Welcome back!

The library has been so quiet in the days leading up to the first day of school.  It is a great chance to catch up on projects, connect with teachers, and think strategically about the school year coming up.  Then the bell rings on the first day and with the students rushing through the front doors comes the energy that's been dormant for two months.

I love having regeneration time during the summer, when I can think about my teaching, how to improve it, and how to connect with students.  It's valuable to me as a constantly learning and growing teacher.  But when the students walk through the door, it's a reminder that they are why we are striving to be better teachers all the time.  I am grateful for the encouragement they give me to be better, just by walking into the library and asking me, "What was the best book you read this summer?"  I need to have an answer for them and then I need to be able to help 520+ students try to find the best book for them this first week of school.

I also take time during the summer to read more books about what I do and to play with new technology and tools I want to try with students this year.

I read a book called "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller, who writes a blog by the same name, trying to unlock that age-old mystery of how to get every student motivated to read.  The answer for me, this year, is choice.  Giving students more choice about what they read, not forcing them to take a test every time they finish a book, but offering many ways for them to connect with other students and teachers over these books.  As Walter Dean Myers says, reading is not optional.  We know that students who like to read read more, and those who don't, read less and less, creating a gap between students that widens each year.  And reading is essential to who they will become.  So my focus is to try to connect with every student and find out what motivates them.  Not an easy task with over 500 students, but that is my goal.

One technology tool I played around with this summer is Animoto, where you import photos and then choose a theme and music and it creates a video for you.  Often flashy, always well designed and professional looking, I think there are a lot of uses in schools for this tool.  I want to work with 5th and 6th graders to create book trailers later in the year.

So, forgive the repetitive loud music, but I felt it was a way to start up the year in an upbeat way.  Here is my introduction to the Ridgecrest library Animoto video, highlighting some important ideas.  I thought they would enjoy hearing and seeing it in a way that didn't involve me standing up in front of them and talking.

I can't wait to learn even more from our students and staff this year, and use what I have been thinking about and learning about all summer to make this school year the best one yet for all of us.