Roller Girl

My goal for the upcoming school year is to integrate more technology in the library.  I’m going to record the book talks I give and publish them as podcasts.  Then a QR code bookmark in the book will link right to the podcast so students can listen to the book talk while browsing and decide if they want to check it out.

Roller Girl  by Victoria Jamieson barely needs a book talk; following Smile, Sisters, and El Deafo, you just need to say the magic words “full colour graphic novel with a female protagonist” and it flies off the shelf!

roller girl

Summer Reading

Summer Reading Stack

It’s nearing the halfway point of summer and I am halfway through the stack of books I brought home to read.  Read on the left, unread on the right.  So far the standout was “Rain Reign” by Ann. M. Martin.  If you can get your hands on it, DO, it’s an absolutely beautiful story!

Turning over a new leaf

It has been over a year since I last wrote on this blog, mostly because I wasn’t sure what I wanted it to become.

Last spring I applied for teacher-librarian positions at Confederation Park and University Highlands, and got both.  I was thrilled to be starting a new chapter of my career, especially so soon after finishing my diploma last December.  But my excitement was dampened by the fact that we were going on strike and the end of the school year was uncertain.  I said goodbye to my class, not sure when I was going to see them next or when I was going to pack up my classroom.

No one expected to be out as long as we were (two weeks in June and three in September) but the time on the picket line allowed me to meet members of my new staff at University Highlands and get to know my staff at Confederation Park even better.  When we came back to work we all jumped right into the school year!

The learning curve for my new position was quite steep and I had to adjust to being at two schools.  Fortunately, at Confed I know most of the students, but I had over 200 names to learn at Highlands!  It also took some time to get used to the pace in the library.  It is nice that there is some quiet time when I don’t have classes, but there is always something to be done!  When I do have multiple classes in a row, it can be a bit of a whirlwind, especially having to switch my mindset and way of interacting from Kindergarten to Grade 6/7.

Now that I have been through a full school year in the library, I think I’ve decided what I want mscollinslovesbooks to become.  I have library blogs at each school to share events happening in the libraries, so this blog will become a space for my own thoughts and musings, funny anecdotes, as well as a place to keep my digital creations.  One of my goals for next year is to integrate technology more in the library, so stay tuned to see what I come up with.

Over the summer I plan to change the look of this site and archive the old posts from my classroom, so that come September it is ready for a new year.  I really do love my new job, and while I am looking forward to the relaxation of summer, I am also very excited for next year.