The
Shelf Bits and Bytes from the Dickens Library Media Center
Vol. 1 Issue 3
November Issue 2009
A Quick Note from the SLMS Now that the 09-10 school year is well underway, perhaps you might find yourself with some time to think about how you would like the Dickens LMC to support your classroom teaching. (OK, fine. Time is not exactly free-flowing, but hopefully you might find a place for us!) Consider making an informal appointment before or after school and sharing your lesson plans, unit ideas, or even just talk about how your students are or are not progressing. The school librarian can be instrumental in raising student achievement by brainstorming teaching and behavioral strategies, as well as by working one-on-one with those students who just don’t seem to want to learn. Use the services of the Dickens LMC to work smarter, not harder! Christina A. Bentheim, M.Ed. School Library Media Specialist How often do you feel like this poor guy? Rely on the Dickens LMC to help you with your planning, teaching, and assessment!
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D.L. “Dusty” Dickens Elementary School Library Media Center 5550 Milan Peak St. North Las Vegas, NV 89081 702.799.3878 – phone 702.799.3871 – fax www.MrsBentheim.com
What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it feels about education. 111 ~ Harold Howe
Circulation Stats During the month of October, more than 7,700 books circulated through the Dickens LMC (700+ of those coming from classroom teachers)!!! Keep it up! The more books being circulated, the more being read. The more being read, the better readers our children become. The better readers our children become, the higher chances they’ll have at success in future academics and life! (And it doesn’t hurt those test scores, either…) Additional specifics about the Dickens LMC program during October can be found in the Monthly Report to the Principal, which can be accessed here: http://tinyurl.com/octreport.
Teacher Book Review Program
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LMC STUDENTS to be featured The following classes are proudly featured on a new American Library Association READ poster: Hartman, Johnson, Wilson, and Carpenter-Turner.
As you may already know, the Library Services department provides school libraries with the opportunity to earn 10 new books per month through the writing of staff book reviews. These are books that are just being published—so new you won’t yet find them anywhere! If you would like to participate (you can include your class, too), please let Christina know. Reviews are due the 15th of each month—and the next batch will be available early December. So far we’ve earned 30 new books through the program.
The Shelf Elf Award Every Monday the Shelf Elf blasts off to another classroom (or stays in the same one, if that class comes out on top again)! This is not a behavior award. It is solely for following library procedures during browsing. The class who earns the most visits by the Shelf Elf at the end of the year will earn a very special reward! A special congrats to the students learning from Mr. Gabarre, Ms. Wallace-Roth, Ms. Goldberg, and Ms. Hedvall for earning time with the Shelf Elf during October.
Technology Grant
New LMC Website Design
Last month Christina submitted a $24,000 proposal for new technology in our library media center--40 netbooks with wireless internet, a netbook cart, 6 iPod touches, an Elmo document camera, and 6 digital cameras. So far, 50 percent of the project proposal has been funded; there is still a long way to go. If you would like to see the proposal and share it with others (parents, students, community members, etc.) please go to: http://donorschoose.org/twt/318874. The deadline for funding is quickly approaching in February …
The Dickens LMC website, which can be accessed by visiting www.MrsBentheim.com, just received a facelift! Flash graphics and moving images provide for an updated appearance that will hook visitors at first glance.
New LMC Blog We’ve recently changed blogging platforms from Blogger to Edublogs so that students and staff can visit the blog from within the confines of CCSD’s filters. Subscribe to our daily updated by visiting: http://mrsbentheim.edublogs.org.
I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library. ~ Jorge Luis Borges
Visit From A Mountain Man We celebrated reading by learning from Buffalorump Dan–a mountain man reenactor! He so graciously came by to share his experiences with every student in the school. Students heard about his heritage as a registered American Indian and saw first-hand what pelts, native instruments, and cooking materials look like. The Dickens LMC has a variety of resources available for students in all grades to explore more about the relationship between the Mountain Men and Native Americans. 112
Effective Use of AR in the School Library Media Center Research shows that students who enjoy what they are reading because they chose it, will rise to the occasion, regardless of level. (This means if a 1st grader wants to read Harry Potter in addition to his "leveled" selection, who is to say his parents won't read it to him? Or an older sibling? He has a right to that higher-level text under the ALA's Freedom to Read statement.) Major barriers between students and resources include, but are not limited to, imposing age or grade level restrictions on the use of resources; limiting the use of interlibrary loan and access to electronic information; charging fees for information in specific formats; requiring permission from parents or teachers; establishing restricted shelves or closed collections; and labeling. Policies, procedures, and rules related to the use of resources and services support free and open access to information. Overall Message: We need to be very careful that when we level books, we do not end up leveling our kids!
Book Fair Update
The Book Fair begins December 2 and goes through December 16. Student and staff shopping hours are from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily. All proceeds benefit the Dickens LMC program.
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Author Visit A Success Author Mike Knudson came all the way from Utah to visit us on October 29! Several 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes got cozy in the multipurpose room to learn from Mike’s writing experiences. He talked a lot about how he gets his ideas for writing, how he builds on those ideas, and how he edits and revises his stories. He is a great speaker, engages the children and teachers well, and is definitely an up-and-coming author to watch.
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Our sales goal is $3,000.00 of which $1,800.00 of that will be ours to purchase new materials. We’re also striving to get students to read for a combined total of 3,000 minutes during the fair. If students meet this challenge, our new assistant principal has agreed to don her PJs for the day! On December 1 between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., the Dickens LMC is hosting a special preview breakfast for all staff to create their wish lists!
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You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. ~ Ray Bradbury
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Vol. 1 Issue 1
Where you can learn more about the Dickens LMC 1. Visit our website at www.MrsBentheim.com and explore each section. (The Links and Teachers sections specifically have some great stuff for you!) 2. Become a fan of the Dickens Elementary School Library Media Center on Facebook by searching for our name (Dickens Elementary School Library Media Center) at www.facebook.com. 3. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com. Our Twitter handle is DickensLMC. 4. Subscribe to our blog by visiting http://mrsbentheim.edublogs.org. 5. Join our Delicious network for social bookmarks by clicking on the link at the right-hand side of our home page at www.MrsBentheim.com or by searching for the DickensLMC at www.delicious.com. 6. Take about 15 minutes to go through the Dickens LMC Teacher Orientation by visiting www.MrsBentheim.com and clicking on the Teachers section.
Mark Your Calendar ‌ Teacher Book Fair Preview Breakfast 12 /1 from 8 - 9
Find us on any of these social media websites. Add us to your contacts list so that you can stay updated daily on the goings-on within the Dickens LMC! Twitter: Flickr: YouTube: Delicious: Edublogs: Facebook:
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