Library / 2022/2023 Impact Report

2022/2023 Impact Report

Librarian

The Thousand Oaks Librarian provided monthly STEAM activities during library time, such as legos, iPad coding, origami, puzzles, and art. STEAM activities engage all learners and encourage creativity, develop problem-solving, and offer opportunities for meaningful peer interactions.
In January, the Thousand Oaks librarian hosted a visit from well-known children’s author Jerry Pallotta. Jerry Pallotta is the author of the popular series Who Would Win and various counting and alphabet books. Author visits benefit students by introducing them to new books and helping them connect with books, authors, and their own lives while encouraging them to pursue their own creative endeavors.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian promoted many fun days for reading and awareness of the world around us, such as International Dot Day, the Literary Pumpkin Patch, Read Across America, and Reading Buddies between the grade levels. The librarian also encouraged and promoted reading beyond the school day with our 1st annual Read-a-Thon.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian promoted literacy and Bluebonnet Award books through a friendly Battle of the Books competition for our 4th grade students. Through preparations and the competition, the Battle of the Books teams read quality books for children their age, practiced comprehension and fluency skills, and discovered how to use their strengths to help the group.

Thunderbolt Mascot with Children's Author Jerry Pallotta.

10,273
print books in collection

4,469
ebooks books in collection

15,784
print books checked out

568
ebooks books checked out

Students using News-O-Matic to read a learn about current events through daily articles.

Teacher

The Thousand Oaks Librarian co-taught various library and literacy skills with the ALE teacher. The librarian worked with ALE students on finding and checking out new books, listening and comprehending a story to answer related questions, and retelling a story. This was accomplished through an assortment of books read aloud and engaging activities paired with the books. Included in these lessons were class favorites such as Pete the Cat, 5 Little Pumpkins, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
The Thousand Oaks librarian co-taught with the 2nd grade teachers as the students learned about natural resources. The librarian taught the students how to get to PebbleGo, BrainPop, and Nat Geo Kids to find their natural resources and choose a book or article to complete their projects.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian introduced News-O-Matic to the 3rd-5th grade students and teachers. Together we explored the daily articles, the accessibility tools available to the students, and how teachers can assign articles and levels to students to impact learning further.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian taught 2nd grade students how to log in and use essential functions and applications on Chromebooks for more digital access for learning and creative endeavors. This learning will also prepare them for 3rd grade, where testing is all online.

Students learning how to find books in the library by completing a scavenger hunt activity.

Lesson Spotlight

To teach students how to use the library independently, the Thousand Oaks Librarian taught the basics of using the Dewey Decimal Classification System to find various books on the library shelves. Once she introduced the primary sections of the Dewey Decimal System and showed students the related library areas with matching signs, the students participated in a scavenger hunt using small task cards with clues and Dewey numbers to practice and build confidence in finding fiction and nonfiction books. This lesson resulted in students being able to find library books of their choice independently.

Collaborator

In preparation for the Kindergarten animal research unit, the Thousand Oaks librarian worked with the Kindergarten teachers to gather a selection of animal topics, animal books, and online resources for students to use successfully in their learning. While the classes were in the library, the librarian taught the teachers and students how to navigate the resources to find the information they sought.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian and fourth grade teachers and students gathered information for research on Texas historical figures through written and digital texts. Some digital texts include PebbleGo, SIRS Discoverer, Gale in Context, and Britannica Encyclopedia. Students also learn the importance of citing their resources and how to do so correctly using citation tools.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian collaborated with Northwood, Redland Oaks, Regency Place, and Wetmore Librarians to provide a Battle of the Books competition for our 4th grade students. The final Cluster Battle is an after-school event with teams representing each school. Students share their book knowledge in a friendly competition, and the event allows them to meet peers from other schools in the MacArthur Cluster.
For the fifth grade Market Days preparations, the Thousand Oaks Librarian worked with the teachers and students to create advertisements to share their merchandise. The students learned about using our green screen media room and digital media tools for this task.

Collaboration Spotlight

The librarian and the family specialist hosted a six-week Pre-K reading time series for students and families with young children. During these sessions, students sang songs, listened to a story, and completed a related activity. Some stories included Pete the Cat and the 5 Little Pumpkins and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This collaboration assisted families in getting ideas for creating meaningful literacy activities. Our Superintendent, Dr. Maika, was one of our guest readers!

NEISD Superintendent Sean Maika reads to our Pre-K students as a guest in our family reading series.

Campus Leader

In the fall, the Thousand Oaks Librarian led a staff training on accessing various library digital resources and the content and features of each. The librarian provided hands-on experience as the staff was introduced to new library resources such as News-O-Matic and PebbleGo Next, then generated ideas to use these resources in lessons to increase student achievement. In the spring, the librarian worked with teachers interested in green screen apps such as Do Ink as a presentation tool.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian hosted a Scholastic Book Fair where the students and families could purchase books, journals, and other items. The book fair provided not only books to those who came to shop but also served to spotlight many books available for check out from the library. The book fair was also an opportunity to talk to families about the library and library programming and bring in new volunteers.
As part of the Thousand Oaks leadership team, the librarian attended weekly leadership meetings to help make impactful decisions for the school. The librarian also contributed to the weekly community BOLTS Newsletter. The librarian also created her weekly newsletter for the Thousand Oaks staff, Bolts Books and More.
The Thousand Oaks Librarian, our campus Targeted Support Teacher, and other committee members organized and hosted a campus literacy night. This event included a late night at the Book Fair, various grade-level literacy-based activities, and a food truck. Family nights promote a sense of community in our school while encouraging literacy.