Library

Welcome to the Nisqually Middle School Library!

Ensuring all students are effective users and producers of information and ideas.

MyTRL (Timberland Regional Library) Student Access

NTPS Students have access to a wealth of resources at Timberland Regional Library! TRL provides all NTPS K-12 students with online-only access to magazines; newspapers; math, history and science resources; language study programs; online courses; job and study resources; e-books; music; audiobooks; videos; encyclopedias; dictionaries; auto manuals; almanacs; and more! Please read our FAQ below for more information.

MyTRL Frequently Asked Questions

What types of resources are included in MyTRL access?

Students will be able to access Timberland Regional Library's:

magazines & newspapers
math, history and science resources
language study programs
online courses
job & study resources
e-books, music, audiobooks, & videos
encyclopedias & dictionaries
auto manuals
almanacs

TRL libraries also provide Wi-Fi and Internet stations. Specific resources may change based on costs and collection development decisions. Current resources are listed on the TRL.org website.

Is a MyTRL account the same as having a library card?

How do students access their MyTRL account?

Students will receive their login information from their school. TRL has created accounts using a combination of the student's ID number along with their birth month and year. The default PIN for the account is the student's month and day of birth.

MyTRL Library Card#: [Student ID] + [MMYYYY]
Default 4-digit PIN: [MMDD]

Example

MyTRL Library Card#: 1027511102012 (Student ID is 1027511, MM is 10, and YYYY is 2012)
PIN: 1023 (MM is 10 and DD is 23)

Can a student upgrade their MyTRL account to a regular library account?

MyTRL cards are independent of a student’s regular library card. If a student wants to borrow physical materials, they will need to contact TRL directly.

A basic card allows cardholders to check out up to 10 items. The MyTRL account can serve as verification of identity for a basic account, if the student can provide a student ID, their MyTRL number, or birthdate.

To upgrade to a regular card that allows up to 50 items to be borrowed, additional address verification is required. If a minor student (17 or under) is unable to do this, an accompanying adult or caregiver may verify on their behalf.

What if a student already has a basic or regular library card?

Can a student opt-out of the MyTRL program?

Chromebook Program

Student Assigned Devices

All middle and high school students at NTPS have a Chromebook issued to them. They will use the device throughout the school day and at home for anytime, anywhere learning.

FAQ

My student's device is lost, stolen, damaged, or doesn't work. What do I do?

Can my student use a personal device instead of a district Chromebook?

How do I connect a Chromebook to wi-fi if not at school?

To sign in to Wi-Fi off campus:

No Password Required

At the NO NETWORK AVAILABLE window, click the triangle in the NO NETWORK line to see a list of available networks
Double-click the network you want to join
After a few seconds, the SIGN IN TO YOUR CHROMEBOOK window should appear
Sign in as you would at school

Password Required

At the NO NETWORK AVAILABLE window, click the triangle in the NO NETWORK line to see a list of available networks
Double-click the network you want to join
After a few seconds, the JOIN Wi-Fi NETWORK window should appear
Enter the network password and click CONNECT
After a few seconds, the SIGN IN TO YOUR CHROMEBOOK window should appear
Sign in as you would at school

What kind of power adapter do Chromebooks use?

Each student is issued one power adapter. The power adapter should remain at home and not be brought to school. Below are links to Amazon for information purposes. Depending on your grade and school, your device could use a different charging connector. Please refer to the photos below and compare to your Chromebook to determine the replacement charger you need.

Charger Type 1

Round-shaped port type of Chromebook power adapter.

Amazon Purchasing Option

Round hold in the side of a chromebook for the round-type power adapter plug.

Charger Type 2

Flat-style USB-C port type of Chromebook power adapter.

Amazon Purchasing Option

USB-C shaped hole in the side of a chromebook for USB-C plug power adapter.

What is the $10 Assurance Fee on my student's payment account?

Will elementary students get Chromebooks to take home?

What can my student access on the Chromebook when it goes home?

Why Chromebooks and not a Windows or Mac Laptop?

Getting Started

Tip Sheets & Shortcuts

Unfamiliar with your Chromebook? Use the Getting Started Guide below or download a tip sheet, informational page, or follow the link to Google's website for more information.

