Summer Reading: Tails and Tales

Hey Mountain Lions! Check out our Summer Reading Student Resource Course Canvas Page!  OR, if you’re a visitor here from outside our school – Welcome! Here are the Maryland Howard County Library resources listed below – Enjoy!

From the Howard County Library webpage:

“Each summer the Howard County Library System’s (HCLS) Summer Reading Club provides an educational bridge between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next. Children, teens, and adults are invited to participate in Summer Reading.”

*Sponsored by Friends & Foundation of Howard County Library System

INTRODUCTION

(This video is for ALL ages – more Elem & the sound is a little muffled)

(This video is for older kiddos  & the sound is excellent!)

THINGS TO KNOW

  1. Summer Reading will run from June 1 – August 31, 2021
  2. For children Ages birth – 4; Ages 5-10; Ages 11-17; and adults 18+.
  3. Register and participate online at hcls.readsquared.com  or download and print a paper copy at hclibrary.org/summer (Links to an external site.) (coming soon).

Here’s the Middle School Summer Reading List

HCLS BOOK TALKS

 

Calling all Creatives – Rainbow Vision!

Rainbow Vision Literary Magazine

ISO student submissions!

“Rainbow Vision is specifically looking for material for our literary magazine that has an LGBTQIA+ theme, is written by LGBTQIA+ authors AND their allies, and/or is written for an LGBTQIA+ audience. We are currently accepting short stories, poetry, art work, song lyrics, personal narratives, essay, film/video, music/audio, photography, script/play/manuscript, drawing, etc.” – Ms. Danielle DuPuis

The deadline to submit is April 1st.

Click HERE to submit your creative products   

Please Note: Only open to HCPSS Students

Questions? Contact Ms. Danielle DuPuis, Library Media Specialist at Hammond High School – danielle_dupuis@hcpss.org

View Last year’s Magazine! 

Our May 2020 issue of Rainbow Vision received an “Excellent” rating from NCTE’s REALM. (Links to an external site.)

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“Teachers and students are encouraged to share this magazine. However, we’d ask that you not reprint or repost content publicly without permission. If you’d like a hard copy of this magazine or would like permission to post on your site, please email pride@hcpss.org for more details.”

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Students & Families: The MHMS Daring School Library Media Center has always been a Safe Space for ALL of our Students!  READ: Our School Library is a Safe Space 

 

Unlocking the Secret to 100+ FREE eBooks & Audiobooks

Hey Mountain Lions!

If you missed my presentation last week – here’s the info I shared about the secret way to unlock, filter, and find 100 FREE eBooks  – That’s right a variety of Fiction, Non-fiction, Graphic Novels, Horror, Mystery, Sports, Classics and MORE!  All through Clever and MackinVia.


Got a question? Email me in Canvas! Or drop by your Virtual Recess session!

  1. Log into HCPSS.me
  2. Go to GSuite
  3. Go to the waffle menu on the top right corner and select Google Meet
  4. Enter the nickname/code name /MHMS-gjones-recess-MonthDay

Every week it will be:

Tuesday 6th Graders

Wednesday 7th Graders and

Thursday 8th Graders

Extra, Extra! MHMS Metropolitan Newspaper: Issue 4

Extra Extra! Get your MHMS Metro News Here!

Our #MHMSMetro student run & #GTSeminar newspaper is available for download!

Featuring:  Sports |  Arts, Music and Sports | International News | Politics

Page 5: Boredom Busters – DOWNLOAD the PDF Version below.

Our Mission: “At the Murray Hill Metropolitan we are dedicated to authentic, realistic and unbiased news for our students, their families and the public. Every month we cover a wide variety of stories from what’s happening at Washington to our new hall pass system. We hope to make sure our school is conscious and respectful of other people’s opinions, the news and politics.”- Murray Hill Metropolitan Staff

Download :  MHMS-Metro-Issue 4

Enter our Comic Competition!

Missed an Issue? – Want to get in touch? – Questions? Suggestions? 

Catch Up With Us On Our Website!

DOWNLOAD: MHMS Metro Crossword 1 -PDF

 

Keep Calm & Read On!

