Library Media Services
Newsletter
January
Embedded Files
Library Media Services
This month in GCS Library Media Services:
District Data
District Data
We are short of being on track to meet the goal of 1 million circulations this year!
What can you do to boost circulation at your school?
We are on track to exceed our goal of reading 10 million minutes this year!
What are you doing to build a reading culture at your school?
We are improving our digital book usage!
What can you do to encourage more use at your school?
School Shout Outs
School Shout Outs
Congratulations to our top circulating sites for November! Great job Crystal, Jennifer, Jennie and Chesley! (Standard 2.a, 2.b, 4.c)
Check out the next STEM Challenge! We have gift cards to give away! (Standard 2.a, 2.b)
Congratulations to our top Beanstack sites! Thanks for moving us toward our goal Heather, Hannah, Chauncey, and Margaret! (Standard 4.c)
Next Up
Next Up
Next Monthly Meeting
Monthly virtual meeting topics
Location: Teams
Date: January 6
Two time options:
12:00-1:00
3:00-4:00
One of the meetings will be recorded each month.
Next New SLMC Meeting
Location: High Point Public Library
Date: January 16
Time: 1:30-3:30
New SLMC meetings are for any SLMCs in their 1st, 2nd or 3rd years with GCS LMS.
Upcoming Dates
1/6: Monthly Virtual Meeting
1/9: Destiny Training
1/10: Winter Reading Minutes due
1/16: New SLMC Meeting
1/23: ES SLMC/STEM Collab
1/24: Collection Development Plan Workday
1/24: CIPA Certification due
1/27: Quarterly PL Day and ES/MS/HS PLCs
1/31: Inventory and Collection Development Plan due
2/3: Monthly Virtual Meeting
2/13: New SLMC Meeting
2/27: SLMC PLCs
January Responsibilities
Ensure GCS Winter Break Reading Challenge minutes are reflected in Beanstack (2.b, 4.c)
Distribute GCS Winter Break Reading Challenge certificates (2.b, 4.c)
Run reports on 2nd quarter circulation data (2.a)
Review circulation data and procedures (2.a, 3.a, 5.a)
Evaluate circulation procedures for what is or is not working (2.a, 3.a, 5.a, 5.c)
Verify completion of CIPA requirements (1.c, 4.b)
Submit Collection Development Plan to LMS Department (3.a)
Plan Black History Month display/activities/lessons (2.a, 2.b)
Update Destiny Discover homepage and library website as needed (1.a, 3.a)
Attend quarterly SLMC meeting (5.b)
Tabulate time spent on technology and non-evaluated tasks (1.c)
File or archive artifacts for evaluation
GCS Reads
GCS Reads
Great job! We are over halfway to our
10 Million Minute Goal!
See how your school compares for total minutes logged.
What reading counts toward the goal?
Student self-selected reading
At-home reading
Non-required class reading
Partner reading
Any reading in which the student is allowed a choice!
Any reading done for fun!
(Standard 4.c)
Upcoming Training
Elizabeth, our Beanstack representative, will join us for the monthly virtual meeting in January. To help ensure everyone's needs are met during this session, please submit any questions you have ahead of time.
Form to Submit Beanstack Questions
Beanstack also offers regular virtual trainings and recorded webinars that you can access anytime.
Upcoming Webinars:
Beanstack EDU: Building a Strong Culture of Reading in Your Schools and Classrooms
Date: January 9, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET
Audience: All - School Admin, District Admin, and Teachers
Whether you're a teacher or a school librarian, you can build a strong culture of reading among your students. Beanstack's school librarians will walk you through the fundamentals of connecting with students around books, sparking excitement for reading, and building healthy reading habits.
How to Train (and Engage!) Your Teachers
Date: January 22, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET and February 11, 2025 at 1:00 pm ET
Audience: All - School Admin, District Admin, and Teachers
In this 45-minute train-the-trainer session, learn how to effectively train your teachers to use Beanstack and get buy-in. Attendees will walk away with a customizable slide deck they can use for their own training with teachers.
Winter Break Reading Challenge
Winter Break Reading Challenge Minutes Must Be In Beanstack By January 10!
