If you read last week's blog, you know that May 13 - 17 was hectic. The success of many of these endeavors lies with the organizers behind the scene who have been planning for weeks and months to make it happen. Today's blog post is a great big thank you card to people who work tirelessly to run these memorable days and evenings. I'm doing this because of a tweet I saw mid-week. I retweeted it, not intending it for myself, but I received a wonderful DM from Zelia Capitao-Tavares that gave me such a boost that I had to pay it forward, in multiple ways.
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| These are just some of the thank you roses I need to give! |
Monday, May 13, 2019 - Mediacy Podcast on VoicEd Radio
Thank you Stephen Hurley, Denise Colby, Carol Arcus and Neil Andersen!
Would you agree to be on a radio show, knowing that the next day was your teacher evaluation? Denise Colby did. A week before, I sent a message to my long-time friend asking her if she'd be willing to be a guest on the VoicEd program, "Mediacy". Without hesitation, she agreed. Things didn't quite go off without a hitch - Denise's computer chose that exact time to reboot. This is where I need to thank the "radio pro" Stephen Hurley, who was as cool as a cucumber considering that we were live on the air and Denise's computer was playing havoc with the audio. We chatted until Denise's technical difficulties were resolved and she jumped right in. Stephen extended the show to forty-five minutes and even invited us back again to continue the conversation. Big kudos go to Carol and Neil, the usual speakers on "Mediacy", who were so supportive and encouraging.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 - Forest of Reading Festival of Trees at Harbourfront
Thank you Diana Hong, Lisa Daley, Ontario Library Association, volunteers and assorted authors!
In 2018, I attended the Festival of Trees but worked the entire time at the Research Station. In 2017, I sent my students and staff without me. This year, I experienced the fair in the most wonderful way - wandering around with students! I drove three students down to Harbourfront ahead of time so they could be on stage for the 10:00 am Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award ceremony. I drove six students back because our school bus left right at 2:00 pm and some of our students were part of the official ceremony for the Silver Birch Express Award ceremony. In between was a wonderful time seeing teacher-librarian friends from across the province, chatting with OLA staffers, visiting authors, glimpsing the action on the lawn stage (Drag Queen Story Time! Hoop Dancers! Mike Ford!) and enjoying the pleasant weather. I wish I had time to savor the TCAF tent or talk more at length with colleagues I don't see often enough, but I'm so grateful for the opportunity, brief as it was at times.
There are almost too many people to thank! My friend Ruth Gretsiger (pictured above) was on one of the many Forest of Reading selection committees - they choose the books. My friend Kate Tuff was one of the many members of the Forest of Reading steering committees - they plan the festival. The staff of the OLA (mentioned in the third tweet - people like Emily, Shelagh, Lauren, Meredith, and more) take care of many of the logistics. Diana Hong, Lisa Daley, and another teacher (who prefers online privacy) should be thanked for being so organized on the school side of things; from fixing bus lists, collecting forms, setting up groups to creating information packages for the parent volunteers, they thought of everything. The presence of the authors make the event truly special. My students asked me, "Do you know everyone? Is everyone your friend?" - but that's just how genuine and giving the authors are when you exchange a few words. (Liam O'Donnell is an exception - an author and personal friend.) Shout-out to Kevin Sylvester, especially for his (and Eric Walters') public support to the education and library communities by objecting to the recent cuts by the provincial government.
Thursday, May 16, 2019 - Track and Field Day
Thank you Renee Keberer, Kerri Commisso, Diana Hong, parent volunteers and Agnes Macphail PS Staff!
The competition was postponed three times due to inclement weather and poor field conditions, but it finally happened! To make things even more pressure-filled, the Yearbook Committee (Renee and I) needed all clubs and teams photos taken and inserted by Tuesday, May 21. The Track and Field Committee met immediately after the event to hammer out the representatives for our Track and Field Team at Birchmount Park C.I. ASAP so we'd have names and faces for the spot in the yearbook. It's a tiring day but for many students, Track and Field Day is their day to shine. For others, the same event is fraught with disappointment, anxiety, and meltdowns, and the teachers supervising each station and the support staff and volunteers helped a lot to comfort those in distress and make it as enjoyable as possible.
Thursday, May 16, 2019 - STEAM Family Night #amsteam2019
Thank you Farah Wadia, Tina Voltsinis, Jennifer Balido-Cadavez, Lisa Daley, Grade 8 helpers, Parent Council and Agnes Macphail PS Staff!
No rest for the wicked! That very same day, the second annual Family STEAM Night was held. This year, we focused on a "wicked problem" and all the stations dealt with the same topic - how do we deal with all the plastic in the world?
Once again, the event was a hit! There may not have been as many activities for the very youngest of community members but school-aged learners and their parents made pledges to reduce plastic consumption using green screen, designed ocean clean-up prototypes (and tested them in our "mock oceans"), wove milk bags into birthing mats, transformed old t-shirts into grocery bags, and used plugged and unplugged coding methods to guide each other to wiser purchasing choices that reduce plastic consumption.
I was so busy showing students how to use the sewing machines on those t-shirt bags that I had no time to take any photos! Thank goodness we had a Twitter contest and others grabbed visual evidence from the evening! The Grade 8 students volunteering at my station (A, V, and E) were fantastic and so devoted to helping youngster cut fabric. Thank you Value Village Markham for donating the shirts - that was the only way we were able to satisfy the demand! Also thanks to Eco and Amour for coming to sell zero-waste products.
Friday, May 17, 2019 - TDSB East Silver Birch Quiz Bowl
Thank you Tracey Davies, Alexander Stirling PS, Allison Brandt, Berner Trail Jr PS, Lindsay McKeag, David Lewis PS, Kim Davidson, Military Trail PS, Jackie Burrell, Percy Williams Jr PS, Sara Uddin, CD Farqharson Jr PS, Taunya xxxx, General Crerar PS, Jackie Dixon, Emily Carr PS, and author Rob Laidlaw!
I didn't realize that this was the tenth anniversary of this event as it currently looks today. I only discovered or remembered this because something very exciting happened for Agnes Macphail PS - we actually won the non-fiction competition! (The prize is a book, designed by Claire Perrin, where the winning time signs their names; as I looked through the book, I saw that the very first page was dated 2009.) Winning is not usually a big deal to me - most of the joy comes from getting together with other schools, enjoying ice cream from the ice cream truck (thank you Allison for saving the day on that score with your quick contacts!) and getting an author visit. This event could not and cannot take place without these fantastic teacher-librarians (and the helpful teachers, like Macphail's own Joanna Leong) who bring kids on buses, prepare questions and supervise groups. I was super thankful for my "TL crew" because I hadn't finished writing questions for two of my four books; they gave me space and time (and pencil and paper) to let me get my contribution completed in time in the back of the gym. Sara - the banner is beautiful. Jackie - the buzzers are perfect. Special thanks to Principal Matthew Webbe and VP Kelly Funston who opened up their school to us, allowed us access to change rooms, the gym, and yard space (as well as granting permission to park an ice cream truck in front of school property).
I'm grateful for the chance to recharge my batteries this Victoria Day weekend and truly grateful to toil with such dedicated, hard-working, wonderful individuals. Thank you for making it memorable!
