Take a Break!

What a year this has been! New district, new school, new library, new staff, new students, and new expectations. I'm not sure I've lived up to all of them, but that's okay...there's always next year.

I'm always ready for summer to start. At the end of the school year, everyone is antsy and unsettled. Teacher's nerves are frayed and patience is short. Students know how to push everyone's buttons and seem to make more trips to the principal's office. Office staff and principals are overworked and out of time for all those "little" things that need to be taken care of.

This year (around the middle of May), I told my principal, "I'll talk to you in June!" Only because I knew we had things to discuss, but they could wait until everyone else was gone for the summer. It's hard to feel like you're accomplishing the long list of items at the end of the year when there are constant interruptions and issues that have to be handled ASAP! I'm glad I have a few extra days to work in a mostly empty building. I might actually finish part of my end of year to-do list.

One of the things I really like about teaching is the short memory I have, and have had for 21 years. It's like childbirth...after the year is over, I don't remember the pain and look forward to the new year almost immediately. If you are in education, I encourage you to do the same...let go of the frustrations and imperfections of this last year. Enjoy your summer! Read something good (as a librarian, I require this)! Spend time with those you love and recharge for August...

This is what I'm going to do. I've already got a pile of books and have time set aside for family and travel, but I'm looking forward to what next year has in store.

No matter what the new year brings, I will at least be open the first day of school! WIN! :)

Resolutions

The past few years I've stayed away from New Year Resolutions. Mostly because I know I don't have to have a January 1st date to begin again (thank you, Jesus) and because I'm not real good at sticking to the things like diet and exercise.

This year has been different.

This year I made a few resolutions and try to concentrate on how I can accomplish my goals every day instead of thinking about the whole year ahead of me.

Here are my main goals:

• Track my finances better
• 10,000 steps every day (except Sunday)
• 117 books read by the end of the year (roughly 10 a month)
• Workout 3x a week
• Blog 2x a month

The tool I'm using to keep me on track is a bullet journal. Everyone does it a little differently, but this is an example of mine.


I love it! And I can really see my progress and go back to review what I've done all year. It's been fairly easy to keep up with and even if I get behind, I can catch up with entries quickly.

I hope I can keep this up all year long and use it when I travel and have special events. Next year, the only thing I'll change is investing in the notebook with gridded paper so I don't have draw all my boxes!

Am I Alone in This?

The following email was sent to a group of teachers on my campus yesterday. I try to encourage them with daily scriptures, but it seems I was the one in desperate need this time:

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 (ESV)

Romans 12:2a, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (NLT)

Romans 8:6, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (NIV)

Psalm 51:12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.” (NASB)

This week has been difficult for me.

I’m sure you’ll find this hard to believe….but I’m a bit of a control freak. I know…shocking!

Having 24 classes of 6^th grade science, two full days of benchmark testing, Science Night AND all the 8^th grade English classes in TODAY, means I’ve had very little control over my space. It leaves me frustrated and a little anxious (especially when I looked across the library last night to see four students ON TOP of the tables while their parents watched).

Don’t get me wrong….I WANT people in here. I WANT to be @ YOUR SERVICE in every moment that I can. But most of the time that means I have to get out of the way and let “Jesus take the wheel”. (LOL!) It’s not always easy.

I also don’t like to ask for help…am I alone in this?! Anyway...I’m pretty sure today’s scriptures were just for ME, but I’ll share them with you…just in case!

Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!

Marnie Cushing

Pirate Librarian

(The verses came out of my daily devotional reading from Proverbs 31 Ministries. If you don't already have a devotional you read, I would highly recommend this one!)

Making Connections: TCEA Take-away Part 2

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are such an important part of going to conventions and conferences. Because I've been able to attend so many different types over my educational career, I'm lucky to have made a variety of connections and collaborations. (See previous post.)

I'm always encouraged when I'm approached and told that someone follows me on Twitter or has attended one of my sessions. It's nice to have confirmation that I do something that matters and people can hopefully learn from my experience. I'd rather learn from those in the trenches, than those who live only in theory. We learn through sharing ideas and working together.

I didn't present at TCEA 2017 and I won't be presenting at TLA this year either. I decided to take the year off, mostly because of my new job, but also because I've been presenting regularly for the last dozen years and needed a break. That doesn't keep me from reaching out and trying to help where I can, but it was nice to just go to the conference without worrying about the presentation part of it.

It also gave me the chance to volunteer (I love a FREE t-shirt!). This year, I worked the YOUnited booth with Mindi Vandagriff, the Instructional Technologist from Anna ISD. She and I had a great couple of hours taking photos of people and getting to know each other. During our time at the booth, I was introduced to an awesome mother/daughter library duo (Greta and Naomi) and we got into a conversation about MakerSpaces and Library Makeovers.

Naomi follows me on Twitter and knew that I had just remade my middle school library. Our discussion led to an invitation for them to come visit my library (they are wanting to make some changes in their spaces). They came out to see me two weeks later, and then I met with them in Anna to take a look at their libraries and offer my advice. We had a great couple of days and I look forward to building a professional relationship and friendships with these ladies as well.

