This week has been a crazy one. Monday we had a snow day, Tuesday we got out 2 hours early due to icy roads, and Wednesday we had a 2 hour late start because said roads were still icy. Yesterday the roads finally got some sun and managed to melt the worst of the slick stuff...so for the first time all week we have a full day. It seems endless! Tomorrow will be even worse! But on the other hand, it's already Thursday and there are only two days left of the week! Ah time, how you tease us.
It also seems to be the middle of March...March! Can you believe it? I'm so far behind on so much it's hard to know where to start. I'd say I'm looking forward to catching up with everything over spring break...but we don't have one. We have Good Friday off and Easter Monday. That's not a spring break, that's a long weekend. I'm so burnt out. I just want a break! The only thing that is pulling me through is the thought of April and the IASL (librarians) Conference. It's just one day off school, less time than our Easter weekend. But it's all mine. I can catch up with what is happening with Iowa librarians and maybe get excited for the end of the year. There really isn't THAT much time left in the year. The problem is we don't have many days off between now and then so it's going to DRAG. :) I'll just have to survive.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Live Healthy Iowa
My current superintendent is interesting. First he had everyone join Twitter, with the usual mixed reviews. Then he dropped a bomb on the whole district students and staff alike. We are participating in the Live Healthy Iowa 10 Week Challenge. It's happening for all students and staff were highly recommended to create/join a team. I'd never even heard of this before, but apparently one of the reasons we are doing this is to get total participation for Sac County up. Last year we were in the bottom 50 somewhere. I think the couple hundred people we're bringing into this will have to help shoot Sac into the top 50 counties.
Early on I decided I should get involved with this, but I didn't know what building to team up with. In the end I went with one of the elementary buildings and got volunteered to the post of Team Captain along the way. My team seems to be a rag tag bunch, which is nice, most of them are building hoppers like me. I've named us The Ladies of (the) Wall Lake, I'm very lucky none or our guy teachers/staff wanted in. I figure it's an appropriately literature based title for a librarian captained team.
Last Monday started the Challenge. I'm not sure how well my first week actually went, but I'm hoping for good results overall. Really, I'd just like to get out and move more. I'm not in this to lose a bunch of weight, but hopefully that will be a nice side affect from moving more!
Early on I decided I should get involved with this, but I didn't know what building to team up with. In the end I went with one of the elementary buildings and got volunteered to the post of Team Captain along the way. My team seems to be a rag tag bunch, which is nice, most of them are building hoppers like me. I've named us The Ladies of (the) Wall Lake, I'm very lucky none or our guy teachers/staff wanted in. I figure it's an appropriately literature based title for a librarian captained team.
Last Monday started the Challenge. I'm not sure how well my first week actually went, but I'm hoping for good results overall. Really, I'd just like to get out and move more. I'm not in this to lose a bunch of weight, but hopefully that will be a nice side affect from moving more!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Tweeting
Who knew I'd become a Tweeter?! I signed up for an account last year, and then promptly forgot all about it. I had signed up after a great librarian meeting that got me excited all excited about the networking opportunities. I was convinced I'd use it to check on people in my field, but wouldn't have to tweet anything out myself. After all who cares about what I have to say?
That was then and this is now. Starting at a new school and traveling between four buildings I was at my wits end. I figured it was time to get drastic. I needed a better way to engage with the teachers in my district! So I got serious about my school blog and I started to actually TWEET. Frightening I know. I'm not going to lie, there was a certain amount of terror and self-loathing at the beginning. But I got over that. I don't have to create amazing and profound tweets, I just have to be myself (cliched perhaps but true). I've got my setting completely open, because honestly what's the point if you restrict access? It's not like this is my personal Facebook page. I don't post anything I wouldn't want everyone to see and I don't worry about who I follow as long as I enjoy them. That being said, I post both school and personal information. I debated creating two separate accounts, but being a librarian is a big part of who I am and why I'm tweeting. So I just have the one account and so far so good.
It's mid-year and I think I'm completely hooked.. I check Twitter daily and have really enjoyed following librarians (public and school) as well as my favorite current young adult authors. I've been better able to promote my blog posts and the information I'm blogging about through my Twitter feed. So far I've kept the celebrity following to a minimum, unless you count authors.
About a month ago my superintendent sent out an email about the virtues of Twitter as an educational tool. He encouraged all employees to have an account by the end of the year. He also encouraged us to follow each other. Thank GOD I started using my account at the beginning of the year! I'm already familiar with how things work, and hopefully I've learned enough Twitter "etiquette" not to be a complete nuisance to all my co-workers! I'm even helping others get a feel for things as they set-up their own accounts.
Today I spent about an hour watching the live web feed of the ALA Youth Media Awards and tweeting about it all. I did a fair bit of re-tweeting so that I didn't waste precious time/thought/attention typing. It was a blast. I've never had such a great time waiting for the Newbery, Caldecott, and other ALA awards to be announced. If you're on Twitter check me out, I'm @estohlmeyer.
