Kilgore ISD Libraries
Volume I Fall 2014
KISD Elementary Libraries
Kilgore Primary Library
At the start of school, KPS students talked about why they read and book care/library rules with Mr. Wiggles the book worm.
KPS counselor, Erica Fenderson, does character education lessons in the library each six weeks. Her first lesson was about what it means to be a trustworthy person.
KPS was our first school to have a book fair this year. Their sales were around $12,000. We decided to split the profit between cash and Scholastic dollars. We will receive about $2800 in cash and will have about $1250 in Scholastic dollars. We will use our Scholastic dollars to continue subscribing to BookFlix (our eBook platform) and will use the cash to purchase a color printer, books, and supplies for library programming. We had a great turn out at the fair during Open House in spite of the bad weather. It was also very heartwarming to see the amount of parents that bought books for their child's teacher from the teacher wish lists.
This week, Mrs. Turner is teaching KPS students about Fairy Tales and students are given the opportunity to name their favorite fairy tales. It will be interesting to see which fairy tales are the most popular. Something tells me that "Frozen" will get a vote or two.
Chandler Elementary Library
In addition, students have also been introduced to the 2X2 and Bluebonnet reading programs. Students in 2nd grade can read 5 books from this year's 2x2 list to become an official 2x2 reader and students in 3rd grade can read 5 books from this year's Bluebonnet list for the chance to vote for this year's Texas Bluebonnet Award winner.
Mrs. Wiggins has started a Bulldog Book Squad at CES. Students were nominated or chosen to be on the squad based on their academic excellence and willingness to work. They come to the library each week for 30 minutes to help the librarian with various tasks and each one has adopted a shelf. They keep the books on their shelf in order, help dust their shelves, and select books to feature from their shelves.
KIS Library
Mrs. Hattaway is also going to help us re-label KIS Library books so that all of them have matching call numbers. We are very excited to have her help with this because it is a very big job and once we get all of our books streamlined it will be much easier to teach library skills to KIS students.
4th and 5th graders are also encouraged to participate in the Bluebonnet Reading program and Mrs. Clower has been speaking to them each week about this year's nominees.
Clifford visited the KPS Book Fair
Mrs. Fenderson teaches students about trust
It's Fairy Tale week at the KPS Library!
KISD Secondary Libraries
Kilgore Middle School Library
KMS students and teachers now have access to several new online resources. Several Scholastic magazines are available to them as digital magazines: Science World, New York Times Up Front, Scholastic Math, and Junior Scholastic. New York Times Up Front and Junior Scholastic are current event magazines that are great for social studies classes. KMS also hosts several databases. In addition to the TexQuest databases from the Texas State Library and Archives commission, KMS has subscribed to the Grolier Online database that includes the Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Land and Peoples, and The New Book of Popular Science. We are excited to see how the teachers will use these new resources in their classrooms.
The KMS Book Fair is happening this week. There were many great books available at the KPS fair so I know that the KMS Book Fair will be awesome as well. Please go by and check it out if you can.
Kilgore High School Library
We have completely changed our student aide program as well. We have modeled ours after the program at KMS run so beautifully by Diane Wimberly. All of our student aides have their own section of shelves to keep in order and to keep clean. Each student has a fiction and non-fiction section. They are graded one time per week on shelf order and receive a monthly grade for dusting their shelves. Our kids have really outdone themselves. They have worked extremely hard to get their tasks done and we are so proud of them. Our shelves are looking better than they ever have!
We have had a successful start to our Bulldog Reading Club. Students that participate are asked to write reviews of the books that they have read which I then publish to our webpage. Students must read at least 5 books to get their name into the grand prize drawing. I have a couple that are just about done with their 5th book.
We are also having a 40 Book Reading Challenge this year for faculty and students. Students must read 40 Books including books from the following genres: poetry, biographies, graphic (comic) novels, historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and informational. Everyone that completes this challenge will get their name entered into a prize drawing.
One of the most exciting things that has happened for our libraries this year is the addition of the TexQuest databases. This year we are getting access to several databases free of charge including: National Geographic Kids, Kids InfoBits, Student Resource Center, Gale Virtual Reference Center, Infotrac Newsstand, Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Health and Wellness Resource Center, Literature Resource Center and more. With such a variety of databases, we have options for all students from kindergarten to high school. Last week I attended a TexQuest workshop at Region VII regarding the databases and I am very excited to share what I have learned with my teachers. I have encouraged campus administrators and library staff at each campus to share these resources with their faculty. Next year we will be able to retain these databases at a cost of 22 cents per student. In previous years, I have had to spend $2000 or more for databases. With TexQuest, I will only have to spend around $220. The savings are astronomical and will allow more money to be put toward purchasing books and eBooks. These databases are web-based and can be used anywhere. I would like to thank Mark Lane for his help in getting these set up for us.
In late September we celebrated Banned Book week at the KHS Library. We had many students and staff members that came in to get their "mugshot" taken. It was a lot of fun and opened up a dialog among students and library staff members about literature, reading, and why certain books have been questioned or banned. This week is Teen Read Week and we are celebrating by conducting a Young Adult Reading Survey and by hosting a reading trivia game in the library during lunch. Everyone that completes the survey and participates in the game will get a chance to win a free book.
We have had two library PLCs this semester. These meetings have been very valuable to us and we have enjoyed being able to get together and make decisions as a team about the needs of our libraries. We have made changes to policy, our Accelerated Reader labeling, and our websites. Staff members have also had time to work on book and supply orders and to get answers to library related questions. Our next PLC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11th at KIS.
I have conducted an instructional technology needs assessment survey for KHS teachers. Teachers were asked if they would attend instructional technology help sessions if they were offered, what time of day they preferred, and what topics interested them. The survey closes today and I plan to offer monthly instructional help sessions based on the most requested topics. I am excited to move forward with this idea and to have the opportunity to work more closely with KHS teachers.
KISD Libraries
Email: scole@kisd.org
Website: library.kisd.org
Location: 301 N Kilgore St, Kilgore, TX, United States
Phone: 9039883901
Facebook: facebook.com/KHSLibrary
Twitter: @kdogslibrary