With the shift to the Common Core Learning Standards, the push to infuse literacy into all content areas has been our main focus from last spring through the summer and into this school year. Whether you are a student in an English classroom, a Science classroom, or a Technology classroom, the ability to read, write, listen, and speak is imperative to your success. It is no longer about memorizing information, rather, it is about analyzing, interpreting, describing, arguing, and synthesizing information from a variety of sources and expressing yourself orally and in writing. This isn’t the same old Middle School that you and I went to (actually, I did go to school here, I was just a little bit shorter then and a lot younger!). As a result, we are trying to support literacy in a variety of ways and with a spectrum of resources. One of those incredible resources is our school library. Please complete the quiz below.
Library Quiz
❶ Since the beginning of the school year (2 half days and 15 full days), how many total items have been checked out of our library? (answer: below picture)
Answer: over 1,100 items!!!
Were you even close? I was way off. Our students and teachers are making reading and utilizing the library a priority. That is awesome!! Please continue to push, promote, and encourage your kids to read. Our library has an extensive list of audio books that can be just the thing to get those hesitant readers diving into literature. We also have a number of magazine subscriptions and other digital media through our library web site to really get students excited about reading. Even though they are in middle school, our students still love to be read to. I would encourage you to read with them, read to them out loud, throw on an audio book in the car, and read the same book as them so that you can have some really great conversations about the wonderful stories and information that they are learning. Thank you for all that you do to support your children and for being so involved!
On another note, the days are getting shorter, there is a chill in the air, and I am seeing pumpkins all around. Time to start thinking about my Halloween costume!
Continued Success,
Steve Dunham
