Ross Road Library Update – November 2013

Here’s the latest update from Ross Road teacher librarian Mme McAllister….
  • Adopt-a-Shelf will begin the week of November 12th. Ross Road families are invited to play a role in the heart of the school – the library – and commit 30 minutes per month to maintaining a well-organized shelf. This ensures that students can find the book they are looking for. Family names will be posted by the shelf they are maintaining. Please contact librarian Mme. McAllister to adopt-a-shelf: mmcallister@sd44.ca or drop in to the library for more information.
  • In the month of October alone students checked out 3095 books! This is a fabulous indication that Ross Road students ARE readers; the average is 6 books per students although the younger students tend to read shorter books and the older students read fewer but longer books.  I am seeking parent volunteers to assist with shelving. Even 10 or 20 minutes a week is a big help.
  • Close to 250 new books have arrived at our school library thanks to a very generous donation from the PAC. Many books have already been catalogued and are circulating; more will be available shortly. Criteria for selection of books includes: being aligned with curriculum goals, acquiring books which have high interest for students and/or continue in a series, student and teacher requests.
  • A digital projector has been installed in the library and a laptop configured to facilitate delivery of the most current information to support student learning. Again a generous donation from the PAC made this possible.
  • Thanks to the new digital projector, guest speaker and RR parent Kevin Vallely presented in the library his rowing experience through the Northwest Passage. Student learning was enriched as Mr. Vallely’s presentation incorporated many aspects of the Intermediate curriculum: climate change, animal adaptation, history, explorers, geography, survival, personal growth and challenge.
  • Our number of library monitors has increased to 14 young people. This is an excellent opportunity for grade 7 students to develop leadership skills as well as develop skills in a broad range of library tasks. These skills could later be used in grade 8 as “Teen Advisor” at the Lynn Valley Main Library.
  • A bulletin board with a student generated list of recommended books by grade level has been installed.
  • A student generated “Wish list” for new books has also been posted on the bulletin board.
  • A suggestion box for students to give input for any other aspect of library has been created. It will be Q and A format; both student questions and librarian answers will be posted.