Library Media Services
Newsletter
March
Embedded Files
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 MET our goal of reading 10 million minutes this year!
How high can we go?
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 January! Great job Crystal, Jennifer, Sissy, 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, Patty, Colleen, and Margaret! (Standard 4.c)
Next Up
Next Up
Next Monthly Meeting
Location: Teams
Date: April 7
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: Teams
Date: April 10
Time: 3:30-5:00
New SLMC meetings are for any SLMCs in their 1st, 2nd or 3rd years with GCS LMS.
Upcoming Dates
3/6-7: NCTIES Conference
3/13: New SLMC Meeting
3/20: ES SLMC/STEM Collab
3/26: Destiny Training
3/31: Quarterly PL Day and ES/MS/HS PLCs
4/7: Monthly Virtual Meeting
4/10: New SLMC Meeting
4/24: SLMC PLCs
March Responsibilities
Attend NCTIES (5.b, 5.c)
Promote GCS Spring Break Reading Challenge (2.b, 4.c)
Run reports on 3rd 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)
Submit budget proposal (1.c, 5.a)
Plan National Poetry Month display/activities/lessons (2.a, 2.b)
Plan School Library Month display/activities/lessons (1.c, 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 have MET 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)
Beanstack also offers regular virtual trainings and recorded webinars that you can access anytime.
Upcoming webinars:
Beanstack High School Engagement Roundtable
Date: March 4, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET
Audience: High School Librarians and Teachers
In this 45-minute roundtable, we'll hear from teachers and librarians who've mastered the art of motivating high school students to pick up a book - and love it! Attendees will walk away with practical tips and fresh inspiration for using Beanstack to get their students excited about reading.
Beanstack EDU: All Things Incentives
Date: March 6, 2025 at 1:00 pm ET
Audience: School and District Admin
Learn how Beanstack can streamline and enhance the incentives you use to motivate your students in this 30-minute webinar. Come to get a crash course in Beanstack's rewards, tickets, and drawings, and get inspired by real-world examples of how our school partners leverage these tools.
Battle of the Books
Preliminary Competitions Have Concluded!
Congratulations to all the teams that will be competing in the finals.
Elementary School Teams: Academy at Lincoln, Florence, Irving Park, Jones, Lindley, Northern, Oak Ridge, Southwest
Middle School Teams: Academy at Lincoln, Brown Summit, Jamestown, Kernodle, Kiser, Northern, Northwest, Southwest
High School Teams: Early College, Grimsley, Middle College at UNCG, Northern, Northwest, Southern, Southwest
Finals will take place at UNCG on March 14!
Access the BOB Google Site for support resources and important dates.
Authors Engaging Students
Videos for the spring AES series are recorded and shared. All books for spring authors should have arrived at schools. 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)
Read Across America
Launched in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA) and guided by a committee of educators, NEA’s Read Across America is the nation’s largest celebration of reading. This year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources that are about everyone, for everyone.
Read Across America offers limitless opportunities for involvement in children’s reading throughout the year. The year-round program can fit reading fun into your calendar daily, weekly, or monthly and includes big celebrations of reading on March 2 and throughout National Reading Month in March.
There’s a growing need for schools and libraries to include and promote diverse books. Students need books that provide both windows and mirrors if we are going to create more readers, writers, and people who feel included and recognized, and who understand that the world is far richer than just their experiences alone. NEA recognizes the need to work with a more diverse array of organizations and publishers to fulfill this need, and the Read Across America brand is now one that is independent of any one particular book, publisher, or character.
Share your Read Across America Plans in Teams!
News to Note
News to Note
Discovery Education Resources
Jump into some good books with Discovery Education's Audiobook Vending Machine featuring links to Discovery education's many audiobooks.
Participate in Discovery Education's March Madness
Sign up by March 7, share a Spotlight Strategy, and get swag!
Celebrate Educators with Discovery Education Education Awards.
Honor districts, schools, educators and superintendents who accelerate achievement among students.
4th-5th Grade Financial Literacy Beanstack Challenge
LMS and the Social Studies Department are collaborating on a Financial Literacy challenge in Beanstack. 4th and 5th grade students will complete the Bingo style challenge as they explore books, articles, videos and games to learn financial literacy skills.
The challenge will run in Beanstack March 23-May 1. Schools can win books for their school library media centers based on percentage of student participation in the challenge.
Library Donations
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.
Destiny Catalog Clean Up
The contract between GCS Library Media Services and Follett for our library manager software is limited to using it for circulating materials. The contract does not include using it for inventory management. Since 2018, GCS SLMCs have been directed to discontinue cataloging equipment and other non-student circulating materials, including curriculum and class sets.
In order to bring GCS into full compliance with the terms of the contract agreement with Follett, SLMCs will be given the opportunity to clean up and remove any out-of-contract items from catalogs this spring. Final catalog clean up will be done over the summer by the Library Media Services Department.
Steps for cleaning up catalog records and call numbers will be the topic of the February 3 virtual meeting. All SLMCs are encouraged to attend.
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)
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 March Challenge is Earthquake! 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 last meeting is March 26 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
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
Adobe Express Activities and Trainings
This month Adobe Express for Education, has engaging Guided Activities, time-saving tools, and an epic Spring Challenge where students can win exclusive Adobe beanies.
Curious about what else is new? Check out the Adobe Express March Newsletter—your go-to creative tool for discovering the latest product updates, engaging classroom activities, and seasonal challenges. This spring, there are exciting updates that make it even easier for educators and students to create, collaborate, and save time in the classroom.
Ideas for Supporting Student Authors with Book Creator
Use Book Creator to get students writing during Be An Author Month.
Techy Spring Decor and Teaching Ideas
Use QR codes and AI generated images to get students engaged this spring!
Dig Cit Corner
Dig Cit Corner
March Digital Citizenship Theme: We care about everyone's privacy.
This topic introduces students to the concept of online privacy and the potential implications of sharing private information with a range of people: friends, the public, app providers, and more. Sharing information about yourself can be a natural and healthy activity, and it can lead to positive connections and personal growth. However, it can also present safety risks, and students need to be aware of potentially harmful consequences such as identity theft and financial exploitation. 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 presentation to the Board of Education about technology needs and a proposed refresh plan was postponed due to weather. A new date for sharing the information will soon be determined.
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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