HIT->GEN: good quick ideas for a welcome back bulletin board

[Melinda Miller-Widrick <miller-w@aldus.northnet.org>]

  Thanks to everyone who sent me suggestions.  The list has so many ideas
that I think a lot of people will find it useful.  My problem now is to
decide which I will use.  I guess I will head to my supplies to see what I
have and then decide. :)  Again, thanks to this group for the help.  It is
always appreciated!
Here are the suggestions:
1. I have one that I have used at the high school that you could adapt for
the elementary level.
Actually I do it in a showcase but you could use cut outs instead of the
shoes. I use two or three right shoes with stuffed socks  inserted into
the shoes.  The shoes I use happen to be new ones that never fitted me
right so I never wore them and the socks are some of the really neat ones
that I have....Coca Cola, Mickey Mouse and such.
I also have cut out ads from magazines and newspapers that are large shoes
that I have stapled to the background.
I use books from the new shelves, but you could use the book jackets.
 It has large letters that say, "Start off on the right foot with
SKR" (SKR) stands for South Kitsap Reads...a 20 minute period in each day.
Good luck on the ideas, it is hard to keep coming up with new ones.  I
have an advantage since our "clientele" changes every three years and then
I can recycle my ideas.
Jackie Norris
South Kitsap High School
Port Orchard, WA
jnorris@linknet.kitsap.lib.wa.us

2.    I used an idea that we took from LM_NET (school started Tuesday) and
it's been very successful.  We have a lot of students enjoying the board.
  Take pictures of your new staff members, and do a short interview.  We
did name, position, home town, college, and a sentence like I'm delighted
to be here because ......   Did 4 boards actually (small foamboards on
easels) that read Welcome to Splendora High  (making letters with
Ellisor).
Quick, easy, and interesting.  Also helps staff put names with faces.
Carolyn Wandstrat
Splendora High School
Splendora, TX  77372   (about an hour north of Houston)

3. New Books For A New Year is a good way to highlight some new titles at
the beginning of the school year with a background of fall leaves and a
display of new books. (The same caption is adaptable for a fast
end-of-winter-break bulletin board for January, using snowflakes instead
of leaves!)
 Elaine Knight            *
 Lincoln, Illinois        *
 eknight@abelink.com

4. I am in a Catholic High School and each year for the past few years we
have had a theme for the year. "Attitude is Everything" and "Building the
Future" were the last two. This year it is "A Strong Tradition, a Great
Future"  I plan my bulletin boards and display cases at the beginning of
the year around this theme. This year I will put historical fiction and
science fiction titles on display.
Robin Hoelle

5.  I'm getting ready to "do" my bulletin board (which is really in a show
case---good to keep fingers away as is yours over the shelving) called
"WE DO IT ALL FOR YOU".  It's going to have samples of books, filmstrips,
CD disks, computer disks, video boxes, laser disks, etc.  We had to do a
mock up when I was in grad school and the instructor really like this
idea. Will it work for you (not in elem but maybe in HS)?  I never used it
before because I never had a bulletin board that the kids couldn't touch
if they so desired.
Last year when I was new to the school and sooooo overwhelmed I just used
fishing line to hang books on an orange background, and stapled silk fall
leaves all over the place with a banner that read "Cushion your Fall with
a Great Read" or something like that.
The *easiest* bulletin board that I ever did was last June.  "These are a
Few of our Favorite Books" was the banner and I had photocopied onto neon
paper small (very small) forms that asked for Title, Author, Student's
name, grade.  PERIOD.  They filled them out (voluntarily) and they stapled
them onto the board.  They *loved* it! It wouldn't work where kids can't
read it but if you have another spot, this worked well for me (in middle
school and was as little work as possible:)
Hope you'll share ideas you receive.  Good luck.
>Sally Lantz     sarahl@ccpl.carr.lib.md.us

