STEM - Do you know what it means?

This weekend I heard a great advertisement about STEM. As an educator, I have known what STEM means, but as a parent - do you know what it means?

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The advertisement was geared to parents and was asking them to ask their children what career they were interested in. It also encouraged parents to get their kids interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math because those subjects are where the jobs will be in the future.

And that's where the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) comes in...

Did you know that the AVL has a huge amount of resources on colleges and careers? Just click on the Career Library tab.


 This page will appear.

The site displays an Exploration Center, a Resource Center, an Activity Center and over to the left students can click on resume creator and a Search for Colleges tab on the sidebar.

This resource is valuable and all parents should see it!

College tuition, fraternities and sororites, subject majors, and a whole world await this discovery in this online resource.

Middle school is not too early to think about STEM and college.

E-mail me if you have questions about navigating the website!

Students Enjoying Speaker during Constitution Week

A number of students were able to participate in hearing Congressman Spencer Bachus' Field Representative Ethan Vice today.

He spoke about amendments to the Constitution; what it means when the flag is flying above the White House (that President Obama is at home); decorating the Oval Office and how the President gets to choose his desk. Obama choose John F. Kennedy's desk.

Students had lots of questions about the safety of the White House, what's underneath the White House, and how long a person can serve as President.
They also each received a pocket-size version of the Constitution of the United States. Hopefully our speaker will join us again in the spring so more students can enjoy hearing about our government!

The Best Thing about Tuesday and Thursdays...

is The Tutors!

Remember, tutors are here from 7:20 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. to help with every subject. And it's not just for struggling students - tutoring is for all levels of students. That's just one way students get smarter - by working with smart kids who've been there, done that in middle school.

So, join us in the library on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for talk about math, history, science, social studies, ideas about papers and projects.

We hope to see you soon!

 

Surprise! A Classroom Wish List Granted!

Community partners are truly the fairy godmothers of the education world.

The AT&T Pioneers Volunteers started passing along Box Tops to us last year which has been a big help. An even bigger surprise is the letter I received in my box today - $100 of supplies from the AT&T Pioneers!

So, thank you to the fairy godmothers who are our partners out there getting teachers what they need. I've made my list and thank you for the opportunity!

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!