This past week was Holiday Central: Easter for Christians, the continuation of Ramadan for Muslims, Passover for Jews, Vaisakhi for Sikhs, Puthandu for Tamils and Hindus ...
If any of these holidays involve family celebrations for you, it's quite clear that it takes the effort of more than a single person to make it a wonderful event. There have been several non-holiday milestones that have occurred recently that would not have been possible without a team of people working together.
1) The creation of a Library Ad Hoc Committee in ETT
It has taken years but finally, at the All General Meeting held on April 13, 2022 for the Elementary Teachers of Toronto, a motion was brought to the floor to establish a Library Ad Hoc Committee, and it passed!
This is the original text of the motion:
Mover: Wendy Burch Jones Seconder: Diana Maliszewski
Whereas thirty years of international research have established that the active presence and
participation of qualified library staff make a significant positive difference in student academic
achievement; and
Whereas school libraries are critical to successful online learning, ensuring students achieve
curriculum objectives, and curating the digital and print resources students need to succeed;
and
Whereas cuts to library staffing across the province continue to be a troubling trend;
Move that ETT establish an Ad Hoc Library Committee to support teacher-librarian members
and advocate for libraries and librarianship in our school communities.
I was pleased to be the seconder of this important motion but due to time constraints, I was unable to see it through to its completion. Huge thanks to fellow teacher-librarian Andrea Kwok for stepping up and becoming the new seconder. I am told it nearly passed unanimously, with 92% voting in favour.
Thank you to all the attendees of the ETT AGM that voted to support the creation of this committee. Thank you to Lisa, Kate, Moyah and Wendy, who offered when asked to be part of the committee even before it was a reality. Thank you to the ETT executive officers who read our email requests and attempted to bring up the topic at the ETT executive meetings. Big thanks to Johanna Lawler who paved the way when she helped establish a Library Ad Hoc Committee in her local union and publicly documented the process so others could follow.
2) The relaunch of the Forest of Reading Quiz Bowl
It will be smaller than in the past, and shorter, and virtual, but the Quiz Bowl is back! Big thanks to Kim at Military Trail P.S., Salma at Percy Williams Jr. P.S. and Jennifer at Macklin P.S. for taking the leap and agreeing to participate. Thanks to Martha Martin and Jennifer Brown for helping us to book Leslie Gentle as our guest author.
I realized that I've never shared the document that the early adopters created to explain how Quiz Bowl is organized. I will reproduce it here (especially so I can cite it in a research paper I'm co-writing - see point #4).
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TDSB NE4 FoS
Annual Silver Birch Quiz Bowl
Procedures
A Brief History
The Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Awards were created in 1994. 2005 was the first year that several schools in our “family” gathered together to celebrate the Silver Birch Awards. 2009 was the first year that we incorporated a “quiz bowl” element to the festivities. The first NE4 Silver Birch Quiz Bowl was held at Whitehaven Jr. P.S. and Brookside P.S hosted the second. The prize, two silver booklets created by Claire Perrin (one for fiction, one for non-fiction) is kept at the winning school for a year and the winning team members write their names in it as a record of their victory.
Team Formation and Regulations
Every school that chooses to participate sends a team of students. There can be a fiction team and a non-fiction team as two separate groups.
The number of students on a school’s team cannot exceed ten. There can be less.
Every student team member is responsible for knowing 1-2 books well. Students should be aware of their focus books.
Teacher-Librarian Requirements and Restrictions
The teacher-librarian of a participating school is expected to create quiz bowl questions. The amount of books a teacher-librarian has to prepare questions for is determined by the amount of participating schools. Usually ten questions per book will suffice. Non-fiction book questions are most often created as multiple-choice questions due to the heavy content.
Teacher-librarians are forbidden from using the exact Quiz Bowl questions they prepare with their students ahead of time.
Competition Day Procedures
Buzzers (from Eggspert) are set up at the front of the room / stage.
Depending on the number of schools participating, there may be two buzzer systems set up with questions alternating between the two tables. (There are six buzzer spots for each Eggspert system.)
When the book title is announced, the students responsible for representing their school for that book come forward to sit in front of their buzzer. The teacher that has created the questions is the question reader. Another teacher is used as the spotter, to see which buzzer colour answers first (it is very clear, as the first one in blocks all others from answering, but it still helps the flow). Another teacher is responsible for keeping score. One point is given for each correct answer. Scores are not announced.
After all ten books have been quizzed, the scorekeeper comes forward to announce the runner up and the winner.
Other Logistics to the Day
Author Visit = Usually, we arrange to have one or two authors come to talk to the students. The cost of the author is shared equally among all schools (so if an author costs $500 and 10 schools came to the Quiz Bowl, each school regardless of the number of children they bring would pay $50). The author is booked through Authors Booking Service, an organization run by Marsha Skrypuch and Valerie Sherrard. When possible, we try to arrange to have some of the author’s books for sale and for autographing. Books are arranged through Tinlids, a company run by Maria Martella. Students are only allowed to receive autographs in proper autograph books or in books they have bought / brought by the author – scraps of paper are NOT allowed.
Transportation = Depending on which school is the host; other schools can choose to walk, take the TTC or book a school bus. Many schools will pair up to share a school bus.
Lunch = Because this is often an all-day event, students must bring a lunch. The host school provides a space for the visiting students to eat. The event usually runs from 10-2.
Other Activities = We try to make the day more active by doing different things. In our first year, each school created and performed a Silver Birch chant. In our second year, we all learned the “Gotta Keep Reading” song and sang together. The nature of these other activities will be determined by the NE4 planning committee that assembles each year.
Cost = Costs depend on the divided cost of the author and the transportation method.