Prek-8th grade students must read at least 300 minutes between December 21 and January 5 to earn a ticket to three UNCG basketball games.
Men's Basketball vs. Wofford, Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6:00 pm at the First Horizon Coliseum
Women's Basketball vs. Western Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2:00 pm in Fleming Gymnasium
Men's Basketball vs. Samford, Saturday, Mar. 1 at 4:00 pm in Fleming Gymnasium
9th-12th grade students must read at least 300 minutes between December 21 and January 5 to be entered into a drawing for a Barnes and Noble gift card.
Drawing will held on Monday, January 13. Ten gift cards will be awarded.
Resources are available on the Reading Programs Handbook Page.
Reading minutes must be logged in Beanstack to be eligible for a prize. Students who cannot record their minutes over Winter Break can enter them in Beanstack when they return to school. To count toward the challenge, minutes will need to be dated during Winter Break. (Standard 4.c)
Battle of the Books
Check In Meeting on January 13!
At least one coach from each participating school should attend the virtual meeting to receive final details about the upcoming competition.
(Standard 4.c)
Please sign up to help with the virtual competition!
Access the BOB Google Site for support resources and important dates.
Authors Engaging Students
Videos for the spring AES series are being recorded and will be shared when they are ready. Books for spring authors should arrive at schools by the end of January. The recordings, picture book lesson plans and author resources are accessible from the Authors Engaging Students Resource Site. (Standard 4.c)
STEM Challenge Book Club Resources
Activities for the 2024-25 NCCBA books have been added to the STEM Challenge Book Club Site. A set of the books has been provided to all elementary schools. Materials are not being provided this year.
Past activities are still available on the site for use in schools. (Standard 2.a, 2.b)
News to Note
News to Note
New Spaces!
Three schools are returning to new spaces this week - Brooks, Foust, and Peck have all moved into their new buildings and students will be checking out books and engaging in lessons in state of the art school library media centers.
New Brooks
School Library Media Center
New Brooks
School Library Media Center
New Foust
School Library Media Center
New Foust
School Library Media Center
New Peck
School Library Media Center
New Peck
School Library Media Center
Library Donations Through SchoolCash
The New SchoolCash Online system has a special donation set up for each school's library media center. You may ask your school treasurer to run a report to see if donations have been made. Donations are logged at the district level first and the treasurer will then move the donation to your school library media center's 302 account. This account can only be used to purchase materials for the school library media center and rolls over from year to year.
Collection Development Process
The collection development process includes conducting an inventory of the student-circulating collection, analyzing collection data, and writing a plan for collection development and management. Support for each step of the process will be provided by LMS. (Standard 3.a)
Collection Development Plans Are Due January 31!
Collection Development Plans completed using the old template will not be accepted. The training walkthrough and template are linked in the Handbook. Plans must be submitted using the appropriate form and will not be accepted via email.
There is a workday scheduled on January 24 for those that want to attend. This is an opportunity to have 3 hours of focused time to write the plan with support from Library Media Services. Performance Matters registration is required. Space is limited.
Professional Learning Opportunities
When requesting professional development leave to attend a conference you will now be asked to complete a prior approval form. This form must be completed 60 days in advance. Administrators may give you the form to complete or simply ask for justification for conference attendance to put into the form. You can preview the form to be able to prepare responses when submitting requests.
Calendar
2024-25 Meeting List and Due Dates -
This document will always be the most
up-to-date, reliable resource for meeting dates, times and locations!
LMS Professional Learning Handbook page
(Standard 5.b)
Grade Level PLCs
Grade level PLCs will be in person during the January quarterly meeting.
PLC Resources and Links to Agendas
(Standard 1.b)
NC TIES Conference
Register Now! Early Bird Registration Ends January 31st!
March 5-7, 2025 Raleigh Convention Center
NCTIES is North Carolina’s leading event for educational technology, bringing together teachers, administrators, and edtech enthusiasts who share a passion for transforming education. Join us for vibrant sessions, collaborative opportunities, and a whole lot of fun as we explore new ways to bring technology to life in the classroom.
(Standard 5.b)
Monthly STEM Challenges Are LIVE! Go to the STEM Challenge site to participate!
