August 2013

Well, it's been a long long while since the last posting, perhaps this year I should get back to posting a few things that go on in the Rummel Creek Library.  This year marks my 24th year at RCE and it marks the last year we will be in this building.  As much as I look forward to the new building, the current building has so many memories or people and events.  Hopefully this year - I can remember some of the fun memories from the early days.
Pardon me, as I skip back 24 years to the first time I walked on to the Rummel Creek campus.  A friend of mine taught at the school and kept telling me I needed to get a job there.  We had purchased a house in the neighborhood as we had read such good things about the school and my friend was always so positive about the school.  So here I was ....a brand new kindergarten mom...ready to register my child for school the following year.  I walked into the school library for the kindergarten orientation, met the teachers and the principal and felt very good about my child attending RCE.  The library had the smell of books with tall shelves going around the perimeter of the room.  A few big windows let in light.  I thought it was a nice place, but it was not "my home" yet.  At that time I still worked for another district and was looking to getting into Spring Branch to have the same calendar as my daughter.  As fate would have it, Rummel Creek opened just in time for me to take the library as my daughter entered kindergarten.  I'm not so sure she was happy I was there....but I was!
I walked into the library in August of 1990, and found stacks of books everywhere.  It took me a few weeks to get things organized and ready for the students.  Both of my daughters spent nearly a week playing dolls in the library as I tried to get things ready to go for the first day of school.  I had left a school of 1500 students and come to RCE with a students population of 430.  It was wonderful.   I walked into a collection that took me back to my childhood, the books that I had loved so dearly (I still need to weed out a few of those 1962 books!).  I also walked into a school that didn't have a computerized circ system - I was back to cards and pockets!  Cards and pockets don't sound too bad...until you have a stack of "snags" sitting under the desk because you can't match cards to books.
With in the first two years of coming to RCE we began conversion for a computerized circ system.  Thank goodness!   (thank goodness for great volunteers who helped speed up the process!)  And the library has never looked back!

School opens in a few short weeks, with out my girls' help...I guess it's time to get back into the library and straighten up for the students this year. Happy Reading!

Loss of a dear friend and mentor

This weekend, Spring Branch and Texas Libraries lost a very special person.  Barry Bishop finally lost his battle with cancer.  He was my friend, my advisor, my guide, my teacher and more.  As librarians shared, we all commented on the legacy he has left behind.  He dragged many of us kicking and screaming into the 21^st century with 23 things, technology integration, 21^st learning skills and problem based learning.  What a legacy – look where SBISD is now.  Barry taught and encouraged me to have passion and zeal for everything I want to do…he also taught me about priorities – his faith was paramount; his family precious to him.  So then I thought about Rummel Creek’s 50^th – the legacy of the school and what we want to leave for the generations to come.  Sunday morning came and the sermon and my Bible Study talked about the fruit you bear – Barry left a lot of fruit – they are in libraries all across the district and Texas.  And I continued to ponder – what is the fruit that I will leave behind, what is the legacy for Rummel Creek… the books I read over the summer came to my mind…sometimes we get so keyed up with little inconsequential things that we forget to focus on the significant things that are crucial to our value of life – our faith, our relationships, our students, our families and then when something happens we have nothing to fall back on to keep us going.   So I am asking – what is the legacy you will leave, what fruit will your life bear?  Life is short; you don’t know what tomorrow may bring….make everyday count and make a difference  with your life.  And do it with a smile! 

This video kind of adds to this thought:  Simple Truths - Life is a Game
Thanks for letting me share!

December 2011

As I sit to write this post, I am exhausted with the reading from this week....so much out there about Screen Time, App Gap, the need for physical fitness and of course student testing.  It is hard to get the balance in your child's life - time for sports, time for music lessons, and time to just relax...BALANCE is the key.  No matter what article I read about screen time - the common denominator is  - all screen time needs to be counted.  I am watching the students in fifth grade make wonderful book trailers.  They are spending time looking for the perfect music and effects.  They are also infront of the screen a lot...but the conversations between the students are most interesting and insightful and the evaluation of the work is intense.  How can you not encourage students take time to produce amazing film and video that communicate their knowledge?  But we also know that any elementary students should also be on the playground running and developing motor skills (without the motor skills, how can they manipulate a mouse?)  It almost seems like what came first or what needs to be most important.  The next article talked about app gap....the idea that children with technology are far ahead of the children without.  Schools are doing their best for app gap by having technology available at school and in flexible time and arrangements.  (Rummel Creek library is open before school and during lunch/recess every day.) As if all of the technology is not enough...you also need to make sure your children eat well, get enough sleep and have some type of physical exercise as well as try to get Boy/Girl scouts and religious training all outside of the hours of school.  Bless you parents for trying to get it all done!  No wonder our students are over scheduled and over tired.  Read some of the linked articles above and hopefully you will gleam some information to help your children succeed in life...and possibly not be overwhelmed!

Surving the first week of school

Well, it's Tuesday of the second week of school and I'm still breathing.  Things have been moving fast and furious for these past few days.  If technology would cooperate...things would be great...thank goodness for students that can problem solve and see the forest for the trees.  My lunch bunch is already back and creating movies....so even lunch is loud...which is great!  Except for the fact that I am reading the calendar, it doesn't feel like we ever left...the students and teachers have just picked up where we left off from May.  The schedule is running just like always and I can't seem to get away from school before five....perhaps next week!  But it's great getting back into a routine.  Check out the Rummel Creek Learning Commons page for activities to support the students learning!

iPhone!

I am trying to get into the 21st century personally. I've been pushing all of the technology at RCE...but never did anything at home. After a week in Austin with NO internet, Limited e-mail (inbetween meetings), and NO computers....I decided it was time to come into the technology rich environment at home. My daughter and I have spent the last two hours trying to make the settings work...she's downloaded all kinds of apps...I'm a little behind...too many choices on the settings. The one downside is..I'll probably work 24/7...and I am already nearly there! Life is so fun. Watching my daughter light up as she found more apps to try was fun...We've really changed her this summer....a MacBook Pro and an iPhone! What a change from the dell....here comes grad school!

Last few days before back to full time...hard to believe how fast the summer flew by...feels like I didn't get too much done!

REEP (Rice Education Entrepreneur Program)

Yesterday I spent the day at RICE University listening to some great speakers. Now I have a lot of reading to do. Rick Hess has made me really think about what I am doing....I've got to spend a little more time on his website/blog. We also listened to two technology specialists - I was so glad to see that we are moving in the right way...sometimes you think that you have just joined a FAD...but technology is not just a FAD, but rather a tool to deliver content to students. Just need to make sure that it's not all about the gadgets....I think I'm past that...need to let my brain gel around the information and thoughts I heard...need to stay up to date!!!!

Journey Through the 11 Tools

I am so impressed with the Rummel Creek staff....they are working hard to get to the tools. The best part is watching the teamwork to get them done. I am hoping that we will continue to work as a team to move forward with the students. I think that next year will be an explosion of learning both with and without technology. I just finished writing on blogs...it took me several hours as so many had worked hard these past two days....YEAH!
The questions I am getting now are more on what to do not how to do...which shows tremendous growth. I think the journey is going well...not without a few gliches...but what would a journey be without a few hitches!