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Another great one from an indigenous author. A worthy read about Lucy, Lily's long-lost twin, and a continuation of Daunis and Jamie's story!

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A Printz Honor Book! An AIYLA Honor Book! A Good Morning America Book Club Pick!From the instant New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter…

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Good recommendation for YA too!

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The influence of the sleeper hit novel ‘The Correspondent’

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Virginia Evans’ debut novel, The Correspondent, was a sleeper hit of 2025. The book tells the story of a divorced woman in her 70s through her letters to her friends, kids, loved ones and strangers.

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Step into the lives of the boys at Urban Promise Prep and never forget them! It's mystery and unique look at education too.

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Promise Boys is a blockbuster, dark academia mystery about three teens of color who must investigate their principal’s murder to clear their own names. Thi…

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Content warning

This book contains mentions of domestic abuse.

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Propelled by a mysterious disappearance, this epic saga explores the cracks and divisions of a summer camp community.

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Y'all, I was a middle schooler when these events happened, so reading such a thoughtful and well-researched look at all of these events was eye-opening! (lewis)

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Author Myah Hollis on YA Debut ‘Not About a Boy’ | 5 Questions and a Rec

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In this Q&A series, SLJ poses five questions and a request for a book recommendation to a debut YA author. In the latest installment, Myah Hollis shares about ‘Not About a Boy.’

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This book was crazy y'all!

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This year flew by, which is why I am counting it as a success. Many mistakes were made and learned from and I am looking forward to a fresh start next year! One particular success was being able to support JBE's global leadership by supporting several amazing guest authors promoting different cultures and topics.

Another success was rewarding our second graders who knocked it out of the park in Beanstack with a kickball tournament with one of the local high school softball teams. I also found success by collaborating with a middle school STEM coach and the technology teacher to provide students an opportunity merge research and technology. Looking foward to learning more next year!! Cheers to summer!

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This was my first year as a teacher librarian, and while it was exhausting, it was also incredibly fulfilling. What brought me the most joy was the relationships I built with students, with staff, and with our wider school community. I felt supported, trusted, and appreciated, and I poured that same energy right back into everything I did.

One of my proudest moments was helping our school meet and exceed our Beanstack reading goal. We reached nearly 100% participation, which took genuine effort from teachers who were already stretched thin. That level of buy-in and support meant the world to me.

I also created a morning show that became so integral to our school culture that I was asked to launch an afternoon show as well. It became more than announcements. It was a connection point for students and staff alike. The teacher and staff spotlights, in particular, helped build a culture of appreciation that many said they hadn’t felt in years.

I hosted two book fairs, our school’s first in 13 years, including a free Book Fair from Books & Beyond and a Scholastic Fair. While I learned that hosting one during end-of-year checkout isn’t ideal, I loved seeing our students excited about books and owning stories of their own.

One of the most lasting joys was watching students light up during center time after read-alouds, engaging with activities that connected them to the books in meaningful, hands-on ways. I also formed a valuable partnership with CCPL, and I’m thrilled they’ll be joining some of our summer sessions to continue supporting literacy beyond the school year.

Leaving Midland Park is bittersweet. I’m so proud of what we built together in just one year, and I hope the next librarian continues to grow the foundation we’ve laid. This year changed me professionally and personally, and I will carry that with me always.

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First off, way to go CCSD TLs. I was reading other reflections and was so impressed! It also was a chance for me to see what I did well this year, and what I can work on for the future. Overall, I am really proud of the reading culture we are building at Pinehurst. Beanstack has been a huge motivator and, by tying incentives to the top readers per grade level and top classes per nine weeks, we met and exceeded our goal. I am so proud of the students and the growth they are making. School Library month was a hit and gave me more insight to how the students feel about the library. They were so happy with two book fairs and that I listened to them when they said they preferred one fair over another. They loved the author visit from Jerry Pallotta, which increased our circulation of the Who Would Win? series (and several students found "their" book). They even stated that they loved the lessons and history we were teaching, which was such a pat on the back for me. We had a bookmark design contest, which reflected favorite books, favorite parts of the library, and student creativity. Read Across America was a huge success with Caught You Reading tickets and teacher bingo. I'm looking forward to next year and continuing to build rapport and community with my PiES Peeps!

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I love Beth Hale's idea and hope to mimic this in the future. As for Pinehurst, we have had two "drop-ins" at the Otranto Branch this year and one last year. We are continuing to work on ways to hook our students into visiting the local branch, so we have selected 5 Saturdays during the year to host a Chess Day Saturday. With these dates set, hopefully, students will be able to plan a day to visit the library. Bring them in for Chess and also show off the library resources!

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Collaboration with teachers has been a work in progress. We did create a team that allowed our special area department meet with a representative from each grade level to help share where each class was in the curriculum and how our department could help.

I created a collaboration form that went out to teachers, but didn't get much use. I have added it to my sign off/signature line on my email, so it is available to teachers. (Pinehurst Teacher Collaboration Form)

I also plan to have my principal include this in our weekly post to teachers.

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Our advanced academic teacher, Allison Tayloe, and I have been working with the Citadel STEM center to try out a variety of hands on lessons with our students. One of the instructors at the Citadel's STEM center is actually a CofC professor so we have collaborated with him some this year.

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This was quite the whirlwind of a year for our staff and students at Memminger. I personally feel that I created a variety of engaging activities for my teachers to sign up for such as scavenger hunts that allowed students to work on navigating the library, breakout edu clubs, therapy dogs in our book clubs, and much more.

