We’ve probably all enjoyed some version of Carly Rae Jepsen’s song “Call Me Maybe.” (My favorite is probably Cookie Monster’s version.) But thanks to my Pinterest obsession I found this, and with the dedication of some hard-working library science students, we made this bulletin board. Students can scan the QR codes to watch the trailer and then check out the book of the one they like! Fun with a purpose is always a good thing.
Holly Frilot, Collins Hill High School
Summer Institute 2010 (photo by Susan Grigsby)
Registration is open for the GLMA Summer Institute, to be held June 15-17, 2011 at Callaway Gardens! The Summer Institute is a great opportunity for Georgia Media Specialists to get together to work, learn, earn one PLU credit, and network with friends throughout the state! The registration form and the prior approval form can be found on the GLMA website.
The Mountain Creek Inn is offering GLMA members a special price for June 15-17. This offer will expire on May 16, 2011. The rate will be $99/night plus tax and garden admission is included. Call 800-543-7121 for a reservation. Remember to ask for the GLMA Summer Institute Rate. Information about the facility can be found by visiting the Callaway Gardens website.
Summer Institute 2010 (photo by Susan Grigsby)
We look forward to seeing you at the Summer Institute. If you have any questions, please contact Amanda or Kathryn in the Executive Office or the Summer Institute Coordinator, Susan Grigsby.
No, I didn’t don a full-length gown and gloves for what some call “The Oscars of Children’s Literature.” I hadn’t packed festive attire for the occasion since I was supposed to be home in Atlanta before the big announcements. But, thanks to the southern snow and ice, I was stranded in San Diego long enough to see the ALA Youth Media Awards a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be a good thing that I wasn’t wearing a gown, since I ended up sitting on the floor of a crowded ballroom along with scores of other youth librarians and literature lovers.
You can check out the full list of winners here, and reactions to the awards by avid children’s literature aficionados are scattered across the web. For this post, I wanted to share the experience of attending the awards in person. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be very exciting. In past years, I have listened to the announcements online or watched the twitter stream, so I knew how the program would go. But from the moment I sat down on the ballroom floor and started listening to and tweeting the awards I realized that participating virtually, while wonderful, could not convey the electricity in the room.
It is amazing to be surrounded by people who are deeply committed to youth, libraries, and literacy. Clearly, many in the room had read lots of this year’s potential honorees. The whispers and murmurs (and sometimes squeals and screams) gave the event such an air of excitement. There were books that were clearly loved and celebrated by many, and honored books that many people had not heard of (yet). The winners were greeted with warm admiration.
Each award is selected through the work of a dedicated committee. Being at this event, where the committee is recognized after each award is announced, rekindled my interest in serving on one of these committees one day. Have any of you ever served on an award committee? Do you hope to serve in the future? Which award would you choose? Two of my recent favorites are the Geisel Award (likely because my youngest child is learning to read so I read a LOT of beginning reader books) and the Schneider Family Book Awards. I reference these lists in my literacy courses often. I hope you’ll share your thoughts on the awards and the committees you’d love to work with in the comments.
As for the awards announcement, it was an energizing experience. I think we all left with good memories, not to mention longer reading lists. It will be wonderful to roll out the red carpet for the Youth Media Awards when ALA’s Midwinter Meeting is held in Atlanta in 2017. (Yes, it’s a ways off, but plenty of time to save up for that Oscar-worthy outfit!)
Beth Friese
Ph. D. Student
Department of Language and Literacy Education
University of Georgia
Who knew? Put cameras in the hands of teenagers, tell them you’re going to display the pictures, and you’ve got some fun READ posters on your hands. You can even do this on the cheap with no software!
I use to stage student READ posters myself. They were ok. But someone mentioned turning the cameras over to the kids, and the posters are SO much better. They take the pictures, and I use picnik.com to edit, add effects, and add text. I display them in the library and around the school as well. I love seeing students stop and talk about the posters, then ask if they can have one too!
Last year I took it one step further – I had a READ poster contest. Students had to take the picture and do the editing on picnik.com themselves. The winner would get a big poster displayed in the media center and 2 free movie tickets. My expectations were low, but I was hopeful. I decided in my advertising to use the READ poster that sparked it all – a breakdancer in the library. It was like I issued a challenged to all the b-boys in the school! I got amazing entries and I’m looking forward to doing another contest next month.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. Give kids advice on framing, what works well, space to write READ, but then turn them loose. Let them take the pictures. They like their posters so much more.
2. Include teachers and make it personal. I had one teacher dress up as Frankenstein, one in a wedding veil, one doing a karate move – anything that makes kids stop and look. The kids have also gotten the staff involved – from the school officer to the head custodian.
3. Cost: If you have a color printer, you can easily make mini-posters on the cheap. We’re lucky to have a poster printer in the technical drafting department, so I pay $6 per poster for the big ones. Maybe there’s a business that will cut you a deal.
4. Don’t take it too seriously. The fun ones are what make kids come in here asking when I’m holding the next READ poster contest!
Hope to see everyone at COMO!
