District Library Newsletter 9/26
Giving THANKS and sharing the numbers!
This past week I had a candid conversation with a parent about lost book fines, library budgets and the impact of these on limited check out privileges. After our discussion, they said they are sending a check to cover all lost book fees for OPE and Grant Watts students because they want kids to take books home and spend less time on screens. GRATEFUL, THANKFUL and APPRECIATIVE are only words and don't even come close to the immense gratitude I feel that families and students are getting a fresh start for check out at OPE and Grant Watts. If your child had a fine, you should have gotten an email showing that the fee was waived and your balance owed is zero.
All of my Library Specialists and myself want kids to check out books and take them home every week more than anything AND research shows that there is no other investment in education that closes the achievement gap faster than a strong school library program as it cuts through all racial, cultural and marginalized barriers by allowing students access to information and knowledge building experiences.
This is why we don't charge any overdue fees to our students throughout the district. Unfortunately, we don't have the budget to replace books that are never returned or books that are damaged. We have a very long backlog for replacing lost/damaged books and many books cannot be replaced with Scholastic Book Fair funds as Scholastic doesn't publish many of the books that are lost.
The American Association of School Libraries says that a district of our size should invest approximately $23,000 a year to support the collections in our 5 libraries - this would cover replacing books that are worn, damaged and lost as well as supporting minimal collection development with newly released books that update and enhance the current collection. My budget, in total, across all 5 libraries is $3,205.50.
This budget is what our district buildings can afford to share with our libraries - the amount is not low because they don't believe in what we are doing, our district is EXTREMELY SUPPORTIVE of our libraries; it is low because we have a very lean budget and it is all they can give. WE ARE SO LUCKY to even have a library program (or budget) as all the programs surrounding us have either been cut back or completely eliminated. We have added staff and accessibility for our students this year and I am grateful that we have a thriving library program.
I am sharing this because I want everyone to know, we are doing the best we can with what we've got and our mission is to put books in the hands of EVERY student who wants them each week - but, sometimes we have to put some limits on what leaves school to make sure our books find their way back because we can't afford to replace all the books we lose each year!
Thank you for your support and thank you for helping to get books returned on time so all our students have access to great books!
Warren Elementary
We are having a lot of fun and learning so much together in our Library space in the Specials Room at Warren! We created our "Dot" art this week that honors the book, The Dot, that we read last week!
All our students openly embraced the challenge to channel their inner artist for this project and it turned out great!
Each week we get better at navigating our library time complete with Book Look and Exploration time. It continues to be a great year in the Eagle Library!
Grant Watts Elementary
It was SO great to see all of you at Back to School Night! Thank you for stopping by the Library and "checking things out" - I was so happy to see you!
BREAKING NEWS!!: This week a VERY generous community member stepped up and paid for all the lost/damaged book fines for our families at both Grant Watts and OPE! All families who owed a fine for a lost or damaged book received emails letting them know that their fines were waived and their accounts have returned to good standing. This is such an amazing gift - the best way to honor this generosity is to do our very best with the "Borrow and Return" policies in the library. Please take good care of the books you take home and please return them on time so others can enjoy them!
Happy Reading Everyone!
Otto Petersen Elementary
BREAKING NEWS!!: This week a VERY generous community member stepped up and paid for all the lost/damaged book fines for our families at both Grant Watts and OPE! All families who owed a fine for a lost or damaged book received emails letting them know that their fines were waived and their accounts have returned to good standing. This is such an amazing gift - the best way to honor this generosity is to do our very best with the "Borrow and Return" policies in the library. Please take good care of the books you take home and please return them on time so others can enjoy them!
This week we started our first Lunch Recess access to the library - all the grade levels did a great job during this time and it was wonderful to see all the interest in hanging in the library during recess. We look forward to seeing all the book reviews and student-written/illustrated books they create!
We introduced OBOB (the Oregon Battle of the Books) to the students this week. Please be watching for more information to come very soon as we start to recruit and register both participants and team coaches.
Could you help our team shelve returned books or help keep our shelves in working order? If so, please sign up HERE!
Scappoose Middle School
Scappoose High School
OBOB is returning to SHS this year - watch for more information (and books) coming soon!
What is Digital Navigators?
I am working with a nationwide organization to help support families with online/digital issues our students are facing - digital citizenship, real life/screen life balance, cyberbullying and so much more. Each week we will be highlighting tools or resources you can use at home as well as sharing things we are doing at school to help support and keep our kids safe online!
Throughout the year we will be offering opportunities for us to gather together to learn and talk about healthy digital habits for all of us. Check back here each week for more details as they develop.
This work is supported collaboratively through the Public Library Association, AT&T, American Academy of Pediatrics, Common Sense Media and the Future Ready Librarians Initiative.
I am very excited for this opportunity for our community - I hope you will join me on this journey of becoming a Digital Navigator!
THIS WEEK'S TOOLS/RESOURCES:
Digital Literacy at Home Series - Digital Connections Course
Your Child's First Phone - Are they ready? Are you ready? Click HERE
Healthy Digital Habits for Your Family - Make a Plan
The graphic in this section highlights lessons we will be doing for Digital Citizenship Week! You can click it and it will take you to the live links we are using.
Dexter the Stand Up Dog was a HUGE hit with the kids! They loved getting to see the inspiration behind the book: The REAL Dexter
All SSD Schools are participating in 2025!
We are SO excited for the OBOB season this year as we have all our SSD schools registered, including Sauvie Island School! It is going to be an amazing OBOB year!
Information will be coming soon to all the kids, but you can direct questions to your building's coordinator:
Grant Watts - Keely Nudo
OPE - Ally Richard
SMS - Kris Schrunk
SHS - Autumn Gonzales
SIS - Alisha Pogue
We are looking for coaches to support our teams, we are looking for participants to enjoy these awesome books and competitively absorb the adventures and facts, AND we are looking for volunteers to help fund book purchases and be physical helpers at battles and our regional tournament.
Please reach out to Mrs. Nudo if you can help us out: 971-290-8133 talk/text or knudo@scappoose.k12.or.us