Short Week, Busy Schedule

Due to Veterans Day and no school next Wednesday, the school week is short. But the IMC schedule is very busy. The Reference tables are reserved for 7th grade Social Studies Monday through Thursday. 8th grade Social Studies takes those tables on Friday. The computers are in use every day - Monday for 6th grade Social Studies, Tuesday for 7th grade Social Studies, Thursday for 8th grade Science, and Friday for 6 grade Language Arts which is the introduction to Accelerated Reader. AND 7th grade Language Arts classes will be checking out books on Friday. If you happen to see 2 librarians slumped over their desks next Friday, please be kind!

The Year Is Racing By

Here we are at the end of October - 2 months of school are over. This has been a week of book check-out by 8th and 6th grade, some computer use by Health classes, and field trips for 7th and 6th grade. The relatively quiet week has given the librarians a chance to prepare many new books. Keep checking our new book section because many books are added each week. Of course those that have been on display for a while are taken down and shelved to make room for the new titles. If you are interested in seeing the list of new books for the month of October, you can do an Advanced Search on the IPAC. Check the catagory called Marked and type an "O" in the blue search window. Click the Search button and in a few moments you will have a list of all the new books prepared in October. There are some really good reads in that list. (If you are interested in September titles, use a "S" instead of an "O".

There are few reservations for next week, but the teachers have spent most of this week preparing for parent conferences. I'm sure things will pick up next week.

Get in the Spirit of Halloween

Where did this week go? It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about this week and now it's over. The computers were in use every day. Some of the 6th grade LA classes came to use the Mimio board for a grammar lesson. Students came in from various classes to work on and finish posters and projects. Just a normal week in the IMC!

Computer Games Day today had a one-day-only special for online Halloween games since there is no school next Friday. I have gathered 5 websites with great Hallowen games and linked them to the Lakeview library webpage. Anyone can enjoy these games by following these steps: Go to the Lakeview library webpage. Scroll down to the IMC Links section and click on Student Links. Open the folder called Halloween Games. Choose any or all of the website links to find jigsaw puzzles, hangman, mah jongg, and arcade-type games all related to Halloween themes. Have fun!

Next week shows very little computer activity (so far). Both 8th grade and 6th grade are scheduled for book checkout. And there may be more Mimio board activity coming, too. There are several book displays around the IMC showing the Halloween-type books -- haunted houses, ghosts, witches, and the history of the holiday. Time to get let the "spirit" grab you.

The IMC IS in Full Swing!

This past week has been very busy in the IMC. The computer were in use every day. Mrs. Crews brought her classes to use the mimeo equipment. 7th grade came for a book talk and book check-out of non-fiction, fiction, or biography that followed themes in their classroom novel The Cay - survival, people with disabilities, and the World War II era. Preparing for those book talks was special fun for me because of the variety of themes. It was great to give students a chance to choose non-fiction books, too. I attended a technology meeting at Downers Grove South High School.

And next week looks to be just as busy. Computers are in use every day but Wednesday (so far). Several classes will be using the presentation/research section of the IMC throughout the week. Mrs. Wilson and I wonder if we will ever have time to prepare all the new books.

Monday, October 19th is the start of the IMC Halloween Trivia Contest. Students who can answer correctly 5 trivia questions about this holiday and related topics will win a Computer Games Day Pass that can be used any time during the year. Since there are 50 different questions, students have a chance to win up to 10 Games Day Passes. In addtion if students can correctly identify the keyword or key phrase in each question, they can receive a Chance Coupon to place in the Halloween Cauldron. On Thursday, October 29th Chance Coupons will be drawn for spooky treats and surprises. Look for the holdiay decorated tin on Monday and try to answer those questions. All answers are verified in World Book Online.

Busy Again!

I'm glad there is a long weekend coming up because the IMC was busy this week. Computers were in use every day. 6th grade social studies had a one-day research project on ethnic groups who immigrated to the United States using books only. The 7th grade accelerated LA class came in for book checkout with a book talk on mysteries. The IMC staff had their October meeting. And today was Games Day with more students participating than last week.

Also coupons were given out for the Accelerated Reader Points Clubs. At mid-term and report cards, I check the total points earned by each student. If a student has earned 25 points in Accelerated Reader or multiples of 25, they are eligible for a prize. The coupon sent to the student is brought to me and redeem for a prize. Prizes include Pop-a-Point pencils, variously shaped pencil sharpeners, erasers, key rings in a variety of styles, and other interesting and, hopefully, unusual items. With this motivational component, students are encouraged to read more AR books and take the AR quiz for that book than are required in the classroom. A list of the books included in Lakeview's AR program can be found by searching our I.P.A.C. online catalog for the subject "Accelerated Reader." We have over 1600 quizzes. For me the nice feature is that the program keeps track of the points earned and the points used for prizes. Students are able to accumulate points over their years at Lakeview.

The week ahead looks quieter but that could change at any time. Right now there is only one day that the computers are reserved. And we build up to Friday when the rest of the 7th grade comes in for book checkout. Since they are reading The Cay, by Theodore Taylor, their teachers have chosen these themes from the IMC bibliography list: Survivor List, Miracle Worker List, and World War II Fiction List. Students will be able to choose fiction or nonfiction from any of these lists. I am looking to introducing students to some great reads.

Did I Say This Was a Normal Week?

It's amazing how quickly what looks like a quiet week in the IMC can turn into a busy week - Music classes researching and working on projects - Social Studies students researching and working on projects - Computer troubleshooting in the classrooms - Problems with the laminator - and on and on. In addition I was trying to install an update on the library automation system and ran into problems in 2 of the three IMCs. Fortunately that was solved by contacting tech support from our automation system.

Now next week looks busy on the computers with a variety of classes reserving their use, but the rest of the IMC seems quiet. That could change, but I do hope to get some time to work on more new books. There are some many great books almost ready for check-out. Take a look at my other blog "What's New on the Book Shelves" for some great reading ideas.

Now that it is October Computer Games Day on Fridays has started again. Today was our first Games Day and it went relatively smooth. On Games Day students, by themself or with a partner, get to choose from a list of CD-ROM games to play during their study period. It is always chaotic at the beginning of study as students wait in line for their turn to pick a game. But after about 5 minutes when everyone is settled, the room gets quiet as gamers get involved in their choice. Some of the most popular games are Battleship, SIM City, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and of course The Sims. But we also have a lot of new games this year like Chessmaster 9000, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Sudoku/Kakuro Mania, and Sorry!. I sure these games will also catch on as the year goes by.

A Normal Week

This past week was in the regular pattern for the IMC. Several classes came in during the week to use computers. Some small groups and individual students came to the IMC to take a test or finish homework. There were lots of students in the IMC before school and at study working on a variety of projects and assignments. And a number of students came in during the week to return or check out books. Since the librarians were not directly involved with the classes in the IMC (We're always here to assist or troubleshoot problems.), we were able to work on new books. There are about 40 new books displayed in the New Section each week now. Be sure to stop by and take a look

Next week appears to be a repeat of this week with even more computer usage. Also the 8th grade LA classes will be coming to the IMC Monday for new book report choices. There will be a table display of my recommendations for great book reports. It is often easier to choose a book if you can see its front cover.

REMINDER: IF YOU STILL HAVE BOOKS FROM THE SUMMER CHECK-OUT, THEY ARE OVERDUE. PLEASE RETURN THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I START TRACKING DOWN STUDENTS WITH SUMMER OVERDUES NEXT WEEK.