Holly Frilot
Collins Hill High School
www.chhsmediacenter.com
[slideshow]
It’s been a hectic, wonderful, crazy beginning to yet another school year. Here are some of the finer points (think I’d advertise the bad ones?:) that keep me going when I feel like I’ll never catch up:
We’ve dealt with little air conditioning, no air conditioning, lots of administrative requests, two of our small staff have sent their “babies” off to college, I sent my oldest to Pre-K, I’ve been sick, my youngest is sick, and it’s day 11. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings! I hope all of you out there are getting some good with the crazy that is inevitably the start of the school year. You may be feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated, but know that what you do is incredibly important, even if you don’t hear it every day. Good luck and happy 2010-11!
Holly Frilot, Library Media Specialist
Collins Hill High School
CHHS Library Happenings:
Scene 1:
Me: Uh-oh. City of Bones is pulling ahead of Hunger Games in our March Madness Book Bracket.
Student: NOOOOOOOOO! (Busily seeks friends to vote.)
Scene 2:
Student: I need a book I can read by Monday. And prom’s Saturday.
Me: Ok. Short. Got it.
Student: Teacher says it has to be more than 150 pages.
Me: Ok. Like sports?
Student: No.
Me: Ok. What do you like?
Student: Chaos.
Me. Ok. Hmmmm…. Have you read Fight Club?
Student: That was a book?
Me: Yes.
Student: And we have it here?
Me: Yes. Unfortunately it’s checked out right now. But I do have another book of his…
Student: Cool. I’ll take it. Thanks library lady.
Me: Good. Come back when you’re finished and we’ll find another. I’m Mrs. Frilot by the way. (Resisted urge to tell him to be careful at prom.)
Scene 3: (In hallway near “Have You Read This? flyer near boys’ locker room)
Student 1: Yo, check this out – this book looks good!
Student 2: Dude, I’m gonna go get this one.
(Reported by a math teacher hanging out nearby. Very grateful to him for passing it along!)
Scene 4: (Teaching a class in the media center.)
Me: Photostory 3 is a cool, easy way to tell a story. It’s kind of Powerpoint meets a photo screensaver.
Students: (A librarian knows nothing about cool.)
Me: Here’s an example.
Students: (Grunts of interest and mild surprise.)
Me: (Illustrating first few steps.)
Students: (Interest building.) Huh. Pretty cool.
Me: (Yes! I’ve got ‘em. Finish illustrating. Talk about music. Show final product.)
One student: (Actually jumps up.) This is so awesome! I know what I’m going to do!
Me: (Suppressing chuckle.) A Photostory fan! Let’s get on the computers.
I cherish the day-to-day life that goes on in the media center. It is a fun, surprising, challenging place to be. There are days when I get down about the future of libraries and all that might be wasted. There are days when I get frustrated with discipline issues and old equipment. But there are days when I get to teach. There are days when I get to brainstorm with teachers or students. And there are days I help good kids learn new things. There’s just not much better than that.
Holly Frilot
Library Media Specialist, Collins Hill High School
I’m a librarian that likes sports! As a result, I’ve combined books and sports in our latest incarnation of the bulletin board and displays in the media center. March Madness (college basketball’s championship tournament) has invaded the media center. It’s been a lot of fun, mostly because I’m a big dork. 
Though I originally hearkened back to my opaque projector days, I thought better of it and used a LCD projector to draw the brackets. I can’t tell you how many people I explained this to while drawing the brackets out in the hallway! The library staff determined the “sweet sixteen” books that made the bracket. I chose fonts that fit each book (ok, mostly fit), ranked the books 1-16, printed out the titles, and taped them on the board. The students are voting on which books move onto the next round.
It’s silly and fun and I’m sure not a new idea, but I thought I’d throw it out there. I’m always looking for fun, unexpected ways to decorate a bulletin board or create displays, so please share yours too!
Holly Frilot, Collins Hill High School
by Anonymous UGA Faculty Person
[ tongue in cheek - mostly]
We’ve all heard about cuts proposed by Georgia institutions of higher education in response to recent legislative demands. UGA, for example, is threatening to ax 4H and half of the Cooperative Extension offices statewide.
Bad idea! I was a 4H-r as a kid and would hate to lose it, along with Rock Eagle. And Cooperative Extension – without Walter Reeves* and company, how will Georgians learn to grow those vegetables that they can’t afford to buy in the grocery store, or keep their yards looking nice after firing the teenage kid who cuts the grass? (*I know he’s retired, but you get my drift.)
Here are some alternative suggestions:
>>>>>>Commercial Break<<<<<<<
UGA is still accepting applications for next year’s cohort of School Librarian students!
Info | or email slmedia@uga.edu
Please add your ideas in the comments! We need all the help we can get.
Professional Survival Tip: Humor is absolutely essential to your health! The jokes don’t necessarily have to be any good to gain the healthy benefit of laughter.
Signed –
Incognito GLMAGuest Blogger
(since I want to keep my state job as long as possible)
Un-disclaimer: the Commercial above is absolutely true! Apply now! And I really meant the parts about keeping 4H and Cooperative Extension.
