Tutors on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

If your student needs help with any subject, send him/her to the library for tutoring help. IB tutors come on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 a.m.

Our hallway sign reminds students to stop by for tutoring.

21st-Century Learners at Irondale Middle

In an day and age when just about everything is moving to an online format, it is incumbent on teachers to teach their students how to operate in a digital world.

I am proud to say that we are moving more in that direction every day at Irondale Middle. Our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Rachel Holifield, just created an online ballot for homecoming representatives!

Now that, my friends, is an excellent example, of a 21st Century Skill. She created a ballot for each grade through Google Drive (a Google App formerly called Google Docs).

Think, Create, Share, Grow is an American Association of School Librarians tagline and I am pretty sure we just grew at our school!

Google Drive - Check out the App today!

Swirling Solo!

Well, this is the first year of flying solo or "swirling solo" which rolls off my tongue in a way that's a bit more fun!

In the middle school setting swirling solo means I'll have a lot more student aides swirling around and I'll be swirling a lot more myself around the school and back to the library before a flurry of e-mails sends me to the next task! I am looking at this transition in a positive way.

At first I did not see working alone in the Library Media Center as a good thing. I only saw more tasks ahead of me and wondered how I would get it all done.

What I have found instead is lots of teachers pitching in to help other teachers on their hall with setting up technology and a lot more teachers stopping by the library to talk about future collaborations.

So, I am excited about this! Here is how I will handle some of the housekeeping issues:

1. Create self-checkout for students in Atrium.
2. Allow students to take on an ownership role in creating huge dsiplays in our very large display case.
3. Allow students to take on a bigger role in management of Nooks - counting them and making sure they stay charged.
4. Demonstrate to students how to troubleshoot issues on teacher laptops and send them out to take care of it (The Fn (function) key being the largest of these issues). Perhaps I'll create a laminated sheet of various problem-solving tips or let "guided inquiry" take over! Many times the techie student can figure it out on his/her own.
5. Allow students to assist teachers with pulling books and assist students with software, hardware, and website issues.
6. Bounce ideas off students for grants and contests.
7. Provide a student chair and rules for being behind the desk.
8. Students with the best handwriting will be able to abbreviate the genres in the fiction collection - since my library is genre-fied.

All in all it's going to be a more student-centered and student-led Library Media Center. No, there is nothing earth-shattering and very new here, but I think it's going to work. I am ready to swirl! If this is the case for you, have a great year and leave a comment about how you will manage the year.

Our former library aide, Mrs. Barker, working one of our many bookfairs. Have a great year at your new school, Mrs. Barker!

 

Kids and Healthcare

Forbes magazine features an article on healthcare, children's knowledge of healthcare and access to medical school for more people than just those who can afford it. Here's a link to the online article: Medical Schooling for Children

With medical care costs in the billions and all of us affected by it, you might want to take a look at this author's opinion on children learning earlier about healthcare.

More Information on Phishy Things...

Kids by now have probably been talking about the great videos they have seen on online tracking and cyberbullying produced by Common Sense Media.

Here's another one put out by our own government that looks equally as informative and friendly to use. Information on scams, protecting yourself online and securing your computer's safety is available.

Check it out and let me know! Compare it to www.commonsensemedia.org. Which do you like better?

Summer Reading and Online E-books at The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is a great place to visit for kids, teens, parents and educators to find out more about free books to read and read them right in your browser. If your browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.) asks you to download Javascript, go ahead and click "yes".

The Arabian Nights is just one of many books you will be able to read that is out of copyright. This is exciting stuff! Kids who don't have a device, but do have a desktop computer or laptop can read e-books right from their chair and turn the virtual pages! These books are beautiful, full of illustrations of the kind that you would not be able to afford, but can view online.

Maybe your child just wants to read non-fiction. He/she can find it here and browse African American History or Architecture and all the way up to the Zs!

Images of baseball cards, cartoons the Civil War, and the Dust Bowl are just waiting for your child to go check them out. The Library of Congress is an incredible spot to browse, read, and find out more this summer about the world right from your desktop.

Artwork Outside the Library

Take a look at the beautiful student artwork outside the halls of the library.

This past week the art department and library teamed up to host a family night. Parents and students browsed the gallery halls and shopped the bookfair.
Thank you to those who joined us!