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It seems like this year flew by! I'm happy to be out before June but I feel like it was a sprint to the finish line to get all of my last projects finished with my kiddos. I was able to help out 4th grade this spring by covering a science standard that tied to our research skills...I was able to incorporate some of Rosie's great ideas from our February PD. The kids did awesome with it and were very engaged! My 1st & 2nd graders rocked our new 4 step inquiry model...those kids can tell you all four steps if you ask them. I'm excited to be able to build on this for next year. We also continued our SCPBA unit with centers...they have enjoyed these a lot. Looking towards next year I'd like to find more engaging ways to focus more on literacy and reading with my older students. We spend so much time on research I feel like I need to shift a bit. I'm also thinking about adding a story walk to our back courtyard next year. There's no playground equipment back there and it could be a fun addition to our new sensory garden.

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This year was full of plusses and had a few deltas! We finally got digital screens, so I was able to advertise and promote reading through a new avenue. I implemented some of the ideas from other TLs and campus-wide logging in Beanstack was up. We logged over 130K minutes, and it was our first time logging over 50k ever!! I did my first book club and enjoyed reading with my ESL students. My only real deltas for this year were not starting a news show and doing fewer collaboratins than last year. However, I'm proud of the impact I made while I was here.

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I am proud of the work I have done in the Bonds Wilson library to serve both communities with diverse interests and needs. My clerk, Tanjula Henderson, and I were able to navigate different rules with compassion and consistency and I truly feel like it has strengthened the integrity of our space - a space meant for learning, study, respectful repose, and reading. It is a testament to the readership that our Popular Series section expanded last year and will have to expand again this year, I consider that a big win. There were things I did not do this year, though, that I am fired up to do next year: a book club or two, more mini-programs, some community service projects, and the ever-elusive collaboration (a tiny bit of movement this year, I will take it!). Onward!

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This year, I upped my game with Beanstack with quarterly challenges and incentives for top readers and classrooms. My favorite incentive was a dance party for students who met their goals. It was new, and some teachers weren't quite sure what to make of it, but the students loved it and that's what counts. This year, I collaborated with teachers who've I've never collaborated with before. Teaching research skills is important, but it is difficult when I only see classes for forty minutes once a week. When classroom teachers also give the students time to work on our projects, it creates much more continuity and reduces the chance that skills will be forgotten between visits to the library.

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Scratch Tickets for Visiting Public Library

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Scratch Tickets for Visiting Public Library

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One super successful and EASY collaboration we have done with our neighboring library is a secret word scratch ticket!! We do this twice a year in combination with reading prize patrol, but it could work for RAA Week, National Library Week, CBW, etc!! Make a secret word/phrase and some scratch tickets - prizes for us are free book, stickers, vending spin, or bookmark. They visit the public library and then bring the ticket back to you for the prize!

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It has been a fast year at JIES. I feel like the months sped by and I struggled to get everything done that I wanted to do! I just did my last Potato Chip Taste Testing on Tuesday! A few things I was excited about this year: trying a new "Community Book Hunt" for RAA Week. I tweaked an idea from The Book Wrangler and we used riddles about places in our community and released them on social media and had print clues at the public library. So fun! I also enjoyed seeing kids make necklaces alllll year. I tried to control it at first, but have learned to just go with the flow. I also am inspired to add more "gamification" to my lessons. A little competition for sure gets the students engaged. Now how do we integrate that into the 4 step inquiry process!??

Finally I am proud of the very first time I have weeded a TON - 33 boxes total - over 1400 books this year. Started before Spring Break and just finished. Great feeling!

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Reflections - Academic Magnet High School

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Reflections - Academic Magnet High School

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This school year was a fantastic one at Academic Magnet High School. I'm excited about some the new collaborative lessons I taught (Analysis of Graphic Novels, AP Seminar primary source analyses, Canva/World Language lessons, CTE Research lessons, & the first mini-inquiry lessons), the Mindy McGinnis author visit we hosted, and the work that I did bridging the school with the community. One of the things I've led in the past that I missed this school year was our roving AMLAC (Library Advisory Council) Book Talks to promote leisure reading schoolwide, so I'll be hunting this summer for some new approaches to try in 2025-2026.

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We had a really good year at the Stiles Point Elementary Library. I did the Reading Passport CBA Book Challenge this year. I had 6 students who finished all 20 books and earned their Brag Tags. I had 25 kiddos who earned at least 10 Brag Tags. Two of the students who read all 20 books had never read more than 3 books in a school year before this year. We also had 7 book clubs operating out of the library this year. My assistant ran 2 and I ran 5. We had some amazing students reading books they never would have tried before. It was such a success that my 4th grade reading teachers want us to incorporate book clubs for all 150 of our 4th grade students next year! I haven't even begun to figure out the logistics on that on yet. We will have to enlist help. We had 3 amazing author visits this year, Jerry Palotta. Stuart Gibbs, and Jennifer Nielsen. One win this year is that I had more teacher buy in this year in checking out books from the library to support their curriculum. That was a big win. More teachers, more discussions, more collaborations! We are going to build on this for next year.

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The school year was an amazing one for me at Laing Middle School. I was able to expand upon and try out new things. In the fall, in addition to being the tech liaison and distributing student devices, I was able to provide all the students a library orientation within the first three weeks of school. I was approached by a group of students to sponsor the Geology Club, with the help and collaboration of a fellow Science teacher, we co-sponsored the club successfully. I was also the leader of the Laing Tribe, which is our version of a Sunshine committee. This allowed me to share good news, faculty pick me ups, and organize outside social events. We brought back our middle school Book Fair, which was received with much excitement from students, parents, and faculty members. Fourteen students across five teams participated in CCPL's MS Battle of the Books Competition. We partnered with JME in a reading buddies program. I had guest author visits for the students. Pictured above is co-author of The Islanders, Angela May.