Originally I thought I would blog about something rather profound and serious. Then when I was gluing the fake jewels to my pink foam crown a few days ago, I changed my blog topic. The pink foam crown has to do with my job, which is elementary school librarian. Thus, I decided to blog about fun at work.
One of the reasons I transferred from the classroom into the library was the freedom to be more creative and out of the box with lesson plans. Probably one of my favorite aspects of teaching is developing interesting and engaging lessons, and I thought becoming a librarian would yield more opportunities to cultivate this passion.
Unfortunately, over the past 2 years I have moved away from creative lesson planning. Instead, I have become entrenched with weeding, developing the collection, writing grants, and a myriad of other necessary tasks to run an efficient and effective library. Recently I realized that these tasks were becoming the bulk of my work day, and as a result my work day was becoming mundane.
Serendipitously, a teacher came to the library to ask about Patricia Polacco books. She wanted to do an author study with her class, and picked author/illustrator Patricia Polacco. Several years ago Ms. Polacco spoke at the Children’s Literature Conference in Athens, GA. Seeing her speak made me a fan for life— she was incredible! So, when the teacher said she was doing an author study on this fantastic writer, I knew I had to jump on that bandwagon. Luckily, this teacher is also someone who brings who class into the library weekly, so I figured she would be accepting of my ideas. I approached her, and she was immediately willing to collaborate. She did ten books Patricia Polacco books in class, along with a biography. The library’s part in all of this is the culminating activity. In the library, I plan on reviewing the books and author with a PowerPoint, hosting a mini Reading Bowl Competition, doing a craft based on the Pysanky eggs featured in the book Chicken Sunday, and then serving a slice of Thunder Cake, a recipe found in the book with the same title. I have secured buzzers for the competition, have written 50 reading bowl-style questions based on the books the teacher covered in class, have written and copied the invitation to the students’ parents, and have created the e-vite that I will send to our school’s administration and our system’s media services coordinators.
Has this been a lot of grunt work for an hour lesson in the library? Indeed, it most certainly has. Have I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of planning and creating the lesson? Indeed, I must certainly have. I think psychologists even have a term for it: “being in the zone,” where you block out all else and have no concept of time because you are so enthralled with the activity.
The lesson started as something selfish: bringing fun back into the work place. Now, though, unexpected bonuses are starting to surface. First, it gave me an opportunity to collaborate with a teacher with whom I never had before. Second, word got out and now another teacher who rarely does anything with her class in the library wants to do a similar lesson with her class. Clearly, this lesson has been good PR for the library. Third, the culminating activity in the library will be interdisciplinary. Students will find Russia on the map, learn what “babushka” means in English, learn about another religion, do an art craft, and more. Fourth, parents will be invited, so they can see what their child is doing in school, and get to know their child’s teacher and librarian. Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, maybe a child’s love for reading will be sparked by all these activities. Perhaps students will realize reading can open a whole new world to them, and the library is the gateway to this world.
Where does the pink foam crown fit in all this? Well, I am no Vanna White or Alex Trebeck, and I need some sort of prop to indicate I am mistress of ceremonies. Okay, the real reason: it’s fun and I just want an excuse to wear it at work.
In March’s blog, I’ll catch you up on know how the lesson went. If you want a more details about the lesson, please email me: atigges@atlanta.k12.ga.us.
Thanks so much!
Anja Tigges, Elementary School Librarian, Atlanta Public Schools
Arthur wearing the crown!
The Future of Education – Charting the Course of Teaching and Learning in a Networked World via kwout
I have posted from time to time on assorted shows hosted by the amazing Steve Hargadon at The Future of Learning, but if you have not sampled this free, easy to use, and thought-provoking learning tool, there is no time like the present to see why these sessions regularly boast 100-200 participants per session for anytime, anywhere learning!
Just last Thursday, I sat in on an incredible session with Clay Shirky who discussed, among other topics, the concept of a participation gap in today’s society with social media and social networking. This idea obviously has implications for our practice as school librarians. This experience I had is just a sampling of the learning and “idea sparking” that I get regularly from these free sessions. If you can’t make a live session, you can always go and watch the archived session of your choice!
In looking at the upcoming menu of guest speakers for the next 6 weeks, I don’t know of any other FREE place or medium you can listen to and interact with world-class and internationally respected speakers/authors who are so well-known for their innovative thinking. I’d also encourage you to browse the archived sessions as well–the lineup and discussions from 2010 and late fall 2009 have been quite remarkable!
Classroom 2.0 LIVE! – Home via kwout
Classroom 2.0 LIVE! is another series I also recommend—this is a weekly webinar held on Saturdays, and like The Future of Learning series, you can attend for free either live or access the recorded archives. Hosted by the delightful and always helpful Kim Caise, Lorna Costantini, Peggy George, these shows appeal to a diverse mix of educators, including school librarians! Like Future of Education, the sessions boast a large and global audience. I have attended several sessions from Classroom 2.0 LIVE and highly recommend this as a fun and free learning tool.
If you attend any of these sessions (live or the archived edition) and would like to write a guest blog post about the session, please feel free to contact me at buffy.hamilton at cherokee.k12.ga.us.
Buffy Hamilton, Ed.S.
School Librarian
Creekview High School