Library / 2022/2023 Impact Report

2022/2023 Impact Report

Librarian

On September 15th, Ridgeview Elementary celebrated International Dot Day as the school community wore dots. The morning announcement crew wore dot hats and necklaces and discussed why we celebrate this day. The librarian read the book, The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds using the Novel Effect app. Students were asked to use their imagination and creativity to make their marks on an activity sheet to see where it took them.
To celebrate reading during the fall/pumpkin season, about sixty students participated in our annual Literary Pumpkin Patch. They were asked to read a book with their families and decorate a pumpkin to resemble their favorite book character; participants were rewarded with a book and a trinket.
The library hosted a Scholastic Book Fair in November and in April which generated funds to purchase library books and incentives. We had one parent volunteer, and one extended day to welcome parents to participate with their children.
As part of the Read Across America celebration, children’s book author Rosie J. Pova visited our library. Students learned about the importance of writing and persevering with their goals and inspirations.

14,252
print books in collection

4,465
ebooks books in collection

10,673
print books checked out

926
ebooks books checked out

Teacher

Tables were set, and main entrees were served as students in 3rd - 5th grades had a genre book tasting event at the library to taste/read four different genres of books, including fantasy, mystery, realistic fiction, and science fiction, to expose them to various genres of books. After “tasting” the different genres of books, students rated the books on their menu and were treated with gummy candy resembling food such as a burger, donut, or ice cream cone.
Throughout the school year, Texas 2x2 and Texas Bluebonnet books were promoted. The librarian read aloud the books, asked questions, and students worked on activities related to the books which targeted specific skills. Some skills taught were: story elements, author’s purpose, inferencing, fiction/nonfiction, making connections, biographies, and writing.
Third grade had their research on natural disasters, including tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, and thunderstorms. They used PebbleGo and library books to learn how they were formed, what they do, and how people can stay safe. Students used a journal to write down the information they discovered and presented it to the class.
After reading "Memoirs of a Tortoise" by Devin Scillian, students worked on a thinking routine called CSI which stands for color, symbol, and image. They were asked to put themselves in the main character’s shoes and explain what was important in this year of his life using color, symbols, and images. Students enjoyed the story and were engaged in this activity.

Lesson Spotlight

Fourth grade students chose states within the USA to research and learn about. Students recorded important facts, drew symbols, and found the state's capital city. They used the digital resource CultureGrams to find their information. Students successfully found and recorded the information they needed to complete their booklets on the state they researched. Students shared this information with their classmates so everyone could teach and learn more about the USA.

Collaborator

The librarian, family specialist, and ITS specialist reached out to parents to provide a session that included a library orientation and a library digital resources overview focusing on resources they can use at home with their children, such as ABDO eBooks, Capstone eBooks, and PebbleGo. The parents were allowed to check out books, were supplied with volunteer and advisory committee forms, and had a hands-on session to learn how to utilize the library resources taught.
During lessons in the library, teachers stayed with their classes. Teachers participated and shared their thoughts, experiences, and ideas about the lessons and future lessons. This collaboration was also an excellent way to build relationships with the teachers to reinforce classroom learning.
During our annual Fall Festival and Literacy Night, I collaborated with my campus specials team in creating activities, decorations, incentives, and flyers for these events. Parents and students participated in our ball toss game at the Fall Festival. For Literacy Night, parents were supplied with handouts on the different digital library resources and given two books.
The librarian, family specialist, and GT teacher worked together during Family Night in March. We planned, scheduled, and distributed reading books for students to read during their Spring Break. Students were also encouraged to participate in the Spring Break reading challenge.

Collaboration Spotlight

It was essential to collaborate with the teachers when the students worked on their research units. The teachers know their students and curriculum best, so it was important to work with them in providing students lessons and activities to target the skills and TEKS. Each grade level had a different topic of study and knew their expectations. The students were engaged and learned about their chosen topics. The questions they had were answered either by using a digital resource, collaborating with others, and/or by using the library books.

parent session

Campus Leader

The librarian provided the teachers and staff with a professional development session after school in August. The session consisted of an overview of the contents and features of the different library digital resources for ABDO eBooks, Capstone eBooks, PebbleGo, and the new resources, PebbleGo Next, News-O-Matic, and CultureGrams. They were supplied with the NEISD Library Services ES Digital Resource Guide as a reference to help them.
Since September was Library Card Sign-Up Month, the Ridgeview Librarian reached out to the Westfall Public Librarian to visit the campus. The public librarian talked to 3rd – 5th-grade students about the benefits of acquiring a library card, showed them the SAPL webpage, including homework help and databases, then read some books to the students.
The librarian directs the daily morning announcements and is the campus Webpage Coordinator, which keeps the campus up to date on activities and events for our campus and library. The librarian stays involved on campus by being part of the Vertical Committee, Social Committee, and Critical Incident Response Team.
The librarian used Twitter to post about library events throughout the school year. She also emailed teachers and staff a quarterly newsletter using Sway showcasing events, lessons, and library resource spotlights.