LOTS OF NEW BOOKS

It’s been quiet in the IMC this week so we have concentrated our efforts on getting many new books ready for checkout.  Here are a few examples:

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer - A companion book to the second book in the Twilight series New Moon.

Tell Me by Joan Bauer – Anna must spend the summer with her grandmother but a peculiar incident at the local library leads her to a case of human trafficking.

Ice Claw by David Gilman – Following his harrowing adventure in The Devil’s Breath, Max Gordon’s race to win an extreme sports challenge becomes a race to survive.

The Survivors by Will Weaver – The family who escaped destruction when a volcano eruption destroyed their Minneapolis home in Memory Boy, now must survive winter in a remote cabin without anyone finding out that they are living there illegally.

The IMC has also added the final books in these series: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (book 4) – The Testing Trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau (books 2 & 3) – The Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan (book  12) – Legend series by Marie Lu (book 3) – Tunnels series by Roderick Gordon (book 7). 

And lots more! Come and take a look at the New Books Display by the whiteboard in the IMC for our latest additions to the collection..

ALMOST DONE WITH PARCC…

for this session. There are only a few makeup tests to do next week. PARCC testing will return in May for End-of-the-Year tests. That means that Lakeview and the IMC will get back to normal. Already the 8^th grade ELA classes have signed up for book checkout next Friday. I expect other grades to follow shortly. Fortunately I was able to get a good number of new books ready for checkout and many of them have RQ (ReadnQuiz) tests.

There are also several interesting book displays in the IMC right now. In honor of Women’s History Month, we have  HIS-Story and a HER-Story display for the men and women of our country’s past. To follow up on the History Fair, there is a display of Illinois books – Fact and Fiction. Finally for STEM Night there is a display for each of the letters of STEM – Scienc, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Visitors are always welcome in the IMC, especially to look at the displayed materials.

SORRY FOR THE LONG SILENCE

On February 17^th I stumbled in the parking lot and broke a bone in my left foot. Trying to get my life back to some kind of normal has been difficult. In the meantime our district has begun PARCC testing and I am supervising students with make-up tests. Next week we continue with PARCC testing and will hopefully finish by the end of the week with this round. Then in May our student will take end-if-the-year PARCC and the final round MAPS testing for this school year. This is a lot of testing but our students have stayed focused and seem to be doing well. Unfortunately we won’t have PARCC results until next school year.

 

Just before we started PARCC testing there was a flurry of IMC activity as each grade’s ELA classes come in for book checkout. It was hard for me to set up table displays to help with selection but my wonderful IMC Club (student volunteer group) help out by gathering the books I wanted and laying the table displays. I think students got a chance to select from many of our new books. My aide, Mrs. Wilson, says she saw many great choices as she checked out books to the students.

LAST CALL FOR CONTESTANTS…

…for the Spelling Bee. Right now we have no competition in 7^th and 8^th grade. The students who have signed up so far are winners unless there are walk-ins next week. Remember the Spelling Bee is offered to all grades on a voluntary basis. Two students from each grade move on to the District Bee. Interested students may still sign up in the IMC and pick up a word list for their grade. Walk-ins on the day of the grade level Bees are welcome.

The District Spelling Bee will be held Monday, February 9th, at Prairieview beginning at 9:30 AM.

Grade level Spelling Bees will be held this coming week according to the following schedule. The IMC will be closed during the grade level Bees.

Wednesday, January 28

     Study A - 8th grade      Study B - 6th grade

Thursday, January 29

     Study A - 7th grade

SPELLING BEE COMING SOON

The Spelling Bee is offered to all grades on a voluntary basis. Interested students should sign up in the IMC and pick up a word list for their grade. Walk-ins on the day of the grade level Bees are also welcome.

 

The District Spelling Bee will be held Monday, February 9th, at Prairieview beginning at 9:30 AM. Two contestants from each grade will participate.

Grade level Spelling Bees will be held next week according to the following schedule. The IMC will be closed during the grade level Bees. Please let me know if you have questions.

