Presentations This Year

 

This year I am presenting 3 different topics 5 times at 3 different venues.  So yes, there are some repeats! One venue has already passed.  I presented at the Region 10 Library conference on September 11th.  That topic was "Prepping your Library One Year at a Time."  I have done this presentation many times before, and I am happy to do it again if asked.  This presentation was mostly about making sure what you are doing in the library also aligns with your library appraisal.  Then how to organize it all.

I have 2 presentations at the Region 11 Library conference which is just a couple of days away, on November 21st.  Pam and I are talking about Reading Contests, and then I have another presentation about passive programming.  The reading contests presentation is new.  The passive programming is a repeat from the summer TCEA Library conference. I'm a little worried about presenting twice in the same day at Region 11.  As an introvert, presentations take a lot out of me.  Regardless, I will give it my all.

Then in January at TCEA, it is a repeat of both presentations from Region 11.  Those have been scheduled on 2 different days.  So I am not as worried about the amount of energy I need for these.

If you would like a sneak peak of our presentations, here they are . . . 

• Prepping your Library One Year at a Time (Google Slides) - presenting 1 time
  
  
• Page Turning Triumphs: Exploring the Excitement of Reading Contests (Canva) - presenting 2 times
  
  
• Nobody's Got Time for That: Passive Programming for Students and Staff (Genially) - presenting 2 times

I was really sad that TLA didn't want our presentations this year.  Something about the amount of  people who submitted their ideas.  Apparently, theirs were better. So, alas, you will not see me presenting at the conference in Dallas this April.  But I guess there is always next year!

Second 6 Weeks Check In

 Another six weeks is behind us, and I think I am most proud of the books circulated this time around.  After comparing last year to this year, I believe we are on the right track.  I believe that has something to do with our new reading program, Beanstack.  I have both teachers and students participating.  That is what is driving up the amount of books being checked out.  This is also my goal this year due to my disappointing numbers last year.

Pam and I are presenting later this month at Region 11 and at TCEA this year.  Here is a slide where I am comparing last year to this year, as far as books checked out goes.  The first 6 weeks was a bit disappointing, but I was just rolling out Beanstack to my library introduction classes.  So maybe that is the reason for a few less books this time around. However, my hope is that by our presentation on Nov. 21st, I will have surpassed the whole of the 3rd six weeks from the year before.  I just have to fill in the blanks when the time comes.  As of the first presentation, I will be about 11 days into the 6 weeks.  Wish me luck!

Besides the book circulations, I am also proud of the database usage. My first year here, 1st 6 weeks, I recorded 354 searches within our databases, and roughly 200 of those were teachers using TeachingBooks.net.  Yes, I said 354.  @#$%! Google was definitely the friend of this campus when I first arrived.  Today I am happy to report we had 42,002 database searches this 6 weeks.  Less Google, more authoritative sources.  Yay! And I'm not saying Google is bad; it's just our students and their refusal to vet their sources from said search engine.  They want answers, and they want them fast.  Showing them how to vet a source is always taxing, but I still do it.  I guess more choose our databases after that presentation.  LOL!  

Book Review: Hurdles in the Dark

Here is my latest School Library Journal book review . . . 
 

Hurdles in the Dark is the personal memoir of Elvira K. Gonzalez, who is best known as a Mexican American athlete and track star. Elvira, or Kristi as many of her family and friends called her growing up, delves into overcoming immense challenges in her life. The majority of her memoir centers around her high school career as a track and field hurdler.  Kristi saw this sport as her opportunity to earn a college scholarship and to make a better life for herself.  However, the physical hurdles were not the only obstacles in her path.  Kristi had to jump many hurdles in her life as well including leaving the barrio where all her family lived, raising $40,000 to save her kidnapped mother who crossed the border for a wedding, being arrested and taken to a juvenile detention center, and being sexually abused by her track and field coach.

 Despite all the obstacles in her way, Kristi ended her high school track and field career ranked fourth in Texas and among the top twenty in the nation.  She committed to the University of the Incarnate Word with a full athletic scholarship where she was successful until a series of injuries forced her to quit the team and lose her scholarship.  From there, she moved to New York to finish the book she started back in the juvenile detention center.  Without a steady income, she found herself back in the sport of track and field; this time she was a coach.  Kristi eventually created a thriving track and field club team.  Then she enrolled in school and became a first generation college graduate. There are just so many life lessons packed into this memoir. 

The author’s writing style absorbs the readers into her world.  The readers experience all of Kristi due to the honest account of her setbacks and triumphs. She is able to write her memoir as if it were happening in the present due to the many journals and diaries she kept growing up.  The tone shifts to the grown up Kristi, or Elvira, once the reader reaches the Afterword of the memoir.  It is here that Elvira explains her life lessons, her college experiences, and her time in New York city.  She also talks more about the darker side of sports, grooming, and sexual abuse. This topic might be a trigger for some readers, but Elvira handles it with such ease and has facts to back up her statements.  All throughout the Afterward, Elvira talks about the importance of mental health and finding the right help. Her memoir is a cautionary tale meant to help others through the obstacles in their lives.  

Therefore, Hurdles in the Dark is highly recommended for any high school library, grades 9-12, that needs more memoirs emphasizing the importance of mental health.

A Look at the First 6 Weeks

 It has been a busy 6 weeks.  I introduced our new reading program, Beanstack, to all of our Junior ELAR classes, and the advanced Freshman and Sophomore ELAR classes.  I am hoping to get to the rest of the Freshman and Sophomore classes this 6 weeks.

