Beecher Feature

The Decatur Central HS library team is here to help support teachers and students in any way we possibly can. The challenges of extended eLearning time have been met by our admin team, teachers and students with dedication and perseverance. Decatur Central is strong and the entire community has shown Indianapolis that we are #DecaturProud for a reason. We support each other in more than just academics, and it has been encouraging to see the MSD community rise up to support others to the best of their ability.

This Beecher Feature will highlight some of the resources shared since mid March. Your Decatur Central HS library team has been working behind the scenes with the Indiana Library Federation, Lucinda Nord and a host of other school librarians who are working diligently to provide appropriate resources to their own populations. Additionally, and certainly of great importance, we are collaborating more than ever with our community partners at the Indianapolis Public Library....more on that later!

One tool that we hope will entice teachers and students to continue reading is the DCHS Book Bingo game. Teachers and students who participate will be invited to an ice cream social once we are all back together again.

The bingo game has been emailed to DCHS teachers and administration team and posted on the DCHS Media Center webpage. It was also Tweeted from the @dmbeecher Twitter account (*ahem* follow!). Students should have received the bingo game via their CCR teachers. The instructions for the game are on the game board. If you need some help or guidance, we are happy to help!

Hey DC! What are you reading? That is the very question asked on our DC Reads Flipgrid board. All are invited to respond to share what you are reading - but remember: No spoilers!! We love seeing the posts from teachers and students - so keep them coming. Need a book recommendation? Then head over to our Flipgrid to discover what others are reading!

Yep, there are loads of options for accessing eBooks, eMagazines, videos, audio books, and more....simply too many to list! It can be overwhelming. We feel that promoting what is already familiar is the best bet, which is why Axis 360 is at the top of our list right now. The bonus? It has great tools for teachers to encourage their students to stay focused and on track with their reading. Teachers can assign books and then monitor their students' reading through their admin login with Axis 360. A tutorial video has been created that I am happy to send out to those DC folks who request it. I am not able to post it on the WWW!

Our own partner, IndyPL offers us a host of platforms to engage in eBooks, audio books, video, and magazines - all free with your Indianapolis Public Library card!

Need your library card number? We've got your covered! Email Deana Beecher for help - it is an easy fix!

This is a great time to test out the coolness of Newsela. Decatur Central is already a paying subscriber school! Currently, all Newsela collections are open access - so dive in! Our school subscribes to two (soon to be three!) Newsela collections: English/Language Arts, Social and Emotional Learning, and soon based upon the positive feedback we have received, Science.

Take some time to check out what these collections have to offer while they are free. They are standards based, and adjustable according to your students' Lexile. Assessments are customizable too! If you have never used the Lesson Sparks feature, check out the video that we created for one of our own DC Choice teachers, Leslie Fairchild.

If you have not had an opportunity to check out our interactive eBooks, then we highly encourage you to do so! We have had rave reviews! All DC teachers and students have their own login credentials. If you or your students are having trouble accessing, reach out - It is an easy fix!

You will find a handy Google Slides presentation on the Media Center webpage. This will guide you through some eLearning resources. For privacy, credentials to some resources has been omitted - hmmmm.....I wonder how folks can get their credentials if they have forgotten? ;-)

The Community Works Institute (CWI) is hosting a virtual conference: Teaching for Community Without a Classroom. The conference will take place Saturday, May 16, 2020 from 11:00am - 5:30pm EST.

Workshop sessions will arm you with tools to help your learners be successful in the virtual classrooms. The extra cool factor? Decatur Central's very own Kayla Gerlach of the Choice Academy is the Operations Engineer for CWI and has played a key role in the development of the virtual conference. We are #DecaturProud!

Register for May 16th Conference and gain Member access to reduced rates for all upcoming events and Institutes, along with innovative educational resources from our partners and contributors. Upcoming conference dates include: May 16 and June 6.

What a thrill it was to host author, Em Bailey, not once but twice during our eLearning time. Em Bailey, an Australian who resides in Germany (interesting!) was generous enough to meet with our DC students and teachers after her trip to the US to see us in person was cancelled due to the COVID 19 pandemic. She first met with Q&I teacher Mr. Patrick Soltys-Curry and his Creative Writing students. Her presentation was engaging and quite enjoyable! She spoke with the students about the writing process and asked them specific questions about their own writing. The icing on the cake was the fun writing activities that she showed us. They were thought provoking and I have a feeling they will be used again in the classroom! ;-)

The second session was specifically for teachers and students who read one of her most recent Rosie books, The Special Ones. Students and teachers were invited to the session and question Mrs. Bailey about her process and thoughts regarding this spooky tale! Her transparency was deeply appreciated as she shared her struggles with writing YA fiction. The Special Ones has been very popular at DCHS so if you would like to read it, you can NOW via Axis 360! A special thanks to the teachers who helped promote and joined in the session: Haley Campbell, Patrick Soltys-Curry, Kayla Gerlach, Kamille Jacobs, and Emily Blue-Trepton.

The Everywhere Book Fest is a virtual celebration of authors, books, and readers that brings the book festival experience to everyone!

On May 1-2, the book festival will open its virtual doors and unveil two free full days of live and pre-recorded sessions with your favorite picture book, middle grade, and young adult authors.

Check out the festival schedule here.

Deana Beecher - dbeecher@decaturproud.org

Bil Carter - bcarter@decaturproud.org (yes, just ONE "L")

Website: https://www.decaturproud.org/central-high/media-center
Twitter: @dmbeecher