Library / 2022/2023 Impact Report

SCHOOL YEAR Impact Report

Librarian

The Stahl Library held a genre challenge and Texas Bluebonnet Books Reading Challenge for 3rd - 5th graders. Kindergarten - 2nd-grade classes were challenged to read the Texas 2x2 books with their classes, and the Stahl Library was excited to host a fall book fair.
The Stahl Library implements many STEAM projects. One of those projects incorporated the book Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. This project was completed with 1st-grade students, and after we read the book, they were challenged to create and build the tallest snowman they could using toothpicks and marshmallows.
The Stahl Library has partnered with the Family Specialist to implement the Spring Into Reading Challenge for every Stahl student grades Kinder through 5th grade. Scholastic provided each student with new books and family engagement activities for this reading promotion. The intention is to promote literacy while allowing families to participate in literacy-related activities together.
The Stahl Librarian worked with second graders on an engineering project that culminated in them building a 6-foot-long marble maze. Every week, each second-grade class would listen to one of the Questioneer books and then work on a stage of their project. This project helped students build their communication skills and confidence in working as part of a team and helped improve their problem-solving abilities.

16,321
print books in collection

4,516
ebooks books in collection

23,310
print books checked out

1,154
ebooks books checked out

Teacher

The librarian incorporated coding into the 1st and 2nd-grade Neighborhood/Community ELAR unit. Students listened to, Inside Cat, by Brendan Wenzel, and then we discussed things/places they would see in their neighborhood/community. Afterward, students could choose neighborhood businesses and program a coding mouse to get to each location.
The Stahl Library incorporated many research projects with students during the school year. The most notable was an engineering project where 3rd and 4th graders researched the engineering process, catapults, and Pumpkin Chunkin. After completing their research, the 3rd and 4th graders worked in teams of 3-4 to build a catapult out of everyday items. Once the construction of the catapult was finished, the teams used the catapult to launch a candy pumpkin as far as they could.
For the 3rd quarter, the librarian collaborated with the 3rd-grade teachers to incorporate research into their biographies unit along with Black History Month. The students first researched a chosen candidate from a given list during this collaboration. After they collected their data, the students created a "postage stamp" that reflected their candidate in some way without simply drawing their profile.
For the 4th quarter, the librarian collaborated with Kindergarten teachers for students to do a 4-week worm study. During this study, we started each lesson by reading a fiction or non-fiction book about worms. After our read-aloud, the students did various worm activities, including Dancing Worms and a compare/contrast investigation between gummy and earthworms. The students were engaged and excited to learn about worm habitats and how worms benefit the environment.

Lesson Spotlight

The Stahl Librarian challenged third and fourth-grade students to build a boat that could float and hold weight. This challenge began with studying boats and what makes them float to build background knowledge. Once their research was complete, the students worked in small groups to create their crafts utilizing recyclable materials while being challenged with the constructs of staying within a budget so that material was not wasted. Each team was given a budget, and all materials were provided.

Collaborator

As a new librarian this year, I was afforded the opportunity to collaborate with a veteran librarian. She and I met weekly to discuss lessons for the following week, reading promotions, and ideas for the library.
I worked with our family specialist to plan parent training this year. During our meetings, I presented the various library digital resources available for them to access at home and use with their children.
For the 3rd quarter, the librarian collaborated with the 2nd-grade teachers on a Fairy Tale challenge called Road to Royalty. During this challenge, the 2nd-grade teachers and their students read 16 fairy tales related to each challenge.
During the last quarter, the librarian worked with 3rd-grade teachers to incorporate hands-on activities into their science TEKS. During this time, the librarian conducted a short review lesson on changes in states of matter. After that, the students investigated the difference in the state of matter called sublimation.

Collaboration Spotlight

This year the librarian was afforded the opportunity to work and collaborate with a veteran librarian as a mentor. This opportunity allowed Stahl’s first-year Librarian to navigate the library, learn the ins and outs of being a librarian, and learn enumerable ways to incorporate TEKS and STEAM into the library’s lessons and activities. Being afforded this opportunity reflected in the many different lessons and activities the students participated in throughout the year. As a result, the students were fully engaged while in the library and walked away, learning something new each week. Additionally, the benefit of having a mentor was undoubtedly reflected in the Stahl Librarian’s nomination for the Trinity Prize.

two ladies

Campus Leader

Every morning I provided important campus information during the announcements about upcoming events and the Leader in Me Program. On “Wonder Wednesdays,” I offered my campus science-related mini-lessons and used book trailers to promote books available for checkout in the library.
During the school year, I provided professional development to the faculty and staff on my campus. I presented how to access the digital resource, News-O-Matic, and demonstrated all the features News-O-Matic has to offer. Teachers were excited about all the possibilities of integrating this resource into lessons.
During the 3rd quarter, I provided professional development to the entire faculty and staff on my campus. I presented how to create a Pear Deck using Google Slides and demonstrated all the features Pear Deck has to offer. The teachers were eager to learn all that Pear Deck affords them and their students.
During the 4th quarter, I worked with the GT teacher to create a plan for a campus STEAM Lab. The GT teacher and I wrote a grant proposal sent to the district. Additionally, we put together a plan to implement the STEAM Lab on our campus. We were also allowed to order materials to build the STEAM Lab's foundation, which is set to start during the 2023-24 school year.