Welcome to 2020-2021 Alfred and Lyman Elementary Library Special!
As with everything else right now, things are going to be quite a bit different this school year for Library. I’m going to quickly outline the changes and as always you can find a detailed description of my library policies (some still apply, others only apply to non-COVID library procedures) here on the website.
In-person learners: We will not be meeting with each other in the library, but instead I will be visiting classrooms during Library time. Also, to lessen cross-exposure, classes will have each special for an entire week at a time. Rather than a daily rotation (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4) we will have a 4 week rotation. Because of this, I will be allowing students to take out more books as they will need to last them for the month. They can choose whether they would like to leave books at school in their desk for in class reading or take them home to read. Books will not start going home with students until October as we will need to spend the first meetings together going over new procedures and having some time to get reacquainted with each other.
Book selection will be different this year as well. Grades 2-5 will be using an app to select books from our library catalog and then I will pull them off the shelves and deliver them to classrooms. Pre-k through 1st will be able to choose books from a pre-selected collection brought to classrooms for students during library time. Each grade level has a specified day of the week for book selection and they will not need to return books until the next library week.
Remote learners: You will have the same specials schedule as in-person learners! We get to meet all together on screen! As for books, I have several resources that you can use to allow your student access to digital reading materials. First and foremost, both the Portland Public Library and the Maine State Library are offering free e-cards to Maine residents in order to give them access to digital books. I encourage you to sign up for those services by visiting the website and following the instructions (PPL requires you send an e-mail and they will reply with your card and instructions). I also have access to our library software’s free digital collection. Please watch this video on how to access and sign in to the collection. Lastly, I encourage you to visit your local library for books as they are offering appointments and curbside pickup for books and are a wonderful way to stay connected in the community. They both have Facebook pages and you can find links to their websites below:
Parson’s Memorial Library in Alfred
All learners: I will continue to share awesome read alouds and fun activities as well as provide digital citizenship lessons to help our students learn how to navigate the internet and digital resources safely and responsibly. I want to work with teachers to support their classroom learning as much as possible. I plan to continue to be enthusiastic about our library and promote a love of reading with our students in both buildings as well as at home. We will have a fabulous year together despite all of the changes. Our students are resilient and flexible and I look forward to tackling the challenges of this year together!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Sibya
E-mail: shannonsibya@rsu57.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrssibya/
***This is a reminder to please remember to return any books from last year if you still have them. There are still several books outstanding***