Wrapping up school year 2016-2017 at ISE Library

Enjoy the ISE library antics through the below photo show. Our library is a busy place where learning, socializing and fun in general happens.

Let's start off with a regular state of the library on any given Wednesday, period 8, when almost all middle school, well except year 4 is in having a class, group investigations or independent work.

Our IT Integrator Ms. Glyka introduced books including augmented reality during our last PYP literature circles meeting. Grade 3 students were eager to make connections on how innovation changes the ways we read, and access books and information, something that we have been discussing in the library in conjunction with their Innovation UOI.

Meet the Gruffalos in Reception. Students loved Gruffalo stories by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, as well as the lovely film based on Gruffalo book that gave a sneak and peek in "behind the scenes" of the story.

In February Year 5 students hosted the Human library on their Personal project topics. We has 12 exciting and knowledgeable Books sharing their learning stories with the community.

Visitors from the youngest to the oldest of our students.

 And then this happens... I told you...

... fun ...

... sometimes sorrow ...

... and love.

Till the next year! Have a great summer holidays! Päikest!

What's at the library?

In preparation for their Exhibition grade 5 students got acquainted with our library and the resources it offers. We discussed advantages of doing research at the library and evaluated the importance of various library resources. We looked at books and online databases available, and above all a librarian to help out. Students worked in groups to create posters with catchy phrases reminding other students to consider the library when doing research.

Personal favourite "ISE Library: Better than the Internet!"

Welcome everyone to see and check out our library!

Haunted library

At the beginning of this month ISE library once again transformed into the Haunted House. It is our school tradition that the Student Council  with the help of upper school students hosts a haunted house in the library for lower school students during their Fall Party. It is an event everyone is looking for (except maybe the librarian, me). See below what I mean:)

This year an 11th grade, new to ISE, decorating one of the rooms in the library asked sincerely: "Do you really let this happen in the library  every year?" I do... The library with its layout of 5 circularly passable rooms lends itself ideally for this event. Each room usually represents a theme and has a group of students responsible for it.

Reference area-haunted laboratory

Library classroom-haunted hospital

Lower school area-witches den

Middle and Upper school area-haunted dollhouse

It has been quite fun to look at the ideas and the execution of these over the years. Not so much fun coming in next Monday finding pieces of  cobwebs, spiders, not to mention misplaced books and furniture, and this year ... a pool of "blood" on the floor. Yet I think that next year for one night ISE library will turn into a haunted house again.

"Blood, No doubt about it!" Kalle Blomkvist 

IB Learner profiles in the library - PYP

Open-minded: Never judge a book by it's cover.

At the beginning of this school year our IB Continuum team of PYP-MYP-DP Coordinators and teachers decided to focus on how to make IB learner profile visible in the school and implement the vocabulary and understanding of the attributes into daily teaching and learning.
Here at ISE I have two positions. I am a PreK-12 teacher-librarian and the MYP Coordinator. So implementing the learner profile should be natural... well it hasn't been. I was looking for ways to meaningfully include the attributes into library antics and help the students connect them to the library and things we do here.

In PYP, each year, at the very beginning each grade 1-5 student makes a personal shelf-marker for choosing books. We talks about what a shelf marker is, why we need one, how we use them. I tell a little story about books that live in the library: "Each in its own special place or house. It is very important to put a book back in its proper house or place. If the books are put to the wrong place they get lost. Just like you would get lost in a wrong house. When you take a book off the shelf use a shelf-marker to mark the place where the book has been taken from so you know exactly to where the book needs to go back to." Usually we put the student's name, grade and patron number on the shelf- marker, then students decorate it the way they want to- drawing, cutting and pasting from book catalogs etc. This year I decided to add an IB Learner profile attribute of student's choice onto the shelf marker.

First we took some time to talk about each attribute. Next we tried to explain how these profiles look like in a library contexts e.g. caring means treating books like friends and taking good care of them. Finally each students from grade 1 - 5 chose a profile they felt is important to display in the library and wrote it on their shelf markers along with their own explanation how that profile looks, feel or sounds in the library.
Here are the results.

Grade 1 shelf-markers and profiles

Grade 2 shelf-markers and profiles

Grade 3 shelf-markers and profiles

Grade 4 shelf-markers and profiles

Grade 5 shelf-markers and profiles

Principled

Caring, reflective

Look what happened during the library days!

October is the International School Library Month. Estonian libraries also celebrate Library Days at the end of the month. ISE Library joined in the celebration during October 20th and 21st just before the fall break. Look at the photo gallery to see what went on during the library days at ISE. A great big thank you goes to Reelika Herkel for helping to brainstorm ideas for the library days, creating Bookface display, organizing the very popular reading dogs visit, and just being around during the two busy days. I hope everyone had good time in or around the library.

Quote for the Library Days

Opening of the new reading lounge, PD section and presentation area. ISE staff was invited and welcomed with muffins and "literary apples" with book titles for leaves. teachers were invited to participate in a charades activity and draw, explain or act out the title for others to guess. Can you guess what title Ms. Janika is explaining on the board?

MYP grade 6 reads Learner Profile books for PYP students

QR code quest for MYP students

Bookface: guess who? photo display for all school community

Guess Who? Bookface display

Meet and read to the reading dog for PYP

Täpi and friends

Reading to Täpi and Brie

Brie and friends

"Let's met in the library!" in October 2017!

Library Days "Let's Meet in the Library" 2016

October is the International School Library Month, Estonian libraries also celebrate Library Days at the end of the month. ISE Library joins in the celebration during October 20th and 21st.

ISE Library Days October 20th and 21st, 2016

Students participate in a variety of activities e.g. QR code quest to learn about the library and the resources it offers, MYP-PYP peer read aloud during the Read Aloud Day on October 20th and arts and crafts activities to name a few.

There will be a Bookface "Guess Who?" display in the Learning Commons.

Community is welcome to participate in the activities taking place at the ISE library as well. Pop in already after the parent conferences to take a look at the new reading lounge, ask for paper and colored pencils and draw from the easy I-Can-Draw-Books for a period. Using old magazines, cut them up and make happy posters to rehang in the library.

Let’s Meet in the Library!

The room with a view

Returning in August I once again find the school surrounded by the construction sites. On top of this there are road works around the school and for getting to work I have to violate at least one traffic regulation... exciting? I decided to start recording the development of the apartment house that is being built at the back of the school from one of the library windows. Not much improvement since spring. Stay tuned.

In case you became interested in the novel by E. M. Forster by the above you can learn more about it here and get a free copy of "The Room with a View" from Project Gutenberg.

May 2016

August 2016

May 2016

June 2016