Wellington Regional Report for AGM 2014

After our AGM last year held at Wellington College, thank you Brent, the Wellington Committee ran a very successful Slanza National Conference. After 2 years of planning, meetings and very hard work the 2013 Slanza National conference was held at Wellington Girls College in July.  Even though the weather tried to stop delegates from arriving, an excellent conference was enjoyed by all. We had 215 delegates, 55 of those were first time attendees. The author’s breakfasts were well attended, as well as the dinner at the spectacular Te Papa.  The workshop timetable was full with a variety of workshops.  The trade stand space was full and the trade people said they had a very good conference. Eventually after everyone had left and the committee had finally sat down we found we had made a small profit which we sent to National Executive for the next conference in Christchurch in 2015.

Overall it was an amazing experience to be part of the organising committee one which I would recommend to anyone. Even though it seems a monumental task when you begin, with a great team you can achieve it.

Our next event in term 3 was at Scots College. Thank you Sue, Sue reprised her workshop that she had presented entitled ‘Bring the boys in’. Also we had two people talk about their conference experiences as they were recipients of the free registration that we offered.

Our term 4 meeting was held at Tawa Intermediate, thank you Elaine. We had 3 more recipients of the free registration talk about their experiences at conference.  We also farewelled Linda Forbes, long time National Library representative.  We also said thanked and farewelled Michelle Whiting the outgoing Chair of Wellington region. We were very lucky to have Michele’s wealth of experience as a Principal as the head of our conference committee. Then Karen Clarke, took over the Chair of Wellington region.

This year we started off with our term 1 event which was held at Raroa Intermediate, thank you Clare. the event started with a presentation to Adaire Hannah of  her Life Membership Badge for her efforts on behalf of Slanza and the Wellington region. We then listened to Matt McGregor regarding Creative Commons issues.  A lively discussion enthused after his talk suggesting that we found the ideas he presented fascinating.

The main project for the Wellington committee this year as all regions is the Membership Drive. Membership of Slanza has fallen over the last few years.  There are many reasons for this including funding cuts to libraries, libraries being shut, staffing of libraries, lack of a National Library presence in regions and lack of transparent communication by National Executive.

Being the Wellington National Executive representative for Wellington I hope you will find that we have rectified that concern.

 Our committee has contacted all non-member schools in the Wellington region and we will be bring them up to date with the advantages of being a slanza member.

As Bridget Schaumann the President of Slanza stated ‘ Slanza is all about community.  the membership fee of $50 has not gone up in 12 years. For that fee you get regularly meetings with people who do what you do, who work at a similar coalface as you do and have the same work problems you do’

The Wellington committee is committed to providing the Wellington region professional Development opportunities each term that is relevant to school libraries.  We know there are concerns regarding time constraints and distance travelled for our members and this is taken into consideration when organizing an event. In the coming year we intend to have events throughout the Wellington region and I hope to see many new faces at each event.


NE report 2014 AGM

At the last AGM it was reported that Michele Whiting had stepped down from the NE rep role and Karen Clarke had filled that role.  Each year as the NE rep you attend three weekend meetings during the year.  Usually held in March, July and November.  Since the last AGM NE has:

1.    Seen Fiona Mackie s handover the Presidents role to Bridget Schaumann

2.    NE was involved with the National Reading Initiative by attending the Creating Readers hui in Auckland.

3.    We presented the Slanza awards and Life memberships recognising excellence in school libraries.

4.    NE commented on the Ted Dawe ‘Into the river’ controversy

5.    NE published 3 editions of the online magazine Collected

6.    The NZ Education Gazette published an article entitled ‘The transformation of school libraries’ which NE was asked to participate.

7.    The online professional development has started and each course has been oversubscribed.

8.    During the year LIANZA and National Library visited and communicate with NE during the weekend meetings

9.    The Pool of Talent was started

10.  We commented on the closure of Learning Media

11.  We added a new registration resource to the website

12.  We were asked to participate in the Reading for Pleasure survey by the Book Council

13.  We notice the rise of MLE and are taking an interest in their development and how they include school libraries.

14.  We commented on the closure of schools and their libraries in Christchurch

15.  All regions in New Zealand have participated in the membership drive.

16.  Have presented the seed money to Aoraki in anticipation of the 2015 national conference to be held in Christchurch in September.

The National Executive  aims to strengthen and promote the role of school libraries, to enable all school communities to become information literate.

Karen Clarke
Chair- Wellington Region

After our AGM we had a brain testing quiz run by Clare Forrest and Marianne Dobie.  There were great prizes and some very funny responses to questions.  Great fun was had by all.  Thank you team for the convivial conversations, food and drink.

