How Things Are Right Now

What a wild ride.  I normally try to post a "back to school" update on this blog each year.  It's now October 22nd and I'm just now getting to the update.  That should give you an indication of how things have been going...BUSY!  I have not been a huge fan of the phrase "the new normal" so instead I will use "How Things Are Right Now" as the title for this update.

Our school buildings officially closed on March 13, 2020.  A return to in-person learning wasn't in the cards, but our classes and activities moved into the virtual environment for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.  This posed many logistical challenges, but also enabled teachers to use technology in different ways for creating learning experiences and fostering connections.  I worked hard to support teachers and students with resources, create lesson content and video tutorials, and extend special library programming.  Through the Microsoft Teams platform, we were able to host Gimkit trivia competitions, book groups, and even virtual author visits.

End of Year Report for 2019-2020

The summer before the 2020-2021 school year wasn't particularly restful, as plenty of uncertainty loomed regarding what school would look like in the continuing era of COVID-19.  Iroquois administrators chose to employ a hybrid model with a 100% remote option also available.  Cohort A students attend in-person Monday and Tuesday, while students in Cohort B attend on Thursday and Friday.  Wednesday in-person attendance alternates weekly between the two Cohorts.  Students learning remotely participate in each period via use of Microsoft Teams.

As the school year began, students stayed in their home base classroom for the entire day and teachers rotated into these classrooms to teach.  As of October 19th, students are now moving into different rooms for their classes.  The library remains closed to students, so this has posed some logistical issues for library services.

Book Access
The first hurdle of the year was rising to the challenge of getting books in the hands of students within the context of the new learning environment.  It was interesting to have to think about how to get books out without having the use of the physical library as a place to browse and checkout materials.  Many different strategies have been employed so far:

Sora Introduction: Each student in grades 6-8 has been introduced to Sora, our district's service for ebook and audiobook access.  I was able to introduce Sora in a couple of different ways.  Our library website includes a Sora information page which features tutorials on how to use the service.  Some teachers chose to show these videos to their students.  Other teachers booked time with me to visit their classes.  I either visited the classroom in person or virtually.  While virtual, I shared my screen via Microsoft Teams so all students could walk through Sora access step by step.  In our region we are also lucky to belong to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library system.  With a public library card, students can expand their digital book access through Sora by linking to the public library's collection.  Each student was also encouraged to utilize the public library collection and sign up for a card in case they didn't already have one.

Morning Book Browsing: Students are allowed to enter the building at 7:15 am, but home base does not begin until 7:40 am.  This creates quite a bit of downtime, but it's also the perfect opportunity for book checkout.  Each morning I wheel a cart around to the classrooms and students may check out books then and there.

BookHub: The last phase of this approach involved setting up a system for students to request books from the library.  While I was in Ms. Beauchamp's classroom reviewing Sora, her students commented that "BookHub" would be a perfect name for the book delivery service.  They even designed a gorgeous logo to go with the service!  Through BookHub, students can email requests, place holds on specific books, or request a surprise delivery.

Special thanks to Ms. Beauchamp's class for this great logo!

Book Promotion

Another concern was how to promote books in a climate where we are mostly virtual.  During last year's building closure, book clubs and book chats were held online.  Students and staff members had wonderful book recommendations, which were compiled and posted on the library website.  

In addition to sharing out these recommendations, reading teachers in sixth grade have also began promoting the 40 book challenge with their students.  As part of this challenge, students are asked to read widely across genres.  A genre organizer was shared with the teachers and I was "virtually" invited in to chat about genres and offer suggestions.  I'm blown away by the knowledge of the sixth graders!  This is a group that has read a TON of books.  They had amazing reading suggestions which they graciously shared with their classmates.

Book promotion also took place with Mrs. Maulucci's eighth grade ELA classes.  Mrs. Maulucci wanted to make sure each student chose something of interest for use during their independent reading times.  To aid in their selection, I used Wakelet to compile a collection of book trailers.  These book trailers corresponded to titles that were available in the physical library.  The Wakelet also included instructions for BookHub, so students were able to put in their book requests immediately.

