Important SLMS Information
2008 SLMS Conference
Join us for "Literacy & School Libraries: It All Adds Up!"!
The 2008 SLMS Conference will be held May 1-3, 2008 in Tarrytown.
For more information, visit the SLMS Conference page
SLMSSENY/ Region III Report – Winter 2006
Lisa Perkowski, Region III Coordinator
SLMSSENY continues to have monthly board meetings and is currently working on
the Spring Conference, our membership drive and our awards.
Get Active@Your Library®: -- SLMSSENY’s annual Spring Conference is being held on Friday, March 31st (8-3) at the Fishkill Holiday Inn, Fishkill, New York. The conference planning team is busy setting up a day that will be full of opportunities for members to network with your peers, visit with vendors, hear some great speakers and of course, take in some great workshops. Our keynote speaker will be Robert J. Lackie, 2004 NJ Librarian of the Year; Associate Professor-Librarian, Rider University whose speech is entitled: ““Google Book Search (formerly Google Print) vs. Google Scholar: What’s All the Fuss About?” Our luncheon speaker will be author Mel Glenn who will be speaking on "Connecting to Kids with Poetry". We will be presenting our Rip Van Winkle Award for Excellence in the World of Children’s Literature to Amy Axelrod. We have planned such a variety of workshops including: Robert J. Lackie – “The Changing Face of the Scholarly Web: Finding Quality Free Full Text Articles and Books”; Mel Glenn, Author – “The Book within You”; Amy Axelrod, Author, 2006 Rip Van Winkle Award winner – “Observations of a Children’s Book Author: How Elementary School Students Have Taught Me to Speak the Language of Math”; Marileta Robinson, Senior Editor, Highlights for Children – “Writing for Highlights for Children: A Peek under the Covers”; Suzanne Bloom, Author/Illustrator – “In the Picture: One Illustrator’s Devotion to Diversity”; Gina Tucci (Author) and Sheila Yoshpe (Illustrator), ESL teachers – “When Collage Speaks”; Scott Meyer, Merritt Books – New and Exciting Spring Titles; Sarah Chauncey, LMS, Grandview Elementary School (SLJ 9/05) – Multimedia in the Library; Pam Schembri, LMS, North Junior High, Storyteller – storytelling with middle school students; and Carolyn Yoder, Nonfiction Author and Editor – “Writing and Editing History for Young Readers”.
NYLA Leg. Day-
Never too early to start planning! The public library systems offer a bus to
Albany for leg day. Once again, SLMSSENY will reimburse any member who makes
the trip on and rides the RCLS/MHLS bus that day.
SLMSSENY Scholarships and Bea Griggs Grants
We currently have applications out for our awards. This year, we have also added
an administrator’s award, based loosely on the award given by SLMS. We
are eager to see what type of response we get.
For the 2006 scholarship --
SLMSSENY is seeking applications from individuals who are:
l. Students currently enrolled in a program leading to certification as a School
Library Media Specialist
AND
2. New York State certified school library media specialists looking to further
their professional growth and development through continuing education within
the field of library studies/technology.
For the 2006 year, two scholarships will be given, one from each category of
individuals mentioned above, each receiving funding of up to $1,000.
For the Bea Griggs Memorial Incentive Grant to Encourage Young People to
Use Libraries --
SLMSSENY is looking to fund innovative and exemplary programs which promote
excellence in library service to children and young adults. The total award
may be up to $1,000 and may be presented at each level: Elementary (K-6) and
Secondary (7-12).
1. Applicants must be a current member of SLMSSENY.
2. Applicants must be a certified school library media specialist currently
employed in the SLMSSENY seven county region. The winner(s) must agree to present
a workshop on their winning program at the SLMSSENY Annual Spring Conference
in 2007.
The recipients of the scholarships and the grants will be contacted by the awards
chair in early March and formally announced at the SLMSSENY conference in March.
A letter will also be sent to the winners’ principal and superintendent.
The SLMSSENY Administrator’s Award --
recognizes an administrator who has been responsible for initiation, maintenance,
and/or the improvement of a School Library Media Program in the SLMSSENY region
during the past three to five years or longer. The winner will be recognized
in the SLMSSENY Newsletter, “Spotlight on SLMSSENY,” as well as
given an invitation to SLMSSENY’s Spring Conference so that he or she
may accept the award at the conference. He or she will also receive a $50.00
gift card to Amazon.com.
Rockland Read - In
The 22nd Annual Rockland Read-In, sponsored by the Rockland School Library System,
will take place February 17th. All students in Rockland County will be encouraged
to spend the day in silent sustained reading for pleasure. Award certificates
will be granted to schools with the greatest number of minutes read per building
and with the greatest number of minutes read per student. The “Minutes
Per Student” category gives small schools an opportunity to win an award.
Names of schools, along with their results, will be announced throughout the
county. All schools reporting results will receive a certificate honoring their
participation in the 22nd Annual Rockland Read-In.
Submitted by Dorothy Taylor, Rockland Cnty. Rep.
Grants awarded:
Two of our Wappingers Central School District Librarians have been awarded grants
from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. This foundation named for and funded by
the late author, focuses on bettering the lives of children through programs
to increase literacy, and to inspire creativity and love of learning.
Ms. Kristen Kennedy of Fishkill Elementary School was awarded $250.00 for a storybook character project which is a collaborative activity between fourth and second grade classes. Second grade students will listen to and read stories, discuss what makes a good storybook character, write a letter to their favorite character and try their hand at making up riddles about the characters. Fourth grade students will answer the letters from the point of view of the character and make paper mache masks of the characters. Fourth graders will then meet with their second grade buddies to see if they can match the masks to the correct character and answer the riddles. The grant will fund the materials for the masks as well as software and equipment for an electronic bulletin board on which to display the riddles. This electronic bulletin board will continue to be of benefit to the school beyond the scope of this project.
Ms. Donna Seidat of John Jay High School was awarded $350.00 for her planned
digital book-writing contest. This project will invite high school students
to review award- winning illustrated books, and write and illustrate their own
books to be shared with students in grades K-8 throughout the district. The
goal is to have students understand the relationship of text and illustration,
develop an appreciation for literature, and interest them in digital photography
and graphic design. The grant will fund prizes for the top six student-created
books as judged by a panel of parents, students and teachers. In addition, the
grant will fund two digital cameras to be used by John Jay students for this
project as well as many future projects.
Submitted by MaryAnn Boyland, Dutchess Cnty. Rep.