And it all happened because of the TCEA conference.

TCEA Take-Aways (Part 1)

I had the great privilege of attending TCEA 2017 last week as a representative from my school district, Crandall ISD. A small group of teachers and I arrived on Sunday and attended the conference Monday - Thursday, attending various academies, sessions, and the exhibit hall. It was a jam-packed week and I've just now had the opportunity to sit down and decompress from the information overload I experienced.

During my 21 years working in education, I have attended a lot of conventions. I've been to teacher conferences (ATPE), mission workshops, librarian conventions (TLA), book festivals (NTTBF), and more. As a presenter, participant, officer, and volunteer, I feel like I have a decent amount of knowledge to guide me through any convention I visit. However, this trip to TCEA held a new experience for me.

Never before have I attended a conference where I got something out of EVERY SINGLE SESSION! Most times, I'm happy to find one or two good things to bring back to my school to share with others. This year....I've got a whole list of ideas, information, wish lists, and topics I want to talk about and get busy doing! In fact, I used one of the Google Extensions (Screencastify) I learned about last week to make a video for my book fair coming up next week!

Here are a few things that blew my mind:

 
• You can use green paper and Frog Tape for an inexpensive green screen background, and I won a free version of the Veescope App! Can't wait to use it!
• MakerSpaces are "not about the stuff, but the thinking around the stuff." This from the awesome ladies (@mtorres.gses and @EdTecHere) who presented on Takerspaces.
• Mystery Skype is no longer a mystery! :) And there are so many more to ways to use Skype in the classroom! 
• GoogleTreks is a new twist on web-quests that imbeds information into Google's MyMaps
• iBeacons are a new technology that link "the internet of things" ("the interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data." from Google Search definition). I MUST have these in my library/school!
• Google Expeditions are a way to take kids on a virtual tour. I like the fact that the teacher can pause the trip so everyone stays together while instructions are given. I've already ordered a VR headset to play around with this next week!
• I can "clone" myself and get more done with Google Tools! TabCloud, Screencastify, and the Explore button in Google Slides are my new best friends!

Needless to say, my time spent at TCEA was very informative! I will use the coming weeks to parlay this new information into authentic practice with my staff and district. 

(Whew! I'm glad a few of the sessions I wanted to attend were at capacity and I wasn't able to get into the rooms. I'm not sure my brain could have held any more new ideas!)

Treading Water

It's been too long since I've posted about my middle school adventure. I need to get caught up, but really, I've just been treading water. It's that time of year (the hump right in the middle) when you work toward Christmas Vacation and Spring Break just to make it through. The classroom teachers are plodding through, and I feel the same way.

Since we opened November 1st, it's been crazy-town...in a GOOD way...but crazy none-the-less!

The first week we opened I saw all students TWICE. Once for a walk-through/orientation of the library and the second time for a MOCK Presidential Election. It was quite a week! The following week we opened before school and I had anywhere from 50 - 80 those first few days. We finally came up with a pass system to keep me sane...all students at my school are required to go to the cafeteria or band hall before the first bell. We have 20 passes available from the band hall and 40 available from the cafeteria to limit the number of students moving down to the library. I also had a teacher volunteer to come hang out with me in the mornings for crowd control. It works great! Some days we have all 60, but most days we only average around 30. I've also limited the number of students who come down during lunches to make it more manageable with classes and individual walk-ins -- we have 10 passes for each lunch period. So far it's working well.

I've done some special lessons/read-alouds with picture books (which I'll mention in a later post) surrounding holidays and special occasions.

The Twelve Days of Christmas was a good first run. We chose one of our CREW classes (like homeroom) each day to participate. Going with one class a day allowed me to know exactly how many of each craft/activity I needed. It also exposed the library to some of the students who don't usually come down to hang out.

 (Most of the pictures were taken directly from Pinterest boards).

Back from Christmas Break I've just been working on the day-to-day issues of librarianship: ordering books, weeding from the old collection, processing new books, etc. 

For the near future, I'm getting ready to leave for TCEA and can't wait to bring back some new ideas for my faculty and staff! AND Valentine's Day will bring our first Scholastic Book Fair! 

I've got a busy month ahead, but promise to be back soon!

Before & After

The day has finally come! I opened the library for students today, and saw 24 classes of 7th and 8th graders. I'll see all of 6th grade tomorrow. It's been a long process, but I'm glad I was a part of it.

It's not perfect, but we only lack a handful of items to be completely finished...then I can focus on the collection and working with kids and teachers on a daily basis!

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Here's a sample of our "before" pictures. (The library was built 20 years ago and had never had an upgrade until this project.)

And now for the "after" pictures:

Here's a breakdown of some of the goodies in the new library:

Reading Room

MakerSpace

3D printer

Big Screen TVs (4)

16-foot single plank of cedar turned into a "Think" bar with charging stations

Coffee bar

Recording Room

Hang-out Seating

Granite-topped round circulation desk (that I LOVE)

Bookcases and furniture on WHEELS!

I have the best room and the best job! So thankful for the opportunity to share it with the school!

I'll keep you updated!