Smore logo
remove_red_eye 390
page background

Oakland Library Update

Back to School - August 2023

Oakland Library Update Back to School - August 2023
Oakland Library Update Back to School - August 2023

November 2023 November 2023

Ms. L in the Library
zoom_out_map

Happy November! I don't know about you but I am DYING for a break. I just want to sleep all the way through fall break like a hibernating bear, except on Thanksgiving when I'll get up to watch the parade and eat so much macaroni and cheese that I fall asleep again.


November and December are going to FLY by with all the things happening around Oakland, including the thing I'm MOST excited for, Book Fair! I'm anticipating record sales this year, and I can't wait to spend the book fair week celebrating the joy it brings our kids to pick out books. I know many of us remember the book fair from our own childhood, and I want to make sure our kids leave elementary school with those same great memories.


I want to make sure the book fair is a great time for teachers, too, and I'm working hard to include all of your input and suggestions so that it works for you. Below, you'll find a Google Form with some space for you to give me some feedback on what will work best for you. While it's really easy to only send kids who bring money to the book fair, we want to make sure every kid gets a chance to look around and get excited, because PTO, our donor parents, and I are working hard to provide books for those students who are unable to purchase books.


One way we're doing that is a special VIP event we are planning for Friday, December first, so stay tuned for that exciting opportunity!


Book fair doesn't start until December, so take a look at the rest of my newsletter for some November stuff too!

open_in_new

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month Celebrating Native American Heritage Month

Native American Heritage Month - November 2023
zoom_out_map
This month we're celebrating Native American Heritage Month, which is a celebration that is very near and dear to my heart. I love sharing information about the many indigenous nations and their art, culture, history, and contributions. I know that this can be a tricky subject for many educators, especially in elementary school, due to the dark history of the treatment and eradication of native Americans and their tribal cultures. I'm working very hard to provide information on these cultures with fidelity and respect in a way that is appropriate and uplifting while remaining truthful.


Thanksgiving stories and themes can be especially problematic, and I have lots of resources to help teachers provide a caring approach to this content, so if you plan on including any Thanksgiving stuff in your curriculum, feel free to reach out! I'm happy to help!

Beanstack Info! Beanstack Info!

We've been doing an awesome job on Beanstack so far, but there is still room for improvement! We have the very REAL possibility of meeting our community goal before the end of 2023! As of October 31, we only have 90,000 minutes left to read, which sounds like a lot, but we read over 108,000 minutes in the month of October alone! If we meet our goal this month, it's pretty likely we will be able to get some district recognition, and you know how we like that!


  • Teachers - start logging some minutes, please! I know some of you are reading the Book Club books, the reading you do out loud in class counts, log it all! It will really help our count!
  • Kindergarten - let's chat about how we can use Beanstack in the Kindergarten classroom!
  • Prizes are given away every Friday for Beanstack achievements, so be sure you are watching ONN!
A Quick Beanstack Intro
Learn how to log in to Beanstack, how to log reading for your whole class, and how to log your OWN reading. This video is less than 3 minutes long! Be sure to log your OWN reading as well. I'm talking to you, Book Club!

Book Fair News Book Fair News

A Special VIP event.

With some help from PTO, I'm planning a special VIP Book Fair shopping event for Friday, December 1st to help support our library and book selections for all students. I'm hoping to invite parents to pay a small donation for the opportunity to shop before everyone else, and to hype up the shopping event with coffee and treats. This is my first time planning an event like this, so if you have any ideas or any insights into what your parents/families might be interested in, I'd love to hear them. I'd also love to include some door prizes for the grownups, so if you've got any hookups with local businesses, I'd love to reach out to them and see what we can work out!
zoom_out_map

New Book Spotlight

It's big book order season! In the next few weeks, I should start receiving the first of almost three hundred new titles! This order was a mix of non-fiction in the 500s, some updated award winners in picture books and fiction, and a few new elementary manga series (those are so popular, but there are so few for elementary school kids!)

As they come in and get processed, they will be on display until the book fair, and probably still on display in January, when we'll start gearing up for our second big book order. If you have any requests for titles we need to add to our library, please feel free to add them to my shopping list here: Books we need for the library Form!

zoom_out_map

News to Know from the Library World

South Carolina State Department of Education has started to discuss the possibility of state control over what books are in our school libraries and classrooms. Currently, districts and schools control these factors, and many (if not most), such as our district, employ certified librarians (many with library education or k-12 library backgrounds) to make these policies and decisions. There isn't much information about what the state is actually proposing. The details are unclear and the state board says that its still a "first reading" of the proposal, but so far we have not seen any evidence of librarian support in this decision-making process. So far, no trained librarians have been identified as being a part of this decision, and with the states recent decision to cut ties with the South Carolina Association of School Librarians, and the American Library Association, there is genuine concern from librarians across the state. Again, we don't have much information so far, but it is something we're closely monitoring and I will do my best to update you as we know more!
zoom_out_map

BTS Lyric of the Day

I just wanna be happier


[ Blue & Grey ]

Sarah Laskowski
Sarah is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters
Loading indicator

close

Created with

Communicate quickly and effectively with interactive newsletters.

Smore empowers educators to connect with their community, streamline school communications,
and increase engagement.

Create a newsletter