Library Land

I love reading and am always surprised to meet child or adult who doesn't. This is my second year at my current school and there is a ways to go in cultivating a reading culture. Students read, but not all are given daily time, nor is there a school-wide initiative. I have thought about boosting circulation and passion for reading since I began in the library. Last year I created a wall in the Learning Commons of all the staff with pictures of their favourite books, to illustrate and remind everyone that reading is for everybody! I am continuing with this tradition, changing it up as staff and year shift. Along with this staff initiative, I created and handed out the "Yostie Award" to my staff member, Mrs. Yost, who had the highest circulation number for the year. I continue to encourage others to usurp her numbers, but she is in the lead again this year. (Trying to stir up a little healthy competition).   In my private life, I belong to a once-monthly book clu...

I am excited to take my Teacher-Librarianship further down the path of Media Specialist. Next year at my school, I will have increased time with classes to pursue technology in bigger projects and concepts. I want to spur their interests and passions, focusing on inquiry and research. I am in the beginning stages of exploring  Genius Hour . A colleague has taken her class through the first stages of Genius Hour and the results are amazing. The students are so pumped to do research, build their project and share it with others. I am hoping I can implement some of this theory with my classes in the upcoming year. I hope these projects can create lasting knowledge and excitement about learning. One of my favourite online sources for media advice, scrutiny and information is Common Sense Media.  https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship   There is so much to explore! They host a plethora of resources, reviews and lesson plans for teachers, parents ...

As a new teacher-librarian there are so many topics and opportunities I can pursue in the near future. B.C.'s new curriculum, which focuses on indigenous learning models and content is one of those exciting topics. For my small elementary school, I feel like we have a solid beginning of indigenous books and materials. Part of my job this year has been to organize the collection to become more easily accessible for teachers to utilize in their classrooms. I strive to display and emphasize our healthy and varied collection. The topic gaps that I see in my indigenous library collection are the lack of local information and resources. We could use more books about local landforms, plants, animals and traditional peoples. I have far more books about the Inuit people than I do about the Coast Salish. Thankfully, I  am fortunate enough to live in a community with a indigenous publishing house and retail store that includes some of the finest resources in Canada. The publisher, Stro...