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I am really proud of the reading culture at my school this year! Our students really embraced logging on Beanstack this year with the help of some incentives :) I made top reader brag tags for each month, so the top 25 students who logged the most minutes on Beanstack got their names announced on the morning news show and a brag tag. Students became motivated to collect each of the month's brag tags which was fun to see! With the help of the East Cooper ES librarians, we implemented an "Off to the Races" horse race themed Beanstack challenge during the month of April for School Library Month. This was a huge hit at my school! It got some of the younger students logging who hadn't logged before which was great practice for summer reading. We also hosted a Derby Hat Making Contest to coincide with the reading challenge. It was a fun way to get students excited about reading! I am looking forward to collaborating with the East Cooper ES librarians again next year for more fresh and exciting ideas!

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This is such a fun book! Kids will read it over and over again to make the magic happen!

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It was another great year at Belle Hall Elementary! I must say the highlight of my year professionally has been having the opportunity to engage with other librarians in PLCs. I took away "Capture the Flag" from Melissa Zahler from earlier in the year: what a winner of a lesson! I felt empowered to weed more aggressively from meeting with Jennifer Thrift. We ended the year with Debbie Santos's Book Swap...the kids squealed that it was like a free book fair! While these encounters have fortified me creatively, I still feel like teachers have a hard time seeing how the library can support--rather than take away from--their instructional time. I have big aspirations for next year and I cannot wait to make them a reality.

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At the beginning of this school year, I discovered a program offered through the National Wildlife Federation called EcoSchools. EcoSchools is a certification program for elementary through secondary schools that promotes environmental learning and climate action. Schools can apply for certification by completing various activities throughout the year that fall within the EcoSchools framework. After learning about the program, I realized that many of the activities were things that my colleagues and I were already doing with our scholars. I figured by making these activities more intentional through the EcoSchools framework, we can really encourage the next generation to take better care of our planet. I took this idea to our SJS Push Team, and I offered to take the lead. After engaging in and recording a year of eco-conscious, educational activities, I am proud to announce that SJSEMS is the first school in South Carolina to be certified at the highest level offered by the National Wildlife Foundation's EcoSchools program. I already have tons of ideas for next school year including many ways to incorporate our EcoSchool mission into our regular classroom and library lessons.

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I never knew how much scavenger hunts would engage 8th graders. They really like the challenge, they like the race-against-the-clock element, and they like that they get to move around. Scavenger hunts are adaptable to any curriculum and they were a real life-saver for me this year working with 8th graders (they were my stretch grade!)

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Super happy to have established a partnership with Dart. Having Julia come on our morning news show every month allowed us to touch base about curriculum, how we can support each other, discuss families we want to foster and partner for upcoming activities. I love having CCPL here so frequently.

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I feel like the flex/fixed combo worked really well for most of my school. I enjoy seeing the littles on a weekly basis and I was able to work with grade levels as opposed to classes with upper el. I team taught 6th grade EL and to see their growth was amazing. It was an excellent opportunity to embed good research skills, AI, ensure rigor, help with sustained novel reading and allow for maker opportunities outside of 5 paragraph essays. I am "looping" with the teacher to co-teach MS Honors ELA which will hopefully allow for more collaboration from that grade level. This showcase of what we could do in 6th has encouraged the 4/5th level teachers to work weekly with me in the ELA block next year. Yea for that!

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It's been a long short stressful year! Time constantly evades me. This year, I utilized Book Creator for all of my lessons. This allowed me to have all my links, pictures, information, etc. in one place. For my 1st -6th grade students, they all received a bellringer brain building activity at the beginning of class through Book Creator (which allowed them to write on it so I didn't have to make copies). My 4th-6th grades also got a quick bit of information from the Big Book of Useless Knowledge to pique their interest before diving into our lesson for the day. The Book Creator notebook was basically their Interactive Notebook for Library to utilize and reference for information whenever needed.

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This year, I got a DonorsChoose grant to fund pocket microscopes (see picture) because I wanted my students to explore things--fabrics, hair, skin, seeds, shells, you name it! My goal was to inspire curiosity for things and bridge that with curiosity about people. We read parts of The Universe in You to see how tiny things can get and then I handed them the microscopes and let them have at it! They loved being able to see things close up! The next week, we talked about curiosity and what they were curious to look at, and then dove into being curious about people with Just Ask by Sonia Sotomayor. Throughout the year, they were using the microscopes to look at things and find out what they look like close up.

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Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope, UV and LED Flashlight, Orange (MM-280O)

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Amazon.com : Carson MicroMini 20x Pocket Microscope, UV and LED Flashlight, Orange (MM-280O) : Electronics

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This year has flown by, and while I can't say it was always easy, I can say that it has been a wonderful year. I love that I am allowed to have the library open in the mornings, where students can come in to use the Makerspace (do) and rejuvenate from the morning rush (be). I believe our students are incredible, but I get to see it when I look at their creations, their problem solving, and their interactions with each other, regardless of their grade. I'd like to think that I'm showing them what a library's potential can be, and that maybe, when they are older, THE LIBRARY (wherever that is) becomes a place that they visit. This year, we will be saying goodbye to our current 5th and 6th graders, so it will definitely be bittersweet.

