DHS Library News

Spring 2021

By Alice N. Johnson, Library Media Specialist | ajohnson@dedham.k12.ma.us

Hours: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 2:30pm | DHS Library Website

From the Librarian

Happy Spring! It's so nice to see flowers beginning to bloom, hear birds singing and feel the warm sunshine. I hope you all get a chance to spend some time outside during April vacation to recharge. In this newsletter, I've included a Makerspace at Home activity with instructions to make a birdfeeder from recycled materials. If you build one, please send me a photo! This newsletter also includes information about School Library Month AND National Poetry month, both of which are celebrated in April. I've provided suggested activities for each of these events. You can also read a summary of our Blind Date with a Book program. For those of you interested in reading or listening to a book over vacation, please see the article about how you can use Sora to access ebooks & audiobooks from the Commonwealth eBook Collections. I highly encourage you to check it out. If you have overdue library books, please return them as soon as possible. Take a look a Ms. Fares' new virtual display, Travel the World Through Books. Lastly, learn more about our DHS Summer Reading 2021. I'm so excited about all the amazing titles on this year's list! As always, if you need any library support, please send me a message! :)

– Mrs. Johnson

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."

-- Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and writer (106 BC - 43 BC)

April is School Library Month

First celebrated in 1985 as School Library Media Month and then renamed to School Library Month in 2010, this event provides an opportunity to celebrate and recognize school libraries. Here are some suggestions about how you can connect with your school library.

What do you love about the DHS Library? Add to this padlet to show your love during School Library Month!
Do you have a favorite book that you would like to recommend to others? Try writing a book review! You can rate a favorite book using a five-star rating system and submit a book review to be added to our library’s catalog. If interested, follow these instructions.
Looking for a new book? Check out one of the over 500 new books we've added to our DHS Library collection this year. If you find something you'd like to borrow, complete this form.
Do you have an idea of how to promote our school library? Try designing a poster or web graphic to advertise why students should use / visit our DHS Library. Send your completed designs to Mrs. Johnson.
Interested in a career in librarianship? Learn more about becoming a school librarian or explore the many other types of library careers.

💘 Thanks to all who participated! We hope you had fun!💘

Blind Date with a Book

Many students and staff participated in this year's program and the "Rate My Date" feedback information is starting to come in. Here are some excerpts from the comments readers shared about their books:

"This was such a fun way to be connected with a new book!"

"It was a quick easy read that kept your attention."

"I was surprised that I actually liked the book! I had never read a graphic novel before and did not expect to enjoy it..."

"I enjoyed the way the story unfolded visually."

"A fun escape from reality!"

"The artwork in the book was beautiful!"

"I like that it was told through a lyrical format."

Although Blind Date with a Book 2021 is over, we still have many great books you can borrow. Complete this form if you would like some recommendations on what to read next!

Makerspace At Home:
Make Your Own Bird Feeder

Celebrate Earth Day 2021 and help take care of the feathered friends in the area by repurposing materials you might have a home to make a birdfeeder. Check out these instructions on how to make a bird feeder from recycled materials. Once your birdfeeder is built, look at these frequently asked questions about feeding birds to find out what kind of seed to use and how to care for your feeder.

If you want to learn more about birds, these resources might be helpful:

Mass Audubon Society has some great information about Birds in Massachusetts. They also feature specific Fall & Winter Birds and Spring & Summer Birds found in our region.
Cornell University's All About Birds site contains information on bird identification, some FAQs about caring for birds, plus plenty of videos and live webcams.
You can also search library databases such as Britannica School or Gale in Context: Science for information about specific bird types or birds in general.

Virtual Book Display

Take a look at Travel the World Through Books, an interactive virtual book display set up by Mrs. Fares, to explore a sampling of books about various places around the world..

If you're interested in borrowing any of these titles, please complete the DHS Library Book Request Form.

April is National Poetry Month!

Learn more about this celebration which was started in 1996.

To celebrate National Poetry Month, try creating some "magnetic poetry" using Google Drawings and then share your completed poem with me.

See the instructions below.

Springtime Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings

First, get your own copy of the Springtime Magnetic Poetry Template (Google Drawing link) and then follow the instructions below on how to use this template.

Using the Template

Once you have your own copy of the template, you can create your poem or other writing as follows:

Drag and drop words from the left and right sides onto the middle work area. Drag around the words as needed to place them where you want.
If you need more than one copy of a word, simply copy and paste it. You can select the text box for the word, then choose “Edit” and “Copy” and “Paste”, or right click and “Copy” and “Paste”, or press Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V.
If you need to edit an existing word, just double-click inside the text box and make the changes you want, such as capitalizing the word, changing the tense, making it plural, or such.
Note: If you change an existing word so that the new word is longer, you will likely need to click and drag the edge of the text box to make it bigger to contain the new word.
If you want to add your own words, double-click inside of any of the blank text boxes and type in the word you want.

Finally, once you have completed your poem, please share your Google Drawing with me (Mrs. Johnson). With your permission, I will compile all the poems into one presentation to share with our school community.

Template and instructions courtesy of Control Alt Achieve: Transforming Education With Technology by Eric Curtis

Vacation Reading!

Just a reminder -- you can borrow eBooks & audiobooks from the DHS Library!

Access the MLS Commonwealth eBook Collection available through Sora to read or listen to books on your Chromebook or on a personal device such as a phone or tablet.

Even when the library is closed, you still have access to great books! These eBooks & audiobooks are available to you 24/7.

Click here to learn more!

DHS Summer Reading 2021

Check out the DHS 2021 Summer Reading Website. Thank you to our students and staff for making suggestions for this year's summer reading list. We received so many great book suggestions! After reviewing these recommendations and trying to meet varying reading interests, we are pleased to offer a variety of genres and topics which can be previewed on this site.

Next up -- Students each will select their top 3 book choices. Once the selection process has been completed, we will place you in a book discussion group with other students who have selected the same book. We will let you know which book you are assigned in June. We will do our best to place you with your first choice, but we cannot guarantee it.

*** If you haven't done so already, please complete this book selection form to let us know your choices. ***

Please Return Your Overdue Library Books!

We have quite a large number of students who owe us library books, including many students who still have books out from last school year. We understand that it's been difficult to return books, but if you can make an effort to return them now, it would be appreciated. We want to make sure these books are available for others.

We have eliminated paper overdue slips and will now be sending overdue notices through email. Books can be returned to a bin inside the library entrance or to the main office. If you receive an email indicating that you owe library materials, please make every effort to return them.

If you have any questions about an overdue notice, please email Mrs. Johnson directly.

"A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it."

-- Samuel Johnson, English critic, biographer, essayist, poet, and lexicographer (1709-1784)

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