Blog or Tweet for prizes!

It's been a busy first week for me in the media center. I've missed my assistant from last year. Mrs. Janet is now helping with Physical Education classes at Heard Elementary. All sixth grade classes have had orientation and I'm working on identity cards now. We multi-tasked during those orientations with students lining up, writing their names on a list and sitting for me to take a photo of them with the webcam at the Circulation Desk -- all while listening to "Mr. Speck" tell them about how to successfully use the resources in our media center. (Actually, Mr. Speck looks an awful lot like Mr. Spock -- one of my favorite fictional TV characters!)
A Text-To-Speech program called Xtranormal brought Mr. Speck to life, saving time and my voice. This way, each student hears the same information in the same way. It's really cool! I hope there'll be time to show students and staff how to use a program like this in our Technology Literacy Cafe.
Okay... Students who listened very carefully to Mr. Speck this week, may tell me something learned during orientation for a prize from the Prize Box.
Simply comment here or Tweek something to @bravesread on Twitter. (I will also accept emails or facts written on paper -- and help you post it online. The facts have to be correct and must be something Mr. Speck told you. If you aren't sure, click on the orientation movie link on the bravesread.net home page to listen again. The movie runs just over 8 minutes).
Be thinking about whether you want to bring your eReading device from home or if you want to check out one of our Nooks or Kindles this year. User Agreements will be available during your first group check-out.
Happy Reading!
--See ya...

Top Readers @ HCMS!

 Congratulations to the top 3 readers @ HCMS! Shane F. took first place this year with 400.9 points at 94.6% reading comprehension. Last year's top reader, Carmen E., came in second place with 399.3 points @ 94.9%. Riley C., the top reader two years ago, came in third place with 376 points @ 99.1%.
Points are good, but 90+% scores
on reading comprehension
are really awesome!  Great job!

Who will win WWF?

Who will win the Words With Friends tournament -- administrators or students? Students are coming to the IT Cafe (Information Technology Cafe) for a cup of hot chocolate and a little practice time on the iPads. Sixth grade students (Zane, Emily, Nathan and Kaylee) and learned strategic plays during a Cafe session with me last week. Seventh grade students (Carmen and Elexus) came twice! (I think the competition is on!) Once everyone has had a chance to practice, the HCMS WWF Tournament will be announced.

WWF is an educational application, similar to Scrabble. Students will play on iPads or Nook Color, while administrators will play on iPads, Kindle Fire or other devices for the tournament. This application shows instant scoring and tile status. Letters are moved by touch across the screen and a slight shake of the device can resort letters. Using this app, students will figure out how versatile the iPads and technology devices can be!

DOE Exceptional/Exemplary LMS 2011

2011 GA DOE Exceptional/Exemplary LMS

It was an honor to present our media program at the Georgia Convention Center this week, along with these library media specialists from Georgia: Janell McClure, Tayklor Wickline, Cristina Dover, Shawn Hinger, (me :-) ) and Anna Murdock. We collaborated online with a Google Doc to make a Weebly about our programs for our presentation at the Georgia Education Technology Conference (GaETC).
We were introduced by Judy Serritella (left), Coordinator of Library Media Services at the Georgia Department of Education.

Students...Are you ready for the book fair?

There are so many good books at the fair! First class comes right after The Morning Show. See ya tomorrow!

Surpass upgrade delayed

The Surpass upgrade was postponed this afternoon. Listen for an update on The Morning Show, which airs each morning @ 7:50. Channel 4. Book fair preview for staff and parents is tomorrow (Thursday). Students, you'll come Friday!

Book Fair Staff, Parent Preview Today!

Book Fair Preview Today!

Teachers and staff are invited to look over the book fair today (Thursday ...no students yet). The book fair officially begins Friday morning and will run through next Thursday. 

Book Fair Student Crew

Zack T. and Matthew N. are student crew members for this fair. (They were here when the book fair truck arrived and helped move tables and chairs. Whew!) I will need them to help put posters throughout the school if they have a few minutes after work is completed in one of their classes.

Bring in Childhood Photos by Friday for Scholastic Dollars!

Teachers who bring in childhood photos by Friday will get five Scholastic Dollars to spend at the fair. I will start putting photos in the display next week. (Don’t forget to send your favorite book title to go with the photo).

Book Fair Video on Channel 4

The book fair video is looping on Channel 4 today and tomorrow.

Picture It @ Your Library for TRW!

Teen Read Week is October 16-22. This year’s theme: “Picture It @ Your Library!” We will give each student a bookmark. Some bookmarks will be marked for prizes. There will also be prize opportunities at the media website (skills quizzes, writing prompt, pre-quiz, Dewey Card contest…) and possibly on The Morning Show announcements.

Nook List Update

We are on line 30 on the Nook List. The most recent name was added to line 81 this morning. I hope we can add color Nooks with money earned from the Book Fair!

Boxtops Grid

Certus Bank is sponsoring the Boxtops Grid Contest. Bring in 50 boxtops from General Mills products and put your name on a square. At the end of the year, the bank will choose three lucky squares (which are numbered 1-100) for cash prizes! The prizes are $100 for the first number called.  The next two numbers will win $50 and $25.

Pompeii research student posts

I am so impressed with sixth grade students who blogged yesterday about Pompeii. Class 3, in particular, listened carefully and correctly posted lots of  important facts. The Discovery video was excellent, providing drama to the historic tragedy. I know the speaker on the video spoke fast. Most of you heard A.D. 79, but a few thought Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1879 (A.D. and 18 do sound a lot alike...). Remember, this event happened a very long time ago. Be sure to include the correct date when you complete your projects for Mrs. Vinson.
I appreciate the excellent behavior for our sessions in the media center. Good luck on your volcanoes!
--GS

Pompeii : Vinson 6th Class 3

Hi Sixth Graders!
After lunch is the perfect time to learn more facts about Pompeii. This is where you will blog your facts for Mrs. Vinson. Listen carefully to the Discovery video and take good notes about important facts. Use complete sentences. Don't forget to put your first name and first initial of your last name at the end of your post.
--GS