Library / Impact Report

2022/2023 Impact Report

Librarian

Our Bush Middle School students meet in the library before school to interact with MakerSpace activities such as the Stick Together Synergy Project or pursue independent projects in our social gathering place. Students engage in reading for pleasure by searching the district catalog for books, seeking recommendations, self-checkout and return of books.
The entire student body of Bush Middle School enjoyed one of three grade-level presentations by best-selling author, Nathan Hale, which was sponsored by our PTA, Gifted & Talented teachers and librarian. Sixth and seventh-grade GT students enjoyed lunch with the author and a writing workshop.
Mrs. Hirst worked with student library volunteers in the mornings before school to look up popular book series we have in print in the library and match them to books available in Sora. The students created QR codes of the Sora ebook to attach to the cover of books in the library so that students will be encouraged to read the print book along with the audiobook.
The librarian advocates for the library program through written communications with teachers, students and the community. Each grade level team at Bush Middle School shares an upcoming calendar of events and a weekly email to which Mrs. Hirst contributes on a regular basis to share resources and upcoming events.

7,043
print books in collection

15,093
ebooks books in collection

10,120
print books checked out

883
ebooks books checked out

Speech students look through books to prepare for UIL poetry and prose competition

Teacher

The librarian co-taught Speech class with Ms. Moy to address the learning target of having students explore and analyze Prose or Poetry selections for performance-level competition. We reviewed different poetry available and analyzed pieces for selection and rehearsal.
The librarian presented a lesson using the District Library Services digital resources Learn360, BrainPop, Britannica School and News-O-Matic to share information about the winter holidays of Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah and Diwali. Students engaged with each other and Mrs. Hirst, talking about their personal experiences of how they celebrate these holidays with their families.
For Black History Month, Mrs. Hirst created a bulletin board display in a prominent area highlighting the history of the Coretta Scott King Award and the books honored this year. As ELAR teachers brought their students to the library, they interacted with the instructional material by scanning the QR code for the books available in Sora and with other students through a partner discussion and share-out about which books interested them and why.
The 8th grade ELAR students were assigned a poetry unit where the librarian curated books with various types of poetry, including traditional texts and Novels in Verse. Students self-selected poetry that resonated with them and then created a poetry portfolio of at least ten original poems.

Emergent Bilingual students choose books in Spanish or from Hispanic authors as part of Hispanic Heritage month

Lesson Spotlight

This year for Hispanic Heritage Month, we had the opportunity to spotlight several members of our faculty and staff who identify as Hispanic. Our library bulletin board was filled with their personal photos and details of traditions they shared with their families. The teachers offered advice to current Hispanic students about how to preserve their culture and the importance it has in their lives. Teachers also shared the influence of Hispanic writers and the role they played in their reading lives. Mrs. Hirst guided our Emergent Bilingual students through the bulletin board and led a discussion about the photos and information shared by our teachers. We talked about the importance of the students' own traditions and how they compare to those shared on the display. After these conversations, the students were given the opportunity to check out library books featuring Hispanic authors.

Collaborator

The Bush MS Campus ITS, Matthew Scott collaborated with the librarian, Christie Hirst, to host a professional development to introduce our staff and teachers to Canva for teacher choice credit in Eduphoria. We created four lessons - two were completed during the professional development time, and then two assignments were completed and submitted afterward for credit.
Bush Assistant Principal, Chrstina Sanchez, Campus ITS, Matthew Scott, and the librarian, Christie Hirst, collaborated to lead our campus technology CITE team to receive, prepare, and distribute our District-provided Chromebooks to give our students 1:1 access to technology. We sought feedback and planned learning opportunities for teachers and students to effectively utilize the 1:1 Chromebook model.
The librarian, Christie Hirst, collaborated with the 6th grade ELAR teachers, April Kuper and Brooke Williams to create a lesson introducing students to the variety of genres available in the Bush Library. Together, we differentiated our instruction with diverse texts of a wide range of reading levels and interests.
Christie Hirst collaborated with the 8th grade Science teachers to create a lesson to teach students about various forms of ocean pollution to help prepare them for the STAAR test. The librarian researched digital library resources and shared differentiated articles that students read individually and shared within small groups.

Collaboration Spotlight

Matthew Scott, the Bush MS Campus ITS, and Christie Hirst, the librarian, collaborated with the ELAR department to help teachers facilitate literature circles with their students. Mrs. Hirst shared lists of book titles from the library with sufficient copies for teachers to use with multiple students in literature circles. Each student was able to self-select a book from a variety of genres with an array of interests and reading levels. Matthew and Christie worked together to present the ELAR teachers options for Creative Responses to Literature including reading log bookmarks, Book Snaps, Book Hooks and other digital options from a choice board. The students were engaged with this project as they worked individually on this assignment and then shared their results with the class. They enjoyed the use of technology and the opportunity to show their creativity in a simple but effective way.

Matthew Scott and Christie Hirst stand in front of the SmartBoard with the "I am reading" lesson in the background

Campus Leader

The librarian set up a table in a high traffic area during our Open House night and was available to share information about our Library committee, volunteer opportunities and opt-out information throughout the evening. The library received applications for parent volunteers and for our Library Advisory Committee.
Parents and students were enticed to shop the Scholastic Book Fair together for Family Shopping Day with complimentary hot chocolate provided by the Bush Middle School Library. Mrs. Hirst introduced herself to each family in attendance, and shared her contact information as well as resources to introduce parents to Sora, highlighting the availability of audio books and the connection process for the San Antonio Public Library.
The librarian facilitated the transition from a centralized Chromebook cart check-out system to a process where 28 different teachers manage the reservations for a chromebook cart. Mrs. Hirst created the instructions for the staff on how to add a campus calendar through Google, create cart reservations as events and follow-up with an email script for the teacher to confirm the reservation request.
The Campus Improvement Committee meets six times throughout the year in the Bush Middle School library. Christie Hirst was chosen to serve on this committee to share our Chromebook deployment's progress and offer suggestions and insight for the library program’s portion of the Campus Improvement Plan.