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3) The relaunch of the Red Maple Marketing Campaign
Different group, similar concept - Samantha at David Lewis P.S. and Jennifer at Macklin P.S. will join me this year in coordinating the relaunch of this event, which was last held in 2019. Again, Martha and Jennifer have assisted us with obtaining the wonderful Philippa Dowding (who actually was our guest for Quiz Bowl back in 2012!). I have my fingers crossed that the advertising company that has provided our judges will continue to support us in making this an authentic experience for our Grade 7-8 student teams.
Below is the document that explains the process.
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TDSB (NE4) ER19-ER20 FoS
Annual Red Maple Marketing Celebration
Procedures
A Brief History
The Ontario Library Association’s Red Maple Awards were created in 1998, (with the first Red Maple Non-Fiction prize awarded in 2005). 2012 was the first year that the former NE4 Family of Schools held a joint celebration. The schools that attended the inaugural event were: Agnes Macphail P.S., Banting and Best P.S., Brookside P.S., Mary Shadd P.S., Milliken P.S. and Thomas L. Wells P.S. and it was held at the Malvern Branch of the Toronto Public Library.
Team Formation and Regulations
Every school that chooses to participate sends a team of students.
The number of students on a school’s team cannot exceed ten. There can be less. More can work on the project at school but lack of space means only ten can represent the project on the actual day.
Every student team member will have contributed somehow to the creation of their group’s Marketing Campaign.
Guidelines and Process
(Times will be underlined.)
The coordinator and planning committee select a date, site (if different from the traditional Toronto Public Library partnership) and Red Maple author visitor. This task should occur in March if consulting with potential school participants, and earlier if pre-selected by the committee.
Schools contact the designated coordinator and indicate that they agree to participate. A firm commitment must be made by the week after March Break. Individual schools can determine how it will run (e.g. a class as part of a media assignment, a club on a voluntary basis, etc.)
The coordinator randomly draws names of the nominated Red Maple titles from that year and assigns them to participating schools. The schools are notified via email about their chosen title, at least six weeks prior to the actual event.
Schools groups / teams will devise a marketing campaign for the book they are assigned. The learning goal is to create an effective advertising / marketing campaign. The list of criteria is left open so that teams can be as innovative and creative as possible.
Schools will submit their entry fee to the coordinator or chosen committee member about three weeks prior to the event. The cost will depend on the number of schools participating, the fee the visiting author charges, and whether or not the visit is subsidized. The entry fee may be used to pay for the author visit, purchasing good paper for participation certificates, prizes for the winning team, food and/or other incidentals. A breakdown of the costs incurred will be included on the receipt issued to every school that pays. (In the past, the entry fee was about $50 per school.)
The judging will be conducted by objective third party members. The judging committee will consist of an odd number of adults, with at least one representative from a marketing firm or advertising agency. Judges should be invited in early March if at all possible to confirm availability.
Teachers will coordinate the use and transportation of any supplies or resources their student groups will need as part of their marketing campaign. Because the Toronto Public Library’s wireless Internet access is not always compatible with TDSB tools or reliable, it is recommended that non-Internet-reliant methods be used (e.g. save your video on a memory stick / take screen shots of the Twitter hashtag use / bring your own laptops). Field trip forms will be available for teachers to submit to their principals (Form 511A) and to the participating students (Form 511C) three weeks prior to the event.
On the day of the event, teachers will bring their student groups to the host site (via car, TTC, bus, walking, or whatever method deemed best). Students will set up their materials on reserved tables. At some point during the day, everyone will have a “gallery walk” to examine all the projects. Time will be allotted for lunch. (Students must bring their own packed lunch, unless otherwise instructed; an ice cream vendor will be present for dessert sales.) Time will also be given to our author visit.
During the official “Campaign Pitch”, each group will have no more than five minutes to present their campaign.
Near the end of the day of the event, students will receive certificates of participation and the judges will announce an overall winner, as well as any honourable mentions. The winning group will receive a token prize (either donated books, gift cards to book stores, or movie passes).
Either the day of the event or shortly thereafter, each group will receive written feedback from the judges on their campaigns.
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4) The assembly of a cross-division research team for TMC7
I absolutely adored working with Mark, Dawn, Wafaa, Kim, and Wendy on the TDSB Library Expected Practices document update project back in June-July 2021. What I especially appreciated was the understanding that grew between the elementary and secondary teacher-librarians about the unique roles they play in their schools. I've been itching for an opportunity to work with some of those talented TLs again (and you can see from point #1 that Wendy and I have been busy, and not just with union projects). While chatting with my friend Sarah Wheatley, whom I've been learning with and from since 2014, we discussed the possibility of investigating how elementary and secondary school library professionals could work together. I've alluded last week to this endeavor, which is inspired by the much bigger, much more well funded Ontario School Library Impact Project. Thanks to Dawn and Sarah W, as well as Sarah R from OLA who acted as an advisor, for discussing it at a lunch meeting on April 14 and agreeing to see what we three could do. In addition to the TMC7 paper I'm writing about the Forest of Reading (ergo the need to publish those documents so they could be cited), I'm excited to attempt this inquiry as well.
5) The return of the Early ON preschoolers to the school library
I am delighted by the return of the 2-4 year old learners to the school library. Miss Kitty, the Early ON program coordinator for our area, met with me and together we figured out a way to squeeze time together. It's shorter than our previous collaborations (15 minutes instead of 40 minutes) but we are ensuring that the time is chock-full of meaningful moments. Big thanks to Jennifer Cadavez for brainstorming with me ways to infuse literacy, social skills and school routines into such a brief time slot. Thanks also to Connie Chan for combing her resources to offer suggestions and to Steve Tong for allowing me to steal items from his kindergarten class to use. It's been a lot of fun so far.