Hello, kids, parents, our community!

I’m not gonna lie, it’s kinda weird out there right now but I truly believe we’re going to be OK. Things will get back to normal. They always do. #History. I don’t know when, but they will. Practicing positivity is important and good for you! That, and washing your hands! In the meantime, HCPSS and our education partners have some cool and FREE resources for you!

Don’t forget we’re all in this together — even if we’re physically apart right now. I will try and update this post as I stay at home and help my community and to take care of my family. Starting with scrubbing all floors and not letting anyone inside with shoes on. It’s a slipper & sock zone only! I so heart fuzzy socks!

FREE Grab-N-Go Meals in the parking lot of Laurel Woods Elementary and 8 other locations throughout the county.

HCPSS Continuity of Learning

From a recent email to all HCPSS educators from our amazing Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano:

“I’ve had the opportunity to check in at a few of our meal distribution sites, where I have been proud to observe our Food Services staff members hard at work ensuring children continue to have access to nutritious meals while schools are closed. Today on our second day of distribution, 5,304 meals were served at our nine sites. I am grateful that HCPSS is able to provide this service and I’m even more pleased that we have been able to expand our typical meal offerings to include three meals each day. I encourage all families to take advantage of this service.” ….also from Dr. M 

“On Friday, all students went home with a document that detailed ideas for engaging students in learning activities while schools are closed. These resources are posted online and have been translated into multiple languages. While the activity ideas do not represent the same level of instruction that occurs in our schools, they are intended to help keep our students stay intellectually active while they are at home during this closure.” 

I have to confess, I’m an unabashed fangirl for our Sup! And it’s not to curry favor or kiss butt, I’m retiring in 3 or 4 years! He’s just all that, has his heart in the right place, and he brought back our School Library Media Assistants after they were cut by she who will not be named!

Oh and I gotta warn you, if you’re new to this blog or my Daring Librarian professional blog — I write in a conversational style and I use a lot of exclamation marks. Kinda like Elaine Bennis. Just. Like. That!

Got Books? 

The last day before we left for this unexpected early spring break, I checked out a LOT OF BOOKS! There were no limits on how many books our readers could check out. From one book to 10, I encouraged our students to take as many home as they could hold! I even offered string bags to carry them in. Did I check out enough books? NEVER! lol

But if you didn’t get a chance to come by the Library Media Center and get some books, it’s OK….you have other resources!  Keep reading!

 

ALL HCPSS kids can access great stuff using their school login.
Every HCPSS kid can log into hcpss.me – from there you can get to all kinds of great resources! FREE eBooks from MackinVia and more! The kid has to remember his/her Active Directory or school login & password. Outside our school server they may need to add @inst.hcpss.org to their regular login – see below.

example regular login: dvader9644
another way to login: dvader9644@inst.hcpss.org

3/30/2020 — NEW! Students now have the ability to reset their Active Directory HCPSS Network (Canvas, GSuite, & Synergy) passwords without intervention from HCPSS staff – please direct parents & students to this new resource:

 From Dr. Martirano’s HCPSS Update:

Advanced Placement (AP) Online Review
Beginning on Wednesday, March 25, the College Board will provide free, online, live AP review courses, delivered by AP teachers from across the country. These courses are optional, mobile-friendly and available on-demand, so they can be accessed at any time. The focus is on reviewing skills and concepts from the first 75% of the AP course, with some supplementary lessons covering the final 25% of the course. Access course schedules on the AP Students website.

Digital Resources for Elementary Students
Elementary Students can log on through hcpss.me to use:

  • Wixie: an online publishing and creativity platform that lets students share what they know through their writing, their voice, and their art.
  • Type to Learn: an online, research-based keyboard curriculum that includes pre-tests, lessons, assessments, and typing games and activities tailored to grades 3-5.

Naviance Resources for Middle and High School Students
Naviance is a comprehensive college, career and life readiness program that allows students to explore career interests, begin their post-secondary exploration and discover careers matched to their interests. Find more details online. Students can log in through hcpss.me, then click Naviance.


