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WCS Librarian Log – December 2016

Published December 15, 2016

Williamson County is fortunate to have dedicated librarians who take it upon themselves to encourage students to read, research and discover the wonder of books via creative activities, displays and reading-related challenges.

This section is designed to give WCS librarians a chance to tell parents what’s going on in their child’s libraries this month.

Elementary Schools

Clovercroft Elementary: Students in kindergarten through second grades enjoyed having Jessica Young, a local author, come and talk with them about the writing process and what it means to be an author.

Hunters Bend Elementary: November was hour of code month. Students first learned to work with partners on a coding project. Each pair of students was assigned a computer where they took turns “driving” (using the mouse) and “navigating” (helping problem solve). Students in kindergarten through third grades are learning age appropriate coding in programs such as Minecraft, Angry Birds and Star Wars. Fourth and fifth grades are collaborating with music using “Scratch,” which provides a stepping stone to the more advanced world of computer programming and electronic music composition. They are making rhythms and beats and understanding notes and ostinatos.

Kenrose Elementary: For the month of January, Kenrose Elementary will post pictures of staff with their favorite book. We will begin our vote for our favorite book using “The Bracket” as found in March Madness. Students will vote for their favorite book and begin the countdown.

Lipscomb Elementary: The library and the computer lab joined forces to teach National Hour of Code. Students were introduced to computer coding and wrote code for Star Wars, Frozen and Minecraft. Grades three through five are working hard to meet the requirements for the Volunteer State Book Award Voting party that will take place in April. Students that read four of the nominated chapter books will come to the LES coffee shop. The library will be converted to a groovy coffee house where students will enjoy a treat and vote for the best book in Tennessee.

Pearre Creek Elementary: The Pearre Creek library has added more shelving and reorganized the library. The kindergarten students are working to earn their FBI badges (Finding Books Independently.) All PCES students are enjoying reading a variety of books about all of the winter holidays.

Westwood Elementary: At Westwood, fourth graders participated in a Skype conversation with author Natalie Lloyd, author of Snicker of Magic and The Key to Extraordinary. Students gathered in the library to hear her speak about the writing process and where she gets inspiration for her books. She told us them she is working on her third book called Problim Children which is about a family of seven children who live in a swamp. The students were especially intrigued when she told them the characters catapult one another to other areas of the swamp instead of walking there.

Middle Schools

Fairview Middle: The FMS library has been giving thanks with our FMS Tree of Thanks. We have also been celebrating our resident author, FMS teacher Owen Grimenstein. His book, Under Water: A Natural Disaster Memoir, is now available for purchase.

Grassland Middle: We are finishing up a busy quarter that included sixth grade biomes research, Library Jeopardy and a Scholastic Holiday Book Fair. We hope everyone takes time to READ during the Winter Break.

Hillsboro: Students have been studying and reading the 20 books that have been nominated for the Volunteer State Award for 2016-2017. After we finish reading all of them the students will have the opportunity to vote on which book they liked the best. One of our favorite books is called Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball by John Coy.

Page Middle: On December 1, Page Middle hosted Alan Gratz, author of Prisoner B-3087, Code of Honor and Projekt 1065, at the annual book fair. He spoke to all of the students in the morning and ate lunch with 10 lucky winners before signing books at Family Night. For the first time, we had a book drive at the book fair. Our generous students donated over 700 books for Book ‘Em in Nashville. The eighth grade donated the most books and will have a DJ party as a reward.

Sunset Middle: The computer lab at Sunset Middle had a mini makeover to be more user-friendly and designed for group collaborations. The library is planning to add a green screen area for video production, along with a project supply case.

Woodland Middle: Students at Woodland Middle enjoyed a visit with author Sarah Weeks at the recent book fair. She spoke to all grade levels and at Woodland’s family night event. During the book fair, students donated 2, 559 books to Book ‘Em, and our book club donated books to Glenn Elementary. We are also enjoying our Maker Bot 3-D printer in our MakerSpace club.

High Schools

All WCS high school libraries are promoting a 10 book challenge in December and January in celebration of Williamson Loves Libraries month. Students are encouraged to read both fiction and non-fiction books and various genres within these categories. Students interested in the challenge should talk to their school Librarian/Media specialist for more details.

Fairview High School: The Fairview High library media center is working toward transitioning the media center into more of a learning commons area. Our lunch is an open time where students bring lunch, collaborate, decompress and enjoy the company of fellow students. Most of the students can be found working on projects, reading or studying with friends. Our art teacher, Julia Sanchez, has been collaborating with the media center and her students are displaying their different sculpture and art projects. Mr. Myers’ and Mrs. Heileman’s freshman English students just completed a study of Lord of the Flies; Mrs. Makita’s English classes finished Night, and those classes all displayed culminating projects in the library.

Franklin High School: At Franklin High School we are gearing up for Williamson County Loves Libraries month reading challenge. Students are challenged to read five books from five different categories by January 27. We are excited about our students reading. Librarians have given instruction on how to use Wordle and database resources for debates. We also hosted the IB Biology students as they presented research projects to staff, students and community members.

Ravenwood High School: Ravenwood Library is hoping for snow with a winter display of books with white covers. We are also gearing up for final exams by providing students with copies of exam review guides. Finally, the student group study rooms in our library are being remodeled over winter break. We are looking forward to having a cool place for student groups to work together.