Christmas in the Library

Here it is 2 weeks before Christmas, and we are chugging along at the DHS Library.  We just finished researching with the senior classes dressed up as British History characters...the Queen, the Knight, and 2 fair maidens.

 



 

In addition to helping out our seniors, we have also lined up some holiday events in the library to keep things interesting.  Our first event is teaming up with Student Council to write letters to Santa for Macy's Make a Wish campaign.  We even received a little local press about that...

 

http://dville.edu/FridayInformer/2012/120712.html#writing

 

 

 

Another activity we do in the library during the holidays is decorate gingerbread people.  We started this last year when the library entered the door decorating contest.  We had a gingerbread house theme and had the student decorate construction paper gingerbread people.

 

 

Because the craft was so popular, we had to bring it back this year even though the school is not holding a door decorating contest.  We decorate for everything around here anyway.  We don't need a contest to have fun.  So this year, they are decorating our library and external windows with gingerbread people to go with our other decorations.  Some of them are quite unique.  The students are having fun, and that is what matters.

 

 



 

 







 

Here is our brief write up in our district newsletter...
http://dville.edu/FridayInformer/2012/121412.html#energy

 

This week in additon to the letters to Santa and the gingerbread people, we have introduced our Shelf Elves.  They come from the North Pole just to hide and make mischief in our library.  We ask the students to help us catch these elves that our hiding in our library.  If they turn one of these mischievious elves in to us, we give them a holiday treat.  We have Spree, Sweetart, and Starburst flavored candy canes for the students as a "reward" for helping us catch the elves.  I think this year, I plan to snap a couple of pics to post to the library's twitter and FB page of the elves and what they do at night while we are all home.  Yes, this is a high school library, and yes the students still enjoy hunting the library shelves for an elf at Christmas time.  Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, right?  Instead of the ever popular Elf on the Shelf, we bought our elves from Oriental Trading.  They come by the dozen.  After a few days on the front line of a library that sees 500+ students a day, multiple elves is highly recommended.

 

 

 

Next week we are hosting our Guitar and Bass Club after school for an hour.  They will be performing their Holiday concert in our library while we serve cookies and cocoa.  It is open for students and teachers alike.  Speaking of cocoa, we did start selling hot chocolate in the library on Mondays before school for 25 cents or for 50 if you add whipped cream and sprinkles.

 

Now that I see it all laid out before me, I see why I go home each day tired.  Call me crazy, but this is fun.  I think the key is to introduce your programs one week at a time.  If we started the letters, the gingerbread decorations, the cocoa, and the elves all the while teaching research classes, all 3 of us would have to be committed.

 

We are also pretty proud of our library decorations this year....

 

 

 

 

 





 

Happy Holidays!  See you in the new year!













Angry Birds Family Event

Wow!  Has it really been almost a month since my last post?  That was not the plan, but alas, the Sophomore research has taken over the library.  That is not to say we aren't still trying to have a little fun in here. 

About mid-October, our district has parent comference days.  That usually consists of teachers going to school all day on a Thursday and then coming back for 3 hours of parent conferences that night.  However, the following day, we have no students while we finish our parent comferencing for 4.5 hours.  Thursday is long, but Friday is great. 

Since nearly no one comes to the library for a parent conference, we decided to something a little more fun this year....hence, our "Angry Birds Family Night."



We picked Angry Birds because it is quite the phenomenon among students and adults alike.  We also inherited a bunch of boxes decorated to look like pigs from the creative writing classes.  They were just too cute to throw away.

 

 

They became the inspiration for our event.  After we made the decision to have an Angry Birds theme, we needed to plan an event to appeal to all students.  Since this was an evening of parent conferences, we knew parents would probably bring not only their high school child, but any other children they may have.  Having said that, we didn't want to be a place where parents just dropped off their 4 year old and went to a meeting.  We knew that would not be very safe.  So we did decide that students under the age of 14 had to be accompanied by their high school sibling or a parent.  That worked out well for us.

