Tuesday, October 20, 2015
It's Book Fair Time
Dear Parents and Students:
Our Fall Book Fair will open Friday October 23 and conclude following the Halloween Party on Friday October 30. All children will visit the book fair this Friday with their homerooms and will bring a wish list home. I hope to see many of our children and parents during the Fall Festival on Friday evening.
If you can't make it to the Fall Festival, the book fair will be open the following hours next week:
- Monday, October 26: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
- Tuesday, October 27: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
- Wednesday, October 28: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
- Thursday, October 29: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
- Friday October 30: 6:30 AM to 3:30 PM
The Book Fair accepts checks, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and cash. If sending a check with your child, please specify a spending limit.
Thank you for your continued support of the library and your child's development as a reader.
Sincerely,
Suzie Martin, MLIS, NBCT
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Big Changes Coming to Our Library Program
Like many of you - or many of your children - I am sad about summer vacation coming to an end. Despite this, I am very excited about the upcoming school year and the opportunities I will have to work with your children. It will be different, to say the least!
For the first time in my now 20(!) years at Brookhaven, library information literacy will be imbedded in the related arts rotation. This means that a student will come to the library once a week as part of his specials classes, whereas before he may have only had art-music-PE and maybe basic skills. Library information literacy is replacing basic skills in this rotation at all grade levels except kindergarten.
This represents a major philosophical shift for me and is counter to the wisdom and guidance of the American Association of School Librarians. There are many reasons why I think this is important.
First of all, I think children need more exposure and practice at verifying the accuracy and bias of information they find. It seems all information, whether online or in print, has a slant. For example, World Book Encyclopedia,, a revered resource for students, prints different accounts of world events depending on the country it is marketed. Tiananmen Square has a different account in the United States than it does in China. If a respected publisher will change its bias to suit an audience, imagine what less reputable sources will publish?
Students need more practice in gathering information from multiple sources and making sense of conflicting information. They need help learning the rules of ethical use of information, what behavior is appropriate, and what behaviors are hurtful. They need help forming search strategies that will find them the best information possible. And they need more free reading time, which has consistently been proven to improve reading skills.
I will see all students in grades one through four each week during their specials rotation. I will see some of the 5th graders during this time. I will not have kindergarten in the rotation. I have lots of plans for each grade level and a general yearly outline that I have been refining in my mind for the past 10 years. Next week I will explain a little of what is in store for each grade level.
In the meantime, I ask you to consider what this will mean to our existing library program. I will not be able to teach and conduct regular checkout and readers advisory help as I have done in the past. More than ever, I will need volunteers to take care of checkout and other circulation tasks while I teach. If you have some free time during the week, I hope you will consider helping out.
See you next time!
Mrs. Martin
For the first time in my now 20(!) years at Brookhaven, library information literacy will be imbedded in the related arts rotation. This means that a student will come to the library once a week as part of his specials classes, whereas before he may have only had art-music-PE and maybe basic skills. Library information literacy is replacing basic skills in this rotation at all grade levels except kindergarten.
This represents a major philosophical shift for me and is counter to the wisdom and guidance of the American Association of School Librarians. There are many reasons why I think this is important.
First of all, I think children need more exposure and practice at verifying the accuracy and bias of information they find. It seems all information, whether online or in print, has a slant. For example, World Book Encyclopedia,, a revered resource for students, prints different accounts of world events depending on the country it is marketed. Tiananmen Square has a different account in the United States than it does in China. If a respected publisher will change its bias to suit an audience, imagine what less reputable sources will publish?
Students need more practice in gathering information from multiple sources and making sense of conflicting information. They need help learning the rules of ethical use of information, what behavior is appropriate, and what behaviors are hurtful. They need help forming search strategies that will find them the best information possible. And they need more free reading time, which has consistently been proven to improve reading skills.
I will see all students in grades one through four each week during their specials rotation. I will see some of the 5th graders during this time. I will not have kindergarten in the rotation. I have lots of plans for each grade level and a general yearly outline that I have been refining in my mind for the past 10 years. Next week I will explain a little of what is in store for each grade level.
In the meantime, I ask you to consider what this will mean to our existing library program. I will not be able to teach and conduct regular checkout and readers advisory help as I have done in the past. More than ever, I will need volunteers to take care of checkout and other circulation tasks while I teach. If you have some free time during the week, I hope you will consider helping out.
See you next time!
Mrs. Martin
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Tween Us Interviews Dr. Michele Borba
Dr. Borba addresses the changes required for parenting Tweens today, stating that "nine is the new thirteen." Children are maturing biologically more quickly than tbeir parents, but they are not psychologically or emotionally prepared. Read the entire interview at Tween Us.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Tween Us is Must Reading for Parents of 9 to 12 Year Olds
Sometimes I arrive a little late for the party. And sometimes I don't even know the party is happening.
That is how I felt when I ran across Shannan Younger's Tween Us blog. Younger's blog runs several days a week on the Chicago Now website. In the About section of the Tween Us page, Younger states that this blog explores "the world of adolescents and the adventure of parenting them." The author further states that in little more than two years, Tween Us has been recognized as a leading authority in adolescent parenting.
Now that I have arrived at the Tween Us party, I feel the need to share it with you. Suffice it to say I am very impressed. Recent posts have dealt with apps not very familiar to adults (Periscope, SnapChat, Meerkat, to name a few). She discusses the pros and cons of each app and makes parents aware of what using the app could mean to their child's privacy. Her advice is sound, not hysterical or pooh-poohing. She gives you the facts you as a parent need to make informed decisions with your children.
She is a champion of esteem-building for young girls. Tuesday's post championed the selection of Misty Copeland as a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theater, citing Copeland's work ethic and refusal to give in the naysayers. Another notable post is titled "Trying to Raise a Confident Daughter When I Don't Feel Confident About Much Myself." Definitely worth the read.
Parenting is tough, if you do it well. Of course nothing is more rewarding. But it is nice to have a voice like Shannan Younger's talking us through the process.
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