Follow the ETFOSA16 Path to Excellence

3 days (July 12-14, 2016)
8 different school boards represented
12 subway stops to get there (from Warden to Sherbourne)
16 participants

Add it together and you get a lot of learning. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario's Summer Academy 2016, otherwise known as #etfosa16 (session #61) was a fabulous opportunity for me and my co-facilitator, Melissa Jensen, to learn alongside teacher-librarians from Simcoe County DSB, York Region DSB, Halton DSB, Toronto DSB, Peel DSB, Hamilton-Wentworth DSB, Thames Valley DSB, and York Catholic DSB.

The foundation of our session was the 2014 Canadian Library Association document, Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for Library Learning Commons in Canada. It really does have something for everyone and the participants appreciated having the time to read it in depth and use it as a guide for moving forward in improving their own space and program.

We were also fortunate to have guest speakers come to visit and share.
On Day 1, Katina Papulkas and Elina Man came on behalf of TVOntario.
On Day 2, Ramy Ghattas from Logics Academy brought Dash and Dot robots for us to explore.
On Day 3, Andrew Woodrow-Butcher from Little Islands Comics / The Beguiling and Arden Hagedorn from Another Story Bookshop let us shop on location and discussed the importance of independent local booksellers.

Elina, Diana, Katina, Melissa

Andrew

Arden

My favourite photo of Ramy from ETFOSA16

Melissa was a joy to co-present with, because she is so organized and flexible. We didn't "rehearse" yet we fell into a comfortable rhythm, taking turns to speak and complementing each others' strengths. I was grateful for the malleable structure we created, because it gave the participants a chance to have a say in what they wanted to address. I learned so much from all the participants and sessions. I loved having the opportunity to sit and "talk shop" with teacher-librarians from other school boards. They brought refreshing new perspectives. Our "new to the field" teacher-librarians that came also brought excellent ideas. My own big AHA was Canva - I'm really excited about trying to make some library infographic reports using this online tool.

Group shot on the final day

Thank you so much Sue, Joanne, Karen, Lisa, Elisabeth, Renae, Sue Mac, Sean, Kim, Rahima, Anonella, Cathie, Sara, Marilyn and Rhonda for three days of fun learning. Stay in touch!