I've been slow to post on social media these days, but the library Instagram page is still up and running!  I'll be using @iroquoismiddlelibrary to post library updates as well as book recommendations.  Goodreads allows me to keep track of books in the library that I've read; the app's widget pairs with both this blog and the library website to promote recently read titles.

Digital Citizenship

The increased emphasis on virtual learning has made it increasingly important to discuss both the benefits and pitfalls of being online.  Common Sense Media provides an amazing digital citizenship curriculum which I've been able to utilize and adapt to meet the needs of learners here at Iroquois.

So far, I've delivered digital citizenship lessons to seventh grade ELA classes and both sixth and eighth grade STREAM classes.  Topics covered included how to problem solve "red flag" feelings that arise while online, making a plan for digital balance, and analyzing the characteristics inherent in excellent digital citizens.  Each of these lessons contained a reflection component where students shared what they enjoy about social media and what they would like to learn next.

Student Voice and Making Connections

As would happen in a typical year, I look for ways to ensure that student voice and choice remain central to all of the offerings in the library.  While pushing into classes for the Sora introduction, I invited each student to fill out a brief library survey.  This survey asked students to share their insights as to books that should be ordered and programming that should be offered.  I look through all of these responses and add the requests to the library book order.  The feedback will also help me to determine which programming would be most well received by students.  As time allows, I individually respond via email to each student survey.  Sending this email opens up another line of communication with the students; it's my hope that making myself available to them will urge them to reach out should they desire anything from the library.

New this year are library bookmarks and postcards.  Minute Print in Cheektowaga, NY designed gorgeous items to distribute to students.  The bookmarks contain a QR code to the library website and also remind students how to care for books in the age of COVID-19.  The postcards will be sent home to remote students, or to the hybrid students just to say hello.  There's nothing quite like getting an ACTUAL piece of mail in this digital age!

Minute Print created these postcards to send to students.

Custom bookmarks contain a WR code for the library website.

Assisting Staff Members

Finding ways to help staff members has also looked a little different because of the health concerns we are now facing.  In previous years I would be planning our Book Bistro staff party and potluck in the library.  COVID concerns prevent that, so I've been sending out all staff emails with library updates as well as targeted emails with resources/ideas that would be of interest to individual educators.

Library Twitter is always a great place to go for fresh ideas.  I'm ashamed to say that I can't find the person that originally shared the template below.  However, I was able to adapt this library menu in order to share library offerings with the educators at Iroquois Middle.

Library Services Menu via Canva

How Things Are Right Now

To conclude, library services are still chugging along but just in a different form than in the past.  Being an educator right now is a tough mental lift.  I'm used to being able to perform at higher levels.  Tasks that were once easy now require tons of creativity and effort.  I can't think of another time during my career as a school librarian where I've worked so hard only to feel like efforts are falling short of the mark.  It is some comfort knowing that all educators are finding new ways to make it all work.  I'll continue to lean on colleagues for support and inspiration!

Iroquois Middle School Reads!

As our building closure continues, I long for the days of striking up a casual conversation about favorite book titles while browsing the shelves.  However, thanks to the technology afforded to us through Iroquois, our community of readers can still stay connected to discuss favorite book titles!  It just took a little creativity to get the ball rolling.

Every two weeks, students and staff from Iroquois Middle School have been meeting via Microsoft Teams video chat in order to share reading recommendations and anything else of interest.  So far, we have had three chats where dozens of titles have been discussed.

On May 22nd, we will be hosting a special Virtual Book Club meeting on the Library Teams page.  All are welcome to discuss the touching and humorous Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. The audiobook is available now through Sora!

After each chat, I have been compiling a list of all of the recommended titles from our Iroquois readers.  This keeps my own "to be read" list growing, but thankfully the digital copies of many of these books can be found online through our school's Sora subscription.

Here are the titles from our last three chats.  See any on here that you've read or would like to read?

Our Building is Closed, but the Library is Open!

March 2020 began just like any other month.  The library's schedule included a number of classroom visits, as well as special events.  The WNY Middle School Battle of the Books competition was gearing up, so students came to the library during lunch periods to talk strategy with their team members.  The Iroquois Girls' STEM Leadership Group began meeting in the library after school to plan the district-wide Family STEM Night slated for April 23rd.

