Library Media Services
Newsletter
November
Embedded Files
Library Media Services
This month in GCS Library Media Services:
District Data
District Data
We are slightly short of being on track to meet the goal of 1 million circulations this year!
We are on track to meet our goal of reading 10 million minutes this year!
We are improving our digital book usage!
School Shout Outs
School Shout Outs
Congratulations to our top circulating sites for October! Great job Crystal, Jennifer, Tonya and Chesley! (Standard 2.a, 2.b, 4.c)
Congratulations Becky Quigley, 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 toward our goal Heather, Jennifer, Chauncey, and Margaret! (Standard 4.c)
Next Up
Next Up
Next Monthly Meeting
Monthly virtual meeting topics
Location: Teams
Date: November 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: Virtual
Date: November 14
Time: 3:30-5:00
New SLMC meetings are for any SLMCs in their 1st, 2nd or 3rd years with GCS LMS.
Upcoming Dates
11/4: Quarterly PL Day and ES/MS/HS PLCs
11/7: Monthly Virtual Meeting
11/14: New SLMC Meeting
11/21: ES SLMC/STEM Collab
12/2: Monthly Virtual Meeting
12/16: SLMC Regional Conference
12/19: Destiny Training
November Responsibilities
Continue/complete annual inventory of student collection (3.a, 5.a)
Run a Titlewise Analysis when inventory completed (3.a, 5.a)
Train staff on video use in the classroom guidance and Copyright rules (1.c, 1.d)
Share 1st quarter data and activities with Admin and MTAC (1.c, 3.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 off to a great start to meet our
10 Million Minute Goal!
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!
Battle of the Books
BOB Check In Meeting
All schools participating in BOB, including ES schools doing STEM BOB, should plan to have at least one coach attend the virtual check-in meeting on November 18 at 3:00.
ES STEM BOB
Teams should be completing and submitting the first challenge by the middle of the month.
Access the BOB Google Site for support resources and important dates.
Authors Engaging Students
Videos for Natasha Tarpley, Jamar Nicholas and Susan and Lexi Haas are available for viewing. The recordings are accessible from the Authors Engaging Students Resource Site.
The video for Deidre Havrelock will be available by mid-November.
⭐ The sign up for the Spring AES series is open! ⭐
Complete this form by December 6 to receive books by selected authors.
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.
News to Note
News to Note
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.
Inventory Tutorial
The recording from the October inventory training and the written tutorial are available for reference as the inventory process begins.
An inventory must be completed before doing a Collection Development Plan.
Collection Development Plans will be due at the end of January.
Beginning inventory in the fall allows two to three months to complete it.
There is no specific inventory due date, but Collection Development Plans will not be accepted if inventory is not finalized.
Collection Data Analysis and Planning
The November virtual monthly meeting will focus on how to update and use Titlewise Analyses to ensure accurate data is available when determining collection development goals.
The revised Collection Development Plan template will be the focus of the December virtual monthly meeting.
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.
Overdue/Lost Books and Fines Policy
Library Media Services Policy
School library media centers in GCS are not permitted to charge daily overdue fines at any school level and the recommended maximum fine for a lost book is $5. Students should have access to school library media center materials regardless of the presence of overdue, lost, or damaged items on their account.
Fines for lost or damaged materials should be removed from students’ accounts when they leave a school. By the end of the first academic quarter, SLMCs must delete lost and overdue materials and fines for students who have transferred or matriculated to a new grade level.
Removing Overdues and Fines from Student Accounts
Use these tutorials for clearing student accounts after the first quarter.
SLMCs should reach out directly to other SLMCs to request that accounts be cleared if overdues and fines are still showing after November 30. If after contacting the students' former SLMCs, overdues and fines are not cleared by Winter Break, reach out to the LMS Dept for assistance.
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!
Grade Level PLCs
Grade level PLCs will be in person during the November quarterly meeting.
SLMCs will work in zone groups to work on upcoming lessons plans and programs.
Region 5 Piedmont Triad SLMC Conference
Register Now!
December 16, 2024
UNC-Greensboro Education Building
Theme: ❤️For the Love of Libraries❤️
Keynote Speaker: Gabriel Graña, Smith Middle School, Chapel Hill
Special Guest: Mollee Holloman, DPI
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 November Challenge is Bridging the Gap. 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.
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
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 December 19 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.
High Point Public Library Partnership Opportunities
Bookmark Design Contest - Ends November 4!
Open to all GCS students in Pre-K through 12th grades. Several winners will be selected in each age group or grade. Winning bookmarks will be printed and distributed at High Point Public Library and Guilford County Schools. Winning artists, their parents, and school library media coordinator and/or teacher can attend the award ceremony to receive the first copies of their bookmarks.
Download the Bookmark Design Contest Form or visit the High Point Public Library Website to see contest rules and more information.
Teachers or SLMCs can collect and scan bookmark contest forms and send them in or students can return forms in-person to HPPL. This would be a great collaboration with an art teacher!!
Contact April Mittelstaedt (april.mittelstaedt@highpointnc.gov) for questions about this program. (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.
Dig Cit Corner
Dig Cit Corner
November Digital Citizenship Theme: We find balance in our digital lives.
Today, we live in a world overflowing with digital media and technology. All of us -- adults and kids -- have constant access to real-time information from around the globe. But do the benefits of being ever-connected also come with risks to our mental health? It's an important question to ask -- especially for our kids. Our Media Balance & Well-Being lessons give students the space to reflect on their own media use. Plus, they'll get the tools they need to think critically about how digital media affects our communities and society overall. Read more about this topic on the Common Sense Education website.
Monthly activities to teach digital citizenship are available on the Guilford is Cyber Safe website.
Technology Tidbits
Technology Tidbits
Network Compliance Reminders
All school laptops and tablets that have not joined your school’s network between August 1 and November 8 will be disabled. Below are a few clarifying points regarding the process.
Any staff or student laptop or tablet device that has been on your school’s network at any time since August 1 does not need to be reconnected.
Buffer devices:
Chromebooks (CBs):
CBs with asset tags beginning with “23C” (newest devices) are exempt and do not need to be connected.
All unused CBs with asset tags starting with anything other than “23C” must be connected to your school’s network.
iPads:
Buffer iPads need only be powered on and brought to the enrollment screen. No student information needs to be entered.
If your school has an unmanageable number of buffer devices that still need to be connected to your school’s network, please reach out to our Project Management Office at tspmo@gcsnc.com for support.
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
Past Issues
Past Issues
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