Category Archives: Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger, School Media Specialist, Tech

Steve Kline at South Jr. High Extended Mini Grant Report

This is a guest post from Steve Kline, Media Specialist at South Junior High School. Read more about our Extended Mini Grant Program.

Covid has impacted our students in many ways. Many opportunities and resources have been taken from or denied them in the past few years. The CMLE grant gave South Jr. High an excellent opportunity to leverage our District 742 1:1 program (in our case, Chromebooks) and gave students access to a wonderful resource, a subscription to the Comics Plus tool from Mackin.

Using their Chromebooks and the subscription purchased with the CMLE grant dollars, students now have unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of graphic novels, manga, and comics all vetted and appropriate to their age level.

Distance learning substantially changed and impacted the way libraries operated and continues to influence how we work with and are being asked to serve our patrons. Whatever your opinion on digital resources is and the value they have, the need to build and provide access to digital libraries became more immediately pressing and happened on a much grander scale because of the immediate need distance learning created.

Digital libraries gave us the opportunity to provide resources to students remotely via their 1:1 device. Unfortunately, developing and maintaining a digital collection is expensive. Comics Plus allows us to provide high interest materials to students in a one-stop solution. Kids are excited when they see what is available to them. Better yet, they don’t have to wait until material or resources is returned – they can check out any resource in the collection at any time.

So, I want to thank CMLE for their mini-grant program. The grant allows us to fund our subscription to Comics Plus for another year. That is another year students will be able to access new and different resources that our library would not be able to purchase or provide. Thank you from the staff and students at South Jr. High in St. Cloud.

Guest Blogger, Resources, School Media Specialist

Cheryl Sorensen at McGregor High School Extended Mini Grant Report

This is a guest post from Cheryl Sorensen, Media Specialist at McGregor High School. Read more about our Extended Mini Grant Program.

A HUGE thank you to the CMLE for choosing the McGregor High School Library as a recipient for the Extended Mini-Grant Program which allowed me to purchase many books for our library. 

I chose classic stories along with books on Presidents, First Ladies, and important people in the United States.  These books will have an impact on our students through their expanded imagination, growth in knowledge of the leaders of our country, and hopefully, a joy of reading.

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow and books offer that.  
– Cheryl Sorensen, McGregor High School Library

Guest Blogger, School Media Specialist

Mary Shaddrick at North Jr High Extended Mini Grant Report

This is a guest post from Mary Shaddrick, Media Specialist at North Jr. High. Read more about our Extended Mini Grant Program.

If your library is anything like mine, graphic novels – and more specifically Manga novels – do not sit long on the shelf. Every day, some come back and more go out the door. Students wait weeks to get the title they want next. I enjoy seeing students excited about reading, but I want to give them the opportunity to create a graphic novel of their own. 

Thanks to the generosity of CMLE and the extended mini-grant program, students at North Junior High in St. Cloud will be able to create their own graphics novels.  With the grant monies, I purchased 10 copies of “The Master Guide to Drawing Anime,” 24 sketch drawing pads, 24 blank comic book template books, and 24 sets of art supplies for sketching.  When a student checks out the drawing how-to book, they get the chance to also get the chance to receive the free art supplies. Everything they need to create their own graphic novel. 

The second part of the project will take place when students finish their graphic novels.  The finished book will become part of our media center library collection.  Students will have the chance to be an author, and their peers will be able to read and view their creative works. My hope is that we will have a growing student-created graphic novel section. 

Thank you to CMLE for providing this grant, and I will definitely share the student-created artwork as it comes to me. 

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Anna Hazzard Extended Mini Grant Report

This is a guest post from Anna Hazzard at Liberty Elementary in Big Lake. Find out more about our Extended Mini Grant Program.

First of all, I want to give a huge thank you to the CMLE for accepting my mini grant submission! I am beyond excited and thankful!

   Here at Liberty we are a K-2 elementary school with over 700 students.  Each one of our students has a weekly library time to check out books with their class. My vision as the media assistant at Liberty is to create excitement around books, reading, and the library experience.  Why can’t the library be lively, fun, a little loud (sometimes), AND educational? 

   Every couple of months the Liberty library transforms into a newly decorated, interactive theme! This has been so successful and such an amazing way to create excitement around the different books we have in the library! The students have absolutely loved these various themes and always look forward to what’s next! Some of our past themes have been Rev Up with a Good Book, Camp Out, Once Upon a Time,  Back to School with the Characters We Love, and Snowmen At Night.

   With this mini grant we were able to purchase decorations, books, and activities to create our latest themed experience…Ms. Anna’s Gingerbread Land (as named by one of my students)! Not only will we enjoy these items now but they will also be reused for future events!!!

   When students visit the library every week to check out books they also get to enjoy this interactive gingerbread theme! They are having a blast with the larger than life decorations to take pictures by, themed special events/activities, and of course BOOKS!!!

   The joy that this grant has brought to the students of Liberty is one for the books!  It’s really something you have to see on the faces of the students as they walk into the library!

 It is truly magical!!! Thank you again CMLE!!!!

Guest Blogger, Materials

Lisa Lindbloom Extended Mini Grant

This is a guest post from Lisa Lindbloom in the media center at Sartell Middle School. Find out more about our Extended Mini Grant Program.

Thank you CMLE for supporting Sartell Middle School Students! We are so excited to see the books flying off the shelf with the return of students to our building.

The diverse books that were purchased over the summer have inspired our students to venture out and read about other cultures, perspectives and experiences from new authors that have not been on our shelf before.  

Our students are already beginning to request the new books to be held for them and the conversations around literature have been great!

One of our favorite student reactions so far has been “Yes, I have been wanting to read this book! When did we get it?” The students’ excitement has been contagious!