Back to School in the Library (Student Edition)

 A new school year starts this week (I am beginning my 25th year!)

Last year I wrote about my Stationary Station HERE----> LINK

It was a super easy station for staff, students and parents that only required putting out paper, envelopes, and pens)  

Last year I also only did this during Meet the Teacher- I am adding a couple of more interactive things this year that will last through Labor Day

Meet the Teacher/Beginning of the year (all the templates are in Canva and will be below)
-Draw yourself into a story- I found this on School Library Media Specialist Facebook page from Sharon Autry
 *This was super easy- I did change it up a bit because I have access to a poster printer- can't wait to see this come together throughout the year

-Stationary Station- invite students/staff/parents to write a letter to themselves or a student to be delivered at the end of the year
*materials- paper/envelopes/pen/directions and a bucket to collect items
*I have reached out to the Senior Teachers about sharing a post and information about this so seniors can write letters to themselves
*I am also going to send out a Kinvolved to parents and invite them to write me an email that I will print off and then put in an envelope for the end of the year

*I am going to take these until September 4th before Labor Day

TEMPLATES

Draw yourself into a story- TEMPLATE LINK

back to school bulletin board by akbusybee

Stationary Station- TEMPLATE LINK

Stationery Station by akbusybee

This is also what I am posting on Social Media to advertise

Of course a couple of other Back to school traditions I have is First day of school pictures.. and my next blog will be about the Novel Sips soda bar I am creating to get my teachers into the library!

Once Upon a Senior Year

 Well- the 2025-2026 school year has ended, but I am finishing up my stint being the summer school librarian for pre-k-2 school. I LOVE my adventures in library land- but let me tell you the prek students are giving me a run for my money!

I did end the year with one of my favorite programs- and one I plan to do every year.  I think I might even do it at the beginning of the year and the end of the year.

I see all the time these amazing public libraries and elementary libraries doing a teddy bear sleepover- and I adapted it for my seniors.  This year I hosted the first ever Senior Storytime/Teddy Bear sleepover.

The idea:

Host a story time for seniors in high school at the end of the year.  Have stations set up for them to participate in and invite them to bring their stuffed animals.  After the storytime and stations- the seniors leave their stuffed animal with the librarian to go on adventures over the weekend.

To Prepare:
-I looked at the best day to host this event- and chose to do it before Senior Sunset (which really was perfect
-I posted information that included pictures/videos with music on Instagram stories (that is where my students tend to stay)
-I had the senior class president share about it along with Senior Teachers
-I put information on our announcements
-I reached out to our librarians in our district and a couple of others to see if they would be interested in being a guest reader
-Created a Google Form for students to fill out-----> THIS WILL FORCE COPY THE FORM
*students did not have to fill out this form- but it did include questions about their stuffed animals/advice they would give to students/and if they wanted their stuffed animal to visit teachers

By the Numbers:
-I have about 2500 in our school- so roughly 700 Senior Students
-I had 19 stuffed animals that went on adventures
-I had 12 seniors show up for the event

Week of the event:
-Started collecting stuffed animals- when the stuffed animal got dropped off the student had to fill out a "permission form" and the animal was given a number.  This number went with the the tag that I added to the stuffie
-If students wanted their stuffie to meet some of the teachers- I took pictures (this I am revamping for next year!)
-Got materials and set up for Senior Read Aloud

Event
-This was from 6pm-7pm- but we ended up being closer to 7:30pm-it was sort of come and go before Senior Sunset
-I had 2 guest readers
-There was too much to do - but watching the students color and chat while holding their stuffed animals was pretty stinking cute
*******I did have some students that came that did not have a stuffed animal- I had extras that they got to use- and actually.. they ended up keeping a couple******

ALL THE PRINTABLES------>HERE

Senior Printable by akbusybee

After the event- I sent the Senior students on to the Senior Sunset- and I loaded up the stuffed animals to go on adventures around the school that weekend. 

Y'all- I loved this SO much!!

