.....the end

We made it! The last day of school in the media center is a bit lonely. Once in a while, a student will rush in to return an overdue library book or a teacher requests a video to be started or a poster to be laminated. We were fortunate to have an art class use the computers during 4th period. Students watched online videos of cake decorating and architecture clips on the PBS website. They were actively engaged in this enrichment activity. What a refreshing lesson for the last day of school!
For most of the day, Mrs. M and I have been working behind-the-scenes on preparations for the 08-09 school year. Today, I've been preparing packets for new staff members who will arrive next week. Mrs. M is updating the DRMS website in preparation for the new year. Be sure to check out the "new look" next week! It looks really good! Our media center annual report was completed this week. If you'd like a copy, please post a reply and we'll be happy to give you one.

We're excited about new possibilities and opportunities for 08-09! See you next school year!

-Ms. Z

Ending 07-08...Beginning 08-09

We're busy preparing to end this school year and beginning a new one. These students are building some carts for the media center. Mrs. M. is very, very grateful.

~Mrs. M.

Mrs. V. is smiling

Beep . . . . beep . . . . beep . . . . . These are the sounds you heard when you visited the media center today. It's time for book inventory! The media staff literally puts their hands on EVERY book in the media center and scans it. Upon completion, there are a variety of reports we can run that show us which books are missing, which are on the shelf that have not been checked in, etc.

This year's book inventory began with Mrs. V reminiscing about her first library inventory experience back in 1973 (we won't mention how old Mrs. M and Ms. Z were at that time - *wink*). Thirty-five years ago, it took 10 student assistants and 4 librarians three weeks to complete book inventory! One person held a card catalog drawer in their lap, calling out book numbers, while their partner checked the number in each book. Several card entries for each missing title had to be removed by hand (remember subject cards, title cards and author cards?!). I joked today that by the time they finished inventory, it was probably time for them to start over again!


Now, in 2008, scanners and the computer replace tedious searches through card catalog drawers. Mrs. V is smiling!

-Ms. Z

Calling all books!

Where are those missing library books? Under your bed? On your bookshelf? In your locker? The Book Mobile was seen roaming the 6th grade hallway this morning during homeroom. Be on the look-out this week to turn in your books. If you miss the Book Mobile, stop by the media center anytime to drop off items you need to return.

-Ms. Z

Jennifer Kogler

Today we were fortunate to spend the day with author Jennifer Kogler. Her new book, The Otherworldlies, was released today, which coincided perfectly with her visit to Durant. 6th, 7th and 8th graders attended grade-level assemblies in the auditorium where Ms. Kogler read an excerpt from her book, shared stories about her journey as a writer and had time to answer student questions at the end of her presentation. Three brave students volunteered to attempt teleporting to a destination of their choice. Unfortunately, today was not a successful day for teleporting (even while wearing Fern's special sunglasses!). All volunteers remained safely in the auditorium, but did receive "Teleporter in Training" t-shirts for being such good sports.

Fifteen students were chosen to eat lunch with Ms. Kogler in the media center. Their teleporting story contest entries were original and creative! Students shared their stories with the group, played "2 truths and 1 lie," and had their stories autographed by Ms. Kogler before returning to class.

It's not too late for students and staff to purchase a personalized, autographed copy of The Otherworldies. See the media staff for an order form. Hardcover books are $17 each. The deadline for purchases is this Friday, June 20!

Thank you to Jennifer Kogler for her inspiring messages of holding close those people who encourage you and never letting others tell you that you can't do something. Today was a great day for reading!

-Ms. Z

Math Scavenger Hunt

Name the tallest building in the world. Write the height in feet and yards.
Whose portrait is on the $1,000 bill? Calculate how many quarters are in $1,000.
Which planet has the largest moon? What is the radius and circumference of this planet?

Today, 7th grade, track 3 math students scurried around the media center to find the answers to these and other math-related questions. Students honed their searching skills to find the data, then performed math computations using the numbers they discovered. Oh, and did I mention they could only use PRINT resources?! I was very impressed with the way students used the library catalog to find titles, found them on the shelf and used keywords and indexes to discover the answers. This is the perfect motivational activity to culminate concepts students learned in math class this year.
-Ms. Z

New Videos

Come check out several new videos just added to the collection today:

• It's Your Call: Playing It Safe Around Guns
• McGruff on Gun Safety
• The Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Family and Life
• Island of Hope~Island of Tears: The Story of Ellis Island

We'll see you in the media center!

~Mrs. M.

Summer Reads

We love summer! It is the perfect time to read. Summertime gives everyone a sense of freedom to read what they are really interested in. Remember that book you thought looked so interesting but you had an assignment to finish? Well now is the time.

Our Summer Reads display has no theme. These are books that never make it back to the shelf.

Mrs. V.

EOGs and lots of other happenings...

The school year may be winding down, but we are busier than ever in the media center. We're helping to administer and proctor EOG testing this week. We're also gearing up for book inventory and putting the finishing touches on the 2008-09 media center orientation.

Yesterday after EOGs, I taught a propaganda lesson to Mrs. Loehr's 7th graders. On Thursday I'll be visiting Ms. DeMarco's 7th graders and talking about the same topic. The new social studies textbook adoption teacher materials continue to come in. The 8th grade teacher print materials are in and processed already. Mr. Wright was the first teacher to checkout the new stuff. 7th grade print materials are here and I'm in the process of preparing them for checkout. We're still on the lookout for 6th grade materials.

Additionally, Ms. Ziller and I are busy planning for National Boards and our June 2009 European Adventure. We attended a National Boards meeting yesterday and we are eagerly anticipating the receipt of the BOX.
Mrs. M

Teleporting

If you could teleport anywhere at any time, where would you go, what would you do and why?

Want to speak with author Jennifer Kogler in a small-group setting the day of her visit to Durant? Enter this contest by answering the question above in at least four typed sentences. Entries must be creative and original. Students, please include your name, track, grade and homeroom teacher's name in the top right-hand corner of your entry. Winners will eat lunch with author Jennifer Kogler on Tuesday, June 17 in the media center where they'll share their teleporting entry. (Note: Students must provide their own lunch).

Hurry! Entries are due to the media staff by Thursday, June 12.

Apple IIc

You never know what "treasures" will be discovered in school cabinets at end-of-year clean-up time. Today's gem - an Apple IIc desktop computer (circa 1984). When loading an Apple program floppy disk into the disk drive (the 5 1/4" disk - a true FLOPPY disk), the glowing green sceen prompted the user to enter today's date. I guess the IIc's of the future were not meant to include the 21st century since the 2008 date we typed in kept reverting to 1996.

Mr. C was thrilled with the discovery and quickly whisked the machine to his classroom where it's sure to be the source of much discussion (and play).

-Ms. Z

Megaphone in the Media Center!

Today was a first. I have never experienced listening to someone speaking through a megaphone in the media center! The days of *shushing* in the library are certainly a thing of the past. The energy this afternoon felt more like a pep rally than a place for quiet reading and research. That's what makes the media center such a fun and exciting place to be! Something new and different every day . . . . .

With only one day left until the end of the school year, the 7th grade, track 1 team used the media center this afternoon to share several year-in-review videos. Students "ooo'ed" and "ahhh'ed" as clips of their friends filled the screen. Teachers danced across the screen, pop music blared through the speakers, but students were the showcase in this end-of-year treat. Congratulations to these soon-to-be 8th graders!

-Ms. Z