Gestures Tip Sheet

Keyboard Layout Tip Sheet

Keyboard Shortcuts

Student Tips

Keep food and drink away from your device to avoid accidental damage.
Handle your device with clean hands. Use appropriate cleaning supplies.
Always keep your Chromebook in its protective case.
Store it in a safe location every night.
Know where your Chromebook is! Keep it in your bag or in a safe place when not in use.
Be gentle when plugging in power or headsets to avoid damaging the plugs.
Don’t place any stickers, tape, or draw on your Chromebook or case.
When handling your Chromebook, use two hands to avoid dropping the device.
Never let anyone borrow your device. It’s your responsibility to keep it safe.

Digital Citizenship Tips

Communicate responsibly with your device! Cyberbullying is strictly prohibited and may lead to criminal charges. All student emails sent over district systems are archived per state law.
Never reveal or post identifying personal information to unknown people on the internet.
Do not attempt to bypass the district filter or browse materials unacceptable in an academic setting. If you accidentally find an inappropriate website, report it immediately to your teacher or parent.
Follow copyright laws and fair use guidelines. Only download music, videos, or other content related to your school work.
Make your Chromebook available for inspections by any administrator or teacher upon request.

Family Tips

Have a discussion with your student concerning the expectations around the use of their device.
All devices have an internet filter that blocks non-educational websites. No filter can catch every website, so talk with your student around safe and responsible web browsing.
Have your student charge their device at night in a common area instead of their bedroom.
Your student’s Chromebook is tied to their login when being used. If others in the household use the device, any web use history will be tied back to your student.
For more tips on good digital citizenship, visit https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles

How To...

Power On

Power Off

To turn the Chromebook off, do one of the following:

Hold down the power button until the screen goes dark
Click on the clock menu (see Settings Menu above)
- Clock on the power/shutdown button

Note: Closing the lid places the computer into a sleep mode that will drain battery power over time. Turning off your Chromebook when not in use will preserve power. Charge often!

Log In

When you open your Chromebook, and it powers on, you may see a prompt to log into Clever Badge. If so, you’ll want to dismiss that and login manually:

Click on “Sign in with a different account”

Sign in with your entire NTPS Student email address and enter your student ID for the password. Student IDs are typically the first five letters of the last name and the first three of their first name.

For example: Katniss Everdeen, student number 0013579, will log on to the Chromebook as follows:

everdkat (for the username)
0013579 (for the password)

If your student isn’t sure what their username or password is, please contact their teacher.

Adjust Settings

Connect to Home Wi-Fi

After the Chromebook is powered on you should see a “NO NETWORK AVAILABLE” window
Click on the time button in the lower right corner of the screen.

The settings menu is available in the clock area in the lower right of the screen.

A small pop up menu will appear
- Click the “Not connected, No Networks” drop down menu
- Select your home network from the list
- Enter your home Wi-Fi password
- Check by making sure the “pie shape” wireless icon is a solid white color

Capture Screenshots

The stacked windows key, shows all open windows or assists in screenshots (F5).

Capture entire screen: CTRL+Print Screen Key

The Print Screen key is typically the sixth key from the left along the top of the keyboard and has a symbol of a square next to two lines. A window will later appear with options to view the screenshot and copy to Google Drive.

Capture partial screen: CTRL+SHIFT+Print Screen Key

You'll be able to drag your cursor to form a box around an area of your display that you want to capture. A window will later appear with options to view the screenshot and copy to Google Drive.

Update the Chromebook Operating System

ChromeOS updates should apply automatically during normal use. If you want to ensure your student device is fully updated, please see the instructions below for how to manually trigger an update.

Turn on your Chromebook.
Connect your Chromebook to Wi-Fi if you haven’t already.
At the bottom right, select the time.
Select the Settings gear icon
At the bottom of the left panel, select About Chrome OS.
Under Google Chrome OS, you'll find which version of the Chrome operating system your Chromebook uses.
Select Check for updates.
If your Chromebook finds a software update, it will start to download automatically.

