Turning a Corner in My Career Path!

I am so happy to be going to work at Willis ISD! My position is Information Learning Specialist (ILS) and iCoach! I will be working hard with my administrators and the Willis ISD Instructional Technology Department to reinvent our school libraries! I will finally be able to use my experience and my Specialist Degree in Educational Technology to the fullest. I will still be the ILS (fancy term for librarian), working to create a technology-rich learning environment.

This opportunity is a dream come true for me. I formerly worked as the librarian at McCullough JH, a huge two-story library with 2400 students and 140 teachers,  with three wonderful paraprofessionals on staff.  At Willis ISD I will work with teachers and students to support and engage the digital learner!

Ism's of Art

Each panel of the Ism box depicts a different era in the Art world. Thank you to Laurie Adams and her students for allowing us to display these beautiful student projects in our library.

The different Ism's are:

Postimpressionism

Expressionism

Cubism

Fauvism

Surrealism

LIGHT by Michael Grant — Official US Book Trailer (3 of 3)

LIGHT by Michael Grant — Official US Book Trailer (3 of 3)
Brought to you by Safeshare

Grand Opening of The Internet Lounge!



Before





Before



It is ready! Our Internet Lounge is ready to go!



We think the pink chairs pictured date back to when McCullough was built, 1976! It was definitely time for an upgrade!



After!



I saved up book fair profits for several years, hoping to get enough to buy some new furniture for a reading lounge in one corner of the downstairs library. After three years I felt I had enough saved up. Our wonderful CISD Purchasing Department personnel, Chris and Courtney, showed me some options in their bid-vendor-friendly catalogs, and suggested several sales reps.



They could see I did not want the same-old library furniture. I wanted something hip and trendy for our tech-savvy young teens here at McCullough! I also needed something within our budget. David Jones from Educator's Depot came to the library and showed me some amazing Bretford furniture that has built-in technology! Plus, the upholstery and paint colors Bretford offered were exactly what I had in mind!

The furniture has built-in AC power outlets, and powered USB ports. The tables have built-in Powermats, and we can charge our cellphones, iPads, and other eReaders and tablets using portable Powercubes!



The EXTREMELY cool area rug, along with huge quartz rocks from Mexico, an interactive globe, a coffee table book The Earth from Above by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and some modern lamps, contribute to the finishing touches!





After!



The Internet Lounge is open every day during school hours, and all students, staff, parents, and visitors are welcome to come read, relax, and charge up their iPhones, smartphones, eReaders, iPads, and tablets!























Diary of Anne Frank Mobiles

Ms. Meyer was not the only teacher who allowed us the honor of displaying her students' projects in the library. Mrs. Roberts hung her Diary of Anne Frank mobiles from the library ceiling, and they are amazing! We get so many visitors to the library who are drawn in by the fun displays and student work that are lining the shelves and hanging from above!

Lord of the Flies Crime Scene Investigation Project

Ms. Meyer's 8th grade classes teamed up and went undercover as crime scene investigators. During the course of reading Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the team members were assigned different jobs to investigate if their assigned character was a bystander, rescuer, perpetrator, or victim.

The different types of jobs that this project included were: the CSI Detective (assigned to provide tangible evidence), the Lexicographer (assigned to provide textual evidence), the Historian (assigned to develop a timeline), the Psychologist (assigned to do a characer psych evaluation), and the Topographer (assigned to create a map).

The students made their own crime scene, including evidence, timelines, psych workups, and maps

The Internet Lounge

During our bond renovations at McCullough I asked to have the old white bookshelves removed from this downstairs area. The library was repainted and new carpet was put in. I had a fantastic book fair the last two years, and I have saved the profits for something I have wanted since I came to McCullough eight years ago: an internet lounge!

BEFORE

Right now we have our old 1976 pink/burgundy chairs down there. Even that is an improvement and we have received some  compliments on how open and fresh it looks. However, this is not the permanent furniture.

I am placing the order for our new funiture from Educator's Depot. The furniture is manufactured by Bretford. Our district purchasing department ladies Chris and Courtney directed the company rep David Jones our way, and it has been a very nice experience working with him. He has a lot of patience, because he had to work with four women trying to decide on fabrics and colors. I think what we all put together is going to be just beautiful. I can't wait to post the "After" pictures in about six weeks! 

The reason it is called internet lounge is because the furniture itself will be wired for USB and AC, plus there will be Apple charging pads on the tables! Students, teachers, and visitors can charge their devices right in the furniture!

Can't wait for everyone to see it!