Twas the night before the night before

If I only looked at the mercury, I would not believe that it was time to go back to school in upstate New York.  My son just informed me it was going to be 89 tomorrow.  This is not a typical September. But what is typical is that kids will be back in my library on Thursday.  I can hardly contain my excitement!

Today was our first official day back.  I knocked on doors to collaborate.  I got philosophical. "Kids need to be given choices in what they read." And I already cried. "Why aren't things going the way I hoped they would go?"  All in all it was a good day and I can't wait to take a million leaps on Thursday.

I made it onto our faculty meeting agenda tomorrow.  It says, "School Year Theme--Stacey Rattner" but really I have more in store than the theme.  And, for the first time I am giving everyone a little goody bag with the following:

• Fun Pen--So they can "Make Their Mark" for Dot Day to be celebrated for the first time school wide on September 14.
• Chocolate--Self explanatory but also a reminder that I have a chocolate dish in my library always full for those days you need to reap the benefits of cocoa.
• A K-Cup (Donut shop brand)--Because some days you need a pick me up and I love all things donuts.
• Tea--Sweet Dreams flavor.  Some of us are not coffee drinkers (what?!) and prefer tea.  Or, maybe a nice cup at home is just what the doctor ordered after a long day at school. And mindfulness is a big push this year so what better flavor than "sweet dreams."
• Free Prep Pass-I found this idea on Future Ready Librarians Facebook page and when I mentioned it to my friend, she thought it was the greatest idea ever.  She was already ready to redeem hers! With an expiration date of June 26, 2019 (yes, could our last day of school BE any later?), teachers can redeem this coupon for a free 30 minutes.  It's really a win-win.  I get to be with the kids and they can take a break.  I'm so fortunate to have a flexible schedule that allows me the ability to offer this opportunity to my colleagues.

I also made up postcards using Canva (also thanks to Future Ready Librarians and Shannon Miller)  that have my extension (it's seven digits long), the link for the library webpage and the link for Overdrive.  I put the database logins and passwords on the back.  Unfortunately, they haven't arrived yet from Overnightprints (the name is deceiving) so I will have to hand those out at a later date.  Ha! Maybe mail them! I already have my daughter on call that if they are delivered in the morning, she needs to rush them over to me at school. 

TA Bag

The teaching assistants are getting bags, too, minus the prep pass.  I couldn't leave them out and I wanted to make sure they knew that I appreciated them. There's a QR code on their card that links them directly to Overdrive.  I want to take away as many obstacles to finding books as possible.

"Come for Chocolate. Stay to Collaborate." Honestly, I fill my calendar without the bribery.  I just wanted to remind them all that I couldn't do any of this or be successful without them. 

And now to go set my alarm and have some "sweet dreams."

Another step to being Future Ready? Collaborate with PE...

I dedicate this post to Dr. Jen Cannell, for without her nudge I never would have considered attending a PE conference be beneficial.

This year I am mentoring a PE teacher.  Seemed odd at first and honestly, I wasn't sure I was the best fit.  Library and PE?  How and what could I ever do to mentor him?  And yet, 10 weeks down, I think we make a pretty good pair.

Jen Cannell, my partner in our fondness of Texas, is now the School Library System Director for Capital Region BOCES.  Talking with her this summer, she told me that she was going to charge the librarians in her new region to attend a conference outside of the library world.  Even though she is no longer my system director, I took that to heart .  What could Eric and I do as a mentor/mentee team?  Of course! Attend the NYS AHPERD (Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) together! And last Thursday we did! If that isn't outside my discipline, I don't know what is!

The morning began with Dave Burgess, "Teach Like a Pirate."  Although he spoke faster than a leaping cheetah, I did get a few good ideas from him.

I walked in a tad late to my first workshop and nearly fainted.  One small group was talking about how they incorporate The Crossover in the health curriculum. Kwame is everywhere! But even though I have read that book many times, I never considered how it could be used outside of the library and ELA world.  Now my idea wheels are spinning almost as fast as Dave Burgess speaks!