SLMCs are challenged to engage their students in low-stakes, low-tech STEM activities this year! (Standard 2.a, 2.b)
The January Challenge is Any Way the Wind Blows. SLMCs who have students try the challenges and submit images to LMS will be entered into a drawing for a gift card sponsored by GASL. One winner will be drawn and recognized in the newsletter the next month.
How can you implement the STEM challenges in your school library program?
use the challenges in lessons with one of the suggested picture books or find an alternative in your collection
set up the challenge as a monthly center in your library
start a STEM club and work through the challenges using the Engineering Design Process
invite students in for "Lunch and Learn" maker activities
any way you want to!!
To help with future planning, challenges will be published on the STEM Challenge site a month in advance so the materials list will be available. You can preview the next month's challenge by clicking on the link in the left-hand menu of the STEM Challenges Google Site.
Destiny Reminders and Trainings
Asynchronous Cataloging Training
What is it? A self-paced Canvas course to learn how to catalog books in Destiny following GCS best practices.
Who is it for? New-to-GCS SLMCs or anyone who wants a cataloging refresher.
When is it? On your own time, must be completed by May to receive credit this school year.
Where is it? Online in Canvas
How do we sign up? Enroll in the Canvas Course
(Standard 2.a)
Destiny Training
What is it? A series of virtual meetings focused on gaining a more in-depth understanding of the functions in Destiny Back Office and Discover.
Who is it for? Any SLMC who wants to become more proficient with Destiny.
When is it? 4 dates between October and March
The next meeting is January 9 at 3:00.
Where is it? Meetings will be held via Teams.
How do we sign up? Register in Performance Matters and enroll in the Destiny Training Canvas Course.
(Standard 2.a)
High Point Public Library Partnership Opportunities
January Programs
HPPL has a variety of fun programs for children of all ages coming up in January! Please see their program calendar for event das and times. A few highlights include our STEM club in which we partner with the NC Cooperative Extension. We've added one of the STEM Clubs as a program geared towards tweens.
(Standard 4.c)
Teacher Workday Performances
HPPL and Morehead Recreation Center in High Point will be hosting free performances for all ages on teacher workdays throughout the school year. Please share this information with your school community. Contact Sarah Nareau (sarah.nareau@highpointnc.gov) with questions about this program.
Fall and Spring Performances Event Flyer
(Standard 4.c)
Resources for Lessons and Professional Learning
Ideas for Observing the 100th day of School
9 tech-friendly projects from the Class Tech Tips Blog
Goal Setting Ideas for Any Time of Year
Goal settings worksheet ideas from the Class Tech Tips blog
The Ditch Summit
December 16 - January 10
A free online conference for educators
~100 on-demand video presentations
Great, interesting, inspiring sessions
Engaging, relatable presenters
Certificates of completion for PD credit
Downloadable PDF notes
Dig Cit Corner
Dig Cit Corner
CIPA Certification
GCS SLMCs will certify each year that CIPA Digital Citizenship requirements have been met for their school. The annual Responsible Use Course covers the topics required by the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Certification is due for the 2024-2025 school year via this form by January 24, 2025.
January Citizenship Theme: We know the power of words and actions.
As the line between online and offline continues to blur, students will reflect on how they can use intrapersonal and interpersonal skills to build and strengthen positive online communication and communities. Lessons on this topic will explore common digital stressors and their influences on relationships. Students will also gain an understanding of how to communicate effectively online and how and why some topics and conversations can best lend themselves to certain mediums. Read more about this topic on the Common Sense Education website.
(Standard 1.d)
Monthly activities to teach digital citizenship are available on the Guilford is Cyber Safe website.
Technology Tidbits
Technology Tidbits
The Technology Services Handbook For Schools is your one-stop shop for processes, resources, and guidelines.
🎯 Pro Tip: Use the Table of Contents to navigate through the document; you can also use Ctrl + f on a Windows device or ⌘ + f on an iOS device or to search by keyword.
Technology Approval and Procurement Process
Use the Technology Approval and Procurement Process request for all technology purchases including
Hardware
Software
GCS ‘standard’ technology
Brand new technology
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