Blog Archives

President's Column: Julio

5/7/2019

MSLA President Carrie Tucker is the Librarian at East Bridgewater Jr/Sr High School.

Hello Forum readers,

I’ve been searching for a final president’s message that is both meaningful and from the heart. I hope I found it in Julio.

Last week’s highlight by far was attending MSLA’s bookmark awards ceremony at An Unlikely Story, author Jeff Kinney’s book store in Plainville, to celebrate the achievements of happy kids along with their proud families and librarians. Learning that the bookmark committee members, headed by Laura Gardner, achieved perfect teamwork, made the night even better.

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A Tribute to Judi Paradis

5/7/2019

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Anita Cellucci is the Teacher Librarian at Westborough High School

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.
But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” – Mother Teresa

This past week, we lost a beloved colleague, mentor, and leader much too soon. The hearts of school librarians in Massachusetts and beyond will never be quite the same. She found the positive in every person she met and had the ability to make each one of us feel seen. Words do not do justice to all the good that she did - for school libraries, for librarians, and with great love, for her students. The school library is often said to be the heart of the school, a place where everyone feels welcomed. Providing that safe space for our communities is often deeply embedded in our vision. No one embodied this more than Judi Paradis.

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A Tribute to Sandra Roby

5/7/2019

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Kendall Boninti is a Library Teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

Remembering Sandra Roby
A Librarian and Administrator in Waltham Public Schools for 37 Years

Sandra was truly a strong and impactful leader, who believed deeply in the profession.

Throughout her career, she continually stood up for library programs and never shied away from an opportunity to prove the value and positive impact that well-funded and professionally staffed library programs have on children.

Sandra was a visionary and understood early on the impact that educational tech would have on school library programs. Well ahead of the terms “21st-Century Learning” and “transliteracy” entering our vocabulary, she pushed hard for libraries to be the transformative spaces where technology and learning intersect in meaningful and authentic experiences for students.

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2019 Conference Recap: School Libraries are for Everyone

5/7/2019

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Alida Hanson is the Librarian at Weston High School
and the Professional Learning Chair for MSLA.

Our theme, “School Libraries are for Everyone” placed diversity and inclusion at the center of our learning this year: an apt theme for an organization whose membership is comprised mainly of white women. We are all at different points in our journey in recognizing bias, privilege and race consciousness. Some of us were challenged with these ideas for the first time at this conference. Others started this journey long ago. We believe this is important, central to our work as librarians, and that we have only begun exploring this as a professional association.

In her opening keynote address on Sunday, author Andrea Davis Pinkney shared her “Letter to Diversity.” She acknowledged that diversity is a hot topic this year, and implored us to keep it front and center in our work for years to come and not just treat it like this year’s fashion. The Sunday Dinner speaker, librarian Rebecca McCorkindale (aka Hafuboti), talked about diversity in our profession, recognizing paraprofessionals as important partners and incorporating social/emotional learning in our work. In Monday’s keynote, educator Debbie Irving shared her journey as a white woman recognizing her privilege and the awakening of her consciousness of race and society. In Monday’s closing session, author Jack Gantos thoughtfully shared his learning about representation in literature.

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Using Technology to Promote Reading at the High School Level

5/7/2019

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Janice Alpert is the Library Media Specialist at Lynnfield High School
and received the 2019 Peggy Hallisey Lifetime Achievement Award

“There are many little ways to enlarge your world. Love of books is the best of all.” – Jacqueline Kennedy

Enticing students to read has become a difficult endeavor especially at the high school level. Books are in competition with homework, sports, clubs, jobs and let's not forget, social media, video games, and YouTube videos. Every time new books come in to the library media center, I try to think of ways to display them in an appealing and attractive way. I’m constantly brainstorming about what would stop a teenager in his/her tracks and draw attention away from the screen of a phone and towards a new book release.

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Elementary Column: Making Our Learning Visible

5/7/2019

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Wendy Garland is the Librarian at Avery Elementary School in Dedham, MA.

I want to grow curious and creative thinkers who feel valued and empowered to share their ideas and opinions. I envision our library as a launch pad for ideas, surrounded by books and ideas on the shelves, walls, tables, and even windows. I want students to see their own thinking and I want other students to be able to see it. Seeing our own thinking displayed says, “I am valued,” “I am important,” “I am welcome here.” Making our library a welcoming and safe place is on my heart. It has been the overarching goal of my year. Making our learning visible has been a key ingredient to the recipe for “welcome.”

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Secret Lives of School Librarians!

5/7/2019

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Patsy Divver is the School Librarian at Millis Middle/High School

What are the lurking secret lives of our school librarians? Did you just wake up one morning and decide you wanted a life of book shelves and Dewey, or was there another part to your life? Even now… what happens when the school doors close?

In this column, we’d like to hear from YOU about the many hats you wear… not just during the day (with library, tech, homeroom, lunch duty, advisor, coordinator), but before your turn as a librarian - or even now, when it’s ‘after-hours’! Let’s hear what our colleagues have been up to!

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Technology Column: Screencastify: A Tool for Both Students and Teachers

5/7/2019

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Margaret Kane Schoen is a Library Teacher at Newton South High School.