Girls' STEM member tests out BeeBots and Keva Planks
for potential STEM Night stations.

Girls' STEM members work on a press release for Family STEM Night.

By the second week of March, it became clear that things weren't normal.  Maybe it was the full moon, the looming threat of Coronavirus, Friday the 13th, or a combination of all three.  The eighth grade Team DaVinci students had been working hard on their ELA/Social Studies WWII project.  By Friday the 13th, Mr. Baumgartner, Mrs. Maulucci, and I decided that students needed a little time and space to decompress.  We ended our classes fifteen minutes early that day so that students could chat, ask us questions, play games, and relax.  Eighth period study hall students enjoyed working on a Stick Together mosaic picture and making towers with Keva Planks.

Knowing what happened next, I'm thankful to have had this time to connect and relax with our students.

Eighth graders relax by working on a Stick Together picture mosaic.

Study hall students were making excellent towers with Keva Planks!

By the weekend, plans were in motion for school building closures at least until after the April break.  Iroquois administration worked swiftly to get plans in place for online instruction, meal delivery, and a host of other concerns.  With 1:1 device access, wifi available on campus while practicing social distancing, amazing support from our district technology department, and teachers already using Microsoft online tools for instruction, working solely in an online environment was possible!

The tough part, at least for me, is that I didn't get into education in order to work from behind a computer screen.  Libraries are all about building community.  Missing the in-person library visits from students and staff has been a struggle.

Transitioning to Online Learning
The overall mission of school libraries has always been to assist school community members become effective users of information found in a variety of formats.  With gains in technological capabilities, this has meant adding increased access to digitized information.

School library websites have been great repositories of information: subscription database portals, information about digital books, and curated pages for classroom projects have always been available, well before COVID-19 entered our vocabulary.

Moving into the building closures, I had some concerns about delivery of library services.  How can the community aspect of a school library carry into a digital environment?  How can instruction continue?  How can I assist students and staff in a way that is helpful and not overwhelming?  What about that deluge of "free" resources now available: what is purposeful, what raises student privacy concerns?  

Like the rest of educators, I continue to build the airplane as I'm flying it.  A couple of weeks into this new reality, the following are some strategies I've applied in order keep the Iroquois Middle School Library program moving forward.

Connecting to area library organizations: Right away, library organizations scheduled Zoom meetings in order to give area librarians a chance to meet virtually in order to share ideas and resources.  The School Librarians' Association of Western New York organized a Zoom meeting and moved their scheduled professional development sessions to online formats.  Both the Erie 2 BOCES School Library System and the Western New York Library Resources Council solidified plans for weekly Zoom meetings for member librarians.  I can't thank the library leaders in my community enough for these meetings.  So far, I have attended every session because of the tremendous value they offer.  Librarians are eager to learn and share, as evidenced by the conversations had in the Zoom meetings.  Through these sessions, I have had many of my concerns answered.  I gained information about strategies to connect with the community while keeping student privacy protected, and what resources are available to help our students, staff, and families.  The most valuable takeaway from the meetings is the strong sense of camaraderie within our WNY library community!  We're all in this together and willing to lend a hand to each other.

Virtual library presence established: One of my first responses to the building closure was to find comfort within the pages of a favorite book.  I was sure that there were Iroquois Middle students also feeling the same way!  Authors and publishers have eased recording restrictions in order to provide educators the opportunity to record read alouds (this article from School Library Journal does an amazing job outlining the new guidelines).  I chose to read Ghost by Jason Reynolds in its entirety.  To protect the property of the author, I posted the read aloud files to a newly-established Iroquois Middle School Library page on Microsoft Teams.  This ensured that the read aloud would only be available to members of the school community.  The Teams page was also established to create the library's virtual community presence.  In addition to the posted read aloud, this page will also house book talk video chat sessions, book reviews, and trivia competitions using Gimkit and Kahoot.  The first book chat is scheduled for April 10th.  I'm using student input to guide future offerings!