Wednesday, January 28

     Study A - 8th grade      Study B - 6th grade

Thursday, January 29

     Study A - 7th grade

OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL..

So it’s great time to curl up with a great book! Fortunately the regular 8^th grade ELA classes had the opportunity Monday to select new book report books. The only requirement besides being grade level appropriate was that there was a ReadnQuiz available. This gave the students a wide range of possibilities. Hopefully they took advantage of the days school was closed (Wednesday and Thursday) to do some reading and really get into their books. I suspect that other ELA classes will soon be coming to the IMC for a new book report book too.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The MAPS testing is over. The assignments are finished. The projects are done. Now it is time to enjoy the holiday with family and friends while wrapping presents, watching holiday movies, and curling up with a good book. See you all in the New Year.

WE HAVE BEEN BUSY!!!!

Where did the month of November go? Somewhere during that month I presented to 7^th grade Social Studies classes a Research Road Map covering a variety of print and online resources available to them for their History Fair project. Mr. Little shared the Road Map with students so they have the access link and login information.

We also have lots of book checkout – 6^th graders got books with a courageous character for their unit, 7^th graders got books about respect and tolerance (fiction or nonfiction), regular 8^th grade classes choose ReadnQuiz books, and advanced 8^th grade classes choose mysteries.

I have also been visiting classrooms where new technology programs are being used like Google Classroom, Glogster, Geometer’s Sketchpad, and Nearpod. This has led up to my creating Google Classrooms for 6^th and 7^th grade students. In 7^th grade the students accessed, filled out, and shared with me a graphic organizer about Novelist which we used to assist with their respect/tolerance book selection. 6^th grade students viewed and responded with first impressions to the 2015 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award nominees using Nearpod (program which combines a PowerPoint presentation with survey responses). I used the presentation prepared by the Caudill committee and inserted 4 responses for each book – basically Yes, Maybe, No, and Already Read. The 6^th graders seemed to enjoy filling in the survey after I book talked each book.

HALLOWEEN ONE WEEK AWAY!

The Halloween Trivia Contest continues through October 31st. 6^th grade is still our best contestants, but a few 7^th and 8^th graders are catching on. Next week the IMC kicks off its first ever Try To Scare a Librarian Real-Aloud. Student may sign up to read a spooky story or book chapter to Mrs. Wilson or Miss Hagensee before or during study. So far two students have signed up to take out challenge.

6th graders will get a special Halloween treat on October 31st when Miss Hagensee visits the ELA classes with a special spooky story.

HALLOWEEN TRIVIA CONTEST ---- WOW!

The 6^th grade has taken the Trivia Contest by storm! Such enthusiasm!  And now the other grades are finding this contest. Currently 63 students have submitted at least one correctly answered question for a prize. And that number grows every day. Several students are coming close to answering all 60 questions. With 2 weeks left in October – and the contest – I will have to set aside a few special prizes for anyone who could finish all 60. And now in additional to the witch’s cauldron, there are now also prizes kept in a coffin.

Next week the IMC will start scheduling for the Try to Scare a Librarian Read-Aloud. Your challenge is to pick a story and read it to a librarian during the week of Halloween. Each reader will have 5 minutes to try to scare us. You can choose a short story, a folktale, or a book chapter. If you have a good scary idea, come to the IMC next week and sign up for a time before school or at study.

HALLOWEEN TRIVIA CONTEST

Welcome to a month-long celebration of all things Halloweenie! The IMC proudly announces the return of its Halloween Trivia Contest for the whole month of October. Currently there are 60 trivia questions about things related to Halloween. For every correct answer you get a prize.

WARNING #1 -- Your answers must match mine and I got all my answers from World Book Online (login and password available in the IMC).

Bring your completed trivia question form to me ONE QUESTION AT A TIME. I will check for duplication, then check your answer.

WARNING #2 -- You may only answer each question once for a prize.

