Signal Mountain Middle High School Library Media Center
SMMHS LMC
Empowering students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers,
skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. Volume 3, Issue 6
February 1, 2016
SMMHS Library/Media Center Mission: The SMMHS library/media center is committed to equipping the school community with 21st Century skills in order that they may have a positive impact on their community, country, and world.
An Introduction to Your Technibrarian: Hello friends! This month I wanted to introduce you to something I may not have told you about before. I’m a PEF Teacherprenuer, and with PEF’s help, I’m creating a website for students & teachers! It’s called TECHNIBRARY, and it will function as a library of technology resources to help people in the education community understand how technology can help them. Later it will have user-generated content, but first I have to create the seed-content to get it started. If you would like to help, that would be incredible. My goal is to have at least 1,000 entries by this summer to get it up and running. Please visit my personal library site for more information and to join in the fun! Students are welcome to enter info as well. Thanks, and enjoy this month’s publication!
Ginger Kirchmyer, MLIS National Board Certified Teacher SMMHS Librarian www.smmhsmediacenter.net
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School Libraries: Are You Missing Out? School libraries are undergoing a transformation in America. Until recently, the school library was merely a place to check out books. Patrons didn’t learn about computer resources, digital citizenship or online ethics. Today’s school librarian is called a Library Media Specialist (LMS) because, aside from knowing books, they teach information literacy - not just text and reading literacies, but digital literacy (use of devices), web literacy (use of the internet), and computer literacy (use of the computer). Without interaction with the school LMS, students can miss out on learning these valuable skills. This is why it’s so important for students AND teachers to build relationships with their school librarians. This is the specialty of a school LMS! Studies prove time and again that secondary students who have a relationship with their librarian perform higher on tests and in college than students who don’t. This relationship helps them become comfortable navigating the library’s physical resources and better able to complete academic research independently, which is especially important in college. Even if they don’t go to college, students who understand how to research strategically are better decisionmakers and more widely read in regard to finance and investments, legal matters, and in making life choices like large purchases, childrearing, medical decisions, and professional growth. Though we’ve passed the halfway-point of the school year, our students still have opportunities to explore the library. No time to visit? See our digital library found on our website that’s open 24/7/365; students can also visit the Signal Mountain Library or the Chattanooga Public Library (CPL). Remember, membership to the CPL is free for all students enrolled in Hamilton County public schools. For an application to the CPL, stop by our library or click here!
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What’s happening in This year challenge yourself to read more and join us at the LMC for our 2016 Reading Challenge. Students, teachers, SMMHS staff, and parents can accept the challenge. Each reading challenge is individualized to meet your needs and reading preferences. YOU get to choose the number of books for your challenge and the genre of books you want to read (don’t be afraid to challenge yourself to leave your reading comfort zone). To accept the challenge, stop by and visit us in the library or click here to learn more and sign up. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive a bookmark to track your challenge and your name will be placed on a “display” book outside of the library. When you’ve completed the challenge, stop by w/ your bookmark for a photo or take a photo of your bookmark (front & back) and photo of yourself and email them to the library at smmhsassist@gmail.com. Be sure to include your name and put reading challenge in the subject line. Everyone who completes the challenge will be featured on our display outside the library. You’ll be mentioned in our monthly newsletter and on our website, plus you’ll be eligible for fun prizes! Trying to get your family to read more? Sign up the whole family as a single reading team. Choose the number of books for each reader and use just one bookmark to keep track of your entire family’s reading progress. Participants have an opportunity for another prize: a custom-made poster! EACH TIME you read a book and write a short review of the book on our blog. For each review, the participant’s name is entered in our drawing for a custom-made poster. Don’t worry if it’s a family member instead of a student who wins. We’ll still honor the prize and make them a poster! :) Step up to the challenge and join us to day!
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February at the LMC? Spice up your reading life and go on a blind date this month, that is, a blind date with a book! That’s right, SMMHS Library Media Center (LMC) is encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone and celebrate Blind Date with a Book with us for the whole month of February. What is Blind Date with a Book? It’s when a select group of books are “on the market” to be “checked out.” As with people, these books will only reveal what they want you to see at first glance. You’ll only receive enough info on the outside of the wrapping to decide if this is a “relationship” you’d like to explore. Once you’ve made a commitment (i.e.checked out your book), you can unwrap it: get a glance inside to see what your new partner is made of! We encourage you to try reading it, even if it doesn’t seem like a good match right away. Sometimes once you get to know someone (or something) a little better, you find there’s a connection after all. If you find a red, “I’m a keeper” heart in the front of your book, you get to keep your book FOR GOOD! If you don’t, then your book is not ready to “settle down” yet, and it will need to be returned by the due date. Next time you’re in the library, keep your eyes peeled for the wrapped books on our Blind Date display and don’t miss out on this fun dating experience!
Blind Date With a Book!