 

For proper inspiration, we turned to Pinterest.  We found tons of Angry Birds themed ideas for our family night.  To see our pinboard, go to this link http://pinterest.com/tahaneyj/angry-birds-resources/

 

After researching Pinterest, we decided on 7 different stations...

 

Angry Birds Toss Game

(bean bags bought at Costco, cups & candy for playing at Walmart, and pictures found on Pinterest)

 

Angry Birds Tournament

(brought our own iPads, Nooks borrowed from local Barnes & Noble)

 

Decorate an Angry Birds cookie

(sugar cookies purchased at Tom Thumb, decorating pieces and frosting at Walmart, directions found on Pinterest)

 

 

 

 

Angry Birds face/tattoo painting

(washable paint & brushes bought at Hobby Lobby)

 

Angry birds balloon crafts

(balloons purchased at Walmart, printables found on Pinterest)

 

 

Angry Birds cubes and color sheets

(printables found on Pinterest)

 

Barnes and Noble in Cedar Hill, TX

(community rep came and sold Angry Birds items; library received a cut of the proceeds.)

 

 

 

Next, we knew we needed help.  There would be 7 stations, only 4 adults, and a multitude of kids.  So we appealed to our older students and offered community service hours to help.  The cosmetology students volunteered to face paint.  In addition, we had 15 other juniors and seniors volunteer to help facilitate each area.  We even had 3 of them volunteer to wear one of the Angry Birds costumes we borrowed (old Halloween costumes) and parade around the library for a more festive atmosphere.

 

 

We planned for 300 people, and we ran out of supplies 2 hours into our 3 hour event.  Note for next year...only plan a 2 hour event!  We were exhausted, but we believe everyone had a fun evening.







Banned Books Week at the DHS Library

 

 

I believe Banned Books Week was a success. We had many great conversations with both students and teachers discussing what happens when others challenge or ban books.  We talked about why books had been banned, if any had been banned at our library, or in our distirct.  We checked out books, gave away bookmarks and buttons, and had fun.

 

There were many things we did in order to prepare for this week. The week before "Banned Books Week" the librarians combed through all of the ALA banned books lists and enlisted the help of our student workers to pull every book that we had on our shelves.  The books were then grouped together and displayed on the tops of our shelves for easy access.

 

 

Then we created buttons for the students and staff to wear if they checked out one of our banned books the following week...

 

 

We also picked 20 of those books, printed them out, and created QR codes explaining why these books had been banned from other libraries. These print outs and QR codes were displayed in our windows at the front of our library. Then students and staff could use their Smartphones to find out why these books had been banned in other communities,

  

 

 

These little things, along with a few morning announcements, were all we needed to do in order to celebrate the freedom of reading.  It was a great way to recognize the 30th Anniversary of Banned Books Week!

For more ideas, try http://pinterest.com/tahaneyj/banned-books-week/

 













Shiver Me Timbers!

 

 

I will have to say last week was a success.  Of the 28 classes that were scheduled, we actually saw 27 of those classes.  One class had to reschedule due to a 5th block assembly.  That means we pumped about 810 students through the library last week.  Yikes! 

 

I believe flipping the policies to avoid a boring lecture worked.  Over the last 2 weeks, we had only 1 teacher who didn't review the book and give out the brochures to any of her classes, and then we had 1 teacher who didn't flip the lesson for 3 of her classes and did for the other 3.  In order to find out if the students had actually reviewed the eBook, I had to resort to asking them.  3 classes gave me the blank stare which led me to realize no flipping had taken place, but the other 3 had a spark of recognition in their eyes when I asked.  I found that the students were a pretty good indicator.  I would have asked the teacher straight out, which was our tactic with the others, but this teacher arrived 5 minutes after her students did.

 

This week we have 4 more Freshman classes, and then it is on to the next set of tasks...We have some individual classes coming up along with helping teachers upload grades for progress reports.  In addition, we were approached by one of our Design Coaches to hold a Google Docs and Diigo training class.  :)

 

On a side note, Karen did a little research and found out that Wednesday, Sept. 19th, is National talk-like-a-pirate day.  So we are going to extend the costumes one more day and pass out some of the "pirate loot" we gave to the Freshman classes.  Never a dull moment!

