A new year begins...

September has always been the "new year" for me as a teacher-librarian. New students, new books, new ideas to try. Last year saw many teacher-librarians try out coding and makerspace ideas with their students. I'm looking forward to our District Teacher-Librarian meeting on Thursday this week and seeing some of those ideas in action! In the meantime, here's a link to a short Youtube video you may find useful in teaching students about taking care of their library books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRMRMeBzfTA&sns=em

Makerspace at Rosemary Heights

A short time ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the library learning commons at Rosemary Heights Elementary during their Friday afternoon makerspace time. Teacher-librarian, Jane Leslie, invited two buddy classes to come in and work on some A-MAZE-ING creations. Grade 1 and Grade 5 students worked side by side to build, create, discover and problem solve, all the while using their core competency skills of communication, critical and creative thinking and social responsibility.

The makerspace materials in the library learning commons at Rosemary Heights are varied. Some have been constructed or donated by parents, such as the Lego wall with the tubes. The tubes have a piece of Lego attached to each end, allowing the tube to be attached to the wall to create a marble maze. The wall is large enough for a group of students to work at and I saw much trial and error in the building of the mazes.
While the Lego wall is a permanent feature, not all the makerspace materials are left out. The teacher-librarian stores the materials in bins in the library workroom and pulls out the materials needed for the day's activity. Varying the activities and materials keeps it "fresh" for the students.
Do you have a favourite makerspace activity or resource? Share in the comments below.

Surrey Schools' Narrative Nonfiction Book of the Year: New for 2017

Coming soon! Teacher-librarians in our elementary schools are looking forward to sharing the ten nominated books for this new award program with their students. Check out the new website to see all the nominees!
https://sites.google.com/view/surreyreadsnonfiction/home
We invite your input via the google form on the Teacher tab on the website.

Tweet using the hashtag #SSNNFBOY

Protecting Your Online Profile

Secondary teacher-librarians may be interested in sharing this video from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. It hits many of the essential safety concerns for protecting your reputation online, all in under 5 minutes! Check it out here.

Lena Shaw Hosts Mentoring Group

The teacher-librarian mentoring group met at Lena Shaw Elementary for an after school session on favourite picture books and sharing ideas. We all took away some great library display ideas from Armee Malig, the teacher-librarian at Lena Shaw. Check out these great ideas!

Lena Shaw Library Learning Commons

I love this idea for a dust cover banner.

Clear, visual clues for students to find books on their topic.

Eye catching display for the graphic novel section!

Semiahmoo Secondary Library Learning Commons

Semiahmoo Secondary has undergone a transformation from library to library learning commons and I'd like to share a few features of the new space. Teacher-librarian, Maureen McDonough, gave me a little tour and shared how much she enjoys working in the new LLC, which she calls, "A work in progress." Students in the LLC were comfortable in the space: collaborating with groups, using the computers, signing books out or just catching up with friends. Some were using the meeting room which was formerly a workroom. Others collaborated in the Maker Space area behind the circulation desk. I loved how this library was transformed and it was great to see so many students taking advantage of the space.

Students feel at home working on their assignment.

Small footprint with a lot of display space on this triangular shelf.

Higher table and chairs for group work.

This was a storage room for VHS tapes. The room has been cleared out
and repurposed as a green screen room.

Breakout!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting Erma Stephenson Library Learning Commons to see teacher-librarian, Lori Ingles, in action. A group of Grade 7 students were about to participate in a "Breakout" session! I've made a short video of the session and you can find it here.

Video Description: 

Developing core competencies through group problem-solving activity. Students develop their critical thinking, communication, creative thinking, resilience and perseverance by trying to solve a puzzle together. Kit was purchased through

http://www.breakoutedu.com/