DISCLAIMER: I am sharing these resources in good faith that at the time I curated this list the offers, logins, and sites were active. However,  at any time, the companies listed could change their permissions. Access problems? Please contact the companies directly. I’m sorry I can’t troubleshoot for you. Mostly because I’m lazy. For the record: I have not NOT been sponsored or compensated (not even a cool T-shirt or swag!) for any inclusion on this list.


Don’t have eBooks, a Kindle device, or other Digital Reader

Hello YouTube!

You can listen to loads of books read aloud on YouTube! Search for audiobooks & your favorite author, title, or subject. Here’s a great example from one of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman.

The 6 Best Audio Books You Can Listen to For Free on YouTube 

Here’s my Curated YouTube Playlist of 30+ FULL Audiobooks (I will be adding to this, would love suggestions!) of FREE Audiobooks – You know Harry Potter had to be #1!

ALL HCPSS Kids can get to these FREE digital eBooks & audiobooks from MackinVia.

Free Online Events and Activities for Kids at Home

by our friends at Common Sense Media – Including LIVE Virtual Storytimes!  Provide some structure and schedule to your family’s day (updated regularly).

SMUSD Library at Home from my Californian friends 
From Katie Boone: Here’s a free access and resource from our partners Capstone and PeppbleGo  “You have been set up with free remote access to PebbleGo and Capstone Interactive eBooks. This access is valid through June 30, 2020 (The majority of you already subscribed to PebbleGo can of course continue to use your school’s login credentials). We hope these resources are helpful to your school and your students during this sensitive time.” 

Student Access Instructions

  • PebbleGo:
    • Visit www.pebblego.com and click “Sign In”
    • Username: engaged
    • Password: learning

Additionally, the following resources may be helpful for community communication and usage:

Super Resources from Scholastic! 

Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.

“Even when schools are closed, you can keep the learning going with these special cross-curricular journeys. Every day includes four separate learning experiences, each built around a thrilling, meaningful story or video. Kids can do them on their own, with their families, or with their teachers. Just find your grade level and let the learning begin! -The Editors of Scholastic Classroom Magazines.”

From PBS Learning Works:PreK-12 Resources for Emergency Closings

“As teachers, students, and families deal with school closures, PBS LearningMedia producers and educators have come together to curate a special collection of resources organized by grade and subject area. Find videos, lesson plans, and activities that support learning at home. Create a free account to save and organize content.”

From our partners in learning Follett School Solutions (PreK-12)

“Follett has created a resource page outlining the array of eLearning solutions, including Collections by Destiny, Follett Destiny Discover, WebPath Express, and more. Video tutorials, forums and instructions for accessing these solutions also are available.

To help schools with eLearning during the closures, Follett announced March 11 it is waiving the cost for current Destiny customers through June 30 for its Classroom Ready Collections (CRC), which are standards-aligned, educator-curated Open Educational Resources (OER) that include lesson plans, activities, videos and worksheets. More than 2,300 free CRC licenses have been activated in less than a week.”

UPDATE:

“To help make eLearning easier, we are providing free access to eBooks from Lightbox™ and AV2 World Languages through June 30, 2020. You can register for access here.

Lightbox™ offers over 1000 PreK-12 titles in science, social studies, language arts, math and more. AV2 World Languages features high-interest titles in 10 different languages with full audio support.

Parents and students will find these resources interactive, easy to use and a great way for students to independently explore a new topic. We hope that you, your students and their families find this helpful during this challenging time.

Visit Follett Community for more details on this offer and other free eLearning resources available through Follett Destiny Discover®

 

 

Extra! Extra! MHMS Metropolitan Newspaper

Extra Extra! Get your MHMS Metro News Here!

Our #MHMSMetro student run & #GTSeminar newspaper is available for download!

CONTENTS: Page 1: Politics | Page 2: Arts, Music and Sports | Page 3: Crossword – bottom of page |

Page 4: Comic – DOWNLOAD the PDF Version below.

Our Mission: “At the Murray Hill Metropolitan we are dedicated to authentic, realistic and unbiased news for our students, their families and the public. Every month we cover a wide variety of stories from what’s happening at Washington to our new hall pass system. We hope to make sure our school is conscious and respectful of other people’s opinions, the news and politics.”- Murray Hill Metropolitan Staff

Download : MHMS_Metro_Issue1-FINAL

Enter our Comic Competition!

