Former Oak Grove student and published author, Scott Reintgen, visited 4th and 5th grade students. Mr. Reintgen is a local author, and this visit was arranged through Quail Ridge Books.
Mr. Reintgen signed his newest book, Saving Fable. In addition to telling the students about his journey to becoming a successful author, he spoke to the students about the importance of pursuing goals in spite of failure.
Mrs. Jarrett and Mrs. Caflisch embarked on a problem based learning project with 5th grade students to reorganize the library. After genrifying the fiction collection and extensively weeding the picture books, the orientation of the library did not suit our needs anymore. We needed a designated space for K/1 classes as well as a more open, flexible space for upper grade students. With that in mind, we challenged 5th grade AIG students to come up with the logistics. After learning Google Sketch Up and completing some initial calculations, students were ready to start the planning process. We arranged a virtual meeting with 2 WCPSS Facility Planners, Shelley Foley and Shane Webster, to allow students the opportunity to connect with experts who have had a hand in planning our newest libraries in the district. Their most memorable tip for students was, when attempting to draft an existing space in sketchup, look to the ceiling tiles to figure out the shape of the floor plan. After generating their plan for the library improvements, students were able to share their work at the 2020 NCTIES Student Showcase. The work they did helped us to figure out how many shelves were needed in each section of the library to efficiently reorganize the collection, and they also gave us some ideas for future improvements, such as furniture they would like to see in the library, technology upgrades (charging hubs!), and new paint colors.
5th Grade students met via Google Meet with WCPSS Facility Planners to learn about their process. Shelley Foley and Shane Webster talked extensively about the engineering process and students were able to ask questions about what is new and innovative in the new school libraries. They shared their projects with librarians and technology experts across the state at the 2020 NCTIES Conference, held at the Raleigh Convention Center on March 5, 2020/.