Swimming with Hilary Greenebaum

Last Thursday we were fortunate to have Dr Hilary Greenebaum come visit us in the north to present her conference workshop "Do you swim with sharks or dolphins?" Hillary has much experience and wisdom to share, and I was delighted to hear her talk about effective library management, development and communication in such a practical way.
The message that resonated most strongly for me was that I need to understand senior management better and find ways to promote a positive partnership rather than just expecting it to happen. I have to plan, do, reflect, evaluate, learn and share in a focused way that supports student learning and achievement.
As often is with workshops there was some new learning and some reinforcing of prior knowledge. It's always good to be reminded that you are on the right track, even if sometimes you are running and sometimes stopping for a chat.
Thank you Hilary for taking the time to come and talk to us, we appreciate your visit.

Term 4 2011 meeting with Dr Hilary Greenebaum

Just a reminder about the SLANZA meeting this Thursday afternoon - 17th November, after school at Whangarei Boys' High School Library with Dr Hilary Greenebaum - see post below . The Wednesday meeting at Taipa Area School will not be going ahead this term - we are looking to offer this workshop in the Far North in 2012.

Hilary is coming up from Auckland for the meeting. I have heard her and think she has important messages about effective library management, development and communication, and her workshop at the SLANZA Conference was very well received.

I hope we can develop the culture in the North of making the most of library professional development opportunities as part of our performance planning / review / appraisal process - library staff and TLRs need to request it and do it when opportunities arise, Principals need to expect it of their staff and support it… and the organisers need participants in order to keep on creating events!

Professional development adds to your kete of knowledge, sparks new ideas, confirms existing practice, challenges you to raise your game, provides opportunities to network with others and to contribute your point of view and expertise to the school library community of which you are an important member…

Come and share some afternoon tea, hear a warm and engaging speaker, think about your library and strategies to make it more effective, and flock together with your library colleagues...

Report to National Executive

This weekend I am off to a SLANZA National Executive Meeting.

Most concerning to our profession is the future of School Libraries and who manages them. Some around the country are under threat and the government and ministry aren't yet prepared to make a stand regarding a 'national standard' for school libraries. I emailed all members last month asking for any information regarding threats to services or hours in our area, and have had no response, therefore assuming that things are settled at the moment. It is important for the National Executive to have concrete evidence when working with such a vital issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns at all lsalter@ruawaicollege.school.nz.


Below is my regional report for Te Tai Tokerau for your information. Any questions or suggestions are most welcome. Thank you to everyone who has supported SLANZA this year. I look forward to seeing many of you at our last event of the year next week with Dr Hilary Greenebaum from Softlink to giving us her presentation "Do you swim with sharks or dolphins ?!"

Te Tai Tokerau Report 2011

Professional Development

Our region was well represented at Conference this year and we are grateful to the National Executive for sponsoring two members attendance. All felt it a very worthwhile experience and commend the committee and St Cuthbert’s for the great atmosphere and smooth running of the event.

In Term 3 we invited Bob Docherty http://bobsbooksnz.wordpress.com/ to speak at two after school sessions and made him available to schools during the day to assist with costs. As it turned out, Bob’s plane was unable to land in Kerikeri or Whangarei and after some scary landing attempts, the plane went back to Auckland and he was bussed up. Because of this Bob was unable to keep his appointments in the far north. He did attend his Whangarei engagements and I was fortunate to attend a packed after school session at Whangarei Girls’ High School. Bob’s enthusiasm is contagious and his recommendations are spot on, making for much discussion and book shopping afterwards. Thank you to the National Executive for making money available for the regions to host speakers of this quality.

We have an event planned in Term 4 with Hillary Greenebaum repeating her conference workshop “Do you swim with sharks or dolphins?” in Taipa and again in Whangarei. We felt that her session was well worth sharing with those who were unable to attend in July and Hillary has been gracious in combining her visit with other work to keep costs down.

Communication

As well as emailing everything to our membership mailing list we are using the Te Tai Tokerau blog Te Tai Tokerau blog share information. The blog is growing and with encouragement has been updated by various members who have found this a useful and friendly introduction to blogging and this new ownership has impacted on their following of the blog. With Jeannie Skinner’s direction we also have four online communities at National Library Services to Schools Northland Networks, Northland PD Day, Northland registered librarians and Moving on : young fiction. Jeannie is promoting these every chance she gets throughout the region.

Advocacy

The Northland Secondary School’s PD day in August had a strong focus on Advocacy with links to documents and resources posted on our Online Community. The clear message was that we must consider the future and how we can best provide services that keep our libraries relevant in changing times.

2011 has been an active year in our region, although our numbers are small our enthusiasm to provide the best service we can to our schools is huge. I am grateful to Jeannie Skinner, secretary, the local committee and the National Executive for their support and guidance.

Lisa Salter

Te Tai Tokerau

SLANZA NE

2012 Auckland Writers and Readers Festival Line Up

International authors, local authors, songwriters all in one place ready to impress your students. $10.00 per person and a programme that caters to schools and school hours. Inspire and reward your best readers. This is a wonderful opportunity for the School Library to take the lead - don't let the English department steal this from you!

I talk to the English teachers and chose a select group of students who had earned the privilege of attending. This trip an opportunity to extend and encourage our Gifted and Talented students. I gathered the students well in advance to offer them the opportunity and asked them to have read at least one book by one of the authors (I support this by ordering additional copies from National Library and our local public library). This is an excellent tactic as we discovered that we really loved the author’s books and connected much better to the presentations.

One thing that really supported our school this year was our successful application to the Festival’s generous Schools’ Transport Fund. They paid for our transport!

So start planning now. Get approval from whoever you need to and get your teachers excited. I just take the school van, but Auckland schools fill the isles. Let's see Northland filling a few seats as well.

Check out their website: www.writersfestival.co.nz

May 9 & 10 2012 at Aotea Centre

LOVE, LIES, GHOSTS, JOKES AND BOMBS: A ROLLERCOASTER OF WRITING AND READING

We're pleased to announce the following authors for the 2012 Programme: Emily Rodda (Aus), Mal Peet (UK), Roddy Doyle (Ire), Oliver Jeffers (US), Eoin Colfer* (Ire) and local luminaries Fleur Beale, Ben Sanders, DJ Connell* (NZ/UK).

Wednesday 09 May - Years 7 to 10 and Thursday 10 May - Years 9 - 13

Sessions run between 10am and 2pm and are 45 minutes long. There will also be writing workshops for smaller groups. Student tickets cost $10 per day. Teachers are free. Schools can also apply for travel grants.

If you would like us to post you a full brochure in February 2012 please email schools@writersfestival.co.nz and put "Schools Programme Please" in the subject line (making sure you supply your name, school, year/age of students, email, phone and physical address). The brochure will also be available as a downloadable PDF from our website from the beginning of Term 1. Applications for the Schools Transport Fund will be open from March 2012.

The Auckland Writers & Readers Festival Schools Programme is now in its fourth year and has proven to be a keenly anticipated event for intermediate and secondary school students and teachers. We are committed to educating and inspiring young readers and writers. This programme is a prime opportunity for students to connect with the people behind the books and to learn more about the craft of writing and develop their skills as readers. Writers are keen to interact with students and answer their questions.

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact the festival office on 09 376 8074 or email us at schools@writersfestival.co.nz. We look forward to welcoming you to the 2012 Auckland Writers & Readers Festival.