 

 



First Week of Freshman Orientation

I think our first week of our Freshman Orientation went well.  We saw 12 Freshman classes.  This week, we will see 28 classes, and we will close out the following week by seeing 4 classes. 

We usually have to block off 3 weeks to see everyone.  The first week we schedule the teachers willing to go first and be our "guinea pigs" because we redesign our class every year to address the needs of our current audience.  So we start slow and learn from our mistakes. (Let's just say I always feel bad for the first set of classes; they are never as polished as those we schedule the 2nd week.)  Then we roll the rest of the classes through the library during the second week.  The 3rd week is reserved to finish up the classes and reschedule make up days (in case of random assemblies or teachers who are sick).

So our lesson went something like this

• introduction of librarians and pirate theme
• Knows and Need to Knows of the library
• discuss "knows" and take short policy quiz
• discuss "need to knows" and go on scavenger hunt
• meet as group to play Library Jeopardy
• revisit "need to knows" to make sure all questions were addressed
• learn card catalog and check out book or choose another library leisure activity (magazines, chess, library craft, homework, log onto a computer, puzzles, or games)

Flipping the Library Policies so that the librarians could skip the first 20 minute lecture went well.  Two of the teachers chose to show our Pirate eBook (link in last week's entry) and pass out the library brochures.  With those classes, we had a brief review by having the students brainstorm what they know and what they still need to know about the library; this is part of the PBL process that we adapted for our classes... 



We addressed what they already knew, and then took the quiz so the teachers could put that grade in the grade book as promised.  Then we addressed their "need to knows" by sending them on a QR Code scavenger hunt around the library.  Those with the smartphone were able to scan the QR codes and store the information in theie phones.  For those without a Smartphone, we also printed the same information for students to jot down notes or to take a picture if they had a phone with a camera.

 

 

We had 15 different QR codes hidden around the library.  Each group of 3-4 students had a map with 15 Xs on it to identify where the codes could be found.  The map helps them keep track of which codes they have found so they don't scan the same one 3 times and count it as 3 different codes.  They were given 15 minutes to find 15 different codes.  At the end of the 15 minutes, we came back together to play Jeopardy with the information they collected.  The team that won Jeopardy was able to pick a treasure from the treasure chest.

 





 

 

As I mentioned last week, we were able to anticipate what to do with the classes where teachers did not Flip the lesson and how to handle the QR Scavenger hunt if there were not enough students brought a smartphone.

What we did not anticipate...the amount of time needed for troubleshooting the students with their phones; they needed time to log onto our wireless including access to their new passwords, to download the QR Reader, and to practice scanning codes.

Luckily, we had built in "free time" at the end of the lesson.  So the amount of time we originally had budgeted for the free time was cut in half.

 

This week we will see the bulk of our Freshman students, 28 classes.  We will see how we hold up! 

 

Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by.

 

 

First Week of School

The first week of school is always a balancing act.  It's about how to be there for the students and teachers while taking care of library business as well.  To be honest, it wasn't all that balanced; of course the needs of the students and teachers took presidence over library business. 

We had 2 major issues this week that put stress on the students and teachers, and therefore affected the library....schedules and technology.  While dealing with classes that needed a place to go, students who didn't know where the J Hall or the West Gym were, and new laptops that were not communicating with the projectors, the 3 librarians did manage to redesign our Freshman Orientation classes (which start on Wednesday).  Actually, we didn't get it all ironed out, but we each have a bit of homework this weekend.  Hopefully when we come back on Tuesday, we will be ready.

So we are taking a page from the "Flipped Classroom" model with our Orientation this year.  We are starting by asking the teachers to take 5-8 mins of their class time to introduce our library policies with a "mixbook" we created.  http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/education/dhs-library-policies-for-students-7923701  Then they are going to pass out our Student Brochure for the students to take home and review before coming to the library.  By doing this, we hope to eliminate the very boring 15-20 min lecture that begins each class.  Then we will start the classes with a review (what they know about our library and what they still need to know) and then a quick quiz.  The teachers are planning to tell the students about the quiz; it will not be a surprise.