Curation of resources: A positive outcome during these challenging times has been that educational professionals, authors, publishers, and educational technology companies have been extremely generous with allowing access to their resources and services.  Although this has been amazing, it has also been overwhelming!  Instead of sharing out all of these resources out little by little, I've created a new page off the library website called "Learning at Home" in order to keep a growing list of helpful resources for our community.  Librarians' roles have always included curation.  Now, our curation efforts have been driven into high gear because of the urgent need to share relevant resources with communities.

Brief and purposeful communication: The amount of change and the volume of information has been exhausting, to say the least.  My goal during this difficult time has been to offer assistance in ways that are gentle instead of overwhelming.  I decided to send out a weekly email to staff, sharing links to curated resources and other pertinent items.  Utilizing smore.com, I emailed a library update newsletter to all Iroquois Middle students.  This newsletter showed them how to access the library Teams page and other resources.  Within the newsletter was a live link to an embedded Microsoft Form.  This form asked students for feedback on what to purchase to enhance our Sora ebook/audiobook collection, as well as their ideas for upcoming virtual library events.

Continuation of instruction: As I mentioned earlier, our Team DaVinci eighth graders were well into their research project when the building closure began.  Because the research project is the culmination of many information literacy, critical thinking, and writing skills that students have been working on all year, it was decided that the plans already in motion should be continued.  Instead of offering students mini-lessons on research and citation topics, I used Screencastomatic to record online tutorials for students to view at their convenience.  Symbaloo was a great tool to present helpful websites for student research.  All of these items were available on a project page located on the library website.  Students completed their research notes, citations, and drafts within Microsoft Class Notebook, making it possible for educators to check in on student progress.  Microsoft Teams allowed for virtual office hours via chat (with the added bonus of meeting students' parents, siblings, and pets!).  Students have also been sending their research questions via email.

Although this new method of instruction is not without its hiccups (equity issues persist in education, and are even more pronounced now), it has been a helpful way to keep students engaged in their learning.  I'm happy to report that research projects scheduled from before the building closure are still slated to continue!  Of course, these projects will look a little different.  During collaborative lesson planning, the classroom educators and I will discuss how to best meet the needs of their specific students.

Staying grounded:  Most importantly, I realize that I am in an extreme position of privilege by being able to continue my work in this fashion.  Those working on the front lines in public positions of all types are worthy of respect and awe.  I'm doing my best to stay safe and healthy, not only for myself, but for the community.  Establishing a sleep schedule, eating healthy, exercising, and connecting (via phone/text/video chat) with family and friends has been a priority.  The shift to online learning means that time itself starts to feel more fluid: healthy routines and boundaries are needed more than ever before!

Monthly Report for March 2020.

Although the building stays closed, our library remains open--eager to share resources and build community.  It's impossible to say when things will return to normal.  However, when they do, I hope that added opportunities for digital connections continue.  In education, it's all hands on deck as we continue to move forward.  Libraries will always be there to lend support!

Welcoming Spanish 7 and 8

The first two months of 2020 proved to be a busy time in the Iroquois Middle School Library.  Book checkouts, either from the physical library or from our digital OverDrive collection, remain steady.  There have also been a variety of visits across classrooms and grade levels. 

January 2020 Monthly Report

February 2020 Monthly Report

While it is natural to think that library and ELA/reading would be a natural pairing, other subjects frequent the library as well!  It was exciting to welcome both seventh and eighth grade Spanish classes into the library to kick off 2020.

Seventh Grade Spanish Book Creator Project
Ms. Marcinkowski brought her classes into the library for the second straight year for a project utilizing the Book Creator resource.  Book Creator is an online platform allowing students to create their own polished digital books.  I first learned of Book Creator through the American Association of School Librarians as it was chosen as a 2018 Best Website for Teaching and Learning.

The three day project was set up in a similar fashion to last year's visit led by library student teacher Ms. Allison Ryan.  One major difference between the projects was the subject matter.  This year, Ms. Marcinkowski's students focused on making books related to classroom objects, school supplies, and their likes/dislikes of different school subject areas.

Day one of the project was devoted to organizing project ideas into a storyboard outline.  Students partnered up to work together on figuring out what they would put on the cover and ten pages.  Each page would consist of an illustration, a sentence in Spanish, and a student audio recording of the Spanish sentence.  This storyboard helped ensure that students would have a solid plan before utilizing the Book Creator service.

