Movie Making with Jesse R Sherman

One of the best things about living in a small community is that you are closely connected to those that live there. I am fortunate to know a talented young man named Jesse R. Sherman. He was in school with my son and has acted with both my children. Jesse grew-up and moved away but has stayed tied to his passion of the arts. He works a full-time job but makes music videos as a side job.

When I discovered Jesse was following his passion, I contacted him to see if he wanted to come to our school to chat with our students. Many of the kids in grades 5 and up are into making movies using iMovie, I am not well versed in this tool and it was my goal to continue to get students to stretch their learning skills. I wanted more from them then the typical quick video trailer. I emailed Jesse for assistance.

Jesse came with cameras in hand and set up in the LLC to demonstrate the requirements of good movie making. He talked about storyline, camera angle, and lighting and why all these components are important in developing an engaging story. He asked for volunteers and actually used students' suggestions to shoot a short scene. Clearly, I am not a director as the following iMovie was put together with clips taken from various people attending Jesse's seminar, so the storyline is not as polished as I would like. However, the energy in the wake of his presentation was phenomenal. Students were engaged and inquisitive. They understood what he was conveying and wanted to try his techniques themselves. This also showed the kids that with hard work, you can follow your dreams. Hopefully, I will be able to post some student made movies in the near future.

If you are interested in having Jesse come to your school, do not hesitate to contact me for information.
Keep reading,
The Noisy Librarian

Author Visit

There are many benefits of having an author come to the school to chat with students. This year we were extremely fortunate to have author/illustrator Matt Tavares give two presentations at PES. Matt hails from Ogunquit ME and writes and illustrates picture books. Many of his books focus on popular baseball stars which requires good research skills to find and organize the information appropriate for the chosen audience. His books are beautifully illustrated and well written as well as popular with our kids.

Matt spoke to the research and editing process needed for his books, and students were engaged during his slideshow. However, the climax of his presentations was when he invited a volunteer to the forefront and quickly sketched him/her in baseball stance. Students were amazed at how quickly he accomplished such a polished drawing. The feedback I received from students and staff was appreciative and positive. Kids loved the topics of his books, while staff appreciated the discussion regarding the research process.

It is personal visits like this that are part of the process to keep our kids motivated to read. 

Keep reading,

The Noisy Librarian

What happens when you convert a library into.....

a Library Learning Commons. This is a video that was made by two 8th grade students as a Genius Hour Project. It shows the progression of what was once a Library and a Lab into a Library Learning Commons (LLC). The video played at the school district meeting as a thank you from the students to the tax payers for supporting this endeavor. It truly has been a gift to our school and changed the way students are collaborating.

Thank you for supporting our kids and helping them grow.
The Noisy Librarian

Mystery Skype

This is our second grade mysteryskyping with a class in Canada. We were not aware that a TV crew was filming during the skype and were delighted when they sent us the youtube link. Mme. deVries does a wonderful job of explaining why this tech game is important. Enjoy!

Keep reading,

The Noisy Librarian