That was then and this is now. Starting at a new school and traveling between four buildings I was at my wits end. I figured it was time to get drastic. I needed a better way to engage with the teachers in my district! So I got serious about my school blog and I started to actually TWEET. Frightening I know. I'm not going to lie, there was a certain amount of terror and self-loathing at the beginning. But I got over that. I don't have to create amazing and profound tweets, I just have to be myself (cliched perhaps but true). I've got my setting completely open, because honestly what's the point if you restrict access? It's not like this is my personal Facebook page. I don't post anything I wouldn't want everyone to see and I don't worry about who I follow as long as I enjoy them. That being said, I post both school and personal information. I debated creating two separate accounts, but being a librarian is a big part of who I am and why I'm tweeting. So I just have the one account and so far so good.
It's mid-year and I think I'm completely hooked.. I check Twitter daily and have really enjoyed following librarians (public and school) as well as my favorite current young adult authors. I've been better able to promote my blog posts and the information I'm blogging about through my Twitter feed. So far I've kept the celebrity following to a minimum, unless you count authors.
About a month ago my superintendent sent out an email about the virtues of Twitter as an educational tool. He encouraged all employees to have an account by the end of the year. He also encouraged us to follow each other. Thank GOD I started using my account at the beginning of the year! I'm already familiar with how things work, and hopefully I've learned enough Twitter "etiquette" not to be a complete nuisance to all my co-workers! I'm even helping others get a feel for things as they set-up their own accounts.
Today I spent about an hour watching the live web feed of the ALA Youth Media Awards and tweeting about it all. I did a fair bit of re-tweeting so that I didn't waste precious time/thought/attention typing. It was a blast. I've never had such a great time waiting for the Newbery, Caldecott, and other ALA awards to be announced. If you're on Twitter check me out, I'm @estohlmeyer.
Monday, January 21, 2013
ALA 2012 Conference!
This is the year! I'm headed to the Annual ALA Conference! It's scheduled to be in Chicago this summer, so it's perfect timing and as close as it's ever going to be. I can't wait! I'm completely overwhelmed with it all right now. I'm trying to plan out the best way for me to go without breaking the bank. This conference is going to be more than my allowed professional development budget from the school. But thats okay, I'm still going.
I've been Googling away since I decided I was going. I've found several blogs from veterans and first-timers. I'm just not sure what applies to me most. For instance, I've read several times that I should have business cards ready to pass out. I'm not sure that I'm going to the conference for networking. I'm a school librarian, not a public librarian...will there be THAT many school librarians to network with? Also, I'm not looking for a job...do I really need business cards? I'm still debating. Because while I think they are somewhat outdated and an expense I don't need to add to my conference list, I have had a LOT of fun playing around with VistaPrint. A lot of people have also talked about all the free books/stuff they go home with and needing to ship it home. I'm planning on driving from Iowa with friends. Between luggage and people I might end up needing to ship things home, but how much stuff can you really expect to have?! I'm hoping for the best but planning for the worst at this point.
I love that the conference is scheduled in the middle of the summer. As a school librarian I've got no professional conflicts. And Chicago is a fun city for a mini vacation! I'm hoping to have some time for site-seeing. I've been to Chicago a million times, but I really do enjoy it. The only thing about summer is the heat. I'm a little concerned about going inside/outside all day long in June/July weather. But I'll just have to hope for some nice breezes off the lake! I'm generally too hot rather than too cold so I'll plan for that and deal with what comes I guess.
It's months away and how knows what might pop up but I hope I actually get to do this!
I've been Googling away since I decided I was going. I've found several blogs from veterans and first-timers. I'm just not sure what applies to me most. For instance, I've read several times that I should have business cards ready to pass out. I'm not sure that I'm going to the conference for networking. I'm a school librarian, not a public librarian...will there be THAT many school librarians to network with? Also, I'm not looking for a job...do I really need business cards? I'm still debating. Because while I think they are somewhat outdated and an expense I don't need to add to my conference list, I have had a LOT of fun playing around with VistaPrint. A lot of people have also talked about all the free books/stuff they go home with and needing to ship it home. I'm planning on driving from Iowa with friends. Between luggage and people I might end up needing to ship things home, but how much stuff can you really expect to have?! I'm hoping for the best but planning for the worst at this point.
I love that the conference is scheduled in the middle of the summer. As a school librarian I've got no professional conflicts. And Chicago is a fun city for a mini vacation! I'm hoping to have some time for site-seeing. I've been to Chicago a million times, but I really do enjoy it. The only thing about summer is the heat. I'm a little concerned about going inside/outside all day long in June/July weather. But I'll just have to hope for some nice breezes off the lake! I'm generally too hot rather than too cold so I'll plan for that and deal with what comes I guess.
It's months away and how knows what might pop up but I hope I actually get to do this!