Storyboard student example.

Students were responsible for ten page digital books.

Each page would include an audio narration in Spanish.

During day two, the classes received a brief overview about how to log in and use Book Creator.  How to add pages, backgrounds, illustrations, text, and audio were discussed in depth.  After the overview, students then got to work creating their digital books.  On day three of the project, students put the finishing touches on their project, including audio narration.

It was great to see a high level of enthusiasm and engagement during this project!  Teams worked efficiently and effectively in order to get their project completed.

Eighth Grade Spanish Green Screen Project

New for this year was a visit from Mrs. Germann and her eighth grade Spanish students.  Mrs. Germann was up for trying something different, so we decided to make use of the recently purchased green screen!  This screen and the accompanying lighting are housed in the library's back room, a perfect place for a student recording studio.

Prior to visiting the library, Mrs. Germann challenged groups of four students to develop a Spanish script pertaining to our school's dress code.  Each student would have at least four lines of dialogue.  Although it wasn't required, many students chose to memorize their scripts.  Other groups relied on note cards or cue cards during recording.

When groups came to the library to record, they were given a short amount of time to rehearse their lines and prepare their props.  Each group also had to decide on a background that would be used in place of their green screen.  We used the image search capabilities in Bing in order to find appropriate backgrounds.  Bing has a filter feature which allows users to search for only the images that are free to share, use, and modify.

Groups then took turns using the backroom of the library to record.  The green screen and the lighting really transformed the library into a professional recording studio!

The bright lights helped to remove shadows from the background.

Each group member had four lines of dialogue.

Some groups asked classmates to hold their cue cards.

Once each group recorded, the green screen background was swapped out with the image found via a Bing search.  On day two in the library, students learned how to use the Microsoft video editor app in order to add a title slide and credits (in Spanish, of course) to their finished project.  Some groups even went the extra mile and added background music to their videos!

On the Friday after the project concluded, Mrs. Germann showed the completed videos for each group that felt comfortable sharing their projects.  Special awards were also given out in a variety of fun categories for groups showing extra degrees of preparation or creativity.

Mrs. Germann was kind enough to bring in an award for me!

Student feedback on this project was varied.  Some students did not like recording themselves, which is totally understandable.  Seeing or hearing yourself on film can be unnerving!  Other students really enjoyed the opportunity to use technology to display their Spanish language knowledge in a creative way.

It's always wonderful to have our Spanish classes visit the library!  We look forward to seeing these classes in again soon.

End of Year 2018-2019

Although the weather doesn't want to cooperate, summer IS actually here!  Today marked the eighth grade graduation ceremony, a bittersweet day of endings as well as new beginnings.

Looking back upon this year, there were many wonderful things happening in our library. More teachers and classes utilized library services, more books circulated, and there were ample opportunities for students to take part in "extras" such as book clubs and STEM groups. 

As next school year will be here before we know it, I'll be taking some time to participate in summer professional development sessions in order to gather more ideas for the library.  It will be exciting to see what awaits in 2019-2020!

Girls in STEM/Iroquois Family STEM Night 2019

The spring of 2019 marked an exciting time for STEM learning within the Iroquois Central Schools community, but let's start at the beginning! 

During April 2018, I had met with Mrs. Ferger and Mrs. Nicosia in order to apply for a grant through the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to support STEM efforts for under-served communities.  Although it took a few months of waiting, we had finally heard in the fall of 2018 that our school was the recipient of a generous $50,000 grant from the foundation!  The purpose of this funding was to support STEM education initiatives for groups that were traditionally underrepresented in STEM career fields.  We all felt passionately about gearing our efforts towards supporting girls in their STEM learning.


Forming the Girls' STEM Leadership Group
Once we received the grant funding, I met with Mrs. Ferger and Mrs. Nicosia in order to solidify our plans.  We were ready to organize a Girls' STEM Leadership Group comprised of outstanding girls in grades 6-12.  The STEM teachers in the middle and high schools sent us names of girls in their classes who were hard workers, displayed leadership qualities, and would benefit from receiving additional opportunities in STEM.  Invitations to our group were delivered to each of the girls.