If your answer correctly matches mine (and you have filled out the form correctly), you may pick a prize from the Witch's Cauldron. The cauldron is full of fun Halloween stuff like glow-in-the-dark spider web bookmarks, graveyard tattooes, pumpkin necklaces, treat-or-treat rings, creepy crawly things, skull and crossbones pencils, and more.

The 6th grade has already discovered the fun of our Trivia Contest. What they don't know is that they are practicing informational text skills while they earn prizes. More special Halloween events coming soon!

A QUIET WEEK

This past week has been rather quiet in the IMC. That has given your librarians a chance to work on getting more materials ready for you to check out. While I have been working on getting the audiobooks ready with new bags and checking that all the pieces are in the bag, Mrs. Wilson has been working on her part of getting new books ready for the shelves and check out. Next week I will give those new books their final check to be sure they are shelf-ready and then you will have the opportunity ti check them out. Keep your eyes on the New Book Display by the windows for some great new additions to the IMC collection.

DON'T FORGET to return your summer paperbacks. Our racks are still pretty empty as we wait for the last summer checkouts to come in. Return them next week and avoid having your librarians track you down and nag you! Your grace period is almost over. Don't lose your IMC privileges from your overdue books.

6th GRADE ORIENTATION

This week 6th graders came back to the IMC for part two of library orientation. Last week we talked about 6th grade authors and book checkout at Lakeview, followed by checking out a realistic fiction book for their book report. In session 2 we compared and contrasted the Prairieview and Lakeview IMC and how they operate. Then working with a partner (or two), students filled in a map of the IMC identifying places from a direction sheet. This gave the students an opportunity to walk around the IMC and learned where things are located.

DON'T FORGET to return your summer paperbacks. Our racks are still pretty empty as we wait for the last summer checkouts to come in. Return them next week and avoid having your librarians track you down and nag you!

IMC RETURNS TO NORMAL BUSINESS

The fall MAPS testing is done. The fall benchmarking in AIMSweb reading is done. Now the IMC can return to its library business. With everything that was happening this past week, ELA classes from all three grades found time to come to the IMC and check out books. All but one of the 8th grade ELA classes also had the opportunity to try my new and improved scavenger hunt about IMC procedures. I haven't scored the papers yet so I don't know how well they did. Special thank-yous to Mrs. Boyer's 1st period ELA class for creating new questions (with answers) for me. Hopefully, very soon, 7th grade ELA classes will have their turn with the scavenger hunt. Next week 6th grade ELA classes will return

to the IMC for orientation so they will better understand how the Lakeview IMC works. If all goes well, they will have a map activity to help them learn their way around the IMC.

DON'T FORGET to return your summer paperbacks. Our racks are still pretty empty as we wait for the last summer checkout to come in. Return them next week and avoid having your librarians track you down and nag you!

YIPPEEEE!

The IMC open on Monday as a library! During the week ELA classes will be coming in for orientation and/or book checkout. There are a lot of wonderful new books, as well as many old favorites, to read this year. Of course we want each of you to review IMC procedures. I have some new and interesting ways to do that this year. And yes, the IMC will be open at study beginning Monday and before school beginning Tuesday. Now for the schedule: 8th grade ELA comes Monday -- 7th grade ELA comes Friday -- 6th grade ELA comes Tuesday.

That was the good news. Then there is the bad news. The IMC is closed all day Thursday (including before school and study for AIMSweb Reading benchmarking. After Thursday I am not expecting any more shutdowns of the IMC until mid-term MAPS in December.

WELCOME BACK...

...as we start a new school year. I hope you all had a terrific summer AND still had time to do a bit of reading. Please remember that all summer paperback checkouts and Summer Reading Logs are due next Tuesday, September 2nd. I know it may have been difficult for you to bring these items to the IMC since we're not really open yet. But all you had to do is drop your books into Book Return 2 located in the hallway across from the IMC main entrance OR bring books and Reading Logs into the IMC. That should only take a few seconds. If yu can remember to return your books directly to Mrs. Wilson on Tuesday, you are eligible for Spartan Stars. That would be a great way to start off the year!

