First Practicum Experience

Today, I went to my first day of practicum at Sacred Heart School. I went in at 8 when school started and left around 2:15 this afternoon. I expected it to be a little crazy the first day I went in and considering that it is Friday, it was a little crazy. First, Mrs. Walsh explained how her library is set up. The library is set up is two main divisions: non-fiction and fiction. Non-fiction is under the Dewey system while the fiction is by F and the first three initials of the author last name. The fiction is narrowed down by reading leaving (3,4,5,6,etc.), picture books, and series books. She always showed me where the videos were.

Mrs. Walsh uses the Alexandria system for circulation purposes. She taught me how to check books in and out, how to catalog materials, and how to renew and search for materials. I check in a few books before the first class showed up early.

She teaches each class for about 30 minutes a week. Certain classes come in on certain days. Each class has a different book (or more) for their age. Pre-K through 1st do projects while 2nd through 6th check out books. It felt rushed with each class because it is a Friday, a holiday weekend and the first football game of the season for the high school. However, Mrs. Walsh allowed me to check out student materials using Alexandra when it was needed and I even got to read to a 1st grade class. When classes were not there, I check in books and even got to catalog a few books and videos.

I really enjoyed the first day and once I get a grasp on Alexandria and getting to know how the classes work, I will enjoy doing this practicum.

Random facts: Former First Lady Laura Bush was a librarian and we use many idioms in our everyday speech (such as "That is how the cookie crumbles")


Links:

Sacred Heart
http://shshattiesburg.com/
Alexandria
http://www.goalexandria.com/

Clipart courtesy of 
https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/projects/trc/2005/clipart/index.html