The invitation sent to our outstanding STEM students.

As the date for the first meeting approached, we weren't sure what to expect.  Would anyone show up?  We were surprised (and relieved!) when over seventy girls showed up to our inaugural meeting on March 5, 2019.  The purpose of the meeting was to explain the purpose of our group, the timeline of activities, and to gauge interest in the ideas we had planned for the remainder of the school year.

Timeline of events for the Girls' STEM Leadership Group.

The majority of our group's focus would be the creation and facilitation of a Family STEM Night open to the Iroquois community.  Although the Iroquois primary schools have hosted STEM nights for their students, never before has Iroquois had a STEM event open to all K-12 students and their families.  The plan was for interested students in our Girls' STEM Leadership group to take an active role in the planning and implementation of this exciting family event.

Planning for Iroquois Family STEM Night

With dozens of girls on board for our Girls' STEM Leadership Group, we were now full steam ahead with planning Family STEM Night.  This event was to be held on April 9, 2019, so we had just under two months to piece together all of the details.  Our group held five after school meetings in order to solidify the STEM Night plans.  During these meetings, the group members took care of many details, including:

• Brainstorming station activities
• Planning and preparation for each station, including writing out instructions for hands-on stations
• Writing press releases for the event
• Designing event flyers to post in each school building
• Sorting flyers to distribute to all Iroquois families
• Creating signage for each room
• Sending out event details via Instagram
• Sorting supplies for the robot contest and gift bags for attendees
• Signing up for shifts during STEM Night so all stations would be adequately staffed

Instructions made for the Glow in the Dark Slime station.

Sorting publicity flyers to distribute to each building.

Cutting out signage to go in front of each station.

Although it was a lot to ask in a short period of time, the members of the Girls' STEM Leadership group did an amazing job preparing for Family STEM Night.  Along with a small group of teachers who volunteered to assist, we were ready for the event to begin.

Iroquois Family STEM Night 2019

No one could have expected the amazing turnout we had on April 9th for Family STEM Night.  An estimated 700 people came to Iroquois Middle School to enjoy a fun and educational evening of STEM activities.  We had so many people attend that we quickly ran out of family gift bags and event programs!

As each family entered the middle school, they were given a program which outlined the event's offerings and activity locations.  The first 100 families were treated to a gift bag featuring a STEM book and other fun goodies.

Program distributed during Family STEM Night.

STEM Night swag, featuring a student-designed logo.

Families were then ushered into the auditorium where Dennis George, also known as the Quizmaster, was leading a rousing Family Feud-style activity.  Mr. George continued to entertain large crowds throughout the evening.

Dennis George was a highly entertaining presenter!

There were a variety of activity stations located throughout the school.  Families came and went to each station at their leisure.  The offerings for the event included:

Magician Demonstration

Nichols Robotics Team Demonstration

Coloring/Hands-On Microscope Stations

Robot Voting Contest (students made robots ahead of time for the chance to receive prizes)

Robot Making

Praxair Cryogenics Demonstration (complete with liquid nitrogen ice cream!)

Forensics Fun

Buffalo Museum of Science Stations

Straw Rocket Launcher Contest

 

Glow in the Dark Slime Making (this was VERY popular and VERY messy)

DIY Math Bombs (families made their own bath bombs)

Virtual Reality Roller Coaster Simulation

Robot Finch Hands-On Coding

Duct Tape Crafts

 

 

Drone Coding Challenges

 

Although it was amazing to see the happy faces of all of the event's attendees, the best part of the night was witnessing the joy and pride that the members of the Girls' STEM Leadership Group displayed throughout the evening.  Their ability to plan and implement an event at this large of a scale is a testament to their efforts and abilities!  It was a privilege to see each girl grow as a result of this special leadership opportunity.

 

 

Mrs. Nicosia, Mrs. Ferger, and I are thankful to all that have made the Girls' STEM Leadership Group and the Iroquois Family STEM Night possible.  There are so many people that have lent their support, including teachers, staff members, and parents.  Although Family STEM Night is over for this year, there is still some fun in store for the Girls' STEM Leadership Group!