Brian M. Stack's School Leadership Blog

Nearly three years ago, in an article for MultiBriefs Education , I talked about the need to transform libraries for the twenty first century. Since that time, the need for change in library structures continues to be great. I wrote, “For school libraries — much like the newspaper industry — staying relevant in the 21st century has been the story of reinvention. Technology has put information at our fingertips like never before.” I went on to discuss how schools could reinvent their libraries using a model known as a Learning Commons, highlighting the research and writing of my own school librarian Pam Harland on the evolution of the learning commons school library model. Learning commons take their cue from the concept of the village commons, the 19th century green space in the center of town that was used for grazing livestock, staging a festival or meeting neighbors. A learning commons integrates the functions of a library, labs, lounges and seminar areas into a single communi...

I made the mistake of bringing Brady and Cameron, my eleven and nine year old boys, with me last month to the store when it was time to upgrade my phone. Much to the dismay of my wife Erica, in addition to getting a new phone the salesperson also sweet talked me into buying a virtual reality (VR) headset like one of these . If you haven’t yet tried one, they are quite the experience. Within minutes, my boys were sailing through the air on hand gliders and riding roller coasters through mystical caves and magical forests. These headsets generally work with a cell phone, amplifying the visual and audio experience of a game or video, stimulating multiple senses, and making the user feel like they are truly a part of the experience that they are in. As with any new technology, innovators are looking for ways to make VR an effective classroom tool. Edtech companies like foundry10 are exploring this topic further by asking questions like this: How might VR be valuable and/or enhanc...

To: Graduating Seniors From: Brian M Stack, Principal It is hard to believe your time at Sanborn is almost over! This is an exciting time of year with many events and activities culminating with graduation set for Friday, June 16, 2017 . Congratulations to all seniors on your many accomplishments. If weather permits, we will hold graduation on the library lawn. In the event of poor weather, we may have to hold graduation in the gymnasium. If this is the case all attendees will need a ticket to enter the gym. The week of graduation you will receive six (6) admission tickets for the gymnasium ceremony. That same week, we will also hold a lottery to distribute any extra tickets that we can to families that need more than 6 tickets. Due to fire code regulations, we may not be able to accommodate all requests for additional tickets. You are encouraged to ask your classmates if they have extra tickets they could give you if you need more than six. The following is a l...