Mrs. Folan's Page

MEDIA NEWS- SEPT 15- 25

We are celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month in the Media Center!

Kindergarteners and first graders will hear read alouds of Matt De La Peña’s Carmela Full of Wishes and Papa and Me by Arthur Dorros, along with stories that focus on the alphabet and letter recognition. We’ve already done Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and What About X: An Alphabet Story. If you have any of these books at home or would like to check them out from the public library, reading them to your child would be a great way to re-inforce their comprehension and understanding.

Second graders will be listening to stories presenting Hispanic versions of nursery rhymes and fairytales, including Domitla: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition, and Red Riding Hood--and other Cuentos.

Children will also have some time to check out new books at the end of every lesson. Remember they can keep their books for two weeks--and I'm constantly adding books to the Free Book carts, so even if your child forgets to bring back a library book they should be able to bring something home.

The schedule for Media Center class visits is here.

Third through 5th graders are continuing to work on building their vocabulary. The classes had the opportunity to select a book for an in-class read a loud, from which they will select words to investigate for both spelling and meaning. Although they had the opportunity to vote between several books nominated for this year’s Maryland Black Eyed Susan award, the classes unanimously selected The Experiment by Rebecca Stead. It's the story of 12 year old Nathan... who believes his family are aliens from another planet on Earth to participate in a mysterious experiment. Only it turns out nothing is as it seems, people are disappearing and Nathan and his friends must figure out what's going wrong before it's too late.

If your child would like to read ahead, The Experiment is available through Montgomery County Public Library and on sale this month at Amazon Amazon for $8.99 ( It's $17 at Barnes and Noble!).

Media News-- September 8- September 11

It's been nice meeting so many of you at the Back to School Nights-- and I appreciate all of your kind words about the new look of the Media Center. None of it would been possible with the energy of Mrs. Helen (Betsy) Liu, Mrs. Diane Diehl and the financial support of our incredible PTA! More furniture arrived last week, along with several learning games which I will share more about in a later update.

Library card, everyone?

Some fun literacy related things to share with you about the month of September:

First, September 8 is International Literacy Day and we will be giving out special bookmarks in the library all month. Look for them!

Also September is Library Card Month! It's incredibly easy to get a library card and your kids--even the youngest ones-- can get their own card. Here's all the information you need to get a card from the Germantown Public library branch and it is good at libraries all over the county.

What's the GOOD WORD?

If your student is in grade 3, 4, or 5, you may have heard them talk about their "good word" of the week. Each week, I've asked them to pull a word from their reading, conversations--even television or other media--to share. Now that they have begun book checkouts, I'm encouraging them to use the books they are bringing home. While the "good word winner" from each class gets a small prize.

Please encourage your child to listen carefully and take note of words that are unfamiliar.

Introductions

August 21, 2026

Hello!

I'm Karyn Wynn Folan and I'm your new Library Media Specialist. Before coming to Gibbs Elementary, I was a media assistant at Seneca Valley High School for two years. Before that, I worked as a media assistant at Christa McAuliffe Elementary for two years. I recently graduated from Towson University with a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology and am thrilled to be teaching your students about how use digital resources responsibly--as well as how to use traditional library materials--this year!

This is my third career! I have always loved libraries and have worked in them at several times in my life, but before becoming a librarian I was a lawyer and a freelance writer! Words, research and writing are my "thing" and I hope to instill your students with that same love of lifelong learning!

I worked most of the summer to make changes to the feel of our Media Center. I hope you will all enjoy the new look. I plan to use stories and games to encourage student literacy.

Please feel free to reach out to me at karyn_e_wynnfolan@mcpsmd.org with your ideas and suggestions. Visit our website often for news about our programs!

I look forward to working with you, your student and your family!

Our bright new Media Center

Please come visit us during one of the Back to School Nights:

Thursday September 3: PEP, Pre-K and K-2

Tuedsay, September 8, 3-5

new rocker chairS

Mrs. Sampson dropped by on the first day of school, August 25, 2026, after the delivery of our rocker chairs! Gibbs Elementary School's FABULOUS PTA generously gifted us with these and other soft seating options. THANK YOU PTA!

Thank you PTA!

Come have a seat! Thanks to PTA, we have new chairs arriving.

One of the things I noticed on my first visit to the Media Center was the lack of places for students to sit down and read. Thank you to Gibbs PTA for donating these rocker chairs! Bean bags and cushions are on the way! More pics coming soon!

A BIG THANK YOU to our PTA! Your support matters!

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