Our school district has recently begun the move toward one to one technology devices. While having devices readily available for every student is great for tech projects, one issue that we’ve run into is the transition from an Apple school, where students traditionally worked on Mac desktops, laptops and iPads, to Chromebooks as the primary student devices. In some cases we need to find new tools for our favorite projects, and make sure they’re either web-based or work as Chrome apps.

We had done a few videos projects in the past, so when we began looking for tools for the Chromebooks, we knew we would want something to allow for screencasting. There are many options for this; the tool we’ve been using the most is Screencastify.

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Academic Column: Ukuleles: 787.7

5/7/2019

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Dr. Robin Cicchetti is the Librarian at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.

It was just before December vacation and the students in my AP Capstone Seminar class were pasted. Just wiped out and listless. Instead of high school juniors, they appeared more like exhausted, stressed, and disillusioned characters from an Arthur Miller play. The grind of junior year was wearing them down. Most of them were sick with the same miserable cold that was making its way through the building. They had no interest in reviewing feedback on the latest drafts of their research essays.

One of the students opened one of his bags and pulled out a ukulele. He explained that it belonged to his sister and they had stayed up late the night before while she taught him some basic chords. He strummed something that was unrecognizable but that didn’t matter because the music was like a magic spell. They all lit up and asked for turns on the ukulele. By the end of the class, this battered band of stressed out teens were singing songs, laughing, and joyous. At that moment I knew I would be writing a grant.

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Picture Book Column: How do you solve a problem like Picture Books?

5/7/2019

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Kelly Depin is the Head Librarian at Derby Academy in Hingham.

When I worked in the children’s room of a public library, picture books were some of our biggest movers. Adults and children would come in and take out armfuls, anticipating times spent reading together or looking through the pictures, telling stories of their own making. I hoped for some of the same circulation numbers when I became a school librarian. In my fantasy, students in the lower elementary grades would come in and beg to take home more picture books - or come in during free time and swap out the books they just got a few days before. Well, I’m not sure what it’s like in your elementary libraries - but that scenario has not happened in mine. Yet.

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Library Bloopers Part II - More ways for us to share the fun of school libraries!

5/7/2019

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Patsy Divver is the school librarian at Millis Middle/High School

From Sue McHugh, Hanover High School Library Teacher:

I have no control of the thermostat in my library. One toasty day, I took off my cardigan during a booktalk to High School students and said, “Talking about books gets me hot.” Oh, how they laughed. Luckily, I wasn’t with freshmen, who probably would’ve turned red!

From Tricia Svendsen, Bishop Feehan High School Teacher-Librarian:

Some twenty years ago, when I was the new librarian at an elementary school that did not previously have a certified teacher-librarian, I was teaching the parts of a book to my fourth graders. Pointing to each part, I asked them to identify them. Their lack of instruction in library skills was evident as they took guess after guess as I pointed to the spine: “border,” “edge,” “side.” I halted the guessing when one confident student blurted out “the sperm!”

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Greenlodge News

5/7/2019

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Sarah Bickel is the School Library Media Specialist at Greenlodge Elementary School in Dedham
and a recipient of a 2019 MSLA President's Award.

After many iterations of school announcements, we have found success (for now)! Greenlodge News is a weekly news video for and about the school created by fifth grade students. Our news reporters spend a week preparing each episode before it airs for the school community and town. In addition to collaborating with peers to interview and write up news reports, produce a video product, and use a green screen, students are more confident and self-reflective because of the experience!

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Creating independent reading opportunities in Vocational Technical Programs

5/7/2019

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Ariel Dagan is the Library Media Specialist at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical School in Franklin, MA and
received a 2019 President's Award.

The following is a letter, written by partner teacher Suzanne Dodakian, describing the independent reading initiative that Ariel Dagan has started at his vocational school.

In October of 2016, Mr. Dagan instituted an Independent Reading through Book Love exploration with the Grade 10 students in Medical Careers. This was a very important initiative, which involved the students taking an initial survey to measure their personal reading starting point. They, then, were able to select genres of reading material that were of interest while being able to swap a book if they did not care for it. Students then completed a book form and tracked individual progress through fun game challenges. This Book Love initiative was met with enthusiasm for the majority of the Grade 10 students.

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President's Column: Julio

A Tribute to Judi Paradis

A Tribute to Sandra Roby

2019 Conference Recap: School Libraries are for Everyone

Using Technology to Promote Reading at the High School Level

Elementary Column: Making Our Learning Visible

Secret Lives of School Librarians!

Technology Column: Screencastify: A Tool for Both Students and Teachers

Academic Column: Ukuleles: 787.7

Picture Book Column: How do you solve a problem like Picture Books?

Library Bloopers Part II - More ways for us to share the fun of school libraries!

Greenlodge News

Creating independent reading opportunities in Vocational Technical Programs

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Co-Editors
Luke Steere and Michelle Fontaine

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Forum Newsletter

Co-Editors​Luke Steere and Michelle Fontaine

Categories

Archives

Co-Editors
Luke Steere and Michelle Fontaine