New Books!

What a happy day! So fitting for the week of Thanksgiving! In the learning commons, we are so excited that our first LARGE shipment of NEW BOOKS has arrived! We have nearly 180 wonderful new titles for our patrons to check out. Make sure to come visit us in December to see what we have...We bet we have something YOU would like!

You can view some of the newest titles in Destiny and we are working on a resource list as you read this! Yay for reading!

October 21-25 is Digital Citizenship Week!

Next week, October 21-25 is officially, DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP WEEK!Here is a link to Common Sense Media's resource website! There are SO many facets to becoming a responsible digital citizen...this website offers great advice for teachers, parents, and students!

What can YOU do to become a responsible online citizen? There's a great question to reflect on! If you have any questions, please see Mrs. Lott in the Learning Commons!

Banned Books Week September 22-28!

Hi!
Did you know that we celebrate the fREADom to read during one week each year? It is during Banned Books Week, and it is happening right now! :)

Discover what you're missing and check out this link for more information! Banned Books Week Information

We have a great display of books that have been challenged or banned available for check out in the learning commons! Stop by and see us!

Welcome back!

Welcome back to the Learning Commons! If you are a new student or family to our school, we welcome you! This space is busy, shared, and full of learning opportunities for our 21st Century Learners. We assist teachers and students meet the learning goals of their MYP units of study and support the integrated, meaningful use of technology to meet these goals.

These first weeks are busy with orientations! We are meeting with all students through their Language A and ELL teacher's classes to get to know the sections in this space and how to find items (both physical and online) independently. Students will build skills with information literacy, technology literacy, and problem solving/thinking by participating in their orientation session! Plus, we have a couple treats for them if the accomplish the tic-tac-toe task! :)

Here is a link to the Learning Commons website--resources for the orientation are here! Destiny Quest, Mackin VIA, and the Virtual Tour using Thinglink images are on the main webpage.

Here is a direct link to the virtual tour, if you are interested in seeing our space online. :)

Enjoy....And come in and see us soon!  

News for end of the school year library dates!

Please see THIS LINK for a Voki telling you about due dates and an opportunity to visit with someone from the Anythink Library for summer reading information! Happy reading!

Mackin VIA!

Students throughout our school are learning how to access ebooks in our library/learning commons through Mackin VIA. Check out this video made on Animoto to see a sample of how they are being used! :)
Mackin VIA Animoto

TCAP Begins Today!

Alright students! Today begins the day to show your stuff...Let the TCAPing begin! Good luck...we believe in you! Now, Rock that test!

Voki!

Have you heard of Voki? Wow! It's fun and easy to use! Studnets can create their speaking avatar without an account! Their voice can be recorded through a microphone or even via cell phone! Up to 60 seconds of voice time is available and they save their creative character in a link! So cool! Here is a link to my practice Voki! Check it out!

Book Fair is Here!

Hi Everyone!
The Book Fair is well underway! We have lots of amazing great titles to share! Come by and see us for our last 2 days in the school.

Our Hours are:
Tuesday, February 5th 8:00am-8:00pm
Wednesday, February 6th 8:00am-3:00pm and 4:00pm-8:00pm

We will have cookies in the library for evening visitors and their families who come to Parent Teacher Conferences!

We are also giving away more $5.00 gift certificates to students Tuesday and Wednesday.  Stop in to enter into the grade level drawings. 6 winners will be chosen each day! Listen for your name at the end of the announcements each afternoon. Gift Certificates must be redeemed by Thursday at 8:00pm.

You can also shop for books through out online book fair linked to the Library Website. Orders can be placed up until February 16th. The Link is: International School Online Book Fair 2013.

Thanks for supporting literacy events at The International School. We hope to see YOU at the book fair! Happy Reading!

Book Fair and Kindles are coming soon!

We have some exciting news for 2013 to share with you! To begin, we are looking forward to the Scholastic Book Fair that will be in the building just before and during conferences in February! Stop by and see us. Our wonderful 8th Grade Ambassadors will be available during the evenings to help you and your family find some great titles! (They are also helping us set up and pack up the fair...THANKS a BUNCH to our Ambassadors!)

Book Fair Dates and Hours:
Friday, February 1st 12:00-4:00
Monday, February 4th 8:00-4:00
Tuesday, February 5th 8:00-4:00 and 4:00-8:00
Wednesday, February 6th 8:00-3:00 and 4:00-8:00 


Next up...Kindles for check out! Wait...Did you catch that?!?!  Yes, you did! The library recently purchased 18 Kindles that will be available for student check out! We still need to get accounts set up and books downloaded. Interested students will need to return a special permission form signed by parents in order to be responsible for the e-readers. We are hoping to have these ready just after conferences for students!

And...Have you seen our new and improved World Language Section in the library?  We have received some new picture books in a variety of languages and just placed an order for more than 30 German picture books to be added to the library. Please come in and check out the new titles we have to offer!

See you soon in the library,
Mrs. Lott and Mrs Bender