For more Professional Development Opportunities, check our Calendar of Events.
Genesee Valley Educational Partnership is working on a program for the 5 systems region called “Reimagining Library Spaces”. This program will be led by Diana Rendina, a Library Media Specialist at Tampa Preparatory School, an independent 6-12 school in Tampa, Florida. She an author, and the creator of the Renovated Learning blog. This workshop will focus on transforming your library space.
Many school libraries still look like they did fifty years ago. But our libraries are no longer quiet dusty book repositories. Librarians are leading the way in technology use and modern pedagogy in our schools – now we need to update our spaces to match.
In this workshop, you will get ideas and inspiration for transforming the physical space of your libraries to make them innovative, student-friendly learning environments. We’ll talk about how to apply learning space design theory to renovate your library. You’ll learn how to survey your students, create a focus group, and use design thinking to brainstorm ideas for your space. We’ll spend time brainstorming our spaces and making plans for the future. Participants will be able to explain why changes to the physical space are needed and will learn strategies that they can apply immediately, no matter what their budget. This workshop will leave you feeling empowered to make the changes that are needed in our library spaces.
The date for this workshop is March 20, 2020.
Check out Alyssa Satin Capucilli at the upcoming Children’s Book Festival held annually at MCC in Henrietta.
The books above are available in the Monroe One Overdrive account.
Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the author of over 100 books including Biscuit, the popular bestseller used to launch the My First I Can Read Series from HarperCollins. With over twenty-eight million books in print, Biscuit has been deemed a modern classic and has been translated into numerous languages worldwide. Other works include the Katy Duck series, the My First non-fiction photo series and numerous picture books.
There are lots of resources about Alyssa Satin Capucilli, including interviews, a book list, and audio excerpts on teachingbooks.net. If you do not remember our password, please contact me.
Alyssa is available to schedule school visits November 1st (Primary Grades). For details contact Wendy Petry.
“Imagine a world where everyone could see themselves in the pages of a book.”
These were the first words of the presentation last Tuesday by We Need Diverse Books. They then asked us to close our eyes for a minute and think about what that would look like. What would you see or hear, and what would that mean for everyone?
The responses from the audience were, “More possibilities would be open to people”; “There would be more avid readers”; “People would know that their narratives are important as well, regardless of their abilities, of what they looked like, or who they were”; “There would be more diversity in careers, in life in general”; “We would see an increase in overall well-being”. It sounds Utopian, doesn’t it? This is within reach.
It can still be difficult to find great books that tell diverse stories, but it is not impossible. The folks at We Need Diverse Books have made it their mission to help us accomplish this goal. If you know where to look it will make your life easier. Some publishers offering diverse reads are:
On their diversebooks.org website is a listing of sites that provide diverse book lists. Under the Resources tab on their site, they also include a book talking kit.
Most helpfully, they have also created an app, currently accessible through your browser, called OurStory, which highlights books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities. It is basically a database designed for you to find books for your libraries.
Look at our Libguide for more resources on diversifying your collection. *The page is currently under construction, so please continue to check back frequently.* Which reminds me: Diversifying your collection is an ongoing process. We live in a constant state of growth and change. Informally audit your collection and add to it frequently.
The Rochester Children’s Book Festival is coming up on November 2nd, 2019. Some of the out-of-town authors are interested in doing local school visits.
These are:
Contact Wendy Petry for more information. A full list of authors with new releases is at the festival website: rcbfestival.com. (We will feature some of these authors in future posts).
The festival will be held at Monroe Community College R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center, 1000 East Henrietta Road (Park in Lot M) from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
June 1st marked the start of Pride month, and a central theme around the NYLA-SSL conference fit the bill perfectly: “How can we represent a diversity of people in our school library collections?” Students come in all shapes, colors, sizes, sexes, genders, religions, ideals, backgrounds, thoughts, emotions, you-name-its. In 1990 Dr. Rudine Simms Bishop coined the phrase “Windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” to refer to how children need to not only see themselves in books, but also learn about people who may be different than them. Developing a diverse collection that speaks to students in this way is an important part of our work.
Keynote speakers Dhonielle Clayton, author and COO of We Need Diverse Books; Newbery award winning author Matt de la Peña, and Knickerbocker award winning fantasy author Tamora Pierce, all spoke to this theme in their keynote speeches.