Hi Everyone,

People have asked who is on the committee:

Chair - Karen Clarke - St. Patricks College
Secretary - Joanna Ludbrook - Houghton Bay School
Treasurer - Robbie Wathne - Rongotai School
Christine Cross - Worser Bay School
Clare Forest - Raroa Intermediate
Jenny Carroll - Wellington Girls College
Katrina Young-Drew - National Library
Johanna Wicks - Otari School
Marianne Dobie - Chilton Saint James School
Rosalba Finnerty - Archivist - Samuel Marsden

Michele Whiting the principal of Corinna School, who was also the Chair of the Slanza Wellington Region, has sent me a fantastic video made by Mr. Liam Smiley's room 4 class all about the love of reading.  I am sure we all know the feeling when we cannot put a good book down.
https://drive.google.com/a/stpats.school.nz/file/d/0B7TJQYVydk6pTjdfQlotNkJRcWs/edit

On Wednesday, March the 19th the Wellington region gathered at Raroa Intermediate (thank you Clare Forrest) for our first event of the year. Last year Adaire Hannah received a Life Membership Award for her outstanding contribution to Slanza at our conference.  As well as receiving our recognition and a certificate the National Executive also wanted the Life members to receive a badge. Unfortunately the badge came too late to be presented at our conference.  So we started out meeting with a presentation to Adaire of her badge and a big Thank You from our region for all her efforts on behalf of Slanza and the school library community.

Then we sat back to listen to Matt McGregor from Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand.  In July 2010 Government accepted a proposal from NZGOAL (the New Zealand Government Open Access and Licensing framework) regarding the Government use of Creative Commons licenses for copyright works.  Matt enlightened us how this affects schools and in particular librarian's as we are often at the forefront in dealing with copyright issues.  It was a lively session with many people asking interesting and informative questions. For all of you who could not attend see this website: http://creativecommons.org.nz/2014/03/more-from-our-march-events/ 
It was a great turnout for our first meeting.  Hope to see you all at our next event in June.

We recently had a question about successful visits from Wellington based authors who would appeal to teenagers.  Here is the suggestions so far:

1. James Norcliffe
2. Kate De Goldie
3. Anna Mckenzie
4. Fifi Colston

If any one else has any more ideas please contact me.

We all know author visits are really popular with our students and a great way to raise the profile of your library.

Karen Clarke
St. Patrick's College

On Wednesday the 27th of November we celebrated the end of year of the school year with our Christmas meeting held at Tawa Intermediate Library.
As this was Michele Whiting's final meeting as Chair of the Wellington region we farewelled her with flowers and gifts.
Michele has been on the committee since 2007 and her contribution to Slanza and the region has been highly valued.  Her leadership during the 2013 conference held the committee together as we sailed the choppy waters of organisation.

Another farewell was for Linda Forbes who has been a great ambassador for the National Library in the Wellington Region.  She also served on the Slanza committee coming on at the same time as Michele in 2007.  Linda is moving to Melbourne and will be greatly missed.

We then listeneed to our final conference reports from our conference grant recipients.  Trish Nash of Corrina School spoke first.  She presented her feedback in a fairy tale form in a power point which was very entertaining.

Kristine Saunders of Dyer Street School spoke about how wonderful it was meeting all her library idols at the conference.  Also how it was good to put names to faces on the listserv.

Trish Hereaka of Rata Street School talked about how all the Keynotes really stimulated her into trying new things in her library.

We finished the event with a group discussion about movies and books.  Whether it is a good idea to make a good book into a great movie, does it work?  A great time was had by all in Elaine Smith's new library.  We all appreciated the movable shelving, quiet work area, lovely bright colours and very welcoming environment. Thank you Tawa Intermediate.

Conference – it seems so long ago but only 9 weeks

2 key things from conference

1.       The reinforcement of feeling that I am part of a profession – not just a nice convenient job to suit mums who still have kids at school – which is where I have been at for the last 10 years. It was the calibre of the keynote speakers that really reinforced this for me.

·         Tara Brabzon – what  a personality and so challenging in her thinking.  Statements such as :

o   Too many decisions about teaching and learning have been automated. By talking about kids and tech we have avoid talking about learning and teaching.

o   Balance between tech and education. If we stay where we are comfortable we don’t learn – need to be challenged. Tech should move use from our personal experience to the wider world. Aim of tech is not just speed and efficiency – to learn more, expand boundaries.

o   Learning is hard. Liking, tweeting is easy – move beyond it!

o   Don’t be limited by the platform (FB, twitter…). We need to be able to use all platforms. Be audience appropriate. Have ability to change platforms and/ or audiences with consciousness! Vocabulary to do so!

·         Erica McWilliam – The era of big data! The future isn’t what it used to be. It is not as we imagined in the 80s all about robots and big machines but about data and data transformation. It’s about knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do! From her came my favourite quote of the conference – in education we are no longer a sage on the stage or a guide on the side – we are a meddler in the middle!!

