If you have not been in to see our beautiful new Library, you need to get over here to see it! We have 12,413 perfect books waiting to be chosen by your Beaver Reader!
Here’s what’s new:
Library is only a part-time position this year. 2nd-5th graders every other week, Mondays or Fridays for a 35-minute lesson and check-out. I am seeing K-1 students every other week, Mondays or Fridays for a 25-minute lesson/check-out as well, but I also squeeze them in on their ‘off’ Wednesdays for a 15-minute check-out only.
In order to give the 2nd -5th graders more opportunities to check-out books I’ve added Library Lunch Recess this year! On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays students in 2nd-5th grade can ask their teachers for a Library Lunch Recess pass. Each teacher can send five students on those days. Students come in to the Library after they’ve been dismissed from the lunchroom. They have been spotted working on our new Puzzle Maker Station, playing Chess, creating with Snap Circuits, working the Perplexus balls, making bookmarks, reading, and of course, checking out books. It has been super fun for me to watch them enjoy the space and each other’s company in a quiet, calm environment.
I’ve also reserved the first and last 10 minutes of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for quick book returns/check-out since two weeks might be too long to go between check-outs! Students just need to ask their teacher for permission to come to the Library at the beginning or end of the day.
Global Reading Challenge 2019
The Global Reading Challenge is underway! Loyal Heights has filled 10 teams of 6 students. As a result, the GRC books are definitely taking up all the space on the Popular Titles banner of Destiny Collections. Your participant should be reading and re-reading these titles over the break. We meet in the Library every Wednesday for 30 minutes. During that time students share which books they’ve read, create questions for books they’ve read, and collaborate with their group to make sure they are ready for the challenge. We will begin the mock challenges as soon as we return from winter break.
The in-school Global Reading Challenge will be on February 13th. The winning team from Loyal Heights will then attend the Semi-Final Challenge at the downtown Seattle Public Library Auditorium on February 28th from 10 AM to noon. The winning teams from Semi-Finals move on to the Global City Final at the downtown Seattle Public Library Auditorium at 7PM on Tuesday, March 19th. Check out the books your kids are reading:
https://www.spl.org/programs-and-services/learning/global-reading-challenge
Library Catalog
Did you know you and your student can access the Loyal Heights Elementary Library Catalog from home? I’ve been teaching the 2-5th graders how to login (classroom teachers have their correct username/password combos) to Destiny so that they can look at their accounts, see what is due, renew their books, and put books on hold! Ask them to show you how! Additionally, even if they don’t login, students can still see what books are available in our Library at the link below.
https://spscatalog.seattleschools.org/district/servlet/handledistrictloginform.do
SPS Online Resources
Seattle Public Schools has made so many awesome resources available to its students at school or from home. The entire Microsoft Office 365 suite is available for student use. This includes Word, Excel, Power Point, and One Drive for saving/storing files. Fourth and fifth graders have all logged in with their unique loy_ username and 8 digit password. I sent all classroom teachers a handout that explains how your student can get online from home. Your classroom teacher can give you your child’s username/password combo.
I highly recommend Sweet Search for kids to use instead of Google at home. It eliminates the flashing ads and does its best keeping your kids safe on the internet. Britannica is an awesome new resource for us this year.
You will be prompted for an username/password for some resources when not on a district computer. This is not your student’s unique login, but a generic login for all SPS students. The username is: “studentsps”. The password is: “access” You can use the link below to get to the Online Student Resources.
https://www.seattleschools.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=627&pageId=15858
Contact Info
Librarian:
ccblangy@seattleschools.org
Phone: (206) 252-5920
Main Office: (206) 252-6000
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are always welcome in the Library.
Please contact the Librarian via email if you'd like to volunteer.