News from the Media Center

Mrs. Craver and Mrs. Santiago are looking for at least 2 teachers per grade level & department (preferably on different tracks) to serve on the Media & Technology Advisory Committee. This year we will be completing a county survey and choosing an area of focus for our program. Your input is of great value! We will meet once a month in the morning from 8-8:45. If you are interested in being on this committee please email Mrs. Santiago. Thanks!

How are things going with your Chromebooks? If you do not have your key yet, complete the 3-1 course in Canvas and then come see Ashley for your key!

1st through 5th grade students have been practicing logging in to their portal in Technology so they should all be ready to log in to a Chromebook. Feel free to contact Ashley if you need ideas on how to use the Chromebooks effectively in your classroom.

***Please make sure you put the lock on your cart the correct way! They will get stuck if you put them on backwards!***

Please check to make sure your room has the appropriate grade level Dibels Next Kit. If you do not, or are missing anything from your box, please let Lindsay know ASAP. If you have a box that is for a grade that will not be using that room this year, please bring it to the Media Center.

Our goal this year is that every student bring their own set of headphones to school. These headphones would be for any time they use a device that makes sound. There are many reasons for this decision - first and foremost being cleanliness and comfort. Also, the headphones the school was providing cost approx. $15 each and we cannot afford to continually replace them as they break (which happens more frequently than you'd think). We understand that not all students will be able to bring in headphones, so after you get a good feel for your class, if you are short a few pairs - we will give you a couple that you can assign to those students for the year.

Due to the Tech lab becoming CCR and Ashley and Lindsay having classes all day there will be very little opportunity to sign up to bring your class to use computers. Luckily there are chromebooks all over the building now!

The only available block is when we are at lunch. If you're interested in signing up for that time slot please click the link below. There are 36 laptops available.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090d45a5ac29abfb6-media2

The media center opens for students at 8:45 and closes at 3:45.

*Please note that the media center is closed during dismissal*

During arrival - students must report to their classroom FIRST before visiting the Media Center. This allows them to unpack and check in with you and get your permission to come exchange a book. 1st-5th grade students are ready to start doing this - Kinder teachers, please wait until after I let you know your class is ready for independent check out.

During the day - students in grades 2-5 may come to the Media Center at any time of the day as long as they have your permission (and are wearing a library pass). Please do not send more than 3-4 students at a time to help limit disruption as both Mrs. Craver and I will almost always be teaching when they come in.

We are going to be more strict about requiring students to wear/bring a library pass every time they come to the Media Center this year. Please help them remember to wear them each time, as this is the only way we know for sure that you gave them permission to visit the Media Center.

If you are in need of library passes please email Lisa Perry (leperry@wcpss.net) with how many you need. Each class should have 3-4 passes for students to use when visiting the library to get books throughout the day.

The number of books students in each grade can check out is as follows:

K - 1

1st - 1 (July-Dec.), 2 (Jan.-June)

2nd - 2

3rd - 3

4th - 4

5th - 5

*If you are doing projects with your students and want them to check out extra books on their topic I will temporarily increase their check out limit!

If you want to sign up to bring your whole class to check out books please use the link below. It will take you to Google Calendar appointment page. When you select a block and fill in your name, it will add that to your Google Calendar. If you would like to sign up for a specific time every week, email Lindsay and she'll set that up for you.

Link to Calendar

Students in grades 3-5 are invited to apply to become a Junior Librarian. Junior Librarians work one day a week in the Media Center from 8:45-9:10. They help younger students check in and out books, shelve materials, and do any other tasks needed each morning. Mrs. Santiago will explain the job when she sees your class for the first time. Applications are due July 27th. After that date she will go through and make decisions and let the students know who was chosen. If your students or parents have any questions have them contact Mrs. Santiago.

We (Tech and Media) will be using Google Classroom with grades K-5 this year! If you are interested in using it with your class, We'd be happy to help you get things set up. Hopefully, the extra practice using it with us will mean things will go smoother with you when you use it!

We did some rearranging in the Media Center during clopening. If you're having trouble finding a book because it is not where it was last year or would like a tour, let Mrs. Santiago or Mrs. Perry know!

Due to a very full schedule this year, we will not have many open times to schedule extra lessons. However, we will be seeing almost every single class on a regular basis. So if there is a topic or specific lesson that you would like us to cover with your class please let us know! We'd be happy to incorporate your class content and needs into our lessons. We're even willing to skip what we had planned to help with what you're doing! Use us as a resource! :)

The Leveled Book Room has a database of ALL the books in that room. The link below will take you to a Google Sheet that has each set's title, author, number of copies, Guided Reading Level, Lexile Level (if we could find it), the old Wake County level, whether it is Fiction or Non-Fiction, and any notes about the book. The database is organized by level and is searchable (by going to Edit and selecting Find and Replace). The very best part is that you can access this list at home! Now you can know what we have in the Book Room without having to be in the Book Room! The database is below and also linked from the Teachers portion of my website.

Leveled Book Room Database

If there is a specific title (or many titles) or a topic that you wish we had more books on please click the link below and fill out the form. I will also be adding this request form to my website and email signature for any future requests.

Book Request Form

Mrs. Santiago

Mrs. Craver

Mrs. Perry

Email: llsantiago@wcpss.net
Website: aresmedia.weebly.com
Phone: 919-544-2474
Twitter: @librarylindsay