#theLibraryLife
An Update from Your LASS Library Learning Commons
Supporting Staff and Students in the Library Learning Commons
Our objective for this year was to meet the greatest areas of need for both staff and students. We are happy to report that we were able to work with a number of departments as they moved their assessments to include more differentiation and use more technology as part of their teaching strategies. Below is a list of how we were able to work collaboratively with staff and students to make teaching and learning engaging and fun!
End of Semester Success!
It has been a very busy second half to the semester in the LASS Library Learning Commons but busy is what we like! We have had a huge focus on Indigenous Education, we have hosted workshops and presentations and we have been heavily booked all semester long. Check out all the things that we have done in the LLC from February until June:
- We officially opened Room 228 this semester and we are very pleased with the number of classes that have made use of the space!
- We supported our two student winners at the Marion Drysdale awards this semester!
- We ran a library field trip to UTM for grade 11 and 12 students to a research lesson and campus tour.
- We went to Mount Royal with some of our students to start a Milk Bag Mat program with their students. They were able to complete 6 mats this semester!
- We hosted orientations for the GLS and Grade 9 English courses.
- We taught lessons on podcasting using Garageband and did lessons on creating film projects for several departments including SSL, Music, English, Global Studies, Health and Physical Education, Science and the Inspire Program.
- We have continued to create comprehensive Smores to assist students in the research process.
- We introduced the take home kits for students to complete their film and podcast assignments at home and they have been in very high demand.
- We hosted a lunch and learn session for staff to learn how to use Room 228.
- We taught students how to blog, vlog and create e-portfolios using Weebly.
- We hosted a presentation about Indigenous history in Canada from Cheryle Jacobs from the Peel Aboriginal Network.
- We ran two First Aid and CPR courses for students in the Arts SHSM program and students in the Leadership course.
- We did a tutorial session for the teachers and educational assistants in the DDR program to help them better be able to help their students.
- We hosted a presentation from world renowned Metis author David Bouchard! It was a fantastic presentation that the students from our feeder schools and at LASS loved it!
- We hosted an in school field trip in which the students from the Grade 10 and Genocide courses made baby moccasins in support of the "So They Can Go Home" project with Elder Nancy Rowe. This project is designed to bring awareness to child apprehension of Indigenous children in Canada.
- We set up a new charging station for students to charge their devices if they forgot their chargers at home.
- We hosted author and activist Mark Newman for a presentation for the grade 9 Georgraphy and Science classes about invasive species.
Milk Bag Mats
Garageband for Podcasting
Peel Aboriginal Network
Baby Moccasins
David Bouchard and our Feeder School Students
Cheryle Jacobs from PAN
Author and Activist Mark Newman
Our Friends from Mount Royal Making Mik Bag Mats
Day of Pink
Circulation Statistics
Grade 9 Females - 846 Grade 9 Males - 880 Grade 9 Total = 1726
Grade 10 Females 557 Grade 10 Males - 946 Grade 10 Total = 1503
Grade 11 Females - 1268 Grade 11 Males - 1391 Grade 11 Total = 2659
Grade 12 Females - 1432 Grade 12 Males - 1253 Grade 12 Total = 2685
Total Checkouts = 8573
- This number also includes Chromebook and iPad checkouts.
- Circulation is up again during this time period!
- Our book displays have revolved around the many celebrations we have had this semester (Black History Month, Day of Pink, Women's History Month, Asian Heritage Month, Autism Awareness Month, Indigenous History Month and The Olympics)
Women's History Month
Asian Heritage Month
Indigenous History Month
Additions to the Collection from February to June
12 Books that will support the "We Rise Together" initiative in our school
87 Fiction Books14 Graphic Novel
3 Non-fiction books
New Initiatives
- Empowering Modern Learners - Students have been signing equipment out of the library like crazy! With more teachers moving toward including film or podcasting options in their assessments we have seen an increase in checkouts of technology. This semester we wanted to give students the ability to work from home on their projects. So we created take home kits that include headphones, a microphone, a tripod and green screen - everything they need to make their film or podcast ideas a reality! Due to the high usage of the kits, we will be adding more next school year.
- Feeder School Collaboration - We have continued our collaborative efforts with our feeder schools. In addition to hosting them for an author visit, we are also hosting them for our annual Board Game Day in June. We plan on continuing our Teacher collaboration in the fall of the upcoming school year.
- The Official Opening of Room 228 - We officially opened Room 228 for staff use in February of this semester. We are very pleased and excited with how many teachers and students have used to room for both film projects and podcasting assignments. The lunch and learn that we hosted gave teachers the confidence to try new things and to see the potential of what the room could be used for in terms of their assessments. It's great to see teachers from a variety of departments using the space and it is our hope that as we move into next year, we will see more use of Room 228.
