Library Media Services
Newsletter
May
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 EXCEEDED 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 April! Great job Sarah, Jennifer, Sissy, and Chesley! (Standard 2.a, 2.b, 4.c)
Congratulations Heather Essary, winner of a Dollar Tree gift card sponsored by GASL to fund the next STEM Challenge!! (Standard 2.a, 2.b)
Congratulations to our top Beanstack sites! Thanks for moving us past our goal Heather, Jennifer, Colleen, and Chesley! (Standard 4.c)
Jamestown ES students working on the April STEM Challenge.
Next Up
Next Up
Next Quarterly Meeting
We will meet again in August!!
Agendas and resources from all 2024-2025 Quarterly Meetings will remain available.
Next Monthly Meeting
Location: Teams
Date: May 5
Two time options:
12:00-1:00
3:00-4:00
One of the meetings will be recorded each month.
Next New SLMC Meeting
We will meet again in August!!
Monthly Topics and Agendas from all 2024-2025 New SLMC Meetings will remain available.
Upcoming Dates
5/5: K-5 Building Engineers Conference
5/5: Monthly Virtual Meeting
5/9: DLMI Workday
5/16: DLMI Report due
5/30: End of Year Data due
6/2: Monthly Virtual Meeting
May Responsibilities
Promote GCS Summer Break Reading Challenge (2.b, 4.c)
Update progress on Collection Development Plan priorities (3.a)
Work with Admin and MTAC to plan school device collection procedures following district guidelines** (1.a)
Complete DLMI report for DPI (2.a, 5.a)
Work with Principal to sign off on DLMI report (2.a, 5.a)
Update Destiny Discover homepage and library website as needed (1.a, 3.a)
Conclude Responsible Use Course (1.a, 1.d)
Tabulate time spent on technology and non-evaluated* tasks (1.c)
Prepare artifacts for summative evaluation
GCS Reads
GCS Reads
Great job! We have EXCEEDED 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 EDU: Digital Marketing Strategies for Summer Reading (and Beyond!)
Date: May 7, 2025 at 2:00 pm EST
Audience: School and District Admin
Join the Beanstack marketing team for tips and strategies on using digital tools to boost engagement in your summer reading challenge. Drawing from hands-on experience in marketing and librarians, we'll explore how to plan and deliver content that connects with your community and keeps readers motivated.
Summer Reading Challenge
Prek-12th grade students must read at least 600 minutes between June 12 and August 24 to earn a ticket to Kersey Valley.
All students who read and record 600 minutes of reading will be eligible for one ticket to a Kersey Valley attraction (option of the Corn Maze or the Christmas Family event). Spooky Woods is not included this year.
Reading minutes must be logged in Beanstack to be eligible for a prize. Students who cannot record their minutes over Summer Break can enter them in Beanstack when they return to school. To count toward the challenge, minutes will need to be dated during Summer Break.
Battle of the Books
Congratulations to Grimsley High School on their 2nd Place finish at the State Battle of the Books Competition!
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)
Look for AES authors in the Greensboro Bound Festival line up on May 17. Please share the flyer of children's Festival events with families.
All students should receive this coloring page - the school with the most coloring pages turned in at the Festival will win $1000 in books from Scuppernong.
News to Note
News to Note
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 2.
A copy of Emergency Quarters by Carlos Matias has been sent to each elementary school. Schools can win additional books for their school library media centers based on percentage of student participation in the challenge.
Digital Learning and Media Inventory (DLMI)
Each SLMC is expected to complete the DLMI. This report is required for each school by NC DPI. Data on the report is shared on the NC School Report Card.
Training for collecting data needed for the report will be the focus is the April 7 monthly virtual meeting. A 3 hour work session to work on the report is scheduled for May 9. Registration is required for those wanting to attend the work session.
The deadline for principal sign off on the DLMI is May 16.
End of Year Review and Data Submission
Each SLMC is expected to complete an end of year review and submit essential data to the Library Media Services Department. This data is used to determine needs and priorities for the coming year and to share the state of GCS school library media centers with district leadership.
The deadline for completion is May 30.
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)
SLMCs who plan to attend the NCSLMA conference in October, should complete conference attendance form by August 1.
Monthly STEM Challenges are winding up for the year! Go to the STEM Challenge site to participate in the final challenge!
SLMCs are challenged to engage their students in low-stakes, low-tech STEM activities this year! (Standard 2.a, 2.b)
The May Challenge is Cargo Hold. 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!!
Destiny Reminders and Trainings
End of Year Tasks
SLMCs should review and complete End of Year Tasks to close out the year and make sure the database is prepared for the new school year.
Asynchronous Cataloging Training
All work in the cataloging course must be completed by May 15 to receive credit.
How do we sign up? Enroll in the Canvas Course
(Standard 2.a)
Destiny Training
All sessions have taken place and recordings are posted in the Canvas Course.
All assignments must be completed by May 15 to receive credit.
How do we sign up? Register in Performance Matters and enroll in the Destiny Training Canvas Course.
(Standard 2.a)
Dig Cit Corner
Dig Cit Corner
Conclude Responsible Use Course
All 2024-25 Responsible Use Course should be concluded (closed out) at the end of the school year. Instructions for this process are available in the Canvas Knowledge base. All Responsible Use Courses should be concluded by the last student day of the school year.
May Digital Citizenship
All of the digital citizenship lessons and activities from this school year are available on the Guilford is Cyber Safe website. Additional resources and lessons for continuing this instruction through May can be found on the Common Sense Education Digital Citizenship Curriculum website.
(Standard 1.d)
Technology Tidbits
Technology Tidbits
Summer Technology EEA Information
Schools have been asked to collect all Guilford County Schools’ devices that have been distributed to students during the 2024-2025 school year. By collecting these devices, schools should have enough devices in good condition available for students in the 2025-2026 school year.
Technology Services is offering an EEA for this work. The deadline for this EEA to be submitted is May 1st. Please see the attached memo for information. EOY Device Collection EEA 2025.pdf
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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