6.         The easiest and most complimented bulletin board I had in the
library last year was my opening school one.  I used black butcher block
paper to cover the board to resemble a black board.  With a variety of
pastel chalks I wrote in a slanted hand, "Chalk one up to reading!" I
tried using hairspray to set the chalk so it didn't smudge as the
students couldn't resist touching it on their way by.  But if it is not
accessible to fingers I wouldn't use anything.  I put a premade border of
schoolhouses and apples around it. Very simple and very appealing.  Hope
you can use this idea!
Marcia Jacques
Library Media Specialist
Boulder Valley Schools
Broomfield, CO  80020

7. How about "Fall Into Good Books". (I love puns!)  Decorate with large
fall leaves and put up a few book posters.  Works for me.
Jamie Boston, Librarian
Birch Lane Elementary, 1600 Birch Ln.  & Pioneer Elementary, 5212 Hamel
St. Davis, CA 95616
916-757-5395/5413(FAX)& 757-5480
jamieb@dcn.davis.ca.us

8. I just saw a cute display at our public library. It was printed in
colored chalk on black paper to look like a bulletin board. In big letters
it said "Chalk One Up for Reading." ABC, 123, and stick figures were
printed around the edge. It was cute and simple.
Belinda Holbrook Madison School
Davenport, IA
Holbrook@netins.net

9. Elem: I dressed bears in swim suits (from goodwill store/garage sales)
with small straw hat, sunglasses and sat them in the blow up infant
swim tube (on sale cheap now at K-Mart)..Positioned books as if
they are being read and around the bears.  Lettering says, "Summer's
Over - Make a splash (blue water drops splashing away from the
word) with Fall Reading."

Elem: Obtain a variety of hats - I purchased some very inexpensively
from the carnival supply store.  Stuff paper so that the hat is
tipping.  Lettering says, "Tip Your Hat to Good Books"
..This sits atop my shelves for several months.
Mary Ludwick         Ludwick@tenet.edu

10.   I'm not very artistic so I use the opague projector quick often.  I
used the picture of 5 books carrying a banner for National Childrens Book
Week that was in Upstart or one of those type of promotional catalogs.
And instead of writing about book week, I just said WELCOME BACK.  I
enlargened the books onto tag board and then painted, outlined and cut
out.  My bulletin board is right where the kids sit to listen to my
story-so it has to be durable. And it is only about 3 feet high but it is
10 feet long So everything has to be wide and short!  It's a real pain.
     I found dewey decimal border at 3R's out of Rockford, Il.  I used
purple backround and painted the books in green, blue, yellow, orange and
red.  I also felt we could use this board for quite awhile and just change
the words on the banner.  Hope this helps!
Connie Riggs
Rockland School
160 W. Rockland Rd.
Libertyville, IL  60048

11. This fall I'm doing Tackle a Good Book on one board (using an old bb
decorator kit from Upstart) and (being equality minded) Libraries Serve
Information on the other.  I'll use cut outs of volleyballs with different
formats written on each one such as Books, Magazines, Newspapers,
Videotapes, CD-ROM, Internet. etc.
Anne Oelke
acoelke@peoples.net
Cambria-Friesland School Dst.
Cambria, WI

12. I have ony 3 bulletin boards. My clerk puts up posters, or large-size
drawings [of, for example, animals, or book illustrations] and bought
letters to give the message.
Brian Rountree, Teacher Librarian      rountree@access.mbnet.mb.ca
Eastwood Elementary School
453 Princeton Drive                    phone (204) 677-6142
Thompson, Manitoba                     fax   (204) 677-6176
R8N 1W8   Canada

13. An oldie, but goody --

A large silhouette of a hammer or gavel poised over a stack of books
(labeled English, math, science, etc.) with the words "Let's Hit the
Books"
        - Susan Baker
        Bremerton [WA] High School
        sbaker@orca.esd114.wednet.edu

Hope all who have bulletin boards to do during the year can get some new
ideas from this list.  I know I did! Again, THANKS!

Melinda Miller-Widrick, LMS K-12
Colton-Pierrepont Central School
Colton, NY 13625
miller-widrick@northnet.org