Vavenby school to stay open

Clearwater Times: 2009 November 30

Vavenby Elementary School will not close.

Trustees of School District 73 (Kamloops-Thompson) made the decision last Monday evening during a school board meeting in Kamloops.

“It’s great,” said Carol Schaffer, a Vavenby resident who spearheaded a petition to keep the school open. “At least it’s open. When the economy turns around and people start moving in, we can get it back to Kindergarten to Grade 7. If it had closed, it likely would have closed for good.”

The trustees decided to limit Vavenby to just Kindergarten to Grade 3. There will be only one teacher and secretarial hours will be cut.

Of the other rural schools that were on the chopping block, Westwold will go to just Kindergarten to Grade 5.

Savona and Pinantan will have Kindergarten to Grade 7 but will do without a principal and a teacher-librarian, and will have reduced secretarial support.

BC First Graders Get Book Rejected as 'Racist' Elsewhere

The Tyee: 2009 November 27

Two maritime provinces declined to distribute a book to students saying it was racist and promotes stereotypes of First Nations people. British Columbia schools are giving the same book for free to students in Grade One.

Keep an eye on WatchKnow (YouTube meets Wikipedia?)

NeverEndingSearch: 2009 November 25

Launched in October after a year-long development period, WatchKnow is a wiki-style portal that gathers and organizes educational videos for students ages 3 to 18.  An age filter slider allows you to easily focus your search.

Annabel Lyon captures Writers' Trust fiction prize

National Post: 2009 November 25

The Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature Marthe Jocelyn (Stratford, Ont.)

   

Author reading

Surrey Leader: 2009 November 23

Local author Tessa McGuiness, former Surrey School District teacher-librarian, will read from her first novel, Never See A Poor Day, on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at the White Rock Library, 15342 Buena Vista Ave.

An expatriate from Liverpool, England, McGuiness – who emigrated to Canada in 1957 – has drawn on her own wartime experiences to create the world of nine year-old Katie Byrne, forced to flee Liverpool with her family and take up residence in a gypsy caravan.

Registration is required. For information, call 604-541-2201.

Children's literature can and should go beyond feel-good fantasy

Vancouver Sun: 2009 November 21

At this time of year, holiday celebrations and some quiet time for reflection beckon. Some long for the picture-book perfect holiday. Some look for the perfect picture book for a child's holiday reading.

For many years, before I taught at the University of B.C., I worked as a bookseller. Buyers hunting for "the perfect book for a bright child" wanted books solely for delight. They shied away from "serious reads."

Booksellers today see this, too. Books with a happy ending and popular series books such as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter or C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles or Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series are much in demand.

Yes, kids need these books, but for balance they also benefit from and can enjoy reading tough books that challenge and expand their view of the world, particularly the world of children less fortunate than themselves.

School libraries key in teaching information skills

eSchool News: 2009 November 20

When school media specialists and educators make an effort to become familiar with the social-networking web sites and technologies that today's students use each day, they can forge important learning connections with their students: That was one of the key messages to come out of the American Association of School Librarians' annual conference, held Nov. 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C.

Local Heroes get kudos

Burnaby Now: 2009 November 18

Five of Burnaby's Local Heroes were singled out at the Nov. 10 school board meeting for their contributions to the school district community.

Sharon Freeman is a district teacher-librarian and advocate for literacy, who has served on the Burnaby Public Library board.

Copy fight: Cory Doctorow's struggle to make books free

National Post: 2009 November 17

Last Friday morning, the writer Cory Doctorow took the stage of the Royal Ontario Museum's Bronfman Hall and, over the course of 45 minutes, delivered a lecture entitled "How to Destroy the Book." He began his keynote address of the TD National Reading Summit with an elegy to our love affair with books, before launching a blistering attack on those trying to remake copyright laws to snuff out copy and sharing culture, which he sees as the lifeblood of books. Take e-books, for example. The convoluted fine print, which runs into the thousands of words, makes clear that the reader does not own this version of the book - with the ability to, say, sell it to a second-hand bookstore - but rather "licenses" it.

 

 

$400,000 dedicated for new books

Northern News Service: 2009 November 11

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Yellowknife kids will have some new books to read this school year, as the territorial government has dedicated a $400,000 fund to fill out their school libraries, as well as others across the NWT.

Elementary school students make reading an Olympic sport

Vancouver Courier: 2009 November 11

Shannon Lee pulled out a digital camera to show a shot of her pink pajama-clad daughter Megan Goodwin slumped on a couch while reading British author Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.

"This is how Megan survived the swine flu," Lee said with a laugh, adding, "While she was sick I read five novels to her."

Reading at home while recovering from the flu helped the Grade 2 student add to the books she's completed since the summer break--a number that now totals 251.

Fall Activities Report now online

The BCTLA Executive has produced a summary report of activities.

Download file and read about the exciting projects completed or underway.

http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/reports/2009%20BCTLA%20Fall%20Activities.pdf

School libraries lacking

San Mateo Daily Journal: 2009 November 9

A strong school library program is the cornerstone of a healthy school, unfortunately schools do not have the money to support strong school libraries and students are suffering from it, according to California School Library Association.

San Jose State Breaks with California Library Association Over Drexel Agreement

Library Journal: 2009 November 5

Charging that the California Library Association (CLA) had broken a promise by partnering with Drexel University Online, the San Jose State University (SJSU) School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) has severed its partnership with CLA, withdrawing from hosting the CALIX electronic mailing list and no longer purchasing several hundred memberships a year for its students.

Local heroes recognized for contributions

Burnaby Now: 2009 November 4

More than a dozen local residents were hailed for their civic efforts on Monday night in a jam-packed council meeting...

- Sharon Freeman: A teacher librarian who is considered a "tireless" advocate for literacy, Freeman has served on the Burnaby Public Library board from 2001 through 2006, and again in 2009.

California DOE Calls for Public Comment on First School Library Standards

School Library Journal: 2009 November 2

California is developing statewide school library standards for the first time—and a draft document is available for public comment until December 18.

Don't leave students without librarians

PressDemocrat.com: 2009 November 2

Many schools have a room that they call a school library, but it may very well have no budget, no online databases, no teacher librarian and no new and engaging books. Its doors may even be closed.

Cuts force library to pare books and Sundays

Victoria Times Colonist: 2009 November 1

There will be fewer books on library shelves and reduced Sunday hours as the Greater Victoria Public Library tries to deal with a 22 per cent cut in provincial government funding.