Wakemedia Monthly
September 2021
WakeForward
At AAT day, we explained our intention to return our focus to WakeForward this year. As a reminder, we suggest selecting and submitting your focus area by the end of September. We also acknowledge that this has been yet another exceptional start to a school year, so keep in mind that this is a suggested timeline for those who find it helpful for managing their time. You can find the form to submit your focus area on the Library Media Services site under WakeForward/Reporting Your Focus Area. When you report your focus area, it helps us curate resources and plan opportunities to better support you and your goals for the library program.
Our WakeForward Virtual PLC will kick off with our first virtual meeting on Wednesday, September 8th from 4pm-5pm. At this meeting, we’ll explain the structure of the course for the year, discuss strategies for working with your MTAC, and build community among participants so that you can support one another as you grow your library program. Please register in WakeLearns to participate in this PLC.
Planning for your first MTAC meeting
If you need help planning for your first MTAC meeting, you can find a new sample agenda for 2021-2022 on the MTAC Resources page of the Library Media Services site. The 2021-2022 Meeting 1 Sample Agenda includes links to help you share information about Student Device updates (Intranet, Guides to Tech site), DRPL Updates, WakeID Updates, and Canvas Updates with your MTAC.
Elementary Schools: myON
Students and teachers in grades K-3 have access to myON this school year. myON provides students access to over 6,000 ebooks. Students can access this resource by clicking on the Renaissance Learning icon in their WakeID portal. Teachers can use the myON platform to assign books to students or create projects. Your instructional facilitator serves as the myON Champion at your school and has received training and information about this resource.
School library media coordinators can request a myON account from their principal. Your account will provide you access to the library of ebooks. You will not be able to assign books or create projects within the platform because you do not have students rostered to you in PowerSchool. However, you can use this resource as an additional source for mentor texts for your instruction, and as a tool for students to access texts to support research or independent reading.
Ancestry K12 Resources
As in prior years, WCPSS continues to have access to the Ancestry K12 suite of resources: ancestryclassroom.com, fold3.com, and newspapers.com. These online databases do not require accounts or passwords to access. They are, however, only accessible to students and staff while on the WCPSS network. They won’t work at home, for example, so be mindful of assignments that may ask students to complete homework. Unfortunately, this is also the case for students in Virtual Academy.
If you have any questions, please contact Kendra Allen. If you are wondering how the resources could be used by students, Kristen Ziller at Pine Hollow Middle is an outstanding expert.
Professional Learning Days
There are a number of sessions offered by Digital Learning and Libraries during upcoming district-wide professional learning days. View the Professional Learning Days 2021-2022 Offerings on WakeConnect for links to register.
Celebrating Deb's Retirement
Our beloved Deb Bonner will be retiring at the end of September. We’ll be hosting an outdoor gathering to wish her well and thank her for her years of service to the WCPSS community. We hope you can stop by! Please sign the group card and RSVP, especially if you plan to attend, so that we can best plan for adequate space.