Monday, January 14, 2013
School with no kids
Today was a Professional Development and Teacher Work day at school. I had the usual running around to do between buildings. It's funny, as I went from building to building, how eerie and quiet everything was. Meetings were done for the day and everyone had quietly retreated to get much needed work done on lesson plans, classrooms, or some equally important thing. Sometimes it's fun to be a school after hours and have it all to yourself, but today just didn't feel like one of those days.
I did get to spend some real time at one building being PRODUCTIVE in the afternoon. As the 3rd quarter starts my Mondays will be spent in one of my elementary buildings. The amount of work I have piled up in this building is amazing. Usually, I'm only here one day a week and then I've got non-stop classes and lessons. Now I'll have an extra day that's completely open to get all the busy work that's piled up done. I've got a stack of books to re-catalog or fix labels. I've got another stack of new books waiting for spine labels to be created, printed, and attached. Some of these things would normally be done by my associate, but in this building she is only part time and doesn't have much in the way of tech skills. Creating a new template for the spine labels is a bit out of her league. So, things like that tend to pile up more easily. I'm excited to be able to get some of this housekeeping done. But I'm also excited to be in the elementary more.
At the elementary level I have two buildings and I see each class for 30 minutes once a week. Sometimes I feel like my library lessons are bare bones, not relevant, or too low tech. I'd like to spend some of this extra time creating more interesting and RELEVANT library lessons for the elementary students. I've got a couple of observation/evaluations coming up in the second semester so this is the time to get on it. I need to see what I can really do with the materials I've got available...wish me luck!
I did get to spend some real time at one building being PRODUCTIVE in the afternoon. As the 3rd quarter starts my Mondays will be spent in one of my elementary buildings. The amount of work I have piled up in this building is amazing. Usually, I'm only here one day a week and then I've got non-stop classes and lessons. Now I'll have an extra day that's completely open to get all the busy work that's piled up done. I've got a stack of books to re-catalog or fix labels. I've got another stack of new books waiting for spine labels to be created, printed, and attached. Some of these things would normally be done by my associate, but in this building she is only part time and doesn't have much in the way of tech skills. Creating a new template for the spine labels is a bit out of her league. So, things like that tend to pile up more easily. I'm excited to be able to get some of this housekeeping done. But I'm also excited to be in the elementary more.
At the elementary level I have two buildings and I see each class for 30 minutes once a week. Sometimes I feel like my library lessons are bare bones, not relevant, or too low tech. I'd like to spend some of this extra time creating more interesting and RELEVANT library lessons for the elementary students. I've got a couple of observation/evaluations coming up in the second semester so this is the time to get on it. I need to see what I can really do with the materials I've got available...wish me luck!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Holiday Season
Well, it's November! Next week is Thanksgiving, but it feels like we just got over Halloween. The kids have been crazy for weeks. It's been busy at school, which is nice but stressful. I'm looking forward to some relaxing holiday gatherings this year.
So last week we had Parent/Teacher Conferences at school. Which means early outs AND a four day week for all. I don't have any conferencing to do but I am required to be there. Luckily the Book Fair usually happens at this time as well. We had the fair going on at both my elementary buildings, but thank GOD the PTO runs the book fair here. I was happy to help during conference time and it was fun. The best part is shopping for the library at the end! Of course now we have a full week to make it through...it's been a LONG one. Next week the kids have 2 days and the teachers have professional development on Wednesday. I'm happy enough with that.
Thanksgiving is getting busy this year! The Stohlmeyer clan is having a get-to-gather! I'm so excited that I don't care how much extra driving it adds to my weekend. This Saturday I'll hopefully be playing games and catching up with the family! We'll be at the school as usual and I think we should have a pretty good turn out. It looks like the weather will be good. Then Thursday is the Buch family gathering as usual. I'm not sure what the plans are for Christmas yet, but I'm expecting less running back and forth. I don't really have any plans for my birthday right now because it's on a Wednesday. Why does 12-12-12 have to be in the middle of the week?! I can't catch a break. ;)
So last week we had Parent/Teacher Conferences at school. Which means early outs AND a four day week for all. I don't have any conferencing to do but I am required to be there. Luckily the Book Fair usually happens at this time as well. We had the fair going on at both my elementary buildings, but thank GOD the PTO runs the book fair here. I was happy to help during conference time and it was fun. The best part is shopping for the library at the end! Of course now we have a full week to make it through...it's been a LONG one. Next week the kids have 2 days and the teachers have professional development on Wednesday. I'm happy enough with that.
Thanksgiving is getting busy this year! The Stohlmeyer clan is having a get-to-gather! I'm so excited that I don't care how much extra driving it adds to my weekend. This Saturday I'll hopefully be playing games and catching up with the family! We'll be at the school as usual and I think we should have a pretty good turn out. It looks like the weather will be good. Then Thursday is the Buch family gathering as usual. I'm not sure what the plans are for Christmas yet, but I'm expecting less running back and forth. I don't really have any plans for my birthday right now because it's on a Wednesday. Why does 12-12-12 have to be in the middle of the week?! I can't catch a break. ;)
Sunday, November 11, 2012
If only they were OLD SCHOOL!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
