Book Expo 2019

Two of the high school librarians from the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District are headed to BookExpo for the next three days! We are very excited regarding all the librarian-specific content.

According to the website:

BookExpo gives you access to the latest titles, favorite and new authors and librarian-focused conferences to help you track the trends. There is no better place for librarians to see and learn what’s new and what’s next in publishing to help build your library! 

BookExpo features librarian-focused content, including:

• Author Breakfast, APA Tea and Stage Events
• Autographing
• Library Lounge
• Buzz Panels
• Connecting Children’s Books with Kids
• Data Driven Collection Development
• AAP Library Sessions

We will post updates live from BookExpo on our twitter accounts: @mssstack and @KMtheLMS

Checkology

Last week I attended a demonstration at Nassau BOCES School Library System on the News Literacy Project's Checkology. "Young people are dealing with the most challenging information ecosystem in human history, rife with misinformation, hoaxes and falsehoods that distort students' understanding of their world. To become critical thinkers who demand the truth, they must develop news literacy skills."According to recent research 89% of teens get their news from social media. 44% of teens and pre-teens believe they know the difference between fake and real news. 31% of teens and pre-teens shared information in the last 6 months that they later learned was false or inaccurate. News literacy education is the answer to these challenges we are facing. 

With 13 interactive lessons, Checkology is a browser-based platform that enables our teachers to equip our students with the tools to evaluate and interpret news and information so they know what to trust, share, and act on. 

The 13 interactive lessons cover:

• InfoZones*
• Democracy's Watchdog*
• Misinformation*
• Practicing Quality Journalism*
• What is News?
• Be the Editor
• The First Amendment
• Citizen Watchdogs
• Introduction to Algorithms
• Branded Content
• Understanding Bias
• Arguments & Evidence
• Press Freedoms Around the World 

We have decided to add this database to our curriculum for the 2019-2020 school year. Our hopes is that it will help our students tell fact from fiction. 

*These lessons are available at no cost. 

** Full disclosure: Checkology is partially funded by the Facebook Journalism Project.

Paper, Paper….Get Your Paper Here!

Our newspaper stand just arrived at the Mepham High School Library. You can now pick up a copy of The Buccaneer (our school newspaper), Newsday, or The Wall Street Journal. Read the world or our little neck of the woods.

Mepham High School Library Newspaper Stand

The S'more You Read...

Mepham High School Bulletin Board

Mepham High School Circulation Desk

Have you thought about summer reading yet? Come into Camp Read-A-Lot (aka the school library) to get some recommendations. The entire library is decorated for this celebration of reading.

Mepham High School Library Entrance

Learning About Life Cycles

The Mepham High School Library recently had some new arrivals. We purchased Insect Lore World of Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Butterfly Growing Kit with Live Caterpillars! We started with 6 very hungry caterpillar babies and nutritious food. When they become chrysalis, we will move them to the station log. When they hatch into butterflies (Painted Ladies), we will feed them sugar water and fruit. Then a few days later, we will release them into the courtyard. Come watch the journey. We will update this page with photographs so that you too can witness the life-cycle of a butterfly. 

I was truly surprised by how many students love this little project of ours. Many of them remember doing this in their homes and at elementary school. We are happy to bring back a blast from the past.  

#mephamlearns  

Day 3 

Day 6

Day 7

SMART Learning Suite and G Suite Integration

Just this past week, the BMCHSD technology department added the NEW SMART Learning Suite Online G Suite Marketplace app to our teacher consoles. It has taken SMART a while to figure out that teachers need these features if they are going to stay relevant. Google Drive integration is a must. So, if you are still one of those few teachers that are still using SMART Notebook, now you have a way to access, edit and share it in Google Drive. It's certainly about time!

Here is a quick tutorial to explain how it works.