​Hi all
Just a few things to keep you in the loop of SLANZA doings…
 
SCHOOL LIBRARIES TRANSFORM- Our campaign is quietly doing its business and although you may not see or hear about it- it is working. We have had great outcomes with the MoE, far better connections and opportunities with our partner organizations, articles published in well regarded magazines, and shortly we have regional trainings coming up with the Campaign theme as a base!

Keep up the talk, keep us informed, don’t let your school library lose its impact by the loss of funds, time or space that weigh over you! We matter because our kids do!

Don’t forget we have our conference coming up in October- I can’t wait- the speakers look amazing – (Shannon Hale) and some of the workshops have me bristling with curiosity.

Hopefully the work we are doing with the MoE will be ready to share with you at Conference as well and that is going to be so exciting as we highlight 12 of our libraries in Aotearoa schools and see what they are doing, how they do it and why they are flourishing. The feedback from this is going to impact hugely how we move forward with our campaign- especially as we lobby principals and Board of Trustees.

https://innovators.eventsair.com/slanza-2021/ is the link to Conference- GO!!!!

Conference is the just the best way to grow as a school librarian- the conversation you have- the feeling of being in a meaningful community- and just being encouraged by being with people who share your passion about your mahi- it is so empowering!

We also will have SLANZA Awards to celebrate our successful school libraries and librarians, a birthday party for our 21st and our AGM!
http://www.slanza.org.nz/awards.html is our awards page- nominate someone who deserves the recognition.
 
Soon the new Collected is coming out- I can’t wait- it hits up some of the issues we face and focuses on the School Library Transforms Campaign. It also has amazing articles by our business sponsors for this year and I know some of them are interesting pieces!
 
An article about our Campaign has been published in Principal Today – check it out – here is the link
https://issuu.com/magazinestoday/docs/pt130/22
 
It was awesome to see three current NE members and a past president in the training loop with NZEI to interview school librarians for our Pay equity talks! It is awesome we are moving on this now.
 
Clare has put together a new training module- SLANZA Module #17: Gender and Sexuality in School Libraries. After one day- we are nearly at a full contingent of trainees, we think we will offer this again in the year!

We also have been doing some great work trying to access some funding to pilot some amazing new programmes- hopefully in the next few months we have exciting things to share with you all about this! This might sound vague and for now it has to be- but if we can get these across the line- WOW!!!

SLANZA is working hard to do all we can we support you from the inside and protect and grow you from the outside.
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If you are not a member- please join us- we need your help to do what we do! We are having an NE meeting on Wednesday- let us know if there is anything you want us to discuss!
 
Ma te wa
Glenys Bichan
President

Registrations for the SLANZA Module #17: Gender and Sexuality in School Libraries module of the Connected Librarians course are open from today Monday 17 May 2021 and will close on Friday 28 May 2021. ​

Here is the link on the SLANZA website to register: 

This course is for anyone who would like to explore gender issues as they relate to our school library practice. In a librarian workforce that is predominantly female in Aotearoa schools, we have a responsibility to be informed about all gender issues and how we can ensure our collections and reading advisory are diverse and appropriate for all our students and staff.

What to expect in this course?
On successful course completion, learners will be able to:

• understand what gender is and what this means for our students and our practice
• investigate examples of gender stereotyping by looking at book covers, book genres and our own reading advisory expectations
• recognise sexism by looking at our own biases, dealing with others biases and gendering of books 
• evaluate the diversity in our collections and collection management practice
• understand our role in providing sexuality and puberty information
• understand our role in ensuring age appropriate material and how we feel about censorship

The course will be starting on Monday 31 May and finishes on Sunday 27 June 2021.

This course is designed by New Zealand school librarians, for school librarians - for anyone who is ready and willing to learn and try new things and share their thoughts and learning with others. You can work at your own pace, in your own time and network with other school librarians. For those school librarians working in schools on their own, this is invaluable.

The course is only available and free for SLANZA members. 

Please visit the Online PD page on our SLANZA website for further information and to register. Or register here.

Tēnā koutou 

SLANZA is delighted to promote a new government initiative for the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories curriculum that will be taught in all schools and kura next year, 2022. 
 
Every Aotearoa school will be eligible to apply for up to $200 of history books for their school library.  

Please read the information below supplied to us by the Ministry of Education to find out how to take advantage of this exciting offer: 
  
Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories books for schools 

To promote Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories, the Ministry of Education is inviting schools and kura to order up to $200 of high-quality history books for their libraries.  

These books will stimulate interest, discussion, and engagement with Aotearoa  Zealand’s histories.  

Placing orders  

Principals/tumuaki can order up to $200 worth of books from a list on Down the Back of the Chair. They may nominate another staff member, such as a school librarian, to place the order on their behalf.
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There is a limit of one order per account so please check with your principal/tumuaki before you place an order on behalf of your school or kura. 

Orders will open on Monday, 24 May and the last day for orders is Friday, 25 June 2021. 

Delivery 

Orders will be distributed from June 2021. Schools who have not received their orders by the end of July 2021 can contact the Ministry at [email protected] or on 0800 660 662. 

Let us know how you plan to celebrate Pink Shirt Day in your library + win!
 
Pink Shirt Day on Friday 21 May 2021 is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting positive social relationships.  Led by the Mental Health Foundation with support from InsideOUT, the Peace Foundation, New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), Youthline, Te Kaha O Te Rangatahi Trust, the Human Rights Commission, Bullying-Free NZ Week, Cook Islands Development Agency, and Pacific Business Trust.
 
Website https://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz/
 
As part of our campaign, we produce a Good Reads feature https://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz/good-reads/ which includes reviews of books for children and young adults with bullying prevention themes.  We had another great response to our Facebook call out for reviewers and have now added this fresh content.
 
All of the reviews can be downloaded to print, making them a dream for your book display planning for the week. 
 
Our campaign survey showed that 30% of those surveyed used the reviews as part of their celebrations, with most of them noting they would also refer to them throughout the year when looking for book reviews on topics like anxiety, bullying, feeling different and resiliency.
 
We would love to see what libraries around New Zealand are doing for the week!  Send in photos of your displays or activities to [email protected] by Friday 28 May and you will go in the draw for a $50 countdown gift card (that would make a great morning tea treat for staff!). See terms & conditions here: https://mentalhealth.org.nz/terms-and-conditions-for-contests-and-giveaways#2021-pink-shirt-day-nz-libraries-giveaway
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