What I am doing different/Changing next year:

-Having a better system for taking pics with teachers- the kids REALLY loved that.. and I have to admit- I think the teachers did too
-creating a quick google form to go along with check in so I can grab an email address.. that students actually check!

-Instilling the help of students/other staff to take pictures- THIS TOOK FOREVER- it was worth it.. but it took SO long.. and even though I had a cart- I had at least 3 stuffed animals try to escape (thankfully I took pictures and could tell when one was missing.. it was like I was counting on a field trip!)

-Putting this on the calendar whenever the Senior events list comes out- it worked perfect to go along with Senior Sunset. (I think I might do a storytime at the beginning of the year to go with Senior Sunrise)

-Have a better way to share photos- this year the students that participated only got the video

-Having extra stuffed animals for students to adopt

-have a better way to attach labels

Overall- this was a VERY easy and I feel impactful program.  The students loved it.. and having a way to end their journey.

Have you done a stuffed animal sleepover?

Did you read this far?? I have to give an update about my beginning of the year Stationary Station- you can see the blog HERE

I gave parents/students the option to have their letter delivered the first week of school- OR the end of the year.  I loved passing out the notes at the end of the year- because some students didnt' even realize that they had a note written for them.  I shed a tear or two when I gave one student their note and later found out that the note was written by one of the parents that had passed away that year.  

Y'all these little things might take time and might seem overwhelming- but they sure can leave an impression and a lasting memory.  I can't wait to make even more memories next year at 2 High School Campuses!

Orientation in the High School Library

The beginning of the year is the time where students are learning schedules (well- me too- one day I will have the bell schedule memorized) and learning teachers and expectations.  I am already in full swing of attending PLCs and also scheduling orientations. Although I have had some of these kiddos since they were in elementary and/or middle school (and high school) I still like the chance at the beginning of the year to talk about library expectations- and also remind them what they can do in the library.

My orientation is pretty cut and dry, but I did try to put a couple of games in there. One game is 4 corners- I loved The Contoured Librarian's idea to make 4 corners- but library related and it gets the kids up and moving.  The other idea is the ABC of the library.  We played this this summer during one of our Back to School days with other librarians- and I loved it!

I am scheduling classes for 30 minute times- they will go through the orientation and check out books

During my orientation:
-review items in the library
-talk about all the different programs the library has to offer- Book fair included this year!
-talk about Beanstack (and enter time in after I read a short book)
-get into Sora and make sure that our Public Library is added- and also check out a book
-play one or two games
-CHECK RECORDS- I plan to check everyones record when they come in so we can start the year off fresh! Especially those seniors- Last year was my first year in a comprehensive high school- and I want to be way more organized at the end of the year
-Check out books

Thanks to Monica and Angela for the super cute presentation format.  

Want the template yourself click HERE--->TEMPLATE LINK

Welcome to the Library by akbusybee

Next up in Library Land

-Literary Mums (and more)

-Destination ImagiNation

-Student Aides

-Mini Mums

-and I keep getting tagged in this super cute Ghost too!

You can follow along all of my adventures on TikTok, Reels or YouTube

What are you doing for orientation?

Adventures in the Library- Building a Resume

I looked back and I realized I haven't blogged since September. I have been sharing lots on my Instagram and TikTok account!  This last month I have been doing a TON of orientations! I apologize to all the teachers when they come in that my jokes never change, but feel free to laugh at my punch lines.

I am slowly but surely starting some more collaborations- I have to remind myself.. I have only been on this campus a little over 3 months.  

Demographics of my campus:
-9th-12th grade
-over 3000 students
-comprehensive High School so also has a floral program, vet program, culinary program and more

Some lessons I have done:
-working with the Spanish class to create Instagram posts over famous Hispanic People using our premium resources
-working with the floral department on library displays
-working withe English I over how to use our online catalog to find books they enjoy
-working with English 4 to work on research and search tools
-I taught my first parent class!

My hope is to share more of these lessons for you to take, borrow and steal!

I spent 13 years as a LIFE (learning in a functional environment) teacher before becoming an Instructional Technology Specialist and then a librarian.