Note: If your Chromebook uses your phone's internet connection or its own mobile data, you'll get an alert about how much mobile data it needs to update. You can then stop or continue with the update.

Assurance Fee

The NTPS assurance program provides an inexpensive solution for families to lessen the financial burden if an accident, loss, or theft of the Chromebook occurs. The assurance fee covers the current school year for a single device and is added as a fee in all secondary student payment accounts in the fall.

Annual assurance fee: $10

How Coverage Works

	Accidental damage Damage includes dropping device, water damage, natural disaster, etc.	Lost or Stolen Police report filed within 24 hours if stolen and provided to NTPS
1st Incident	Assurance fully covers the costs of accidental damage for Chromebooks.	$25 to replace device
2nd Incident		$100 to replace device
3rd Incident		Full cost to replace device

Approximate costs of repairs without assurance

Charger: $20
Camera: $20
Case: $25
Keyboard: $30
Screen: $35
Device Exterior: $80
New Chromebook: $200

The fine print

All assurance fees stay within the program and fund continued repairs, replacements, and upgrades to student devices.
Assurance fee will be automatically loaded to all secondary students’ accounts and is non-refundable.
Students will be charged full price for parts if they intentionally vandalize their device.
Repeated damage to a device may result in loss of take-home privileges and/or fines on a case-by-case basis.
If a lost, stolen, or non-returned device is later recovered in working condition, any related fines will be refunded.
If a student leaves the district and does not return their Chromebook, a fine for the full replacement cost will be placed on the student record and restriction of records and transcripts will apply. Law enforcement may be involved for the purpose of recovering District property
Families may choose to opt-out of the Assurance Program and accept full financial liability for any damage to their student's Chromebook.

Forms

Opt-Out Forms

Responsible Use Policy

Informational Flyer

Troubleshooting

If the Chromebook, hotspot, or charger is damaged (e.g. broken screen, keyboard, water damage) or lost/stolen, please contact your school library.

For all other issues, please review the getting started guide and troubleshooting steps below BEFORE having your student exchange their device at their school's library. If none of the basic troubleshooting items address your issue, move onto the advanced option of a full reset. If the Chromebook must be repaired or replaced, the cost associated depends on if the family is participating in the assurance fee program. See the Assurance Fee tab above.

Basic Troubleshooting

Perform a Power Reset

Verify the time of the Chromebook is correct

Device slowness or issues viewing or submitting assignments

Students experiencing issues with submitting assignments, viewing images and videos and other issues may have filled the local memory on their Chromebook. Please try these strategies listed below to clear synced tabs, delete files stored on your Chromebook, and clear your browsing data. If these steps don't resolve your issue, please be sure to let your teacher know.

These links can also be found in the HELP AND TROUBLESHOOTING section of your Clever Dashboard.

Clear Synced Tabs: Go to this page, scroll to the bottom and click the CLEAR DATA button.
Empty Downloads Folder
Clear Browsing Data
Powerwash Chromebook
Update Chromebook

Turn accessibility features on or off

Adjust magnification settings

Turn off High Contrast Mode (mostly black and white screen)

Click on the clock (lower-right)
In the small pop-up menu, click the Accessibility drop-down
Click or tap the status area in the bottom right corner > Settings > Advanced (at the bottom) > Manage Accessibility Features
Under the Display section, click the toggle switch next to Use high contrast mode or press the Tab key repeatedly until the toggle switch is highlighted and then press space bar to toggle this setting off.

Rotate screen

Charging Issues

When plugged into power, what is the indicator light next to the charging port?

Orange = Charging
White = Fully Charged
No Light = Charging Issue

If the Chromebook has no light, try a different power outlet to see if that resolves the issue. Also check to make sure the two pieces of the charging cord are fully connected. If it stays Orange/Red after charging for over 24 hours, open a repair request.

No sound in headphones or from device

If you’re not hearing sound through your headphones, confirm that the headphones are fully inserted into the audio port.

If you’re still not hearing sound, from the headphones, click anywhere on the menu in the bottom right of your Chromebook to open the setting windows. There are two different places to check settings. If you don't see a headphones icon next to the volume setting, headphones are not detected. Check the connection in the audio port.