·         Cathy Wylie – her presentation of statistical evidence that reading matters – that it is not just about having the skills, it is about the habit and enjoyment of reading – young people reading because they want to not because they have to! She talked of collecting data on cognitive skills and attitudinal skills with a large group of children at different points in their life from 4 through to 20. Results showed that rich learning opportunities matter, that the strength of maternal qualifications and family income do influence outcomes. She spoke of print saturated environments being linked with children’s reading performance.

·         Andrew Fiu – An interesting man and I would well recommend reading his book Purple Heart which made me laugh but also stop and think.

·         Susan Sandretto – She spoke of changing literacy and the challenges involved. Of the information literacy skills needed to find, retrieve, analyse and use information. About making connections with multi-literacies and questioned ‘what counts as text?’ That we need information literate people  who can critically evaluate  information and its sources, who are willing to innovate and take risks. She talked about shifts in practise and the physical layout of libraries. The need to develop awareness of how texts affect how we think – not just the texts we read but also the texts we write!

2.       The second key thing from conference was the workshop Creating Kids Lit experts. Run by 2 wonderful ladies from Southwell School – Gerri Judkins and Julie Huggins. They have been involved with teams competing at national and international level and have hosted an international final. Their knowledge and willingness to share was wonderful. And when I say share I don’t just mean telling us about their experiences but also sharing the resources and ideas that they use with their Kids Lit teams. Without a doubt it is the ideas and resources from this workshop that I have taken back to school this term and used the most. I have used some of their ideas with my Kids Lit team – a shared google doc collecting books read and details of them e.g. illustrators, characters, settings….. Other ideas I have used with more than just the Kids Lit team  such as literary Pictionary. A wonderful workshop with such generous people and from what I heard many other workshops were the same.

And the difference this term? – I have been inspired and enthused both in working with students and in interacting with staff and management. I have a clearer view of the library’s role  and the librarian’s role in the school and have more tools and am better equipped to achieve these things and promote them among staff and management. 

'Bringing the Boys in'

Come along to Scots College to hear about Sue Esterman's experience in 'Bringing the boys in'.  Sue collaborated with Will Struthers, Head of Middle School English, on ways to encourage middle school students to read more. Sue and Will held a summer reading competition, linked to the website.  Students posted the books they read, with or without a short review and at the start of the year the winning students received rewards.
As well as this very interesting session two first time delegates will speak about their experiences of the conference.

Date: Wednesday 18th September 2013
Time: 3.45 for 4.00pm - 5.30pm
Place: Scots College Library, Monorgan Road, Strathmore, Wellington.

RSVP: mailto:estermans@scotscollege.school.nz

See you there!!  Slanza and non-Slanza members welcome

Thanks to the team at Lower Hutt  War Memorial Library for hosting our  first  Wellington Region SLANZA meeting for 2013.

Guest Speaker Mary McCallum, National Festival Co-ordinator of the 2013 New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards talked about what her role involves and how school libraries can help promote this annual event.  Librarians Susan Marshall (Chilton St James) and Jane Shallcrass (Wellington High School) followed by sharing library based activities they use to motivate and inspire reading, both in a primary and secondary school setting.

Wellington region SLANZA Treasurer, Lynn Walker, was farewelled  and presented with flowers and a gift, in appreciation for all the work she has done in the 7 years years she has been involved with SLANZA, 6 of those as Treasurer. Lynn’s enthusiasm and experience will be missed and we wish Lynn and her husband all the best for their new adventure in Auckland.

The meeting concluded with a group of us going out for dinner and experiencing the theatre and drama of classic Teppanyaki-style cooking at a local  Japanese restaurant – great food and dramatics!

SLANZA Wellington Region Meeting Wednesday 27 February 2013
War Memorial Library, Lower Hutt


Guest Speaker: Mary McCallum

Mary will talk about her role as National Festival Co-ordinator of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards.
Learn how school libraries can help promote this annual event which rewards excellence in children’s literature by recognising the best books for children and teenagers published annually in New Zealand


Need some practical ideas for planning a successful event to inspire reading?

Find out how other librarians use library based activities to motivate and inspire reading, both in a primary and secondary school setting.



Jane Shallcrass (Wellington High School) and Susan Marshall (Chilton St James) will share some ways they promote events such as NZ Post Book Awards, Library Week and Poetry Week.

Discussion groups will follow for sharing of ideas amongst your colleagues.



Worked up an appetite?

Join us at Ichiban Teppanyaki and experience the theatre of classic Teppanyaki-style cooking.

http://www.finda.co.nz/business/listing/qm51/ichiban-teppanyaki/

For large groups a set menu is recommended (please reply by RSVP date as needed for restaurant booking)

 

Time : 3.45pm for 4.00pm – 5.00pm (followed by dinner if you wish)

Place: Hutt City War Memorial Library- Mezzanine Floor, cnr Queens Drive & Woburn Road

             Parking –customer car park or free 2 Hour parking on Woburn Rd or Market Grove.

RSVP: by Friday 22nd February to Judith.McGhie@huttcity.govt.nz

Proudly support by Book Protection Products.