We Made It!
We have reason to celebrate our strong finish after one of the most challenging school years in recent history! How lucky our students were that we could implement effective safety plans and protocols to make in person learning not only feasible, but successful! A big shout out to Superintendent Mary Yodis and her team for making this possible through countless hours of meetings and planning and hard work!
End-Of-Year Library Statistics
Although this was certainly an unusual year in that students were not permitted to use the Library space, and classes were held in the individual classrooms, it is remarkable that library lessons were modified such that no significant content was lost at any grade level AND book exchange was made possible through creative problem solving and ingenuity! That said, even though book exchange was reduced to cart delivery, remote book request sheets, and emails, our students and staff still had access to our amazing collection which is proven through our still robust circulation statistics:
- There were 9,288 items circulated as of June 22!
- We added 419 new items!
- Our most popular book of the 2020-21 school year was Dav Pilkey's graphic novel, Fetch 22, with 29 loans!
Kindergarten Studies Matt McElligott & Eric Carle
Kindergarten loved learning about local author, Matt McElligott, and his humorous books in our May author study. Then we ended the year with Eric Carle in June, which was very timely as he passed away right at the start of our unit. We talked about what an amazing 91 years he had, and how blessed we are that he left us with so many wonderful books!
1st Grade Studies Caldecott Books and Call Numbers
First graders learned all about the Caldecott Award and picture book call numbers in the 4th quarter. They loved analyzing the illustrations in the many Caldecott books we "read", looking for ways the pictures either told or enhanced the stories. At the same time, they learned how to create and alphabetize picture book call numbers, so when we go back to the Library (hopefully in the Fall!), they'll be ready to navigate the picture book collection independently!
2nd Grade Creates Fables
Second graders spent the 4th quarter learning about fables. We studied Aesop and how he developed the basic characteristics of this genre of Folklore. After we practiced identifying morals and thinking about the human character traits of the various animal characters, students were then ready to create their own unique fables. They began with a Fables Planning Sheet and then progressed to rough and final drafts.
3rd Grade Creates Tall Tales
As the finale to our long unit on Folklore, third grade studied Tall Tales in the 4th quarter. We explored traditional Tall Tales heroes like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, as well as more contemporary Tall Tales heroes like Swamp Angel. Our final project was to create Tall Tales of our own, emphasizing settings in the 1800's in the West, lots of descriptive exaggerations, and many creative explanations. Students began by planning their writing, and then progressed to rough and final drafts.
5th Grade Researches the American Melting Pot
After fifth grade finished learning how to create a variety of citations and notecards in NoodleTools, they embarked on their first major Library research project. Students chose a topic that symbolizes American culture, and they researched the historic origins of it, including where it came from, when it got to America, who brought it, and what is its current impact on our culture. They created citations and notecards for all of their research, and then created a report that included a bibliography.
6th Grade Creates Book Talks for Summer Reading
To end our year in Library, sixth grade was asked to design a one-page infographic promoting a book that they think their classmates would enjoy reading over the summer. They were challenged not to rely on plot summary, but instead to provide enticing "hints" including information about the book's genre, characters, themes, and issues. As usual, they did an AMAZING job, and I actually learned about several books that will definitely make my summer reading list :-) Here's a link to the compiled slideshow I shared with the whole 6th grade.
Professional Development & Collaborations
The year wound down with the final meeting of "Book Buzz", where area school librarians met to discuss new releases and best practices for integrating them into our programs and services. I also participated in the final Questar School Library Services Communication Coordinator's meeting on May 25th, and the final Questar SLS Council meeting on May 13th. That meeting concluded my 3-year term on the Council.
I'm excited about a summer workshop that I will be participating in for 8 hours of PD credit. It's called, Getting to Know the ESIFC: A Reintroduction. Although I consider myself fairly well versed on this resource given I was part of the team that initially launched it for my colleagues here in Questar in 2019, I'm looking forward to exploring more ways I can infuse the ESIFC into my curriculum planning and assessments. Summer is the perfect time to reflect on the bigger picture and to dig down deeper into areas where growth will make the biggest impact.
Finally, here's a link to my 2020-2021 Collaboration log showcasing just some of the work I did with colleagues this year ~ enjoy :-)
Linda A. Fecura Bunk, MLS
Email: lfecura@wynantskillufds.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/wynantskillufsd.org/lfecura/home
Location: 25 East Avenue, Troy, NY, USA
Phone: (518)283-4600