Missed an Issue? – Want to get in touch? – Questions? Suggestions? 

Catch Up With Us On Our Website!

DOWNLOAD: MHMS Metro Crossword 1 -PDF

 

Join MHTVNews – Live NEWS Broadcast!

Join #MHTVNews we love having our kidds join our awesome team! Application link below!


Watch our Video!
Hey MHMS Kids! It’s MHTV Application Time! Pick one up in the Cafeteria at lunch (see above) return it to Media (there will be a box on a chair) OR…..be super cool & fill out the GSuite Doc Application below! (HINT: Use your password from last year!) We’d love to have you join us — esp. 6th graders!

MHTV Application: GSuite Version 

While I have you here! Muuwaa!

COOL Happenings at our Savage Branch Library!

Fall at Savage is packed full of free practice tests for SAT, ACT and PSAT, as well as numerous other awesome classes and events such as as teen movies with popcorn, tie dye, college and career readiness workshops, sparkle glitter jars, financial literacy, intro to sign language, a writing workshop with published teen author Zack Smedley, canvas and cookies painting party, suicide prevention, rainbow book meet up, theater preview of HHS fall play, anime club and a new interactive 4H series featuring STEM jobs — please share with your students and teachers ❤️
Sarah Cooke | Teens’ Instructor
Howard County Library System | Savage Branch | 9525 Durness Lane | Laurel, MD 20723
410.313.0752 office | 410.313-0760 main

Summer Reading List 2019

 

The Summer Reading List is Here!

Where does the time fly? I can’t believe it’s that time of year again! Time to share our Summer Reading List with you! It’s my 27th year in HCPSS and 22nd year here at Murray Hill Middle School! W00t! A lot of things have changed but some thing stay the same. Like still LOVING to read. Every day. Especially, in the Summer time! There’s nothing better to sit outside, on the beach, under an umbrella, or in a screened in porch and just read. For hours and hours! Where do you like to read? Any verified official Murray Hill  kid who answers that in the comments will get a surprise next year!  Sorry, Svetlana in Vladivostok, you are not eligible to win, but I still appreciate you reading this blog!

…..also, Pssst! Grownups! The ADULT Summer Reading List is linked at the bottom.

We Invite you to view & download the Middle School Summer Reading List Jpeg Page 1 and Page 2 or 2019SR_MSfinal- PDF

Thanks to our our A+ partner Librarians at the Howard County Library and two of our local HCPSS Middle School Teacher-Librarians we have created this Super Fun Reading List for all the kiddos in our district! (or the world!)

Visit our Howard County local Savage Branch Library & Hi Tech STEM Education Center this summer and FLIP over summer reading or flip over some amazing tech learning opportunities!

Murray Hill kids – If you read any of these books this summer, we would LOVE to hear what you thought in the comments! Follow us on Instagram to see pics of kids being AWESOME every day in our library and throughout the school!

Also, if you take a picture of yourself reading this summer or visiting a Library & tag me at @TheDaringLibrarian you’ll get a prize! Also, please tag @HoCoLibrary to maybe get some extra SWAG! 😉 But you have to find me in September and remind me, by saying like “Swag Me” because I’m getting old! LOL

 

 

 

From the Howard County Public Library, Our A+ Partners

Welcome to Summer Reading: A Universe of Stories

Join us for Summer Reading KICKOFF on Saturday, June 1 from 10 am to 2 pm at HCLS Miller Branch!

  • Activities in the Enchanted Garden include planting a sunflower and being a human sundial (weather permitting)
  • Indoor activities include crafts for children, and encounters with moon rocks and other rocks from space borrowed from NASA
  • Food trucks: Kona Ice and Say Cheese!
  • 11 – 11:45 pm performance by The Milkshake Duo
  • 12:30 – 1:30 pm fun with Eric Energy

ENROLL in Summer Reading Beginning June 1, 2019

Children, teens, and adults can participate! Enroll online from home or at any HCLS branch OR pick up a paper booklet at any branch.

