LRC Weekly Update

Exciting news — Epic is back for staff and students this year! If you haven't explored it yet, Epic is a wonderful digital library bursting with thousands of books, audiobooks, and read-along stories your students will love.

Getting started is quick and easy: just create your educator account, add your students, and assign a first book to get the ball rolling. And to make things even simpler, I've created an infographic how-to guide that walks you through every step — no guesswork required! 💛

Once you're all set, you'll get a class code to share with your students. They just head to classlink, open the Epic app, pop in the code, and tap their name to start reading. Epic is available at school Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Happy reading! 📖✨

We are excited to share a brand-new resource for both staff and students: Digital Choiceboards! Located right on the Teacher Hub website under the Choiceboards tab, these interactive boards are designed to make learning engaging and accessible.

• Our Premier Launch: Our very first choiceboard celebrates Peter H. Reynolds and focuses on his famous "Creativity Trilogy"—The Dot, Ish, and Sky Color!

• Where to Find Them: Head to the Teacher Hub website and click on the Choiceboards tab.

• Student-Friendly & Approved: All featured videos are hosted on Google Drive or other district-approved sites, making them completely safe to share directly with students as secondary learning resources.

• Rich Content: Each board highlights key information about the featured author and books, alongside built-in read-aloud videos for students to watch and enjoy.

• What’s Next: Keep an eye out for future updates! Upcoming choiceboards will expand to include built-in digital resources, activities, and worksheets.

Be sure to check out the Choiceboards tab today and start sharing these fun, inspiring resources with your students!

We are excited to offer teacher seats for two powerful tools designed to boost student engagement, literacy, and interactive learning: Blooket and BookBreak!

• What is Blooket? A fast-paced, trivia-and-review platform that turns learning into interactive classroom games. It’s perfect for exit tickets, test prep, or energetic skill-building sessions that keep students motivated through custom game modes and rewards.

• What is BookBreak? A virtual author-visit platform that connects K–12 students directly with bestselling authors. Each monthly session includes live-streamed author talks, interactive Q&A, and pre-built lesson resources aligned with standards to inspire young readers and writers.

Featured Upcoming BookBreak Virtual Author Visits: Get your classes ready to tune in live or watch the recordings on demand! Mark your calendars for these incredible author events:

• September 16: Chris Van Dusen — Author and illustrator of If I Built a School

• September 22: Max Brallier — Author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Last Kids on Earth

• October 1: Yamile Saied Méndez — Author of What Will You Be?

How to Join & Get Started: Reach out to the LRC to schedule a virtual author visit for your class! You can choose to bring your students down to book the LRC space or stream the visit directly in your own classroom.

Interested in a teacher seat? If you’d like access to either (or both!) of these subscriptions for your classroom this year, please reach out so we can get your account set up!

We are thrilled to launch our new Indoor StoryWalk, designed to give students a fun, active way to recharge their minds and bodies during the school day!

• Our First Feature: We’re kicking things off with The Big Umbrella—a heartwarming tale about inclusion and community.

• The Route: The story begins right across from the BRS and Math specialists' rooms, wraps down the gym hallway, continues along the community room hallway, and wraps up beside the PBIS wall.

• The Pitstop: Conveniently, the walk ends across from the gym bathrooms, making it easy for students to take a quick bathroom break before heading back to class.

• Fresh Reads: Stories will rotate out at least once a month, so there will always be something new to discover!

A huge THANK YOU to Pana and Sarah for installing our wonderful new page holders and making this whole setup possible!

Whether a student needs a quick walking break to reset or simply loves a good book, this new walk is open and ready. Encourage your students and staff to take a stroll on their next pass!

We are looking into ways to make read-aloud time even more magical in our classrooms, and we’d love your feedback on Novel Effect!

• What is it? Novel Effect is an award-winning app that tracks your voice as you read a print book out loud and automatically plays matching music, sound effects, and character voices in real time. It’s a low-prep, high-impact tool that turns standard storytime into an immersive, multi-sensory experience.

• Why educators love it: Beyond boosting engagement and comprehension, it keeps students focused, supports ELL learners, and makes read-alouds unforgettable.

We want to hear from you!

Would a Novel Effect subscription be something you’d regularly use during your literacy block or read-aloud time? Please take 30 seconds to answer this poll question so we can gauge interest for a potential teacher bundle or building-wide subscription!

Teachers, please copy and paste the blurb below into your upcoming classroom newsletter to help spread the word to our Richmond families!

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Explore Our New LRC Website for Families! 📚✨

We are thrilled to share our brand-new Richmond LRC Family Website! Designed as a digital hub for our school community, this page makes it easy to stay connected with everything happening in our library.

By visiting our site, families can:

• Explore Digital Resources: Access online databases, e-books, and research tools for home learning.

• Stay Updated: See current library programming, read-aloud highlights, and special LRC events.

• Discover Reading Recommendations: Find curated book lists for every reading level to keep your students inspired.

Check out the site with your student today: Richmond LRC Family Webpage!