension cord
Bookmarks easy to manage
Great topics of conversation
Never comes in the wrong color or size
Doesn’t need to be serviced by a dealer
Doesn’t need spare parts
Easier to wrap than footballs
Looks good with any décor
Doesn’t need watering or fertilizing
Won’t irritate your allergies
Doesn’t go out of style
Doesn’t get aphids or draw ants
Doesn’t bark or need to be walked in the middle of the night
Won’t stretch, shrink or fade
Won’t scratch the coffee table
Won’t get stale
Doesn’t have zippers that break
Can be used over and over by many people
Not empty when finished
You can open them again and again

Thanks to Cindy Kilpatrick of Swan Hills, AB Canada for the list