To address those questions they may still have about the library, we have created a scavenger hunt using Quick Response (QR) codes posted all over the library.  Students can bring their Smartphone or iPod to scan the codes.  Each QR code reveals another bit of information about the library.  After sufficient time gathering the information, we will reconvene for a Library Jeopardy game. Since we have a Pirate theme going here, the winning teams will be able to pull a trinket from the Pirate Treasure Chest.  Yes even 9th graders like to pick a prize!  After Jeopardy, we show the students how to use the card catalog and allow them to check out a book.

Things to consider when attempting a lesson with this many parts...
1. What if the teacher didn't do his/her part by showing the eBook and passing out the brochures?
2. What if the students don't bring their electronic devices?

There should always be a Plan B, right?

For #1, we plan to review the brochure with the students and take them through the quiz as a group instead of testing them individually.  The advantage of testing the students individually is giving the grade to the classroom teacher who can then put those grades in his/her grade book.  So hopefully, the teachers will be motivated by a "free grade" to help us Flip the lesson.

For #2, we plan to group the students into pairs, 3s, or 4s, if needed.  If no one from a class brings an electronic device, we are creating a low tech (paper) version of the scavenger hunt.

We'll see how this goes.  I'll have pictures next week.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Staff Development Week

Staff development week is a lot like treading water; I always feel as if I am kicking and paddling as fast as I can, but I'm still not getting anywhere. Since this happens every year, perhaps I need to look at my expectations for that week and reconsider...ok...next year.

The "big rocks," or main topics we wanted to tackle during staff development week this year were to update the various library schedules, look at & redesign our Freshman Orientation class, and update & share our library policies.  We did 2 out of 3 because we forgot to factor in the 24 mobile lab carts that needed our attention!  Since we don't see the Freshman until after Labor Day, we shifted that "rock" to next week.

The library policies didn't need too much updating, which was good.  We have policies for the students and for the staff that we post online and print out in brochure form.  On the brochure, we can add the usernames and passwords to our school's databases.  Our biggest issue was how to share our policies with the teachers.  The library has been a part of staff development week until this year.  So we decided to create a short intro "Go Animate" video and email it along with the brochures to the teachers.  We will also have a "Library Open House" in conjunction with the school's open house on Sept. 13th...any excuse to have a party in the library!

Here is our link to the library "commercial." http://goanimate.com/videos/0LTA-DJaJ9v8?utm_source=linkshare

Unfortunately, our staff library policies (the online version) are still a work in progress.  As soon as we have that up and running, I will post the link.

Here's to a great 2012-13 school year!

Getting Down to Business

I am about to enter my 5th year as a high school librarian, and I want to be more organized this year.  I feel as if I am fulfilling the academic needs of my patrons and following the school calendar, but I haven't been as good at celebrating what I call the "Library Calendar." I, along with my 2 colleagues (Karen & Blanca), do our best to lure the students into the library with our various clubs, chess boards, art projects, and programs. However, I think I would like to participate in some of the American Library Association's library activites this year.  Last Spring, we hosted a "Hunger Games Family Night," and we did some fun teen activities during National Library Week, but I think I'd like to do more.  In order to do that, I realized I needed to map out my year.

So I took my notebook that Karen gives me and Blanca every year...and I set out to do just that.

Some people like to start with a calendar and fill it in, but I needed a generic space to brainstorm and align my calendars...the academic, the school events, and the library calendars.  It started out looking like this...

After that, I went month by month and made a list of what we wanted to do....

So to be honest, that is what I have so far. I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  Last year our library participated in National Library Week.  This year I want to participate in Banned Book week, Teen Read Week, Teen Tech Week, and School Library Month.  We start back to school on Monday for staff development.  We'll see how this goes!