On The Same Page

Overview:

The lower school’s Early Childhood program focuses on formative, emergent print and media literacies. The library is a service, not a place, infused throughout the entire building to encourage students to think, create, share, and grow in every part of the school. Starting in Early Childhood, students engage in at least one structured library lesson per week, depending on the rotation schedule. They learn how the library is organized and how to independently access and use resources for different information needs.

The Early Childhood library also utilizes “dramatic play,” wherein students bring lessons to life through interactive practices and activities. As students progress in interdisciplinary studies, lower school pupils participate in the Design Lab, which is a program that teaches kids how to be content creators rather than content consumers by practically applying interdisciplinary studies in creative, engaging ways, such as robotics and coding, puppet shows, and other modes of tactile learning. The research and exploration at the heart of the Early Childhood library program also extends into collaborative work with the other Content Area Specialist Teachers (CAST).

Collaborative Explorations Include: 

• Beginner students loved reading Frida Khalo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown. They researched about La Casa Azul in Mexico City and applied what they learned in science and art to create their own Casa Azul. This led to an animal exploration in the library where Beginner students enjoyed caring for animals at the ESD Animal Clinic in our dramatic play center.
• Inspired by the book ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat by Raul the Third, Pre-Kindergarten asked, “What is a food truck?” In collaboration with their teachers in CAST classes, Pre-K researched different food trucks, voted on their favorites, and created menus and recipe books. Once they had the essentials, students made their own food trucks, cooked their own cuisine in science and art, and practiced running the truck in drama. They also practiced using their Spanish vocabulary in music and Spanish classes.This project-based learning unit culminated in a Pre-K- led exploratorium where parents and caregivers were led by students, highlighting their learning process and celebrating the products they produced in a play-based environment.
• Kindergarten students began the year celebrating International Dot Day in science and the library by reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. They created their own sphere using the Quiver application and learned about 3D images. This led to exploring piñatas for Hispanic Heritage Month, where students read books about piñatas and how to make them. Each class created their own piñata, filled it with candy, and broke it open.
• In connection with Primers’ yearly musical, “The Very, Very Gingerbread Kids,” students read different versions of the gingerbread man. They then worked on a gingerbread story map, creating their own characters, events, settings, and stories.

Meet Your Librarian 

Lenore St. John is in her fourth school year as ESD’s Early Childhood Librarian. She has 15 years of experience working in libraries and graduated with her Master’s in Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma. St. John strives to make learning fun. She looks for literature that students can enjoy and make relevant to their developmental levels of understanding. She encourages our youngest learners to use their natural curiosity to guide them in exploring their individual interests. St. John also exposes them to many different authors and illustrators to expand their understanding of the world outside themselves.

Overview:

The Elementary portion of the lower school library takes the foundational work done in Early Childhood and develops it further. The library is a service delivered through structured space and collaboration with classroom teachers. With our flexible schedule, students can have recurring library visits or drop in as needed, while teachers can schedule additional time to stop by or have the Elementary librarian Megan Barnes come teach in their classrooms.

The American Association of School Librarians asks every library to focus on four core competencies: to think, to create, to share, and to grow. These four domains are at the heart of the library program and helped develop the lower school library-Design Lab partnership, a vital feature of the learning experience. Students are exposed to a wide variety of literature and information-seeking tools and later apply those skills and resources to create with their hands and digital tools. The lower school library and design program utilizes the Stanford d.school design thinking model – empathize, ideate, design, prototype, test as the model for the students and as the program is updated.

Collaborative Explorations Include: 

• First-grade students began their year in the Design Lab and library with multiple questions about robots. They started with the leading question, “What language do robots speak?” Students began learning about coding, utilized if/ then statements to apply what they learned, and used color codes to program their Sphero Indi robot. They also learned how circuits can be used with code through Makey Makey, an invention kit designed to connect everyday objects to computer keys. Students then practiced their programming language, Scratch Jr., to play their nativity musical songs when connecting the Makey Makey to their nativity scene.
• Our second and third graders learned about the public domain, sparking a creative project in the Design Lab. They took on the task of crafting popsicle-stick theater performances, wherein each student created a character from the public domain or their imagination. Working in groups, they created original stories, wrote character scripts, and designed backgrounds as “sets.” After weeks of collaboration, they performed their stories in a cardboard box theater skillfully designed by fourth-grade leaders.
• Our fourth graders are preparing a special project to showcase at the Invention Convention in April, exemplifying their ability to transform ideas into tangible innovations. To equip themselves, students are undertaking a series of design challenges in the Design Lab. They’ve crafted cardboard chairs, devised self-watering planters, brainstormed ways to tackle ocean trash, and delved into coding with Makey Makey for a project aiding our youngest Eagles in learning numbers, letters, and shapes.

Meet Your Librarian 

Megan Barnes is in her eighth school year at ESD and her twelfth year in education. In addition to her role as the Elementary librarian, she is also the director of educational technology for Beginner through sixth-grade teachers. Barnes worked in Missouri and Washington school libraries before moving to Texas to work at ESD. She brings a passion for creativity and information literacy to school daily, striving to give students something to celebrate each time they visit the library. She works to help students understand that research isn’t just academic – it’s also personal. You start with curiosity and wonder and use resources to discover more and, ideally, share the knowledge with others.

