Remembering Victor “Vic” Henry Sevier Jr.
August 5, 2015
Lasseigne resigns from position in Lafourche Parish Government
August 5, 2015
A partnership between the Terrebonne Parish School Board and the parish library offers teachers, students and their parents multiple opportunities for assistance with projects and homework assignments.
Carol Davis, outgoing assistant superintendent of Terrebonne Parish School Board, told the school board at its last meeting about the partnership, made possible with a $5.5 million grant the from the federal government.
“We are extremely appreciative to the Terrebonne Parish Library for sharing their knowledge, expertise and resources with us,” Davis said. A requirement of the grant was to partner with a non-profit organization to expand literacy activities. She also said the library staff would be helping school librarians with school collections and in selecting eBooks.
One of the successful programs is the Reading Well program. Lillie Brunet, the library’s preschool outreach coordinator, said she visits about 40 day care centers in Terrebonne each month, sharing a story. She also visits about 10 head start centers, including those housed at public elementary schools.
The goal of the Reading Well program is to engage children up to kindergarten age in literacy, movement and academic retention.
“You develop the whole child when you read to them, and by reading to them you create a social event, they’re reading together, they’re bonding as a class and they’re building self-confidence,” Brunet said.
One of the books Brunet uses regularly is “Silly Sally” by Audrey Wood.
The story, Brunet said, has repeated elements, so the children know what’s coming, they can predict the story and chime in with the sounds because the story includes farm animals. She also does other activities in her 30-minute sessions, such as singing, puppet making or counting activities.
Brunet said when she gets to the part in the book that reads: “Silly Sally went to town. Walking backward upside down,” she turns the big book she’s using upside down and everyone says the line in unison.
Brunet said the program started in 2006. Since then, she’s heard “I love to read” from more and more children.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” she said.
On Saturday, the main branch of the public library will host an invitation-only party for students entering kindergarten this school year who have read at least 1,000 books. The students are going to get certificates and book bags, according to Mary Cosper LeBeouf, director of the library. She said this is the first year for the party, and to be invited students signed up earlier and completed the requirements.
The program is important, she said, because it exposes young children to the alphabet and rhyming at an early age.
During the school year, LeBeouf said the library will host other events for students in all grades.
For example, she said the Science Rocks program is for high schools students who are seeking assistance with social science and science fair projects.
“Some of the teachers noticed that when they went to the fairs, the hypotheses of the projects weren’t well developed,” LeBeouf said.
So, the library assembles scientists and academicians once a year and students can bring their hypotheses for one on one review. This year the event is scheduled for Sept. 12 at the main library.
“We try to do it early in the school year,” LeBeouf noted, “because teachers are already making the students think about their projects.”
For the second year, the library staff will be taking the Lego robotics program to schools. The library provides the Lego building blocks and the students use them and computers to build working robots that do things like talk or hold a pencil, LeBeouf said.
The Future Leaders of the Gulf (F.L.A.G.) members meet twice a month at the library and they discuss environmental, economic and community issues regarding the state and the Gulf Coast.
The activities of this group include producing a segment for HTV where the members interview state and local officials about issues and this year they are considering holding a candidates’ forum, LeBeouf said.
“They really enjoy doing the TV show,” she said, “and there are some who like being in front of the camera and some who are
more comfortable behind the scenes, so it works out well for everyone.”
Membership is open to students enrolled at any parish junior or senior high school.
There are also services for teachers, such as workshops designed to help them identify databases that may be useful to their students.
For parents, there is the “Toolkit for Parents,” classes where parents can learn what are appropriate resources for students to use for term papers and other projects. They can also learn PowerPoint software and digital photography.
This summer, the library started workshops for teachers taught by a Google certified instructor, who shared Google Apps that can be used in the classroom, such as Google calendar.
