March Teacher Newsletter

March 4, 2021

issue Nº

From Vanston Librarian Anna Waugh

News for Teachers

Viking Library Newsletter

Are your students working on research or projects? Have them come into the library to explore resources in person and online. Have an idea and want some help? Email Ms. Waugh to brainstorm.

What's been going on? A lot!

Around the library lately

Holocaust Remembrance Week brought Ms. Waugh into classrooms and students into the library for activities and discussions about the horrific events leading up to the Holocaust and also how the healing began and why we remember every year.Test prep getting you down? Not in the history department. Digital breakout rooms offered review and engagement for students to go at their own pace.

It's almost Spring Break, and I just wanted to remind each of you: You. Made. It. Students are happy and learning, and you still thrived this year despite crazy challenges to tackle. It may not have been easy, but your perseverance has paid off. Wishing you a relaxing and reinvigorating break so we can finish the year Viking strong.

Elena Jimenez is this year's Teacher of the Year! Thank you for always being a kind spirit and a smiling face in the classroom and hallways. Congrats!

Staff Shoutouts

This year the 8th grade ELA team took a deep dive into Black History Month with an immersive project about influential people in history. Take a look at their work online and in the hallway.Click here to view the site's contents.

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Now is the time to have your students track the pages they read on Read Squared. They can log in through the portal. Staff can also do this, but it will prompt you to sign in the first time. Username is your district username and all default passwords at misd1234, so please change it once you have logged in. Need help or would like Ms. Waugh to visit and help students with this in class, just let me know!Each student and staff member who tracks weekly will be entered into a drawing with a weekly winner, so get started now. Click here to be taken to the information page. Below is a video that shows you how to look up students and add pages for them.

¡Mirar! Spanish books!

Do you have students who prefer to read in Spanish or just want to practice their literacy in Spanish along with English books? Well, look no further than our very own Vanston library!We now have more than 350 NEW Spanish books. Many are high-interest fiction and also some nonfiction. And some are originally in Spanish like a few series. Send your students down or come take a look yourself. Want a book we don't have? Let me know and I'll add it to our next order.

Gale Rosen Teen Health and Wellness

Did you know about this? Let's discuss!

Located in the Library: Science & Health folder, this database is interactive with videos accompanying many articles. The Calm Room feature has calming images, sounds and music. Test out with your unit or pull an article or two for substitute work.

The Gale Rosen Teen Health and Wellness database is more than it seems at first glance. Yes, it contains general teen health information, but it also has social teen health articles, testimonials, and even personal stories that make content relevant. Consider pairing with a science or ELA unit to get started exploring the options for using it. Even have students write their own stories for submission.

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DART Art Contest

Do you have artistic students in your classroom? Well, DART has an opportunity for them to enter its art contest with the theme Everyday Heroes Ride DART. Winners will have their artwork displayed on DART ads, benches and buses.Deadline for submissions is March 23. Click here for more info.

The popular festival sponsored by the Irving Public Library has gone virtual for Saturday, March 6. Many middle grade and young adult book panels and giveaways will happen throughout the day. If you miss a panel, they all will be uploaded for future viewing.Click here for a full list of panels. All panels are posted online and will stream on NTTBF's Facebook Channel.The festival also has virtual PD options for its annual Educator's Day. You must register through Region 10 and work must be completed by April 12. Links will be posted.

North Texas Teen Book Festival

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Now is the time to pause and reflect. Hectic times are upon us, so find your center during the break.

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