Looking at the highlights, I can already see a difference in the number of books checked out by classes.  When I first started to keep the books checked out by homeroom statistic, the numbers were so low, like I think the largest number was 27.  27 books checked out by one class during a six weeks!  Yikes!  Now I see that the homerooms are checking out triple digits . . . mostly.  I call that an improvement.

The database usage looked a bit high for the first 6 weeks, and then I remembered that the ProCom classes were working on a speech, the Art I classes were researching art movements, and I showed some of the classes our databases when they came in for the Library Introduction.

So overall, I am happy with the usage statistics this 6 weeks.  However, I am excited to have the other Freshman and Sophomore classes come to the library so I can introduce Beanstack and the databases to them as well.

New School Year - New Goals

August 2024.  Year 30 in education. Year 22 in the library.  Why am I still here?

I can honestly say I feel myself slowing down.  I can honestly say waking up to an alarm that goes off at 4:45am five days a week is getting old.  However, I can also honestly say I really enjoy this job; I love the students, I love the people who work here, and I love my school.  That is why I am still here.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel . . .  retirement, but I'm not quite there yet.

After analyzing last year's usage statistics and the ones from the year before that, I decided my goal this year is to increase book circulation.  I have concentrated on technology for 2 years now, and it is time to get back to the basics - reading.  I have all of these programs to promote reading, but have I actually been promoting book check out?  Maybe, but not as much as I should as indicated by my circulation statistics.  To see that comparison, check out last May's blog, "End of Year Check In." 

One of my main tools to increase book circulation this year is Beanstack.  That is a reading program we purchased as a district this year.  It has been fun watching the students get back into reading.  If you are not familiar with Beanstack, it is a program where students can track their reading, earn digital badges, and prizes.  Every campus handles the prizes differently.  I have an online prize wheel that I let the students spin after they complete a reading challenge in Beanstack.  The prize wheel includes snacks, books, a large Sonic Drink, a medium Dutch Bros drink, and a Chick-Fil-A lunch.  The food and beverages were donated by way of gift cards.  Since our district policy is not to give out gift cards as prizes.  I purchase the food/drink for the students with the gift cards, and they come pick up their prize during lunch.  We will see how long the gift cards will last. 

I am looking forward to diving into this new reading program to see what I can do.  They have lots of templates you can use, or you have the option to create your own reading challenge.  I promise I am not getting any compensation for this product, but so far, I like what I see.

Book Review: Kisses, Codes & Conspiracies

 Here is my latest book review for School Library Journal . . . 

“Kisses, Codes and Conspiracies” by Abigail Hing Wen is equal parts romance and adventure.  Set in modern day Palo Alto, Tan Lee seems like a typical teenage boy who happens to have a crush on the girl, Winter Woo, who has rented a room in his home. After going to prom together, the two decide to distance themselves for the sake of their families.  In addition, Winter believes Tan still has feelings for his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Tseng.  Their plans go awry when Tan’s parents and Winter’s mom take a trip to Hawaii together, leaving Tan and Winter at home to babysit Tan’s little sister, Sana.  To complicate matters, Tan’s former girlfriend reappears on his doorstep after ghosting him for months.  She brings with her three rare coins stolen from her father.  Rebecca has run away from her parents and is trying to start a new life in California, and she needs Tan’s help.  After a 9-1-1 call that leads to the wrong people, Tan, Winter, Rebecca and Sana find themselves on the run, trying to outsmart international hackers with only one goal in mind: get home safely before their parents return from Hawaii.

Wen’s story is thrilling and keeps the readers engaged with her intricately woven plot twists.  The mix of high school drama with espionage is executed seamlessly, making the story both relatable and exciting.  Her writing style is crisp and engaging with a good balance of dialog and description. Her ability to convey the tension and excitement of espionage, as well as the emotional nuances of teenage life, makes the book a compelling read.

Verdict: “Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies” is a must-read for any young adult audience, but especially those who savor romance laced with a bit of mystery and action. Those who enjoyed “The Jump” (Simon & Schuster, 2023) by Brittney Morris and “Thieves’ Gambit” (Paulsen Books, 2023) by Kayvion Lewis will appreciate this fast-paced and entertaining story.

 

June Conferences

Two conferences this summer, both in June. I have attended the TCEA Virtual conference  for the 2 previous summers, and I really enjoyed it both times.  It fuses two of my passions, the library and technology.  

The other conference came as a complete surprise.  The library coordinator from Region 10 asked me to present at their virtual summer conference and their fall conference.  She was interested in seeing the presentation I did for Region 11 . . . "Prepping Your Library, One Year at a Time." I don't mind repeating a presentation, but I am always conscious of making sure I don't use the exact same slides every time.  The library is more fluid than that, and things happen from one year to the next.  Although I did not have to create this presentation from scratch, I made sure to add or take away items as appropriate to reflect this year.

For TCEA, I did create that one from scratch.  It was actual inspired by "Prepping Your Library."  There was just SO MUCH information in that particular presentation. I decided to take just a part of that presentation, passive programing.  In doing so, I am able to give the programs more time.  Instead of just a passing mention, I can go into each one and explain how and when I use them. Therefore, the TCEA presentation became "Nobody's Got Time for That: Passive Programming for Students & Staff."

I believe both presentation went smoothly.  With it being virtual, you can't really gage the faces in your audience.  So it's like flying blind.  After each presentation, I received a lot of "thank yous" and a few questions.  They sounded engaged to me.

I will be remixing both of these presentations for the next school year, and this time they will be in person.  I will be talking about "Prepping Your Library" again in September for the Region 10 Library Conference on September 11th.  And then *fingers crossed* I submitted "Nobody's Got Time for That" to both the state TCEA conference in February and the TLA conference in April.  Only time will tell.