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This activity was a great way to visit classrooms and connect with students. Not many classrooms participated, but those that did really enjoyed it!

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Teacher collaborations are powerful. If you have not yet worked with teachers on research/projects, what are you waiting for? It honestly makes for a more positive school climate when students see the adults working together. It helps a lot if you have built relationships with the students. Teachers would not invite me into classes if their students did not want me there.

It is also good for school climate and collaborative trust when your teachers perceive you as a problem solver. Being the tech liaison helps with trust which makes the tech stuff worthwhile despite being a total time suck. It also helps to remember what it was like being that classroom teacher who experienced a tech emergency. Many of us likely remember lessons going poof when a SmartBoard bulb popped.

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Our 4th grade ELA teacher is using Beanstack reviews in conjunction with reading logs. She is using the reviews to teach students how to use evidence from their self-selected books to support their claims (recommend or not recommend).

-Baker

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Canva is my favorite digital tool for certificates, posters, flyers, etc. Since last school year I have been editing the morning news program in Canva and last year and this year I created my school's yearbook in Canva.

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Why do some years seem to go by faster than others? My 15th at Goodwin seemed to fly by. Maybe it's because it was also my oldest son's SR year in college and as much as I wanted time to stop...it just seemed to be moving like a freight train. I would like to try some new lessons next year....not just rely on my old standbys.

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I made bookmarks for each 5th graders with a goodbye note and a picture of the very first book they checked out. They loved looking at each others. Next year I plan to have time where they can also pull the book for a re-read.

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Check out this US Letter (Landscape) designed by Melanie Johnson.

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I can't believe my 13th year at Zucker Middle (my 21st in the district) is coming to an end. This year has just flown by. It's been a busy and eventful year. I feel that I've learned a lot (Thursday Things!) and made some good strides with the library collection. I had 6th & 7th grade ELA classes coming more regularly for library time. I hope that I can say the same about 8th grade next year.

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Each May, I ask our local CCPL branch librarians (for MMA it is the Keith Summey North Charleston Library) to come to our school and do a presentation about Summer Reading. Students bring their Chromebooks and we make sure everyone is registered. It is also a great time for them to promote their monthly programs and events to our students.

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This year was my first year doing a challenge with the South Carolina nominated picture books. After doing a Donor's Choose to receive multiple copies of each book, I received a donation through a local bank to fund the brag tags with the picture of the books on them and necklaces to match.

I asked staff members to be experts for each book and they planned questions to talk about with the readers. Once the student answered each question correct, they received the brag tag with the picture of the book on it. It was so much fun! Some students received all 20 brag tags! It was a great way to show that everyone is a reader and to have meaningful discussions about books with students.

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Time is flying and I can't believe I am wrapping up my 5th year at the ECCAS. I have tried many initiatives over the years, some successful, some not. I love being able to welcome so many students into my space and love that it is a safe haven for so many. The makerspace continues to be a hub in our school, and that makes me feel very happy, as well as very valued at my school. Looking to the future, I want to continue building my collaborations with the East Cooper academic and professional community. I have made some likely, and some unlikely connections over these years, and built my program mostly by word of mouth. I have been working with the Wando Exceptional students in the Fab Lab from year one, and I am happy to say that this year I began hosting Beckham students as well, to work on STEAM skills, as well as vital employability and soft skills in the process. I look forward to growing my program, and offering more supportive resources, so I can't wait to see the new and amazing ways you all are engaging and supporting your students and teachers for inspiration!

My biggest "hiccup" over the past few years is that my VR initiative fell flat, as now that we have connectivity, our free subscription has run out, so I am in search of some affordable, relevant, quality content that does not give me vertigo (LOL). Hoping the graphics/movement quality of the experiences will improve with time, or maybe just accept that I have a weird inner ear problem.

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Well.....I did it! I successfully finished my 4th year here at The Clyde. I am very happy with the relationships that I've built and that I will continue to build, both with students and staff. Students are finally coming to me and looking for recommendations and asking when we will have the next book in a popular series. That is exciting to me!

Though I feel that the collaboration efforts have increased drastically, I know there is always room for improvement. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with teachers and create meaningful lessons next year.

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I learned to let go, so I let go of the website and social media page for next year so I can focus more on my students as we expand to the middle grades.

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For RAA we received postcards from all over the country. The students were excited to see where the next postcard came from. We also tried doing a read aloud with authors from that state. This I had to be strategic about, but the students were very excited. I think next year, I'll use the same postcards to conduct research on different states.

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As my first year comes to a close, I can say I feel like I’ve learned a lot, all while doing everything and nothing at the same time. I’m proud of the connections I’ve made with so many of my students, but I want to work on truly making the library an integral part of the school, not just a place where students go so teachers can get a break. I’ve collaborated with a few teachers, but it was by happenstance. I heard them talking, and I came up with ideas that worked. Next year, I want to be more intentional about collaborating with teachers.

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Our whole school gets involved in reading the same book during RAA week and we continue reading until Spring Break! I have not had the best of luck this year and last with getting all teachers to be on board... I plan on involving admin and planning at the BEGINNING of the year next year to link this book in throughout our school year. I am hoping with the new school year being the second year with our new Principal, she can help to promote this schoolwide initiative!

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My principal would like for me to connect Beanstack and our House System and make reading a a challenge between houses. I would love to do this, but I need some guidance.

Anyone else tackle this yet??

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I created a bitmoji classroom this year and have updated it all year for different themes and activities that I have focused on. This has been an AMAZING resource throughout the year to track what I have done and the resources I have gathered! I plan on doing this again next year as well and keep adding more and more resources!