  • After you’ve enrolled online or picked up your Summer Reading booklet, log the books you read and mark off activities as you complete them.
  • Mix and match any combination of 20 books read and/or activities completed
  • For every book/activity you complete, you receive an entry into a branch and systemwide prize drawing for your age group.

FOR ONLINE PARTICIPANTS: HCLS has a new online summer reading portal called BookPoints!  Beginning June 1, 2019 you can register for a free summer reading account and create your BookPoints Username and password. Earn up to 41 entries into end-of-summer prize drawings by participating online!

FOR PAPER ONLY PARTICIPANTS: Between July 1 and August 31, return your completed booklet to any library branch to receive one entry into the end-of-summer prize drawings for each book or activity you complete. Check off a minimum of 20 books and/or activities to officially complete Summer Reading 2019: A Universe of Stories!

Recommended Summer Reading Lists for the Whole Family!

PRIZES TBA

  • Prize drawings will occur in early September, with winners notified by mid-September.
  • All prizes and coupons while supplies last. One prize per reader.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Sponsored by Friends and Foundation of Howard County Library System

Colorful Women: Coloring Pages for Women’s History Month

Re-posting this!  I just want to share a few coloring pages I curated online & made into PDF’s & JPEGS for our kiddos! I love adding new coloring pages to our Makerspace, especially during special months and with themes. There are a LOT of FREE coloring pages out there for a school Makerspace, you just know how to find them, adapt them, & follow the copyright licensing!

 

Coloring Pages for Women’s History Month

I uploaded the curated coloring sheets as Jpegs on Flickr embedded below and to download as Printable PDF’s on Slideshare.

Enchantress of Numbers!
Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine

(Download Flickr in ALL Sizes)

ALL the Coloring!


Coloring Pages

 

iPhone Trick

This One iPhone Trick Has Transformed My Life

OK, that’s a kind of a big statement. You may have heard of this, but I found this out right before Christmas and started this blog then…but, you know. Holidays. So….just in case you haven’t heard about this, here it is.

 

The Space Bar Cursor Trick on the iPhone / iPad in iOS 12 is a great time saver for every iPhone or Apple user. 

You can press and hold (long press) the space bar on an iPhone / iPad to control the cursor as mouse pointer. You can easily move over to the exact spot where you want to edit the text.

How did I go years and years without knowing this iPhone keyboard trick? (I’m so tired the overused word of hack) Apparently, it’s not exactly new but little known.  If you’ve ever felt the frustration of trying to move the cursor exactly where you want it when correcting (my increasingly less accurate -what’s with that, too?) voice to text results tapping here and tapping there, when texting or writing an email on your iPhone, this little tip will make your day.

 I am an Apple Geek. 
How could they keep this from me?!

I love my Apple products. I’ve been an Apple fanatic since I created an Apple-Talk network of Apple IIe’s & Apple G3’s the first year I started teaching in 1992! Also, my first Ed Tech conference presentation was about integrating my new CD Rom & this thing called the Internet to a group research product centered around Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego! Sheesh.

(March 1996) Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego: A Fun Multimedia
Research Unit for Grades 4-8. Featuring the Apple IIgs, GeoSafari, USA
Atlas CD-ROM & the Internet.
MICCA – Maryland Instructional Computer Coordinators Association,
Baltimore, MD

Anyway, just had to share that with you friends. Hope it will help you out as much as it has for me! Did you already know about it? Do you have another great iOS tech tip to share? Hit me up in the comments, follow me on Twitter, & reach out! Thank you!

May the force be with you!

Book display for Speed Dating with Books activity.

Thanks for Visiting!

Cheers dears!

 

Twitter: @GwynethJones – IG: The Daring Librarian. Future Ready Teacher Librarian & Tech Leader. Mover, Shaker, Blogger, International Ed Tech Keynote Speaker, Blogger, & Google Certified. Author of the award winning Daring Librarian blog. ISTE Board of Directors PK-12 Representative 2010-2014 – Creator of Content. Meme & Trope Archivist. Coastal Cottage owner. Geek. Ridiculously Humble.