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2011 CLA Angela Thacker Memorial Award : Moira Ekdahl Van

Congratulations to Moira Ekdahl, the 2011 recipient of the 2011 CLA Angela Thacker Memorial Award! Moira is an amazing TL who is always inspirational and professional in her leadership roles.

The CLA  Angela Thacker Memorial Award has been established in memory of Angela Thacker, teacher-librarian, library coordinator, and school library colleague, mentor, leader and advocate who served the Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada (ATLC) and the Canadian School Library Association (CSLA) in many capacities. This Award honours teacher-librarians who have made contributions to the profession through publications, productions or professional development activities that deal with topics relevant to teacher-librarianship and/or information literacy.

Also another reminder:  congratulations to Coquitlam TL Judith Comfort for her winning the CLA/CASL's Follett-International TL of the Year Award; Judith joins an amazing group of TLs from across Canada in receiving this recognition, including our own Michele Farquharson, Pat Parungao, Mary Locke, and Karen Cordiner. 

Another amazing year of leadership from BC teacher-librarians.

 

2011 recipient of the highest honour of the BCTLA, the BC Teacher-Librarian of the Year --Diana Poole Memorial Award:Sylvia Zubke

The BC Teacher-Librarians' Association is pleased to announce that Sylvia Zubke is the 2011 recipient of the highest honour of the BCTLA, the BC Teacher-Librarian of the Year -- Diana Poole Memorial Award.

Now, Sylvia would be the very first to say that she's gonna let me finish, but that it's Beyoncé who truly deserves the award.

Not this time, Sylvia...this one is all yours!

This award honours a practicing teacher-librarian who is making an outstanding contribution to teacher-librarianship at and beyond the school level in British Columbia. Recipients of the award are teacher-librarians who have planned and implemented a school library program of such exemplary quality that it serves as a model and inspiration for others.

Sylvia Zubke's school library program at David Livingstone Elementary School in Vancouver, BC, is just that. In addition to being an incredibly beautiful person, inside and out, Sylvia is absolutely a school library leader in the province. Every day, she is inquiring into and challenging and redefining traditional concepts of elementary school library service. She does this by approaching every single opportunity and challenge with the amazing and genuine attitude of "welcome!". Hers is a school library program completely alive with the vision of being "welcoming to all".

Sylvia is powerfully collaborative and her library is completely accessible. Everyone feels comfortable working with Sylvia and she works with all of the classes at David Livingstone each year. In addition to working with classes, Sylvia also ensures that the families of her students have a role in the library. All have borrowing privileges at David Livingstone, including the younger siblings of students.

Sylvia has been inspired by and is inquiring into how to take the learning commons concept more commonly seen at the academic library or secondary school library setting into an elementary school. Less shelving, new furniture, increased access, different approaches; David Livingstone Elementary may just be the only school library in the province equipped with both a SMART Board, and a dollhouse. She has noticed that usage has increased and that entire families come in to the school specifically just to visit the library! What her inquiry might ultimately find is yet to be known, but it is certain that something special is happening at David Livingstone.

Sylvia has introduced significant technology to the library, including databases, a 17-station computer lab, and a SMART Board. She has experimented with the use of clickers (SMART Response system) and notably, she has taught everyone in the school (staff and students) how to use databases. Sylvia is most well known, however, as THE provincial leader in the use of interactive whiteboards in the school library. She is a key member of the David Livingstone / BCTF / UBC SMART Board inquiry project (ongoing for several years). In addition to using her own SMART Board constantly with her students, Sylvia has presented over twenty workshops in the past five years to community members and educators, including teacher-librarians, classroom teachers, senior management, and pre-service teachers in her district, at conferences (including at the BCTLA conference), and at UBC.

At the district level, Sylvia is an exemplary leader and mentor. In addition to SMART Board workshops and support, Sylvia has presented workshops on VSB's Horizon library automation system and has presented on the role of the teacher-librarian to TOCs and to Parent Advisory Councils. She has mentored new teacher-librarians for at least the past eight years, including working side-by-side with new teacher-librarians in weeding collections. She is a member of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Association Technology Committee and is a member of VSB's School Library Resource Centre Consultative Committee. Sylvia has also worked with VSB District Learning Services in support of the implementation of new curriculum, such as by participating as a team member in the development of a bibliography of science resources.

Sylvia has also made incredible contributions with the Vancouver Teacher-Librarians' Association (VTLA) and the BC Teacher-Librarians' Association. She has presented to the Vancouver School Board in support of school library staffing (an amazing presentation described as being "major" and "dramatic"). She was the Chairperson of VTLA from 2004-2007 and also chaired the organizing committee for the 2004 BCTLA conference "Celebrating School Libraries" which was held in Vancouver. She has recently been an exceptional Conference Chairperson and Vice-President, Chapter Relations for BCTLA.