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Welcome to Ms. Smith’s virtual classroom Access resources from the school library with…

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Ahhh the close of my third year at Lambs and I am so happy to be where I am. I feel that over the past 3 years I have gained so much insight into the needs of the students and teachers at my school and have built relationships with both staff, teachers, and students. I also feel that I have so any tools under my belt for different situations and keep learning more and more each time all of us TLs get together. Next year, I look forward to focusing on Battle of the Books, incorporating more of the house system into the Library and Beanstack, and choosing a book that the who school can read together that the whole staff can encourage and get in on. I have taken many notes this year on different processes I have done and plan on changing and updating processes for next year based on my notes. I feel that I have grown so much as a librarian and that is a HUGE thanks to the support that I have through this CCSD TL family! Thank you all!

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Just finished this novel in verse-- it's the companion novel to Alone, which I also loved. This story was fast paced and the characters were all relatable in different ways. The text is mostly in verse, but there is some variety, which I felt made the story move even faster. For kids who love conspiracy theories, this is a good one. ;)

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Zombie Apocalypse Reference Materials Review

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Zombie Apocalypse Reference Materials Review

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About a month ago, I collaborated with 7th grade ELA and created a reference materials review lesson. We wanted to do something engaging and memorable, so the lesson and activity were centered around a fictional "Zombie Apocalypse." Students had to use reference materials to gather information that would help them survive. It was a lot of fun and just the right amount of silly to keep a middle schooler engaged. The entire 7th grade participated in this review and it was fun for everyone.

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In reflection of my 3rd year at this school, I finally feel like I've established some solid relationships with staff and definitely with students. Everyone said it would take time, which it did. It has been so rewarding to see this first group of students grow from 6th graders through 8th grade. We were able to build on skills, have great conversations about books, and the library continued to be a place for support and encouragement. I also felt a trust develop between me and some of the teachers at my school. I was able to create some really meaningful lessons surrounding literacy and research, and I loved being able to be a part of the learning process. It was a great year.

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This year my biggest reflection, especially with it being my first year in the school library, is that not everyone identifies as a reader, but that doesn't mean that they can't enjoy the library space. Whether it's games, art, technology, or books that draw them in, I have loved being able to learn about my students' and their interests and ensuring to tailor that to their library. I also learned the importance of advocating for our students in the smallest ways possible to allow them more time in the library for them to enjoy.

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One of my most favorite digital tools that I have learned about this year is Blooket. I used sample SC Ready questions to create Blookets for 3rd-5th grade and the students had a blast! I loved that they also has some blookets already created that we could also do for fun as a class.

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One of my favorite programs that I began this year was our House Reading Race. I created new challenges for Red, Blue, Green and Black house that is a part of the RCA system. I enrolled all of my students into their house's program and we competed each week to see which house has read the most. I also displayed each houses Top Reader in the hall way for everyone to see. This has really helped boost reading culture and my students' love for reading!

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This year, I’ve learned just how powerful the library can be as a space for connection and engagement. By bringing in guests like Owlbert, the SOA magician, The Fighting Gnomes theater troupe, and a visiting author, I saw firsthand how these experiences spark curiosity and joy in our students. I also learned the importance of advocating for resources—successfully requesting Title I funds twice and writing grants reminded me that when I speak up for our library, real change can happen. Collaborating closely with second grade gave me new insight into how I can better support instruction, and I want to carry that spirit into deeper collaboration with more grade levels.
I’m really proud of how the library has become a dynamic part of our school culture. Whether it’s students coming in asking for the next book in a favorite series, or for titles by specific authors they’ve fallen in love with, I see their excitement as a reflection of the work we’ve done to make reading relevant and accessible. I'm also proud of the partnerships I’ve built—with teachers, community guests, and funding sources. Every grant awarded, every guest welcomed, and every collaboration has helped turn the library into a vibrant learning hub.
Next year, I want to focus on increasing my facetime with teachers. I’d love to be more intentional about planning with them and finding ways to embed library resources and experiences into their curriculum. My goal is to be a strong bridge between classroom learning and the broader world of information, imagination, and inquiry. I want to continue advocating for our students by bringing in even more enriching experiences and ensuring the library remains a place where every child sees themselves reflected and inspired.

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I wanted to make this year at Hursey completely student-focused since officially moving into a new school. Students love coming into our new library space. From the comfy chairs, to the full shelves, to our incredible makerspace section, the library is simply beautiful and a safe, welcoming, go-to place for all! My favorite projects that students took part of this year was our Elephant & Piggie unit and the adolescents' Lego & Book Nook days. My leave is bitter-sweet, but I know the next librarian will continue to make Hursey's library "the hub of the school!"

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One our PE teachers and I collaborated for two rounds of our classes doing breakout boxes. We did a spring/Easter themed one and a shopping themed one. The spring themed puzzles were more PE and math based due to our school pushing special areas helping assist/boost math, but the shopping puzzles had a bit more reading involved. We did these lessons with fourth and fifth grade classes only to see how they would do, and they LOVED them. They said that it was their favorite of the school year. I am hoping to continue branching out with breakout boxes next school year, even if it is one lock at a time.

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Concept: Turn the library into a global adventure, students “travel” to different countries through books.

How it works:

Each student gets a library passport

Each month, I feature books from a different country or continent (picture books, folk tales, biographies, nonfiction, etc.) on the moring news show

Students read a book from that region, afterward students earn a stamp or sticker in their passport.

We also created simple crafts from each country.