Overview:

When Gill Library was first constructed more than 30 years ago, it was designed and created for the needs of previous teachers and learners. In the 21st century, learning has evolved, and the needs of our students, faculty, and staff are different and even more significant. With the onset of educational technology, the infrastructure of Gill Library needed to evolve as well – to deliver the services our students, faculty, and staff need to help support the intellectual curiosity, enrichment, and social acumen that ESD prides itself on. The renovation saw a complete redesign of the library floor to provide more space for students to connect and work on projects, retreat for quiet study, take in scenic views of the quarry, and engage in various makerspace projects. 

If you stop by the Gill Library today, you will likely see students browsing for books or using our databases for their research projects. Yet, you’ll also see students playing a game of Connect Four or studying for a test with a friend. The Gill Library’s makeover has made it an inviting place for students and faculty to hang out, and the library’s outreach this fall has focused on inviting even more people into our space. 

You will also find Claire Reddig, the new middle school librarian, out and about to help students develop their information literacy skills by providing challenges that utilize their creativity, critical thinking, and research, often including authentic audiences outside their classrooms. For example, Reddig worked with Cassie Nutter’s robotics classes to help them strengthen their creativity and collaboration skills while researching ideas for their FIRST LEGO League project. Then, she partnered with Joumana Arraj to help her French students prepare projects about France and the Olympics for the ESD CommUNITY event. She also collaborated with Caroline Moses to help her Spanish students create ofrendas about famous Hispanic individuals. Latin students dove into makerspace projects by researching a merchant from the Ancient Roman forums and then using this research to make items to sell to other merchants and special guests from the ESD community during a forum simulation in Gill Library. As part of special programming for sixth grade, students tackled several collaborative building challenges, including creating a raft that could hold glass pebbles without sinking.

Collaborative Explorations Include: 

• Spreading joy by working on craft projects for our friends at the West Dallas Senior Center 
• Participating in an Ancient Roman Forum simulation as a merchant with handmade items based on their research
• Presenting projects from English class and then displaying these projects for others to see and analyze
• Exploring different strategies for relaxation and stress relief, such as making stress balls, decorating mindfulness rocks, or enjoying a hot cup of tea

Meet Your Librarian 

This is Claire Reddig’s first year at ESD, and she loves the energy, empathy, and creativity in the middle school. Reddig’s background is in teaching upper and middle school courses in English, humanities, writing, public speaking, design thinking, and debate. She graduated from Rice University with her undergraduate degree, and from The University of Missouri with her Master of Education, then she completed her coursework for her School Librarian’s Certification at UNT. Reddig’s passions are connecting books and people and collaborating on creative projects, especially those that bring others joy. She is grateful for the warm welcome from her colleagues, students, and the ESD community.

Overview:

Upper school students use Gill Library before school and during unproctored study halls and flex times to study collaboratively, meet with their faculty or librarian, or relax and connect with peers. Course-integrated library instruction in the upper school prepares students for college- level research and is designed to help students see themselves as scholars and content creators who are contributing to the information landscape. Course instruction not only includes research databases but also focuses on issues of academic integrity and the ethical use of information.

As the role of libraries continues to evolve, the Gill Library strives to support students as innovative thinkers, learners, and leaders by sparking their love of reading, guiding their exploration of new topics, connecting them with relevant and age-appropriate resources, and creating opportunities to develop their creativity, collaboration, empathy, and grit. Moving toward the future, Gill Library is looking to further incorporate our makerspace for middle and upper school students to explore practical and tactile applications of their research while continuing to hone in on college readiness.

Collaborative Explorations Include: 

• Introduced ninth-grade English I students to the college-level academic integrity concepts, “scholarship is a conversation,” and “information has value,” so they can begin to understand and engage in their roles as members of the upper school’s community of scholars
• Collaborated with AP Physics II watercraft project, which included an in-depth research project and paper that followed the format of a scholarly research article
• Observed AP Research student presentations and gave feedback and guidance on advanced research strategies and techniques

Meet Your Librarian 

Mary Jo Lyons joined ESD in the fall of 2017 as the upper school librarian. In addition to that role, she is the director of Gill Library and the faculty advisor to the Upper School Honor Council. Before ESD, Lyons worked as an academic librarian at UT Arlington for almost 19 years. As a freshman at The George Washington University, she began working in libraries and later earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Lyons has held progressively responsible positions at all library levels – student, intern, classified staff, librarian, manager, and leader – and has extensive experience understanding how students look for, access, and use information. 

Having worked with first-year college students for many years, Lyons knows how underprepared many students are for college-level research and recognizes the opportunity she has at ESD to influence students’ information-gathering skills and behaviors before they graduate and head to college. She enjoys working with students and hopes to inspire them to be curious and creative thinkers, as well as ethical creators and consumers of information.

Meet Your Librarian Assistant

Deborah Cuzalina, a parent at ESD for five years, recently started working as an assistant at Gill Library. Previously, she spent 16 years in advertising sales, working with notable newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Dallas Morning News. She has also volunteered at her sons’ schools for the past ten years. Her older son Ryan is a senior at Shelton, while her younger son Carson is a freshman at ESD. Working in the library brings Cuzalina great joy and fulfillment as she witnesses students studying, conversing, and learning together. 

She is particularly touched by the kindness and helpfulness she observes from upperclassmen toward the younger students in the library. One of the reasons Cuzalina loves working at ESD is the opportunity to collaborate with different teachers since the library renovation. The library now offers various activities such as crafts, guessing games, book fairs, and the question of the day on the whiteboard, contributing to a significant increase in library usage. Overall, her experience at ESD has been outstanding.