Those who nominated Sylvia for this award mention the words "collaboration", "accessible", "open", and "welcoming" over and over. Her admirers say, "she's been instrumental in creating a collaborative culture amongst teacher-librarians in Vancouver". Sylvia is much loved by all who have the great pleasure of knowing her. We know that she will always be instrumental, and influential, in integrating technology and rethinking service with "welcome" in mind, and in heart.

BCTLA will be honoured to recognize Sylvia Zubke as the 2011 recipient of the B.C. Teacher-Librarian of the Year -- Diana Poole Memorial Award at the 2011 BCTLA Conference on Friday, October 21, 2011 at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School in Burnaby, BC.

2011 recipient of the BC New Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award- Nicola Kuhn

The BC Teacher-Librarians' Association is pleased to announce that Nicola Kuhn is the 2011 recipient of the BC New Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award!

Nicola is the teacher-librarian at Rossland Secondary School in Rossland, BC. In the less than three years that she has been a teacher-librarian, Nicola has epitomized the qualities of a 21st-Century learner and facilitator. She has embraced a leading role in her school and in the district in focusing on the integration of technology and inquiry-based learning.

At Rossland Secondary School, Nicola is the Lead Literacy Teacher, the Technology Infusion Teacher, and the Department Head for Humanities/Language/Technology, and she supports the school's Academy program in both English and French. She has revised the library website into a blog (http://www.rosslandsecondarylibrary.blogspot.com/) and has brought an energy to the staff and to the school library, which is the hub of the school and a place that students and staff love to visit. She is proactive and works collaboratively with her colleagues to ensure students understand how to learn. She models her love of learning with everything that she does, including beginning a Masters degree in Teacher-Librarianship at the University of Alberta (watch for Nicola's article on evidence-based practice and the school library in an upcoming issue of BCTLA's journal The Bookmark).

At the district level, Nicola provides her expertise on several district committees, including the District Professional Development Committee where she promoted inquiry-based learning. She is in demand as a facilitator of professional development in particular in the areas of technology, inquiry-based learning, and personalized project-based learning. Her "Infusing Technology In The Classroom" and "After School Learning" sessions provide hands-on experience using technology tools (web 2.0, social bookmarking, wikis, blogs) and collaborating and planning with teacher-librarians while demonstrating how to teach for understanding.

Nicola is passionate about the work and role of the teacher-librarian. An active member of BCTLA and the Kootenay-Columbia BCTLA Chapter, she has been a key voice in ongoing efforts to maintain teacher-librarian staffing in her district. Chapter Councillor Marilyn Lunde called recent good news from the strong Kootenay-Columbia Chapter with its eleven teacher-librarian members, "a beacon from a little lighthouse, none the less, continuing to shine", and Nicola has contributed significantly to ensuring that SD20 has strong school library staffing and programs.

Nicola is admired and respected by all who know her and she demonstrates "incredible knowledge, insight and passion regarding the role a teacher-librarian plays in today's school". She has made an outstanding contribution to teacher-librarianship at and beyond the school level in British Columbia and is demonstrating the planning and implementation of a school library program of such exemplary quality that it serves as a model and inspiration for others.

BCTLA will be honoured to recognize Nicola Kuhn as the 2011 recipient of the BC New Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award at the 2011 BCTLA Conference on Friday, October 21, 2011 at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School in Burnaby, BC.

pleased to announce 2011 recipient of the Ken Haycock Professional Development Grant- April Hilland

he BC Teacher-Librarians' Association is pleased to announce that April Hilland is the 2011 recipient of the Ken Haycock Professional Development Grant.

April became a teacher-librarian in 2007 and is currently the teacher-librarian at Glenwood Elementary School in Maple Ridge. She is an active member of the Maple Ridge Teacher-Librarians' Association and the BCTLA, recently serving as Chapter Councillor. She is currently working on her Master in Education (Teacher-Librarian Specialty) degree at the University of Alberta.

With support from the Ken Haycock Professional Development Grant, April will be taking the course "Process of Curriculum Development" as part of her University of Alberta program. Her goal is to ensure that she is prepared to bring her library into the 21st Century, with a better ability to understand how curriculum is built and how to better coordinate it within the school and in the context of 21st-Century learning. As she says, "the 21st Century, with all of its technology, tools, and changing job market is demanding a change in how and what we teach our youth. I believe that as leaders in schools, teacher-librarians need to be some of the first on board to match the curriculum with the needs of the 21st Century".

 

The BCTLA was pleased to recognize April Hilland as the 2011 recipient of the BCTLA Ken Haycock Professional Development Grant at the 2011 BCTLA AGM on April 16 in Vancouver.