At the end of the journey, students receive a “World Reader” certificate.

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This year in the library has been an incredibly successful and rewarding experience. Students in grades 1 through 5 have made significant strides in developing their research skills, especially through their use of MackinVIA. While we didn’t explore every database in depth, students gained familiarity with valuable resources such as The Magic School Bus, Gale, and PebbleGo.

The library was also a hub of enrichment and excitement thanks to a variety of special guests throughout the year. Highlights included visits from the RiverDogs, ColaJazz, Naval STEM, Birds of Prey, authors, and many more. These experiences helped bring learning to life and deepened students’ engagement.

Most importantly, the library has truly become the heart of the school—a welcoming space where all students feel a sense of belonging. In addition to our daily activities, I established several student clubs that have flourished, including the "Between the Spine" Book Club, STEM Club, and the Secret Stitch Society. Each of these groups has provided unique opportunities for students to explore their interests and build a community around shared passions.

Overall, it has been a year of growth, connection, and inspiration in the library, and I look forward to building on this momentum in the years to come.

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Throughout this year I felt that I was not "doing enough" or "doing what librarians do". Looking back I have realized that I am doing a great job as a second year school librarian, I am continuing to learn and grow. I have been trying new activities this year, and sometimes they don't work which is a bummer, but sometimes they do which is great, and both of these options are fine. I am going to learn from my fellow TL's and try new things with my students and my staff to continue growing as both a teacher and a learner.

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This year, I used this Current Events Worksheet alongside local newspaper articles to help students connect real-world issues to literacy skills. Using local news made the content more relatable, allowing students to see how national conversations impact their own communities.

The activity supported library standards around inquiry, ethical information use, and civic engagement, while aligning with ELA Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) by requiring students to cite evidence, identify bias, and analyze moral questions.

This resource will continue to be a valuable tool for building news literacy and real-world text engagement across content areas.

Source Credit: TPT FREE

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Current Events Worksheet for Middle & High School - FREE

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A worksheet containing questions that can accompany any current events news article. Students may select their own article, or teachers can print the article they wish to have the students evaluate. I developed this worksheet for use in my own 8th grade Social Studies class. This exercise helps stu...

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2024–2025 Reflection  Daniel Jenkins Academy

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2024–2025 Reflection  Daniel Jenkins Academy

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This school year was full of growth and meaningful moments. The library stayed a safe, welcoming space where students could learn, explore, and connect. We held events like heritage month celebrations, conflict resolution talks, career days, and reading activities that brought students together and gave them a chance to shine.

There were some challenges, especially trying to manage both paperwork (responsibilities assigned by admin) and working directly within my role. But those moments showed me how important it is to have strong support, clear routines, and a team mindset. I’m thankful for a principal who encourages new ideas, a staff that works together, and students who remind me every day why I love this job.

Next school year, I plan to focus on giving students better access to digital tools, building their research skills, and starting a student-led reading ambassador group. Our DJA Tigers are finding their voice and I’m proud to help them roar.

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We created Canvas courses for each grade level to share announcements, lessons, and newsletters.

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Brownstone by Samuel Teer (text) & illus. by Mar Julia is a compelling teen summer read. Perfect for 13+ and ripe for reflection. The 14yo Almudena is spending the summer with her father for the first time - it's hard to meet him and stay in a partially habitable brownstone in NYC as her mother travels for work. While she and her dad renovate the building, she learns more than how to use a hammer and more than she expected about her Guatemalan heritage.

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Gr 9 Up–A superb coming-of-age graphic novel that delves deep into contemporary complex topics, such as family, friendship, race, ethnicity, identity, and more. With easy-to-follow dialogue and beautiful, captivating illustrations, Teer and Julia bring readers into Almudena’s consciousness. Almudena, who is just about to turn 15, is spending the summer with her father while her mother is on a work trip. This may sound pretty run-of-the-mill, but Almudena has never met her father; they do not speak the same language; his family plans for the summer are to renovate the brownstone he inhabits. That starts off the summer on a sour note, but while they work on the renovations, Almudena starts to learn not only about her father, their heritage, and others living in the neighborhood, but she also gets to know more about her true self and where she fits in the world. Brownstone gives a sense of what family means and that it goes beyond just sharing the same blood.

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As a first year librarian, I am very thankful for the support of the TL family. The planning days that the Mt. Pleasant TL community planned were very beneficial. It was so nice to bounce ideas off of each other and even visit libraries across the district.

The monthly book clubs for 2-5 graders that I created (along with the help of the fabulous Jennifer Thrift) were a favorite of students. Students met monthly to discuss the book of the month, which was a different genre every month.

Monthly pet therapy was a student favorite that created joyful experiences, especially with the LI class.

Hosting local authors was also a great way to get students excited about reading and writing.

I am proud that I made it through my first year in the library (at a new school) and finished grad school!

Next year, I hope to be more consistent with my library newsletter. I would also like to collaborate and enhance my 4/5 grade lessons :)

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Got some great ideas in our sharing session. Going to place my book giveaway outside in the hallway to increase participation and do a daily book trivia. Also got a suggestion to put activities on the Canvas platform which will be very helpful to spread the word!

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Highlight a book that connects to each daily theme on the student news.

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7 Best Presentation Tools Other Than PowerPoint That Students Can Use | Research.com

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Images, as you know, can help enrich points or stories being conveyed. And, there is really a biological and cognitive basis for this. In fact, the brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text; and visual aid…

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We need to teach students the correct and ethical use of AI. Common Sense Media Lesson

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High School 9-12 AP Seminar--> Works for any research project:

This organizer is one we use in AP Seminar for examining a question as you start research.

