Library / Impact Report 2022/2023

2022/2023 Impact Report

Librarian

The Library Book Club read 8 books this year, and members were invited to participate after school during official meetings or to come to the library during lunch once a week to eat and discuss the book a few chapters a time. This flexible formatting enabled more students to participate this year. The D&D Club entered its second year, with many returning students, and kids gathered weekly in the library to participate in this collaborative kid-led storytelling roleplaying game.
Throughout the year, the Student Library Guild met, planned, and pitched library programming ideas to Ms. Wilson. This group, made up of (currently 9) 6-8th graders, designed and delivered themed events such as the Spooky Books and Breakfast event in the fall, and Jolabokaflod, “the Winter Book Flood” in the winter.
In April, the Bradley Library hosted the award winning author, Lisa Fipps for a virtual author visit. She discussed her award winning novel in verse and 2022 Lone Star Selection book, Starfish. The visit was open to anyone who wanted to attend- either from home or the Bradley Library. The visit even included students from other NEISD middle school libraries. Students were able to connect with a real author, ask questions about craft, and further engage in their lives as readers.
In early May 2022, Clash of Titles returned to the Bradley Library. Six teams competed in this friendly book trivia contest to take home the glory and celebrate another year of reading. The game was made up of three rounds, two of which were Jeopardy-style, and one audio-visual round.

Students stand around a table covered in books with Christmas bows. The students are looking at them and choosing which one they want.

8,373
print books in collection

14,847
ebooks books in collection

8,546
print books checked out

1,495
ebooks books checked out

Three students sit at a table looking at picture books. Open Chromebooks sit on the table. Background: More students sit around tables looking at picture books and Chromebook screens.

Teacher

After learning about creating headlines for articles in class, the Bradley Journalism kids visited the library for a lesson on writing six-word summaries. The six-word summary captures the essence of an article, book, or, in our case, picture books! The students read a picture book, generated a summary in six words or less, and then translated that summary into a headline designed for a specific target audience.
Before starting their script writing unit, the Theatre II and Theatre III students came to the library and analyzed picture books, middle grade books, and college-level classics through the perspective of different aged audience members. They considered the texts in respect to accessibility and understandability, especially for young children, and used their findings during the brainstorming sessions for their scripts.
The Investigating Careers class came to the library in the fall to research self-selected careers and were taught about available library resources, including the database Learning Express. From this database, students gleaned information on their chosen career’s salary, required level of education, and what a typical workday looks like.
Ms. Wilson taught and cotaught research lessons throughout the year to different grade levels and academic subjects including ELAR, Science, and Fine Arts. For example, in February, Ms. Wilson curated resources and prepared digital mini-lessons on research for sixth grade science when they began their Periodic Table research projects. The lessons focused on the importance of using reliable resources such as databases and how to cite their sources.

Library windows covered in student-created posters to create a gallery.

Lesson Spotlight

Before Halloween, 8th-grade students put their creative writing skills to the test in the library when they were asked to draft a two-sentence scary story to get us all in the mood for the spooky season. After viewing some model pieces written by their peers, the students were challenged to write concisely and deliver both a setup and a shock in only two sentences. Once they had finished writing and editing their stories, the librarian taught a mini-lesson on how to use Canva to design a matching background to support their fright-inducing tales. This included students learning to use this powerful design software to edit photos and select a font to match the mood of their piece. The most cohesive and creative submissions were printed and showcased outside the library. Forty-five students had their digital pieces printed for display.

Collaborator

Ms. Wilson participated and contributed to her secondary librarian cohort’s Professional Learning Committee once a month. This group of librarians met to set, monitor, and adjust professional goals with the expectation of high results. In the first quarter, the group focused on developing and delivering effective and efficient professional development opportunities for campus staff. At Bradley, this goal manifested in the form of Lunch and Learns for the campus.
Ms. Wilson served on the Bradley Campus Integration of Technology Enthusiasts (C.I.T.E). Team from its inception in December 2022 to the Spring of 2023. As early adopters for innovative technology, this team of teachers, administration, and the Instructional Technology Specialist, met to address the logistics of 1-1 Chromebook distribution and develop a plan to foster connected and blended learning classrooms.
The Puzzles & Games Classes, the Library, and PTA hosted Bradley’s first “Family Board Game Night” in February. Current students attended with older and younger siblings, parents, grandparents, and cousins and met around tables to play in a tech-free zone that encouraged problem-solving, collaboration, and community building. Students from the Puzzles and Games classes had the opportunity to show off the games they had learned by becoming “anchors” at tables and helping families get started.
In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Ms. Wilson collaborated with the San Antonio Holocaust Memorial Museum and Social Studies Department Chair, Krystine Ryan, to bring a second-generation Holocaust survivor to speak at Bradley. Dr. Steven Rosenblatt met with all three grade levels and shared the survival stories of his parents along with the importance of bearing witness and remembering the Holocaust.

Collaboration Spotlight

Bradley students are bursting with creativity and talent. Throughout the year, Ms. Wilson and ELAR Department Chair, Charlie Curry, hosted creative writing workshops for our student writers. In February and March, students nominated by their ELAR teachers had the chance to take part in two small after-school workshops with San Antonio Poet Laureate, Andrea Vocab Sanderson. One workshop was dedicated to ‘Growing Where You are Planted” and included lessons on developing details around setting, using figurative language, and giving yourself permission to be creative. It was incredible to witness our students invest themselves in their writing and commit to refining their craft. A third virtual workshop in April with Andrea Vocab Sanderson was open to anyone interested in learning about poetry and to other middle school campuses in NEISD. The year of writing culminated in the Poetry Slam on April 3, where we had 12 participants share the work of which they were the most proud.

San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea Vocab Sanderson stands in front of a white board. In the foreground, students are standing and looking towards her as she leads a lesson.

Campus Leader

Ms. Wilson, the Bradley librarian, and Mr. Belford, our campus Instructional Technology Specialist, collaborated this year to bring professional development opportunities to the Bradley staff through Lunch and Learns, Walking PDs, and after school sessions. Teachers and staff members came to the library to learn about Canva, ClassKick, Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT, and Thinking Routines or Eduprotocols.
Each month, Ms. Wilson published and distributed a library snapshot newsletter with library circulation statistics, visitor numbers, projects and events. These library snapshots were included in the principal's Bear Blast newsletter and posted on the library Instagram account (@bradleybearlibrary) along with other pictures of the monthly happenings in the Bradley Library.
Ms. Wilson co-chaired the Bradley 40th Fall Festival Commitee, a group of Bradley staff and community members, which came together to plan the celebration for Bradley’s 40th birthday. The committee met in the library in the fall, brainstormed events, delegated tasks, and came back together to throw an incredible bash for our beloved school.
Ms. Wilson served on Bradley’s Leadership Team with campus administrators, counselors, and the nurse to continually monitor and adjust campus policies and procedures to best serve our campus and kids. She also took on the role of club liaison on campus, updating the Student Life tab of our webpage, creating a Student Life calendar, and organizing a Club Rush event in the spring so students could get a true picture of all Bradley’s extracurricular offerings.