Happy New School Year

School actually began a week ago here in my neck of the woods, and I have about five blog posts in my head, but haven't had a chance to actually sit long enough to write them out - my own three kids started school last week also and it has been a week filled with forms to fill out, checks to be written and the start of football, dance and baseball tryouts - whew - what a week!

This year my media center schedule looks a lot different than in years past- I am teaching a fifth grade technology special (basically teachers planning period) everyday and teaching a third grade technology special two days a week. I scheduled all of kindergarten, first and second grade to come in once every other week for story time.  With the success of my readers theater collaboration with our fourth grade gifted teacher, I have had two second grade teachers ask if I can collaborate with them with their gifted students twice a week. I am still working with the fourth grade gifted teacher with a reader's theater unit, only this year instead of meeting with two small groups once a week I will be meeting with one very LARGE group once a week. After I put my schedule down on paper,  I realized I have very little flexible time to meet with classes for projects and special things. I am hoping that as the year goes on I will realize my schedule isn't as packed as it seems and I can fit in more special collaborations, but time will tell.

Summer Reading Bulletin Board, filled with postcard book reviews sent in by students this summer

I am excited to get a club click going in my school this year.  This will be an after school digital photography club that I will be collaborating with Shannon Miller at Van Meter School in Iowa, John Schumacher at Brook Forest Elementary in Illinois, Jen Malphy at Kickapoo School in Wisconsin and the FABULOUS Diane Cordell, a retired media specialist and amazing photographer in New York.  Shannon and Diane started the club last year and I am excited to see what this year will bring with all of us collaborating!  I am also excited to have a fifth grade lunch book club (using books for our counties Reader's Rally list) and a fourth grade Penny Dreadful lunch book club (with books that I acquired last year from a Donors Choose grant).

I have also been looking at the possibility of acquiring some Nooks in our library.  I have been working with the Principal trying to figure out the logistics and the funding and am hoping ((fingers crossed)) that we can get these in here sometime this fall.

I do admit, 5am comes AWFULLY early and I really am missing the somewhat lazy days of summer, but I think this is going to be a great year and I can't wait to see what exciting things happen here in the media center this year!


My already out of control desk



Rock Springs Library Media Center: Have you visited the library this summer??

Rock Springs Library Media Center: Have you visited the library this summer??: "Can you believe that 3 weeks from today we will all be back at school?? I have had a great summer, but it did go by fast! If you are sending..."

Rock Springs Library Media Center: Summer Road Trip part 1

Rock Springs Library Media Center: Summer Road Trip part 1: "I am BACK! I was hoping to blog while I was on my road trip, but Internet connection issues made it hard for me to post. So here is my wra..."

Rock Springs Library Media Center: Road Trip!

I am *trying* to blog at least once a week on the blog I set up for my summer reading program at school - check out my latest blog post -

Rock Springs Library Media Center: Road Trip!: "As most of you know, I am from Massachusetts and my family still lives there, so every summer I pack up my kids and we take a LONG drive to..."

It has been a busy summer of teaching, dancing and car trouble - hard to believe only 6 1/2 weeks until I start work "officially" for the 2011-2012 school year!

Welcome GCPS Digital Conference Attendees

Below is the link to the Prezi presentation that I gave today at the GCPS Digital Conference.

21st Century Classroom Prezi

If you have any questions or comments about the presentation please feel free to comment here.

Thanks for stopping by!

GCPS Leadership Presentation

Welcome! If you have found my blog because you were involved in the GCPS Leadership conference, below is our presentation Reader's Theater With a Technology Twist.

GCPS Presentation Reader�s Th...

More PowerPoint presentations from kathy Schmidt

This is just awesome!

If you have followed my blog at all you know I LOVE to dress up, to me it really is one of the best parts of being in elementary school! Here is a blog of a dad who took it a bit farther - he dressed up everyday (so far) this school year to wave at the high school bus (which his son is riding on) as it goes past his house. Read his blog here and then make sure you watch the interview a local tv station did about him below (thanks to Mr. Schu for pointing me to this blog)

I am already thinking of what I can do with this - the high school bus doesn't go down my street (and I really think my oldest son would run away if I did this) but what could I do at school (it is my youngest son's last year at my schools, after all!) The wheels are turning - but that is a LOT of costumes... stay tuned!