J.C. Magill Elementary SchoolFacilities PlanLauren Hagey

About the School J.C. Magill Elementary School

Opened August 1996

Part of the Gwinnett County Public School system

Approximately 1450 students in grades K-5

Vision: Magill Elementary School will foster a safe, nurturing environment through collaborative relationships and quality instruction to promote life long learning.

Mission: To empower all students to achieve & demonstrate excellence in academic knowledge, skills & behavior.

Mascot is the Comets

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The Media Center

Entrance

Everybody and Non-Fiction Area

The Media Center

Reference and Reading Area

Reading Area

The Media Center

Magazines

Computer Area

The Media Center

Everybody Section

Picture Shelf Markers

The Media Center

Circulation Desk

Fiction/Non-Fiction Section

The Media Center Currently…

The furnishings in the media center are upholstered chairs set in a semicircle, which is conductive to conversation or small group reading.

There are 25 computers - enough for one class to work at a time. The broadcasting area is adequate. The Mimio lessons/whiteboard are very popular.

Computer availability seems to be a problem. Teachers find it difficult to reserve time when trying to complete a multistep research project. The media specialist is very busy with teaching specials and must depend on the para to carry on many of her media center duties.

The top shelf in the Everybody section is a little too tall for young elementary students to see or reach the books.

The teacher resource or professional books are in a small room that many teachers said is less than easy to access.

The media specialist currently recycles newspapers and ink cartridges properly.

The Media Center (before)

What Students are Saying…

From an interview with several students, here are a few of the highlighted statements-

Good: “Taking AR tests in the media center is faster than waiting for class

time.” “Signs make it easy to find books.” “The books on top of the shelves are great. I usually pick them to

read.”

Bad: “I feel like I can never get to a computer.” “I can’t reach the books on the top shelf in the Everybody section.”

What Teachers are Saying…

From an interview with several teachers, here are a few of the highlighted statements-

Good: “The circulation desk is set up so that students are independent in

checking books in and out easily.” “Introduction and instruction to the media center is very helpful.

Students understand the rules and respect the media center as part of the classroom.”

The Mimio and white board lessons are very cool. Students enjoy them and they are helpful in several content areas.

Bad: “Teacher resources are difficult to get to and to check out.” “ It’s difficult to schedule time for students to do research and AR

tests.” “I find it hard to find time to do whiteboard lessons in the classroom.”

The Media Center (after)

The New Media Center

•The Technology Specialist will move her office into the vacant room next to the Media Specialist’s office. Teachers and faculty will be able to consult with the specialists more easily.

•The teacher resources are now in a shared room, giving more room and more accessibility.

• A small stool is added for shorter students and the books have been moved down one shelf.

• Another computer has been added away from the instruction computers for more privacy.

New Furnishings

Oversized floor pillows provide a comfortable solution for students to come to the media center to read for pleasure.

GoodDeals.com$229.95 for a set of 4

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Policies

The current policy for scheduling is open. I would keep this policy, but have a sign up sheet for after-school computer usage.

Students can come in before school to do AR tests, but I would create a sign up sheet for AR during the day so that students could use the computers even when a class is using them.

One computer will always be available for students not in a class during an instruction time.

Teachers would have a lesson on how to use the Mimio board and would be able to sign up to use it in their own classroom time. This would create a natural collaboration with the Media Specialist.