January 15, 2020 – Page 2 – Library Media Blog

From the Wings: The Live Art Story

Offair Listings

From the Wings: The Live Art Story – Erin Thomas Foley woke up from a dream she had one night with a vision that, while seemingly impossible, planted the seed that turned into an innovative idea which would inspire those around her. In the dream, kids with special needs were performing alongside typically developed kids on a large stage for a big audience. Over the years that followed, Erin and those around her would turn that dream into a reality with the creation of LIVE ART. FROM THE WINGS: THE LIVE ART STORY is about a group of children with varying abilities that came come together to create an unprecedented performance and change their community forever. The documentary follows six students from the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC) in Virginia, their families and several staff members, and chronicles how the children and adults face their own fears, learn what empathy really means, and discover countless things they didn’t know about themselves and the world around them. The experience culminates in an inspirational night of music, dance and visual art-including a performance by recording artist Jason Mraz-that unifies students with and without disabilities before a sold-out audience at the majestic Carpenter Theatre.

airs 1/23 at 8 p.m.

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Finding Home: A Foster Care Story

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Finding Home: A Foster Care Story – The remarkable story of four foster youth preparing for life outside the foster care system. Summer, 17 and transgender, yearns to be adopted. Glorianna, 19 and an artist, struggles to live on her own after spending 12 years in a group home. Jaloni and Kalonji, 18-year-old twins, grew up in poverty, but become star athletes and scholars with the help of two loving adults.

airs 1/20 at 2 a.m.

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Live Art: Love

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Live Art: Love – In LIVE ART: LOVE, 200 students of all abilities representing the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community’s (SPARC) “Live Art” program perform alongside nationally renowned artists and musicians in an unforgettable night of music, dance and visual arts. SPARC’s “Live Art” program is an innovative and inclusive arts education program that integrates performing arts curriculum with special education. Youth with and without developmental disabilities work together in a variety of performing and visual arts classes throughout the year, culminating in a final concert for the community celebrating the importance of human connection. While preparing and rehearsing, the students build powerful relationships and gain understanding and appreciation for one another’s talents and abilities. The most recent “Live Art” concert was organized around the theme of love and features performances by: singer and actor Josh Groban; two-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter and SPARC alumnus Jason Mraz; multi-Grammy and Tony Award-nominated Sara Bareilles; and five-time Grammy Award winner, songwriter and keyboardist Michael McDonald, among others. LIVE ART: LOVE is an entertaining and moving musical experience rooted in the messages of acceptance, compassion and empathy for all.

airs 1/23 at 9:30 p.m.

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Social Media for your School Library

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A few years ago I was able to attend the ISTE National Conference in Philadelphia. One thing I found impressive was that they included Twitter Handles on the name badges. National Conferences are largely valuable for the networking opportunities they provide. What a great way for educators to continue that networking and expand their current professional learning community!

It got me thinking about the librarians in our region, and how many of them have a Facebook page or Twitter handle for their school libraries. Educators are sometimes skeptical when it comes to social media, and I get it. You don’t really want your students to see what you get up to on the weekends. However, having a social media account is a really great idea for your school library, and yes, that even means elementary schools.

What better way to showcase the great programming happening in your library? Need more students to join library club? Tweet about it! If you have older students, you can use this as a platform for teaching them responsible ways to use social media. By having students help you create your library “brand”, they will understand how social media can affect their own digital identities.

In her Scholastic Edublog article, Tamiko Brown (2017 School Librarian of the Year by SLJ and Scholastic) lays out 5 Reasons School Librarians Should Use Social Media.

Laura Fleming for Edutopia writes about The Power of a School Library Hashtag.

This website from the New Zealand National Library, Social media and the school library, explains how social media can help you find new ways to support reading, inquiry and digital literacy. It will also show your school community that you welcome student involvement. This last link is a great resource because it includes guidelines and strategies for social media use, as well as a guide to different platforms, and examples of school libraries that use social media.

See you @M1Bsls