The most beneficial workshop for me still has me thinking and brainstorming days afterwards.  It was called, "Research Partnerships in Physical Education: The Dos and Don'ts."  Although it was more about the research process, it got my gears going.  The presenters shared a study they conducted on integrating Common Core ELA Standards into a Middle School PE class. This is something teachers consider doing?! Although the results weren't earth shattering, the conversation is something we should all be thinking about as we move forward.  When Physical Education teachers integrate literacy in their class physical activity rates are impacted negatively.  I'm wasn't surprised so I spoke up.

"Hi! I'm a librarian." You could hear the gasps in the room.  Then I continued, "We don't want you to decrease your levels of physical activity at all.  I love that you want to integrate literacy with PE but it doesn't have to happen in the gym.  Have a conversation with your ELA teachers and librarians. Let's ALL collaborate!  If we read a book in the library and then you incorporate skills and themes from that book in your class, it's a win-win..." I went on and they agreed wholeheartedly. The next step is to make it happen!

Besides the aforementioned The Crossover, what else?  Ghost and Patina* by Jason Reynolds. Laura Shovan has a new book coming out in June called, Takedown, about wrestling. What about James Preller's Six Innings about a little league game? Last year, I loved Soar by Joan Bauer. Or any of the Matt Christopher, Tim Green and Dan Gutman books? Others?

Here's the question for "Future Ready Librarians"-- How do we convince our colleagues in Physical Education to collaborate?  And if you already are doing it, what's your secret to success?  Or if you are like me and on the cusp, let's support each other!  This could be the beginning of an incredibly worthwhile student-centered partnership.

*Without even knowing it, we're already in our infant stages of collaboration.  I asked my mentee, Eric, if he would be willing to lead one of our Mock Newbery book groups.  How could he say no to his mentor ;-)  so I gave him the perfect book. Patina.

Daniel Miyares Part II

The Prologue

Funny how today is also a "rainy day in upstate NY."  The perfect day to share about our day with Daniel last week.  But that right there is the very first email I ever sent to Daniel (including the typos and not the best grammar--proof that it's authentic).  There you have it.  Almost exactly 1 1/2 years later, Daniel walked the halls of Castleton. Wow.

The Day

Author-Illustrator visits with me are extreme.  Breakfast, Announcements, Assemblies, Classroom Visits, Lunch, Book Signings and, if you're lucky, a gala in your honor.  That was Daniel's day in a nutshell.  Exhausting for him. Exhausting for me and anyone else involved but so worth it!

Breakfast with Reading Ambassadors

We had a luau/Surf's Up themed breakfast with the fifth grade Reading Ambassadors.  Pineapple, pineapple turnover cake, coconut maccaroons, etc.

Assemblies

I love to celebrate book birthdays with authors and illustrators so this day was no exception.  Not only did Daniel share That Neighbor Kid and grinned as we sang Happy Book Birthday but he also gave us a little insight on how pictures help tell a story.  How can you give two thumbs up to a story with  these three sentences? 

It was a nice day.  Lou went for a walk. Lou made some new friends.

Daniel could tell you!

Class Visits

Not every author or illustrator will agree to visit classrooms (it's a lot!) but I'm so glad Daniel did!  It made his time with us even more special.  Knowing they only had 5-10 minutes of their time, the classes were prepared with questions and welcome signs before we even walked in the door!

 

Lunch with Dewey Duty

Happy Book Birthday, That Neighbor Kid!

We tried to serve "friendship" food: mac AND cheese, Reeses PB cups (peanut butter AND chocolate), pretzels, juice boxes (that's in the book), cheese AND crackers, oreos (chocolate cookies AND cream filling), etc. No one went hungry!

Fifth Grade

A few months ago, Daniel made a short introductory video for our fifth graders about his process of book making and especially how he illustrates someone else's work.  It was hard to believe that this day was here and he was about to view all of their artwork and poetry matched together.  We all squeezed together in the art room for a unique experience lead by Daniel.

The Gala

People are still talking about the Gala.  The artwork. Daniel. The poetry.  Daniel. The food.  The music.  Daniel. How lovely and sweet Daniel was. What a sport he was for taking pictures with everyone.  How the library was packed with 200 people.  It was a night to remember.  

I just figured out how to make a movie using Google Photos.  I don't like how it limits you to 50 photos so I tried to choose ones that give the best flavor of the evening.  Note that some were shot by my Dewey Duty helpers using iPads.

