Two weeks completed

Week 2 at PCIS has come and gone. I can’t believe how fast the time flies everyday. There is so much to learn and do that I’m in a blur of activity. I’ve taken to wearing my pedometer again (I’d gotten out of the habit) and clock almost 4 miles per school day just walking, which is over 7000 steps. That’s alot of steps. I’ll have much more steps/mileage once I heal up from ankle sprains and a sore knee to return to my road and cross country running. However, until then, it’s good to be active.

I’ve been going from class to class, introducing myself and discussing the soon-to-be opened library. I have also been reassuring anyone who asks that despite being born in, as well as living and working in NYC, I am a Red Sox fan – courtesy of my MA born husband.

I spoke to a large group of 7th graders today and they made me smile when they spontaneously clapped when their teacher introduced me. Of course that merited large, deep bows from me, which increased the intensity of their applause, which meant more bowing, etc. I finally had to laugh and call a truce.

We now have a week off for winter break, and I will use that time to get caught up on the longer e-mails I’ve let slide, as well as the books I’m reading. I like to read books that students might be interested in, and am mid-way through “The Lightning Thief,” a fantasy Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Lately, my reading has been focused on reaching boys with books they’d be interested in reading, and this book would definitely qualify as interesting. Once the library is up and running, I will be typing student book reviews onto this blog. I want to also have a looping power point display of these reviews placed onto each of the library’s computers so that students would use their fellow students as a springboard to a book.

I spoke to our art teacher about having students create posters for the library about any and all aspects of reading. I will have them laminated and students will be able to see their artwork on display. I want the library to be a place of energy, color and excitement, as well as a place of learning.

Well, off to my “reading” vacation. Happy 2 weeks to me!

Life at PCIS

Today marked my first official week as the new Library Media Specialist at PCIS. It has been a week of constant motion, as I began to learn the ropes of my new job. It is a wonderfully organized school, as all of the 1400+ students are grouped into four Houses which enable teachers to focus on smaller numbers of students. Each House has its own Headmaster, and this allows for easier access and communication with parents.

The library is under construction, but is slated to open in March. As a result, I have been unable to see what kinds of books are on the shelves. Until that happens I am becoming great friends with Follett’s Titlewave, an online site that allows me to virtually “see” the books in my collection so I can get a handle on what is available for future student and staff use.

I have a fine team of five aides. One works with me on library and technology issues in the building, while four of them run the library computer labs. Yesterday, I circulated information about a new database called World Geography to the teachers. One of the 7th grade Geography teachers stopped by the library this morning, and I gave her a quick overview. She was thrilled to be able to use it with her students for an ongoing lesson. Thus, I was able to introduce it to all five of her 7th grade classes while, at the same time, I got to introduce myself to them. A definite win-win situation. The best part was that the students seemed to really enjoy using it, and I loved seeing how they immediately began their searches and explorations. A few of them figured out very quickly that it also had video/audio, as I saw headphones begin to go on their heads.

Happy first week to me!