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T
his month’s spot-
light on technology just might turn out to be your new best friend. Is your child’s algebra homework just too much for you? Tired of trying to answer those physics questions? If so, you’ve got to check out Help Hub. This tutoring website promises to relieve the homework help pressure. It is an online tutoring system available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, and it is designed to allow students to have access to both peer and professional tutors. Tutors are both filtered and ranked, so there is no need to worry about authenticity.
https://helphub.me
It’s easy to use. Students (and tutors) just sign up for an account and can easily do this via their Facebook profile. Once they are signed in, they have two ways to approach tutoring. First, they can take advantage of the free chat room where they just post their topic and question, then the tutors respond. For more personal help, they can seek out a tutor (perhaps one who has helped them in the chat room), and pay them as they go. Fees are reasonable and there’s no minimum fee; students just pay for as much tutoring as they need. To learn more about this great homework helper, check out this YouTube video from Steve Dotto.
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SHELF AWARENESS What’s your Shelf IQ? Know which hot items are sizzling right now?
Click here to see this year’s award winners recently announced by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) for Nonfiction! Click here to see this year’s award winners recently announced by ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) for fiction, poetry, picture-books, and teen lit! Click here to see some new releases you may enjoy! This list was provided by our friend Kelly Flemming at the Barnes & Noble at Hamilton Place!
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One Parent Speaks Our seventh grade student is an active reader. Reading has been one of her favorite hobbies for as long as I can remember. However, in her year and half here at SMMHS, she has not once checked out a book from the school’s library. I’m pretty sure her lack of interest in the library is not due to some rumor that there just aren’t any good books there or because her personal reading has dropped off. No, her library card comes up blank because she’s just not sure how or when to go to the library and is still Could this be you? working on learning the importance of self-advocacy. What can we do as parents to encourage our children to use the LMC? First, we need to know the rules & then share these rules with our children. After sitting down with Ms.Kirchmyer and asking for her input, this is what I learned: 1. Students can use the library between classes, but time is short since they only have five minutes. This time would best be used to return books as students are passing the library on their way to their next class. 2. Directed Studies (DS) is the best time for visiting the library. To visit during DS, students need to first obtain a library pass from Ms. Kirchmyer. They can do this by stopping in the library in between classes or by emailing her at kirchmyer_g@hcde.org. For email passes, they must request the pass at least the day before their DS period & explain the purpose of their visit. The great thing about emailing a pass request, is that it will be waiting for them with their DS teacher. 3. Middle school students can also use the library during their scheduled class time In DS every 3rd week. If their class doesn’t visit for any reason, encourage your children to make sure they let their teacher know they want to visit during that scheduled time, or you can email the DS teacher yourself and let them know.
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out about the LMC! 4. A few rules to remember while visiting the library. Remember the pass is ONLY for library use (checking out books, using computers, reference materials, or printing--$.10/copy); it is not for hanging out. Students can stay as long or as short as they need and can come any time during the DS period. For example, if they need to make up tests, they can do that first and then head over to the library. Mrs. Kirchmyer pointed out that, although she wants it to be easy for students to visit, it is important to follow administrative rules requiring all students to be supervised. Student safety is the first priority, so all students must have permission to be in locations outside their assigned rooms, and it is for this reason that students are required to have library passes, just as they have passes to any other place they visit. Second, we need to encourage SELF -ADVOCACY in our children. In doing so, we participate in an important IB component of our school. This part of the IB philosophy is called “Approaches to Learning,� which includes teaching students skills like self-monitoring behavior, communicating wants and needs, and organizational skills. Your child may have a desire and a need to use the library, but is hesitant to communicate those needs or, simply put, afraid to ask. Many students also enter the library and are reluctant to ask questions or seek help according to Mrs. Kirchmyer. Encourage your child to ask the student helpers behind the main desk. These helpers are here to make the library experience that much better for our children. Remember too, if they still have trouble getting to the library, they can always shop and reserve books online. With all of the rules in hand, we feel confident that our seventh grader is going to find her place in the LMC, and it will open a whole new world to her experience here at SMMHS!
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Have you registered yet? Receive text reminders for book returns, library events, & important library news. Each month ONE lucky winner will receive a special library giveaway just for taking part!
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@smmhslmc
This year’s bulletin boards feature IB Learner traits with a focus on authors & characters from books with the featured trait.
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Library Hours 7:15-2:30
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Check us out
ONLINE
daily The number of individual students we’ve served since August! (This does not count visiting classes)
VSBA voting coming soon! The Volunteer State Book Award is given annually to one book at the middle grades level and one book at the high school level. It’s voted on by students, but you have to read at least 3 books on the list to qualify to vote! Authors consider this award a great honor, and other students like to know which books their peers are picking! We have ALL the VSBA nominees. Come on in to your library and check one out! These are the best of the best! (Click the icon for more info)
NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP:
MS Library Roatation
Follow us ONLINE! STAY CONNECTED: Each afternoon at 2:30 we post a book trailer on Twitter and Facebook, & we advertize library events and programs; on Pinterest you’ll find everything from book recommendations & study tools to organizing strategies and bulletin board ideas! Check us out!
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