D-West Library Report

English 11 Problem Paper: This year we are rolling out the problem paper to additional 11th grade classes following a pilot of this project by one group of classes last year.

AP Seminar Performance Task

Latin Expanding Input Projects

English 12 Futures Paper: This year we are rolling out a new paper for our 12-02 classes that focuses on career and college exploration. We are all very excited about this new approach to the research paper!

Africa and Middle East Annotated Bibliography: After looking at the information science skills introduced and expected throughout a student's tenure at West and across the curriculum, we decided to really focus on the annotated bibliography as an introductory skill in 9th grade research in the History curriculum.

People of the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution: Students utilized our new Biographies database by Gale to pull research on a thinker from these time periods. We also worked on citation skills, specifically focusing on citing a textbook.

AP Research Class

Africa Demographics Paper: Students focused on pulling citations from different sources, database and web. We also talked about how to know where to find certain sources for different purposes: historical, current event, and demographics.

• Met with two West teachers to develop new and strengthen recurring projects to be co-taught in the library.
• Met with district personnel to explore maker spaces and renovations for future planning

• SAS Team meetings: Monday and Wednesdays, period 6
  
• PAC Team meetings
• West Cultural Equity Committee
• Future Ready Libraries Committee meetings

Graduate Course: Integrating Technologies in Libraries, Clarion University

• In December we hosted two lunch and learn programs for our students featuring local businessmen and women to help students orient their thinking towards their own future plans.
• We also hosted a lunch and learn for our teachers at West provided by Khristina Hunt, our instructional coach

• The Maker Table in December was focused on one of our outreach activities. We supported a community who tragically lost three students in a short time period by creating a banner of hand prints that were signed with messages from our students. The kids diligently cut and signed 1300 handprints, one for every student in their building.

We were honored to host the D-West Alumni Panel again this year. Returning West alumni have the opportunity to come back to West and speak to our students about their experiences after high school-- where they went, what they wish they would have done differently, and what really helped them on their way.

We are so excited to announce that we have been chosen to recieve tickets to see Hamilton in Pittsburgh in January. 93 students and 10 faculty members will be traveling with us, but not before engaging in a 3 day after school curriculum and performance task. We have been having a lot of fun in our after school sessions and can't wait to see what the students come up with!

• In December our Library Club always participates in "Santa's Letters" with Beaver Creek elementary school students. The first graders in Beaver Creek write letters to Santa after a literacy activity and our students are super excited to be "elves" and answer their letters!
• Reading Olympics is still moving towards their reading goals for the competition. This month they made their team t-shirts!

• Aevidum executive council meets every other Wednesday morning in the library.
• The general Aevidum club meets once a month in the library.
• Aevidum traveled to Warwick high school this month to deliver a banner made by our students to thier Aevidum club to show our support in the wake of unimaginable losses.
• Aevidum also supported our own community by participating in the creation of and hanging of mittens with indivdiual names for raffles the week before holiday break. This was done in conjunction with Student Council and the Cultural Equity Committee.

Parent Volunteer

• Pia Disanto, every Tuesday AM

Student Volunteers

• Regina Roeder
• Amanda Drill
• Dayonte

In the above graph, the bottom axis represents days in December. The right axis is numbers of students signed in. Our average was 365 students a day. The November average was 432 students a day. This average has gone down due to the many events we host during December, closing the library for portions of the days.

• traditional book circulations: 187 (November = 383, October = 280)
• e-book and audiobook: 813 (November = 661, October = 618)
• laptop circulations: 346 (November =510, October = 544)
• charger circulations: 30 (November = 50, October = 79)

Total library circulations: 1376 (November = 1604, October = 947)

December

177 MLA projects created (November = 364, October= 521)

54 APA projects created (November = 50, October= 38)

142 Chicago projects created (November = 20, October= 22)

The mission of the library program in the Downingtown Area School District is to provide a dynamic learning environment that instills essential 21st century literacy skills through direct and collaborative instruction and the use of a wide variety of print and digital resources. Our goal is to ensure that students have the opportunity to become inquiring and engaged global citizens who are empowered to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information.

Find this library report and more on our blog: http://adventuresinlibrary.blogspot.com/

Email: mnass@dasd.org
Website: http://dasd.libguides.com/west
Phone: 610-269-4400
Twitter: @dwestlibrary