Week of 9/27



Baby Gator Martin

 First, BIG, BIG congrats to Katie and Sam Martin on the birth of their son Sam  Jr. on 9/17.  It's a thrill to welcome another little one to our Gator Family.  Congrats, guys!

Secondly, thanks so much to everyone who helped out at the Mockingjay party - it was so much fun, I'm thinking it's going to be the first of many book related costume parties. The fact that we made enough money for a Smartboard for the library is just icing on the cake. I've added lots of pictures to our photostream, in case you need a good chuckle.  

Next, please don't forget about tomorrow's Nook training at Barnes and Noble.  They provide breakfast, coffee, lots of great info AND if you sign up in schoollink you'll get CEU credit in READING.  But best of all, because it doesn't start until 9:00am, you'll still be able to cheer on our very own triathletes Dana Harrison and Lori Drake who will be running, swimming and biking at  the 32nd Annual YMCA Triathlon. This race starts out with a 1,500 meter swim, the bike course is one loop that takes participants over the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge and onto the mainland and the 5K run around the Wrightsville Beach Loop.  Wow.  Good luck, ladies!

Finally, don't forget to check out the great 21st Century -Web 2.Grove - resources located on the sidebar of our blog.  Just like last year, we'll hold a "Web 2.Grove" training for tech credit in the spring and you'll have a chance to earn CEU credit by putting some of these resources to use in your classes.  As always, if you run across a resource that you think is great and that students could benefit from, please send it my way.  I'm always eager to share your great ideas.  Speaking of which... many thanks to our newest tech guru JUDY COOK who told me about THIS great resource.  Admittedly, you do have to purchase a subscription to get full access, but Judy says it's well worth it!  Thanks, Judy!



To print calender:  right click then select "print picture."



Week of 9/13

Happy Friday, everyone!  Here are a couple of other reminders that didn't make the calendar:

Good news for all you Voki users out there!  Voki is going to start offering an AD FREE version of the Voki platform that many of you became addicted to last year. According to the email I received, there may be a "small yearly fee," but that has yet to be implemented.  You can learn more here.

Don't forget about the Baby Shower on Saturday for Katie Martin.  The fun starts at 3:00pm.  See Laurie's email for directions to Sally's.  Katie and Sam are registered at Target and Babies R Us.

Also, if you teach ELL students, be sure to let them know about the FREE adult ESL classes being offered in the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8pm.  This is a GREAT way to improve the overall literacy of our Gator family.

Next, we wanted to air the first GNN on this Tuesday (the 14th) but it looks like we won't be ready until NEXT Tuesday. Sorry - the first episode is always a tough nut to crack. The good news is, though, that this give you more time to submit your baby picture for Guess That Gator!  So far, I've only received one incredibly adorable submission, so dust off those photo albums, people!  We're going to need EVERYONE's help to make GTG work this year!

Speaking of pictures, one of the cool things about having a blog (as opposed to a paper newsletter) is the Gator photostream on the sidebar; be sure to check out some cool pics from the recent Watch DOGS dinner.  And, if you get any great Gator factulty pictures that you'd like to share, send them my way.

Finally, if when I goof something up on the Gator Bites (which, I realize, happens way too often) or if  when I've left something off or if you have a reminder of your own, feel free to leave a "comment" under each post.  Keep in mind, I have the blog set up so that I have to approve all comments so that random folks (read: students) don't take over our staff forum. For that reason, I won't approve "anonymous" comments.  However, this is your newsletter, so please feel free to become a part of the discussion.

To print calendar, simply right-click and select "print picture."

Week of 9/6

Baby Gator:  Payton Carter

First things first:  Congrats to Scott and Lauren Carter on their beautiful baby girl.  You're about to begin an amazing adventure. :)

So sorry for the snafu with last week's Gator Bites.  I should have known that just because it worked at home, DOESN'T mean it works at school.  If you scroll down, the video should now work; last week's calendar may or may not depending on your computer.  However, THIS week's calendar *should* be fine.  I am still trying to figure out the ideal format for the online Gator Bites calendar - so I really appreciate your patience as I work out the kinks.

In the meantime, please don't forget to take a look at the side bar.  I've added staff birthdays and some links that I hope will be of some use to you.   The great thing about doing Gator Bites online, is that it can become a centralized place for frequently used resources.  Please don't hesitate to make suggestions if there's something you'd like me to add.  As always, your wish is my command.  :)

Finally, a couple of Media Reminders:

• Our "Gators Read Everywhere" map is starting to look GREAT!  If you've been encouraging your students to participate:  THANK YOU! 
• The first book fair of the year is the week of Sept. 13th.  Your teacher preview day will be Monday.  Just like departments, the library received NO money this year, making the book fairs even more important to us than ususal.  PLEASE make sure you come down on Monday to fill out your "teacher wish list" card.  As always, I'll have some chocolate for you to munch on while you pick out some stuff from the book fair.
• Get your costumes ready! Details regarding the Mockingjay Costume Party can be found here!  I *expect* <insert stern look here> to see many of you there. :)

Thanks!

**Note:  To print, simply right-click on the calendar and select "print picture."