Fall Events at FES

It's been a long time since I've posted on this blog. A lot has happened in the past three months. I recently returned from the American Association of School Librarians National Conference in Columbus, Ohio where I took part in a panel presentation. The panel was made up of members of the AASL's Best Apps for Teaching and Learning Committee, and we shared the 2015 Best Apps with an audience of over 200.

While I was in Columbus, I attended sessions on using technology in school libraries, Genius Hour, teaching transliteracy, and a historical fiction panel with authors.

Members of the 2015 AASL Best Apps Committee 

Special thanks goes out to Scholastic for inviting me to dinner with authors and illustrators Sean Qualls, Troy Cummings, and Maggie Stiefvater. I had a wonderful time getting to know each author, and I returned to school with signed copies of their books.

Sean Qualls signs a copy of The Case for Loving

Another highlight of the conference was meeting author Rita Williams-Garcia at the Author Banquet. Rita moderated a discussion of diversity in children's literature with Sonia Manzano and Matt de la Pena.

The best part of the AASL conference is spending three days with school librarians from around the globe. I cherished the time I  had with school librarian friends and vendors from different states. I'm looking forward to attending the next conference in 2017.

In other news...

The FES Mock Newbery Book Club has been meeting since September. This year 60 students in grades 4 and 5 signed up for the book club. We meet during lunch and discuss the 15 titles on this year's list. The students will vote in December, and the winning title will be announced on December 22nd. Visit the FES Mock Newbery site to see the 15 titles on this year's list:
http://fesmocknewbery.blogspot.com/


On November 30, FES will kick off its third annual Mock Caldecott program for all 930 students in grades K-5. Students will read picture books published in 2015 in library classes and with their teachers. Students will vote for the books with the best illustrations, and the Mock Caldecott winner will be announced on Dec. 22nd. Here are the eight titles on this year's FES Mock Caldecott list:
https://tackk.com/j7yyde



I'm really excited that I've been able to exchange ideas with talented teachers & librarians across the country thanks to my new favorite app, Voxer. I'm currently in two Voxer groups: a Mock Caldecott & a Mock Newbery. Participants have been sharing their thoughts and ideas for implementing Mock programs in schools.


FES has been celebrating Picture Book Month throughout the school with picture book trivia, Skype visits with other states, special 5th grade & Kindergarten Big Buddy activities, and a Picture Book Smackdown.