Settings Menu with an arrow pointing at the headphone icon. — Audio is one and headphones are plugged in.

Setting Menu inside the Audio settings. — Headphone sub menu settings.

Keyboard typing odd characters

Advanced Troubleshooting

If you followed all the basic troubleshooting guides and your Chromebook is still acting strangely or non-responsive, try a power wash (full reset).

Chromebook Powerwash (full reset)

Step 1: Sign out of your Chromebook (do not power down)

Step 2: Press and hold CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+r

CTRL+ALT+SHIFT-r keys highlighted on a Chromebook keyboard.

Step 3: at the Reset this Chromebook screen, click the Powerwash button.

Power wash screen that says Reset this Chromebook with a graphic of a painter.

Step 4: At the Confirm Powerwash pop-up, click the Continue button. A Powerwash in Progress message will appear.

Confirm Powerwash pop-up on a Power Wash screen. Click CONTINUE.

Step 5: At the Welcome to your Chromebook screen, click the Get Started button. If prompted, select NO. Continue without ChromeVox.

Welcome to your Chromebook screen, click GET STARTED and NO. Continue without ChromeVox.

Step 6: At the Connect to network window, select to your home network. See the Chromebook Basics tab on this page for more information about connecting to outside Wi-Fi.

Step 7: Uncheck the OPTIONAL choice, then select Accept and Continue buttons.

First Powerwash Only:

The first time your Chromebook is power washed, it can take a while (around 15 minutes, depending on your internet connection). Future power washes only take about 2 minutes to complete.
A window will appear with “Downloading the latest update” and a time estimate. The estimate may be wildly inaccurate at first but will adjust as the update progresses.
Your device will reboot.

Your device should be fully reloaded now and ready for use. If your Chromebook is still not working properly, please submit a support request at the bottom of this guide.

Hotspot Troubleshooting

Chromebook Exchange

Evaluating Sources

Below are resources to help you evaluate sources and cite them in your work.

See the Evaluating Websites slide deck.

The CRAAP Test
In-Text Citations

The CRAAP Test

Currency: The timeliness of the information

When was the info published or posted?
Has it been updated?
Do you need the most current info for your topic?

Relevance: The importance of the info for your needs

Does the information directly relate to your topic?
Does it help you answer questions?
Have you looked at other sources to find the best one?

Authority: The source of the info

Who is the author or publisher?
Are they qualified to write about the topic?
If it’s a website, does the URL say anything about the source? (.com; .gov; .edu; .org)

Accuracy: The reliability and correctness of the info

Is the info supported by evidence?
Can you verify the info with another source?
Is the author or publisher biased or unbiased?

Purpose: The reason the info exists

What is the purpose of the info? (teach, sell, persuade, entertain, etc.)
Is the info a fact or an opinion?
Again, is the author or publisher biased or unbiased?

In-Text Citations

An in-text citation appears in parentheses, at the end of the sentence. It contains the author’s last name and the page number, if available.

The study showed more than a ten percent increase (Smith 22).

If there are two or three authors, list them all.

(Smith and Luke 22)
(Smith, Luke, and Perro 22)

If there are more than three authors, use the first author’s last name and “et al.” which means “and others.”

(Smith et al. 22)

If your source does not include the author’s name, use the name of the organization that produced the source.

(USDA 22)

If the organization is not credited as the author, use the title of the source. Titles are always in quotation marks.

(“Obesity Rates in Children” 22)

If the title is lengthy, you can use the first few words.

(“Obesity Rates” 22)

If the source does not include a page number, leave it off. Do not assign your own page numbers.

(Smith)

If you are using more than one source from an author, use the title after the author to avoid confusion.

(Smith, “Obesity Rates” 22)

If you mention the name of the author in the sentence, you do not need to repeat it in the citation.

According to Smith, obesity rates are rising (22).

The period goes after the citation, even when using quotation marks.

The results were “highly unusual” (Smith 22).

Contact & Hours

360-412-4770

Teacher-Librarian

Carley Barney
cbarney@nthurston.k12.wa.us

Library Hours

9:00 am–4:00 pm school days