Out of all of them, Dhonielle Clayton gave us the most practical knowledge. She gives 5 main pieces of advice for diversifying your collection:
We Need Diverse Books will be brought to the Rochester area on September 24th (1pm-4pm) by RRLC and if you haven’t already registered, please do so. This event is filling up quickly.
Information and registration at: https://rrlc.org/event-details/we-need-diverse-libraries-diversifying-your-bookshelves-for-young-readers-and-teens/
The Call for Proposals is open for 2019 Tech Camp. If you have a great idea, please put in a proposal to present by clicking: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXal1j8KQTBHUKH3tFfJooUzxtJiOovswfaawDVjf0uw22DQ/viewform
Tech Camp will be held at Monroe 2 BOCES ESC Building on August 21st. We are looking for sessions on various topics. All sessions will be 45 minutes long.
Example presentation topics:
· Creating Websites from Scratch (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
· Digital Citizenship
· Escape Rooms / Mystery Boxes
· Student Data Privacy
· Genrefication
· Moving from a Fixed Schedule to a Flexible Schedule
· Schools and Public Libraries Working Together
· Mindfulness in the Library
· Diversity Audits / Creating Diverse Collections
· Library Redesign
· Creating Inclusive Libraries (LGBTQ, ELL, Students with Disabilities, etc.)
· Emotional Social Learning
· Coding for Girls
· Sustainable Libraries
· ISTE Standards in Libraries
Review of proposals will begin immediately, and the deadline to submit is FRIDAY JUNE 28TH.
This coming September, RRLC is hosting an event titled, “We Need Diverse Libraries: Diversifying Your Bookshelves for Young Readers…”. If you’re looking to diversify your collection, this is a can’t miss event. Presented by We Need Diverse Books (diversebooks.org), the event will review why a diverse collection is important, what the benefits are, and what the studies show. They will provide a comprehensive title list from board books to YA titles, and they will organize a panel with local authors.
The event will be held Tuesday, September 24, 2019 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Henrietta Public Library. Registration is free for RRLC members (this includes all of Monroe 1 and 2 BOCES districts, all Genesee Valley BOCES districts, and more).
Registration for RRLC’s annual Library Tech Camp (August 21st) is open and it promises to be an interesting and engaging day of learning. The keynote will be “Analysis, Reason and Reflection: Teaching Students to Think in a Media-Saturated World” by Chris Sperry from Project Look Sharp.
Project Look Sharp is an outreach program at Ithaca College that provides training and materials for K-16 educators to integrate media literacy and critical thinking into their existing curriculum. They excel at not only getting educators to think through the information and messages that come from 24/7 media access, but also how to turn-key those media literacy skills to students.
Chris Sperry has taught middle and high school social studies, English and media studies for over 30 years. He is the author of numerous curriculum kits related to global studies and U.S. history and articles about integrating media literacy and critical thinking into the curriculum. He is the recipient of the National Council for the Social Studies 2008 Award for Global Understanding, and the 2005 National PTA and Cable Leaders in Learning Award for Media Literacy.
On top of the keynote, the RRLC Tech Camp will feature breakout sessions by local librarians and educators on technological trends and instructional practices. There will also be a vendor fair, which we encourage you to attend.
Calling all Teen Film-makers!
The deadline for the Rochester Teen Film Festival is coming up on June 10th!
WXXI Public Broadcasting Council and the Little Theatre are proud to sponsor the 2019 Rochester Teen Film Festival, a collaborative, juried media competition for youth in the Rochester region.
The festival is set for Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 5:30 p.m., when the finalists’ films will be shown at the Little Theatre in downtown Rochester.
GUIDELINES:
The purpose of the festival is to honor the work of urban, suburban and rural teen filmmakers and give young people an authentic opportunity to participate in a real film festival. All submissions are judged by a jury and finalists have been elected to have their films shown at the Little Theatre.
This year, young filmmakers will again have a chance to earn the Philip Seymour Hoffman Award, which honors the life and legacy of the late Academy Award-winning actor and Fairport, N.Y. native. The annual award is given to the teen whose film is chosen by the judges as “Best of Fest” and was established in association with the Hoffman family.
To find the online entry form, and to see some films of past finalists, check out the website: www.wxxi.org/teenfilmfestival