Student Reflections

Mr. Reischer had the fifth graders write their thoughts on the Gala and the project as a whole.  Some of them were quite insightful and intuitive.  They all loved the food (especially the meatballs and cupcakes) and Daniel cutting the ribbon with the big scissors. They were very appreciative of the event and loved the opportunity to be fancy. They noticed the fourth grade servers and the MS jazz band and thought those were nice touches to the evening.

"It was fun to dress up and see my artwork and poem on the boards...It was exciting to see what other people turned my poem into and to see how the poets reacted to my drawing."

"I can't stop thinking that I, took a photo with famous Daniel Miyares...My all time favorite though was the big scissors.  I felt as if I was in a movie."

"It was great because we spent so long on this project and so many people came just for us.  I also loved how seriously everyone took this and how many people dressed up."

"I liked how I could express my feeling on the paper! I loved to mix the tempera paints to make this pretty color! I liked to see what the poem turned into! I loved meeting Daniel and seeing him cut the ribbon with huge scissors!"

"When I saw the artwork of the person who got my poem, it wasn't how I would have done it. But, I still liked it.  It showed that you can draw things more than one way."

"I liked seeing everyone's art work and how they explained your poem.  I also liked how hard everyone worked to get this far!"

"Overall, I thought that the event, and the process of the project were awesome and an amazing idea!"

"Since our minds work differently, I loved to see how the person that illustrated my poem illustrated it in a unique way.  I think that people have unique ways of thinking and it was fun to see what other people do with your poem."

And finally..."You guys need a vacation for all you did!"  

Daniel with fifth grade boys

Daniel with Mr. Chevrier (future Superintendent) and his son, Brody

Daniel with two of my 4th grade Dewey Duty helpers who "worked" the gala hence the black and white attire

Daniel with Principal Derby

And Principal Derby's son

Leaping with Mrs. Champigny, decorator extraordinaire, and her daughters

A final leap with Daniel.  From all the students, faculty and families in Castleton...

Thank you!

World Gala 2017

 So this happened tonight and what an event it was!

Over a month ago third grade teacher, Mrs. Yager, and I began our second annual venture into the international world with her students.  They researched in books and databases (Britannica and Culturegrams), created detailed trifolds to display their research, "became" an 8 year old from their country while being scrutinized by me, that crazy librarian, in front of a blue or green screen (paper hanging in my back office) for a video and then tonight, dressed up again, served food to all our guests and greeted them in their national duds.

And guests we had!  A grandfather even pointed out my capacity sign in the library laughing.  Please don't tell anyone.

These are the countries we had represented tonight.
Quite a variety, huh?



























The food was incredible.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to sample too many of them.  We had pizzelles from Italy (my daughter's favorite!), samoas and palak paneer from India, meat pockets from Djibouti, cake and cookies from all over, Irish soda bread, German potato salad, flan from Spain and so much more!

I have to put a huge plug in for Britannica.  We have Britannica and Image Quest and it made life so much easier for these young researchers.  As they say on their site, "millions of rights-cleared" images.  No doubt there were millions.  Every image on every trifold was from Britannica. Note to all librarians and administrators:  For this alone, it is well worth the investment.

Check this out (note: not all of the countries are represented in my photos):

Not even our whole crowd!  The guests just kept coming and coming!

Kiley from Ireland

Rachael from China

Samuel from Ukraine

Ryan from Germany

Joestin from England

Mya from the Philippines (my son loved the pork dish she brought)

Abby from Spain

Bruce from Fiji (love the Fiji water)

Liam from Brazil (even his little brother was dressed up in a Brazil shirt)

Sarah from Sweden (I never made it back over here for any of the treats :-( )

Micah from Italy with his pizzelles-yum!

Jack from Kenya

Aaron from Russia (His dad made the costume which looked so authentic!)

John from Finland (Did you know that almost everyone has a sauna in Finland?)

Quite the spread from Pakistan, that again, sadly I didn't get to taste :-(

Enjoying a meat pocket from Djibouti

Aiden from Argentina

Out of costume, Evan, from Mexico--That's a lot of food!

Isiah from India

Grandparents from "Spain"

Principal Derby taking a break from all the food!

And finally, all of our international guests!

Can you guess where everyone is from?

It's wonderful when all the hard work pays off!  What a wonderful, educational evening it was! Until next time...Adios! Ciao!