Beecher Feature

The Decatur Central High School media center strives to support the curriculum of the school, provide 21st century resources to all learners, and positively impact skill development to use those resources.

Your DCHS media center team would love to be your partner and do what we can to support student learning.

Welcome back for the 2021-2022 school year - let's grow together!

We started hosting classes with a bang last week with BreakoutEDU activities for Q&I English students. It is always a treat to collaborate with with teachers using BreakoutEDU and it is especially wonderful to see the outcome of the collaboration.

Ms. Fife, English teacher in the Innovation Academy, joined us this week as well so her students had plenty of space and resources to work through a BreakoutEDU activity that supports their growth in literary devices.

While some students utilize the library for collaborative work, others take advantage of the large space to sit alone and read. This student made my day....as I walked by I heard her talking. No, she was not talking on the phone, she was reading out loud to herself to improve her English. Occasionally she asked about specific words, so we discussed how they are used, and she dove right back into the book. If this doesn't inspire you, I do not know what will! Oh my heart!!!

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

Yep, it can happen! Sometimes little hiccups occur and we have to shift and pivot. When the internet connectivity was interrupted, we didn't skip a beat. Students (and teachers!) in the library were able to stay mentally engaged with other activities that kept their brains focused and (gasp!) entertained!

Check out a few fun moments!

There are several new staff members who have joined our teaching family, and so it seems a great time to share more information (and remind some of our seasoned teachers) about our Shared System library program.

What does this mean?

Your DC school library media center has a unique partnership with the Indianapolis Pubic Library and a few other local schools. So, we are a "branch" of sorts, of the Indianapolis Public Library. The advantages this affords are numerous.

Teachers in Marion County are allowed a personal library card and a Shared System Room (SSR)card. Stop by the DC library to learn more about how your SSR card may be used to borrow resources to utilize in your classroom for an extended period of time.

Guess what?? Your library card is not just for checking out books!! Your library card allows access to many other types of resources. Curious? You should be! Check out this presentation to learn about the perks of owning a library card. #CoolKidsUseTheirLibraryCard

Looking for a deeper dive? Check out The Nuts and Bolts of Your Library Card document.

Integrated features, including Web Links and Google Maps, complement curriculum topics from science to social studies to learning and literacy. Do you need a little boost in getting your students actively engaged in their texts? The Lightbox Interactive eBooks can help support your efforts!

Lightbox is easy-to-use in the classroom with a projector, or individually on students’ personal devices. The activities, maps, weblinks, videos and interactive quizzes make learning fun and introduce core topics in an entirely new light.

The interactive ebooks are open access, therefore, your entire class (or the school!) may use the same book at the same time.

The Sounds of SoundzAbound - our royalty free music library which meets all the licensing and technology requirements needed for education!

Cross your fingers for virtual reality - Yep, send some positive vibes our way as we wait for grant funding to add virtual reality to our resources.