- Indigenous Education/We Rise Together - We really wanted to further our students knowledge in Indigenous Education, therefore we planned a number of activities this semester to support that learning. With the help of the Peel Aboriginal Network's Cheryle Jacobs, students were treated to an in-depth history lesson about Canada's history in regards to Indigenous people. Shortly after we had an amazing presentation for both our feeder school students and our students from David Bouchard; a highly decorated Metis author. His presentation was highly engaging for both groups and we would love to have him back! Our last presentation was a workshop conducted by elder Nancy Rowe in support of the "So They Can Go Home" project. This initiative encourages students to make baby moccasins and send them to the many Indigenous children who have been apprehended and placed into foster care. We sent the moccasins to Dilico Anishinabek Family Care Centre in Fort William First Nation Ontario. It is our hope that we will be able to continue with this education and these initiatives into next year. In regards to the We Rise Together initiative, we hosted some great events in the library for Black History Month and we have also booked a Skype visit with author Jason Reynolds for October. We have a number of his books in our collection in the library and they are reading his books as part of our ENG 2P0 curriculum.
Jason Reynolds
Dilico Anishinabek Family Care
iPad and tripod for filiming
The Milk Bag Mat Program
As a school of social justice, it has been very important to us in the Library Learning Commons to help students do their part and contribute in a meaningful way to the local and global community. Often, students are asked to donate money to causes but do not have hands-on opportunities to contribute. This is why we started the Milk Bag Mat Club.
This club is open to students from all grade levels and members of the club meet every Wednesday and Friday at 12:00 in the library seminar room. Students who are in the club spend their lunch hours cutting and weaving milk bags into mats that are then donated and shipped across the world to countries in need. Milk bags are perfect for making sleeping mats as they do not degrade like other plastic bags, are very strong, don’t retain moisture, have a life span of 25 years, are UV ray resistant, are washable and are very colorful. This program is great help to keep bags out of the landfills and puts them to good use.
The best part about the Milk Bag Mat program is that students get to see the fruits of their labour. This year, our students made 25 mats! Each mat takes about 400 milk bags to make and a team effort as well. Some students choose to cut the bags, make the chains or weave. This year, some of our veterans of the Milk Bag Mat club volunteered their time to teach students at Mount Royal, one of our feeder schools, how to make milk bag mats. Our friends at Mount Royal made 6 mats of their own this year! A very impressive number for a group just starting their own program.
So where do the mats go? We donate mats to the homeless in Canada , Syrian refugees in Greece and other countries when natural disasters strike.
And they are regularly go to Burkina Faso, Brazil, Dominica, El Salvador , Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala , Haiti, Honduras , Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia , Malawi , Nicaragua , Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zambia.
We are very proud of what the Milk Bag Mat Club has accomplished this year. They are making a difference in the world, one milk bag mat at a time!
Plans for Next Year
- More Feeder School Connections - Although we had our first meeting for the teacher librarians for our family of schools, we would like to continue to have regular meetings to ensure that we are on the same page in regards to technology and research practices. We would also like to host more feeder school events in the library such as a feeder school holiday social which would include a read aloud and movie. We plan to continue with our joint author visits and annual board game day!
- Expansion of Room 228 - We have had a very successful first year in Room 228 and we hope to increase usage of the room in the upcoming school year. We have surveyed the teachers as to what they would like to see added to the room and we have asked for feedback as to what we can do to make using the room easier. We are still running lessons in the library on filming and podcasting and hope to do another lunch and learn session for those who want to try using the room. We will be adding more take home kits to allow students to film on their own time as well.
- Connections with the Public Library - With the opening of the Springdale branch, we really want to encourage our students to use their services when we are not open. We have already signed up to participate in the Culture Days at the branch in September and will be taking students over to showcase their culture/heritage in a variety of ways (poetry, music, dance, drama, etc.).
- The Library Learning Commons Podcast - We would like to start our own podcast in the LLC, providing information for students that students want to hear about. Our plan is to survey students and then provide podcasts with information they want to know about (i.e. university prep, stress management, activities at LASS, etc.)
- Literacy @ LASS - One of the greatest predictors of a child's academic success is how much that child reads. Our goal is to get more of our students reading and learning to love reading. We hope to work with our teachers, feeder school colleagues and parents to get students reading more often.
- Introduction to Coding - We recently purchased some Spheros to give our students an introduction into coding and how coding works. These are good for students with advanced coding skills as they have the capability to allow students to write their own programs to operate them.
This is just the start of the list of things that we want to get going next school year! We are always evolving and changing to meet the needs of the school so the sky is the limit as to what we can do!
Thank You!
Questions, Comments, Concerns? Get in touch with us!
Ms. C. Niro - Part Time Teacher Librarian (Period 3 in Semester 2)
Mrs. H. Armstrong - Full Time Library Technician
Email: jonelle.staubyn@peelsb.com
Website: https://jonellestaubyn.weebly.com/
Location: 365 Father Tobin Road, Brampton, ON, Canada
Phone: 905-793-5451
Twitter: @Ms_St_Aubyn