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4H has cool lessons on pollinators and other science-based topics that are good to use to spark inquiry when exploring or introducing a lesson. Here is a lesson for Butterflies: https://4-h.org/clover/activities/4-h-pollinators-butterflies/

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Library direct instruction is recorded and added to a digital menu that teachers can access when supportive lessons are needed. Topics include author studies, illustrator studies, battle of the books, research skills, and more.

Library-Classroom Connection Lessons/Links

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With 1st graders, use the book Cozy by Jan Brett as a springboard for researching arctic animals. Use PebbleGo as a resource to help find answers to questions that relate to the tabs of each section. Start by doing whole group and looking for important words that relate to given questions.

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Students researched different holidays. Their final project was to create and ugly sweater. They Used information about colors and the history of ugly sweaters. To create their project.

We have also done this with hoodie creations for biography research. Found template/idea on TPT.

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Kindergarten - Fiction Non-fiction - share 2 books - might both be fiction or nonfiction! They have to vote which it was - and then provide EVIDENCE - examples from the writing or the pictures that TELLS your BRAIN it is real or phony baloney!

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4th & 5th graders completed a worksheet that gave them a cursory view and exposure to some of the key databases in MackinVia. This helped them become aware of resources and how to use them for future use.

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At the end of each month, I come over the intercom and shout-out the top readers in Beanstack. The top 3 students overall each receive a certificate, and the top class and top staff member receive a travelling trophy that stays in their room for the month.

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Please consider how AI may exacerbate an ecological disaster. AI uses up an unsustainable amount of fresh water that should be used for life.

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Magicschool.ai is a great tool for allowing elementary students to use AI in a safe way to help them refine their search terms. They can ask magicschool in a conversational way and the chatbot will help them refine their terms without just giving them the answer, and you as the teacher can monitor everything they say.

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We celebrate top readers/classes/grades and the top staff reader at the end of every week on the news show.

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We celebrate top readers/classes/grades and the top staff reader at the end of every week on the news show.

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Students love the SCBA book awards. So many good books and so little time. We read all the picture books aloud and vote. Lots of laughs and connections going on.

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Use Shanté Keys and the New Year's peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport as a springboard for students to pick a country to research how they celebrate the new year. Write three facts and cite the article. There's one article with all the information and everyone cites the same article.

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We celebrate the leaders at the end of each month for the most minutes read on the Beanstack Leaderboard. 

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We celebrate the leaders at the end of each month for the most minutes read on the Beanstack Leaderboard. 

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Peggy Ferrin, MLMS

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Hunley Park has met its community goal!!!

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The grade level checklists on the continiuum are very helpful for lesson planning.

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Trying to tie Google Earth to scholars learning to map their own address.

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Book makes coneections with fiction and non-fiction

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I've really enjoyed putting up a picture or showing a video of the topic of the day with my CD and PIC classes. We then observe what's happening in the picture and make connections and it's been super fun.

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CommonSense Media

15 min lessons

Meet our beloved digital citizenship characters: Arms, Legs, Guts, Feet, Heart, and Head. They serve as role models to help younger kids learn about the six core topics of digital citizenship in a way that's easy to understand. Students can have fun learning to be responsible digital citizens through song, movement, and repetition. Each lesson answers an essential question connected to a digital citizenship topic.

Arms asks, "How do we balance our time with technology?"

Heart asks, "What are ways you can be kind online?"

Guts asks, "How do you stay safe online?"

Feet asks, "What footprints are you leaving online?"

Legs asks, "How do you stand up for people you care about?"

Head asks, "How do you know something you see or hear is true?"

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Six lessons that introduce students to digital citizenship topics!

Meet our beloved digital citizenship characters: Arms, Legs, Guts, Feet, Heart, and Head. They serve as role models to help younger kids learn about the six core topics of digital citizenship in a way that's easy to understand. Students can have fun learning to be responsible digital citizens through song, movement, and repetition. Each lesson answers an essential question connected to a digital citizenship topic.

Arms asks, "How do we balance our time with technology?"

Heart asks, "What are ways you can be kind online?"

Guts asks, "How do you stay safe online?"

Feet asks, "What footprints are you leaving online?"

Legs asks, "How do you stand up for people you care about?"

Head asks, "How do you know something you see or hear is true?"

Free Classroom SWAG: Posters, video backgrounds & more!

Device Onboarding Lessons for Grades K-5

Help students get ready to use tech for learning in the classroom.

Cybersecurity Lessons for Grades K-8

Help students learn foundational skills for protecting themselves online.

Bite-Sized Digital Citizenship: Scaffolding Big Ideas for Early Elementary Students

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Intro to Digital Citizenship Lessons for Grades K-2 | Common Sense Education

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A series of animated videos and lessons designed to help early elementary students learn the basic principles of digital citizenship.

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I have been doing virtual scavenger hunts on Destiny to get students more familiar with using Destiny and placing books on hold. It is a fun way to get students excited about check outs. Students have become much more comfortable checking out books and placing books on hold independently.

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Creating essential questions (3-5th) Have students create questions around a picture or video provided for a small group. After seeing questions (on strips of paper) - have discussion essential means to gauge their understanding/ability of creating questions. Continue with scaffolding.

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Love pairing fiction and nonfiction books - I'm Trying to Love Spiders with activity (smacking spider) and Diary of a Spider.

