January checklist

Information overload? These are the most important DLL things to know to stay on track: 

• Be mindful of upcoming budget deadlines and submitting any remaining orders on time.

• NCCBA instructional content is available from Susan B. for all elementary librarians.

 New Semester Reflections and Resolutions

Raise your insulated mug of coffee and join me in ringing in the new semester! I don’t know about you, but quarter 3 always had me running around at a frenzied pace. It was as if all of the teachers simultaneously decided to assign a “research project.” Great! Also, not so great? Can we spread this out some?

As we turn the corner at mid-year, I encourage you to grant yourself a moment of pause to reflect and take stock of everything you’ve accomplished in quarters 1 and 2. Celebrate what your students have done, learned, created, imagined, and expressed in the months past. Celebrate what you’ve planned, designed, facilitated, learned, created, and implemented in the months past. 

Now, take another moment and look ahead. Days, weeks, and months of opportunity stretch out in front of you. What possibilities are both real and wondered? What can come next? I challenge you to resolve to try one new thing with your students. Pour another cup of coffee; we’ve got work to do. -Kendra

National Board Certification and Renewal - Congratulations!

New Certification

• Dawn Haney - Woods Creek Elementary

• Shannon Meyer - Mary E. Phillips High

• Christine Zaccardi - Farmington Woods Elementary

• Jennifer Koch - Knightdale High

Renewals

• Cori Minton - Morrisville Elementary

• Kate Caflisch - Herbert Akins Road Middle

• Melandie Matthews - South Garner High

Good News 🥳

Graduations

• Courtney Parrish at Briarcliff Elementary graduated from ECU with her MLS.

• Christina Kastendike at Wake Forest High graduated from ECU with her MLS.

• Carissa Metoyer at Davis Drive Middle graduated from ECU with her MLS.

Babies and Kids

• Christine Zaccardi's oldest daughter will be headed to ECU next year.

• Star Davis' first grandbaby is on the way.

• Kate Caflisch will give birth any day now to her first baby - a girl!

Wins at School

• The Mills Park Middle principal approved a Gale subscription purchase for the school.

• Mikayla Brooks will be joining the library staff at Green Hope High.

• Therapy dogs in the library during lunch has been a great success at Apex High.

Excellence in the World

• Jenna Polleck was recognized as the WRAL Teacher of the Week.

• Jackie Carrelha was selected to participate in the Costa Rica Study Tour in summer 2025 with the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC-CH and Duke. The group will be studying sustainability, and it appears that Jackie will be the only librarian in the mix.

• Dawn Haney will be presenting with Allison Kurtz at NCTIES 2025.

• Gwen Yale will be presenting at NCTIES 2025 on a collaborative project she did with one of the Apex High creative writing teachers. 

• In summer 2024, Jenni Dry participated in a week-long National Endowment for the Humanities workshop called "The St. Louis Blues: Music, Migration, and the Movement," hosted by the National Blues Museum.

NFL Players Are Readers Too!

Let’s take a moment to celebrate the reader A.J. Brown, also known to others as a receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only do we have one player who reads (and on the sidelines, mind you), but the book he’s featured reading was recommended to him by another reader, defensive tackle Moro Ojomo.  Yahoo! Sports Article 

Upcoming Budget Deadlines

Second semester means that budget deadlines for spending in 2024-2025 are on the horizon. Talk to your bookkeeper/lead secretary about what deadlines they’ve set. You want to be attentive to their dates to ensure that you appropriately spend money for the library on time.

Important! Do not wait to submit orders for Mackin, Follett, and other vendors. Not unlike last-minute shopping at the holidays, items run low, lines are long, and you might not get what you want on time. These are national vendors with a lot of demand that floods in as school budgets close. Earlier is better. 

Show Me the Money! How About Show Me the Collection Management Plan.

(If you don’t get this movie reference, please jump online and search Jerry Maguire.)

Looking to make a purchase for the library before the deadlines listed above? Make sure the purchase aligns with your collection management plan. Friends, we cannot emphasize enough how important it is for you to have this document and then to use it when you procure, curate, and weed materials. 

If you need assistance with collection management, including writing a plan, please reach out to Susan B. or Kristel. There are collection management resources available on the Library Media Services website. 

GameRT Game On! Grant 

The Games and Gaming Round Table of the American Library Association is proud to sponsor its annual grant program to enable libraries to develop gaming programs and collections for their patrons. This year, GameRT has increased the "Game On!" grant funds--$2,000 will be available to be awarded to assist a library or libraries. This year's award includes a $1,000 donation match from Cards Against Humanity.

ALA members in good standing currently employed at a public, school, academic, or special library in the United States or Canada are eligible to apply. Deadline is March 10, 2025. If a WCPSS librarian is interested in applying, the school must complete the Intent to Apply form with the WCPSS Grants Office. That team is aware of this grant and is ready to assist.

Library Media Services: Professional Learning Opportunities

Instruction 

Elementary School Library Instruction PLC (Virtual) - meets every Thursday morning at 8am. Any elementary school librarian is welcome to attend.

Secondary School Library Instruction PLC - virtual 
February 11, 2025, 1pm, Running Agenda

Meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 1pm.  Any librarian is welcome to attend virtually or use our Learning Central course for asynchronous work.

Collection Management

Collection Management PLC (Virtual) - meets the last Tuesday of each month at 8am. 

This PLC meets monthly to walk through the aspects of collection management in detail, using the collection management template as an anchor. This PLC is appropriate for any librarian who wants to better understand collection management and wants a combination of working on their own and checking in with colleagues. This PLC is not intended for Foundations I participants.

Secondary Book Clubs - Virtual

March 4, 2025, 8am for HS, 1pm for MS, Google Meet

This PLC will allow librarians to read, discuss, and review literature that you may wish to add to your collections. We will dive into deeper discussions on how to curate an age-relevant collection that addresses the wide range of needs and interests of your students.

New and Noteworthy: 2024 Book Preview for School Librarians - January 23 or February 17

These half-day sessions will allow school librarians to preview titles published in 2024 to determine which can help meet the goals outlined in their collection management plan. Librarians participating in district PL Days can attend the date that best fits your schedule. District Professional Learning days are offered on different dates that align to various calendars. You should sign up for the date that is a workday for your school’s calendar. We are not able to provide sub forms to attend this training.