I try to collaborate with all content areas- and of course this includes our LIFE students.  I had the chance to collaborate with Coach O our Work Based Learning Teacher we talked about creating a Resume. Now, resumes are important for jobs.. but what a great way for students to also advocate for themselves! They can give these resumes to a teacher or a friend.  

Here is the presentation that I had ready:

Building a resume by ANDREA KELLER

To make it more accessible for various learners:

-used pictures
-when search terms needed to be typed- had paper next to students
-when they needed to choose a template printed ones for students to choose from

This is also a project that we started today but the teacher will continue in the classroom.

Our big goals for today:

-Learning about a Resume
-Opening up Canva

-choosing a template

-renaming the template for their name

-adding their name

-adding their phone number

-adding their school and grade level

(also- what a great way to work on phone numbers/email addresses/regular addresses and more!)

The things they will work on when they go back to class:

-thinking of at least 3 things that they can put in the about me section

-thinking about what skills they have

For both of these items we talked about how some are bilingual,  some already have a job, some help babysit, some are hardworkers, some like to learn new things.  In other words- they all have something to bring to the table!  

For them to finish their resume the teacher they will finish up:

-The Skills section
-The address section

-The about me Section

With us using Canva this is also now a living document that they can go back and edit as needed (and also share like in Google)

If you are on TikTok this video is here too- but this is the breakdown of how I set up the lesson.

Next week I am working with another LIFE class over Veterans Day.

Other upcoming adventures:

-headed to an elementary school (my role as a flexible floater has me supporting all campuses)
-working with ELA 4 over science fiction

-THANKSGIVING BREAK!!

I also have some other programming projects up my sleeve- but will save those for another blog.

Ready, Set, Vote

September 17th was the official Voter Registration day, and working in a High School we have the chance to ensure our Seniors are able to vote!

Last year I had a chance to listen to Lucy Podmore about ideas for a Freedom Walk that she did with her school. You can find more information here---->LINK

I then also was able to attend a great webinar put on by ALA over Reader. Voter. Ready that had a ton of great information. 

The planning then began. Working closely with the two other amazing high school librarians we came up with a plan that could be in person, but also be passive depending on availability of the librarian at the campus.  

The materials shared here were created by Kathleen Basoco, Andrea Keller, and Jessica Ross

Our overall goal for this was to offer simple programming that would educate and promote voting.  

When looking at resources, it was also important that we made sure materials that were as nonpartisan as possible. 

We created a Wakelet that holds all of our information.  Each of our campuses has a TV that is in front of the library, so one of the slides is a QR code to this Wakelet.  I also have a slide of a brief history of voting that Kathleen created showing as well.  

Each of our campuses has different needs, so we are doing the activities to fit the needs of our own school community.

A couple of my favorite things from our materials:
-The Educaplay games that Kathleen created
-The Genially games that Jessica created

My Plan

Our campus has three lunches.  Seniors are able to eat their lunch in the courtyard.  Although Fall is next week, Texas still thinks it is the middle of the summer, so the weather is still nice (aka hot)  I am working with our Student Council to help man the different stations.  Here is my plug for student council... if you have a student council on your campus- partner with them! They need points for different things- so I give them an idea and they run with it.

Social Media post shared on our Instagram/X accounts

Stations:

-I Side With quiz for students to see how they are politically alligned

-Voting Vocabulary Matching station- voting vocabulary words- old school memory (found this on TPT)

-Election Timeline station- this is one where students can use the cards in order for voting timeline (found this on TPT)

-A station that is a book display and QR codes that lead to different virtual games and activities that include matching representatives, filling out a sample ballot, when can you vote for different officials and more.  This will also become a display in the library after our event on Thursday and Friday.  You can find most of the games inside the Wakelet below.

-Possible Voter Registration.  We have a group coming later to do this as well- but might be able to also have it on campus.

Are you in High School and working on voter information? What do you have planned? Do you have a favorite website to share? We also are using this time to talk about bias and where information comes from- another great way to talk digital citizenship.