M1 SLS News & Info

85 posts

National Poetry Month

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April is (among other things) National Poetry Month! Started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets (poets.org), National Poetry Month has become the largest literary celebration in the world. There are a myriad of ways to acknowledge and celebrate the importance of poetry in our culture:

  • The Academy of American Poets hosts the “Dear Poet Project“, which invites students in middle through high school to write letters in response to poems.
  • You can request a National Poetry Month poster and hang it in your library.
  • You could sign up to receive a poem-a-day in your email.
  • Build a creative book display (and if you do, please send us a photo to liesl_toates@boces.monroe.edu and tell us whether we are allowed to share it on our blog!)

Check out this list of 30 ways to celebrate national poetry month.

Autism Awareness Month

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April is (among other things) Autism Awareness Month. PBS has a number of valuable programming for this purpose. Check out the following programs and use the request form for a recording.

POV #3011 “Swim Team” – Parents of teens on the autism spectrum form a competitive swim team, training them with high expectations. Follow the rise of three athletes as the film captures a moving quest for inclusion, independence and a life that feels like winning.

Airs 4/3 at 7 p.m.;

Spectrum: A Story of the Mind – Take a journey into the rich sensory experience of autism. Imagine a world where words taste and thoughts feel, where sounds swell with color and leaves on trees change tones visible to the naked eye, and where eye contact with another can cause physical pain. Spectrum: A Story of the Mind explores autism through the lens of diverse characters on the spectrum.

Airs 4/6 at 1:30 p.m.

America Reframed #514 “Deej” – the story of DJ Savarese (“Deej”), a gifted, young writer and advocate for nonspeaking autistics. Once a “profoundly disabled” foster kid on a fast track to nowhere, DJ is now a first-year college student who insists on standing up for his peers: people who are dismissed as incompetent because they are neurologically diverse. Will Deej be able to find freedom for himself and others like him?

Airs 4/13 at 10 p.m.

Autism: Coming of Age – In the next 10 to 15 years, an estimated 800,000 children with autism will age out of the school system and transition into adulthood. Then, they will look to ill-prepared state and federal governments for the support services and resources to meet their many needs – a situation autism experts refer to as the “coming tsunami.” The one-hour documentary AUTISM: COMING OF AGE provides an inside look at the lives of three adults with autism and includes interviews with their families and support teams. Autism and disability experts from Massachusetts, New York, Washington, Virginia and Pennsylvania also discuss the current system, impending challenges and possible outcomes for the future.

Airs 4/13 at 11 p.m.

Keep checking the Offair Listings portion our blog throughout the month as we post more information and links to request these.

PBS STEAM Education Webinar Series

BlogPosts Professional Development

PBS is offering a series of three webinars designed to inspire young scientists through STEAM education. PBS will provide a certificate of attendance for each one-hour virtual learning event.

Part One | Helping Students Interpret Data

March 19 @ 7PM ET

Data, data, data. Data is everywhere! How do we teach students to interpret data? To care about data? About all the cool things that can be done because of data? Look no further. Join us in this LIVE conversation with NASA experts to explore how they brought visualizations of the Earth to the palm of your hands all using, you guessed it, DATA!

Register Now

Part Two | Teaching Computational Thinking

March 26 @ 7PM ET

Join in on a live conversation with Josh Caldwell from Code.Org! Josh, a former classroom teacher, is the author of “Creative Coding” and the curriculum lead at Code.Org. This one-hour live learning event will dive into the ways in which you can help students think about computational thinking in artful, creative, digestible and fun ways!

Register Now

Part Three | Exploring Models Inspired by Nature

April 2 @ 7PM ET

There are so many innovations and models we use in our day-to-day life that are inspired by nature. How do you incorporate these concepts into your classroom? And how do you get students excited to learn more about it? In this last of our three-part “Inspiring Young Scientists” series, world renowned anatomist, Dr. Joy Reidenberg, and Megan Schuknecht, from the Biomimicry Institute, will join us to present ideas about the science within nature!

Register Now

3 Weeks Left for Submissions for the 13th Annual Digies Digital Media Arts Festival

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We are very excited for another year of celebrating student achievements in digital media arts. Submissions are open until April 1st and are online at http://digies.org. If you need an account to submit on behalf of a student, please contact Brian Mayer at bmayer@gvboces.org.

As a reminder, the DIGIES is a FREE, digital arts festival that celebrates youth achievements in digital arts, media and production. Submissions are open to school age children and young adults, from Pre-Kindergarten until 12th grade and are accepted through schools, arts councils or public libraries.

If you are in a school district, please take a moment to share the attached materials with your arts and technology teachers as well as students who you know are doing work on their own.

Submissions are open to both school projects and personal work. If you have digital artists, photographers, musicians or content creators then this is a great way to recognize and celebrate the work they are doing.

Submissions do not need to have been created special for the Digies and anything made from April 2nd of last year until April 1st of this year are welcome. The Digies will be celebrated on the evening of May 16th.

ALA Leadership Institute Application Deadline Extended

BlogPosts Professional Development

The deadline to apply for the 2019 ALA Leadership Institute, “Leading to the Future,” has been extended until March 15.

The institute will take place August 5-8 at the Hilton Oak Brook/Chicago Conference Center and Resort in Oak Brook, IL and costs $1,650 per participant. This cost includes training, materials, lodging, breakfast and lunch on all four days, dinner on Wednesday, and a free one-year membership to the Library Leadership And Management Association (LLAMA).

Click here for information and a link to the application.

LOC Summer Teacher Institutes Deadline is Sunday

BlogPosts Professional Development

Immerse yourself in the practice of teaching with primary sources from the unparalleled collections of Library of Congress this summer at the Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institute. Apply to attend a week-long professional development program for K-12 educators in the nation’s capital.

In 2019, the Library will offer three Institute weeks:

Open Sessions (any subject area): July 8-12; July 29-Aug 2
Science, Technology, and Engineering Focus: July 15-19

Yes, we know it’s short notice —  the application Deadline is Sunday, March 10, 2019!

Click here for information and application info.

2019 ALA Annual Conference Info

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Registration is now open for the 2019 ALA Annual Conference. This year’s conference will be held in Washington, D.C. from June 20-25. A preliminary schedule of conference programs will be available in April 2019.

ALA Annual Conference registration includes:

  • 500+ educational programs, discussions, and workshops on key topics
  • World-renowned speakers and experts
  • Pre-conferences for in-depth professional development
  • Entrance to the exhibits where 800+ exhibitors at 1,500 stands highlight new and favorite products, titles, and services—one-stop shopping for everything your library needs
  • The opportunity for you to present a paper or poster
  • Meetings and events such as Opening and Closing General Sessions and ALA President’s Program
  • Dozens of social and fun events
  • Access to the International Visitor’s Center and Internet Café and WIFI—online access so you can stay in touch
  • A free ticket to the popular International Librarians Reception (for full conference registrants)
  • and more.

You can register online at: http://2019.alaannual.org/registration/register-now