Next week is MAPS testing. Since the IMC computers are used for testing, the IMC will not be open for regular business. Our official opening day for full service is Monday, September 8th. IMC Before School starts Tuesday, September 9th, when passes will be available in the gym to come and use the IMC beginning at the 7:35 bell. I forward to seeing all of you in the library so I can show off the great new books we have for you.

SUMMER READING PROGRAM STARTS

All current 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students are invited to participate in the 7th annual Summer Reading Program -- Dive Into Reading. 5th grade classes and 6th and 7th grade ELA are visiting the IMC from June 2nd through June 9th to learn about the program and kick off their summer reading by checking out up to 5 paperback books for the entire summer. Our Summer Reading Program consists of keeping a Reading Log of everything they read from magazine articles to graphic novels to ebooks and beyond -- as long as it is at least one page of text. Summer reading does not have only come from Lakeview books. Anything goes! Reading Logs are due on September 2nd. Then I will conference with every student who turns in a Reading Log and award prizes. While our prizes cannot compete with public libraries' and online programs' prizes, I think the students will enjoy their choices. Copies of the Summer Reading Program are currently available in the IMC. Once summer vacation starts, they will be online on the Lakeview Library webpage.

Since we have quite a large paperback collection, we offer students the opportunity to check out up to 5 paperback books for the entire summer. These books are due September 2nd, just like the Reading Logs. Unfortunately the IMC is not open during the summer so once the school year has ended, students will not be able to exchange their books for others. A box will be placed between the main doors of Lakeview for students who want to return their books early. I am in and out throughout the summer so I can check in any books returned to the box.

Also watch for my special summer blog where I talk about the books I am currently reading and invite students to comment on my choices and make suggestions of other titles I should read. Keep reading alive through the summer with out Dive Into Reading Program.

END-OF-YEAR COMING

Now that the benchmark testing is done, the IMC is preparing for the end of the school year. All IMC materials are due on Friday, May 23rd. (The only exception are the paperbacks checked out by 6th grade for their final book report.) During the week of May 27th, the IMC will conduct an inventory of all its materials. Based on the results of this inventory certain items may need to be replaced or re-purchased next year. Then beginning June 2nd the IMC proudly announces its Summer Reading Program and Paperback Book Checkout. Students are encouraged to keep a reading log (form provided) of everything they read this summer and return the log to Miss Hagensee in the fall for prizes. To get students started the IMC allows students to check out up to 5 paperback books for the entire summer with these books being due after Labor Day. These summer programs are open to all current 7th, 6th, and 5th grade students. All ELA classes for these grades will be invited to a presentation and checkout time in the first week of June.

THANK YOU...

to all the students who participated in our special School Library Month contests -- Puzzles for Prizes and Book Trivia. The students who turned in puzzles won a library book bag or a Crazy Prize (which were the most popular choice). Crasy Prizes are nice junk or stuff donateds to the IMC. Since the Book Trivia Contest awarded a prize for every correct answer found in NoveList, students had a variety of prize possibilities including special bookmarks, ribbons, eraser tops for pencils, special decorative erasers, pencils, and pencil pals (the MOST popular!). A very special thank you to the IMC Club members who helped write questions (with answers) for the Book Trivia Contest. For those of you who missed it this year, these contests will be back next April.

CELEBRATE!

April 13-19 is National Library Week. To celebrate the IMC is opening its doors before school (7:35 AM) for students to come and play book/library games. We have card games: Media Motion (played like Charades) and What's the Word? (played like 20 Questions). We have board games: Bookopoly (played like Monopoly) and Pirates of Plagiarism (played like Bingo). We have Name That Source (played like Trivia Pursuit) and Book Hunt (played like Scavenger Hunt). There are online games linked to the Lakeview Library webpage. Click on Student Links on our webpage. Then open the folder called Book and Library Games and have some fun.

All next week there will also be a Book Trivia Contest based on information found in NoveList K-8. On the Lakeview library webpage, open and log in to EBSCO Host for find the answers. A prize will be given for every correct answer.

Join us for a fun-filled week celebrating National Library Week.