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3rd grade research/location of materials

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3rd grade research/location of materials

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I created a 3rd grade bingo with accompanying slides to get them to dig into our databases (with some print resources sprinkled in when they forget their devices - which will happen). I have a bingo print card to easily check in...Hoping this will help with sharing resources in limited time with irregular schedule. Prizes for completers of course.

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Have you ever read a story told from the point of view of a typewriter???? Me neither! Now is your chance to read a wonderful family story mixed with a mystery, all told from this unique POV. I loved this.

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The Anxious Generation by Jonathon Haidt

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The Anxious Generation by Jonathon Haidt

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Reclaim childhood, reclaim your own life - free yourself & your family from screen addiction! This book's research helps support why cell phones are no longer allowed in classrooms and why free play is so important to adolescent/teen mental health.

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Coming in March, 2024: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness

In the summer of 2022, I was working on a book project - Life After Babel: Adapting to a world we can no longer share - about how smartphones and social media rewired many societies in the 2010s, creating conditions that amplify the long-known weaknesses of democracy. The first chapter was about the impact of social media on kids, who were the "canaries in the coal mine," revealing early signs that something was going wrong. When adolescents' social lives moved onto smartphones and social media platforms, anxiety and depression surged among them. The rest of the book was going to focus on what social media had done to liberal democracies.

I quickly realized that the rapid decline of adolescent mental health could not be explained in one chapter-it needed a book of its own. So, The Anxious Generation is Volume 1, in a sense, of the larger Babel project. The book will be published March 26, 2024. ( You can pre-order it now on , , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org , or you buy books.)

I begin The Anxious Generation by examining adolescent mental health trends. What happened to young people in the early 2010s that triggered the surge of anxiety and depression around 2012?

The sudden increase wasn't merely due to a heightened willingness to talk about mental illness. The rise was showing up in behavior as well, including self-harm and suicide.

It showed up internationally too: the rise in anxiety, depression, and self-harm is found in all of the main Anglosphere countries , and in many other European countries as well, indicating that a broader phenomena is sweeping over the developed Western world. (The story in Asia, Africa, and Latin America is less clear.)

Gen Z (those born after 1995) has been hit hardest, although Millennials (born 1981-1995) haven't been entirely spared, as you can see here:

What happened to young people in the early 2010s?

The Anxious Generation offers an explanation by telling two stories. The first is about the decline of the play-based childhood , which began in the 1980s and accelerated in the '90s. All mammals need free play, and lots of it, to wire up their brains during childhood to prepare them for adulthood. But many parents in Anglo countries began to reduce children's access to unsupervised outdoor free play out of media-fueled fears for their safety, even though the "real world" was becoming increasingly safe in the 1990s. The loss of free play and the rise of continual adult supervision deprived children of what they needed most to overcome the normal fears and anxieties of childhood: the chance to explore, test and expand their limits, build close friendships through shared adventure, and learn how to judge risks for themselves.

The second story is about the rise of the phone-based childhood , which began in the late 2000s and accelerated in the early 2010s. This was precisely the period during which adolescents traded in their flip phones for smartphones, which were loaded with social media platforms supported by the new high-speed internet and unlimited data plans.

The confluence of these two stories in the years between 2010 and 2015 is what I call the " Great Rewiring of Childhood. " Few of us understood what was happening in children's virtual worlds and we lacked the knowledge to protect them from tech companies that had designed their products to be addictive.

For this reason, we ended up overprotecting children in the real world while underprotecting them in the virtual world .

The book is split into four parts:

1. The Tidal Wave: In this section, I show the basic statistics on the mental health of young people.

2. The Decline of the Play-Based Childhood: In this section, I discuss the nature of childhood and how we messed it up by depriving children of play and role-models, damaging attachment systems, and erasing any clear path from childhood to adulthood.

3. The Rise of the Phone-Based Childhood: In this section, I discuss the harms that result from the new phone-based childhood, with a chapter devoted to harms to girls, a chapter on harm to boys, and a chapter on the "spiritual degradation" that is happening to all of us--including adults--from our new phone-based lives.

4. Collective Actions for Better Childhood: In this final section, I explain what we must do to reverse the damage. I explain how parents, school, governments, tech companies, and young people are trapped in "collective action problems" and how these can be resolved when individuals organize and act together.

As a parent of two adolescents myself, I worked especially hard to offer useful and non-obvious advice to other parents. My most important suggestions:

Give children far more time playing with other children. This play should ideally be outdoors, in mixed age groups, with little or no adult supervision (which is the way most parents grew up, at least until the 1980s).

Look for more ways to embed children in stable real-world communities. Online networks are not nearly as binding or satisfying.

Don't give a smartphone as the first phone. Give a phone or watch that is specialized for communication, not for internet-based apps.

Don't give a smartphone until high school. This is easy to do, many of your child's friends' parents are doing the same thing.

Delay the opening of accounts on nearly all social media platforms until the beginning of high school (at least). This will become easier to do if we can support legislators who are trying to raise the age of "internet adulthood" from today's 13 (with no verification) to 16 (with mandatory age verification).

In The Anxious Generation , I explain the major causes of the international epidemic of mental illness that hit adolescents in the early 2010s, and I offer a path forward for parents, teachers, friends, and relatives who want to help improve the mental health of children and adolescents. Change is possible, if we can act together.

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Coming in March, 2024: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness In the summer of 2022, I was working on a book project - Life After Babel: Adapting to a world we can no longer share - about how smartphones and social media rewired many societies in the 2010s, creating conditions that amplify the long-known weaknesses of democracy.

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We are keeping up with our progress on this bulletin board. I add some red at least once a week.