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Saturday 18 August 2012

TD Summer Reading Club progress update

TD Summer Reading Club progress update
Vision of MIYO Education Authority:  Ermineskin school graduates are responsible and caring First Nations People.  They will have a strong background in literacy that will prepare them for the world beyond our school walls. Ermineskin School graduates will share their literacy knowledge with others in the modern world.  This will allow them to take action and contribute to local and global communities.
Administration (April)
Did a TDSRC concept proposal and presented it school principal to approve the pilot summer reading club (TDSRC).
National and Regional Club team (May)
Got the materials from regional library system and Library and Archives Canada.
Teachers (May)
Principal emailed the proposal to teachers. Cool idea. Consensus: Go for it.
Students (May)
First, students had a brainstorming session about what they would like to do at the Summer reading club? Then, they colored the poster. Wow! they made rainbows, Some of them used hearts and made it like a fish with a blurb.  I have many of these posters posted by the kids on the library door and if we get the kids excited and engaged they will come and read.
Launched the program at the Ermineskin school library (May 31)
RockSchool Live concert by high school students from the Samson band.  (Community partnership and relationship development with Samson high school Band.)
http://schoollibraryservices.blogspot.ca/2012/05/samson-high-school-students-perform.html
Parents (May 31)
Sent the SRC information to parents home Newsletter
Teachers (June)
Engaged the teachers by asking them to present their best ideas and activities from their class for centers  (Ideas generated: Pointillism, mosaics pictures using tissue paper, candle holders using jars, cereal boxes or cracker boxes book covers-sandwich beginning, middle and ending./ characters settings, book reports, make words with tiles)
Librarians (June)
Updated the blog, connected with the librarians via email and stakeholders and kept the library community informed.
Marketing and Promotion  (May-June)
Email tag: I have inserted the club information in the signature of my email message and I send out many emails.
Class visits: At each scheduled library class visit to the library in the month of May, I told the students about the TDSRC.
Posters and in the school promotion:  Displayed the posters colored by students on the library door, in the school café, classrooms, bathrooms, and in the library 
June 1:  http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/may-30-students-brainstorming-ideas-for.html
•    Brainstorming and coloring expression in teams
June 1:  Students made Thank You* notes for the high school students   http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/thank-you-notes-written-by-2l-students.html
•    Writing and coloring expression
June 4: Gave the date and time details to front line office staff  (just in case they receive phone calls from parents)
June 5:  Request students to tape more colored brainstormed students posters in the school
June 6: Date and time for the reading club posted on the front school doors for parents, students and everyone involved.
Our school library will be open from 12:30-4:30 pm on the following Wednesdays in July and August.
July 4, 11, 18*, 25
August 8, 15, 22
* Wednesday, July 18, COW Bus will be coming to our school.
Join the TD Summer Reading Club at the Ermineskin Elementary School.
June 7: Club volunteer job descriptions
June 8: Club volunteer job descriptions emailed to teachers and student sign-up.
June 11: COW Bus date and time confirmed and posted on the doors, washrooms, around the school and given to Grade 1-3 teachers.
June 11: Reading Club distribution of reading packages and teachers tips.
Distributed the activity books and posters to Grade 2K, 2L, 2A, 2D and 3S.
When I visited 3M class they were making a memory book.  Students asked me for an autograph. I signed the message, "See you at the library on Wednesday, July 4th, at 1 pm."
Grade 3s:  http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/class-3s-showing-off-tdsrc-activity.html
Grade 2d: http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/class-of-2d-receiving-tdsrc-activity.html
Grade 2k: http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/class-of-2k-receiving-tdsrc-literacy.html
Grade 2l:  http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/class-2l-received-activity-books-and.html
Grade 2a:  http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/class-2a-browsing-tdsrc-literacy-book.html
Observation:  Some students started doing the crosswords immediately.  I think students are used to receiving curriculum books and some students started writing as soon as they receive them.
June 12: Students colored the poster and posted them all around the school.
June 13: Student Interest Survey
Students were requested to ✓ things they would like to do at the library.
So, what can I do at the library during the Summer Reading Club?
1.        Read new books
2.        Make book covers, bookmarks, book trailers
3.        Do AR reading tests
4.        Write book reviews
5.        Write books
6.        Author studies
7.        Color the activity sheets
8.        Make puppets
9.        Do puppet shows
10.    Visit the imagination stations
11.    Make words
12.    Play games
13.    Do craft activities
14.    Evaluate author websites
15.    Use the library catalog
16.    Come and explore at your school library
17.    Exchange books – Bring a book to share, Show n tell
Our school library will be open from 12:30-4:30 pm on the following Wednesdays in July and August.
July 4, 11, 18*, 25
August 8, 15, 22
* Wednesday, July 18, 1-4 pm, COW Bus will be coming to our school.
Join the TD Summer Reading Club at the Ermineskin Elementary School library.
Observation:  One student asked for paper-pencil and  started writing a book, 'The lost kids.'
June 14: Students giving Reading Recommendations
A Reading Recommendation
By___________________________________________________________________________________________
             Name
I think everyone should read___________________________________________________________
                                                                  Title
By__________________________________. It is
about_____________________________________________
                Author
________________________________________________________________________________________________
June 15: SSR
Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)
High Intensity Practice (HIP)
Free Volunteer Reading (FVR)
Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading (USSR)
Sustained Quiet Reading Time (SQUIRT)
Drop Everything and Read (DEAR)
Fun Reading Every Day (FRED)
Student ideas snowball technique
Students wrote the list of things they would like to do on the posters. The librarian typed the things student suggested and this was the student survey.  Students circled their favourite activities. They also added more activities. (I would like to draw an astronaut, read new books,  and write stories.) 
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/student-survey-of-list-of-things-they.html
Teachers Tips and sharing of resources
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/teacher-tips-and-resourcs-making-words.html
Reading Recommendations
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/reading-recommendations-by-students.html
Students writing stories - The lost kids
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/student-stories.html
June 15: Communications at internal events via a display table
June 15, 1 pm: Kindergarten Grad day
June 18, 10 am: Parent Volunteer tea
June 19, 1 pm: Student awards
June 22: Staff awards ceremony
June 15: Library trends (School libraries open to take care of the reading loss)
http://librarypathwaysandfootprints.blogspot.ca/2012/06/elementary-school-libraries-are.html
June 15: Student Reading Recommendation Posters
Printed pictures of students with Reading Recommendations posters and gave this to them to take home and display around the school.
Odessa, You are awesome. Keep on reading.
See you on July 4, 1 pm at your school library.
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/reading-recommendations-by-students.html
June 16: Accessed Office of Literacy and Essential Skills toolkit
Developing Partnerships to support Literacy and Essential Skills
This tool is designed to help you develop effective partnerships for supporting Literacy and Essential Skills (LES). It offers a simple four-step process to help you get started and includes tips for building and maintaining successful partnerships.
June 17: Community Partnerships
Sent emails to Prairie Tales cameraless animation, Alberta Health Services for nutritional literacy, and COW Bus
June 17: Puppet Storykits
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/puppet-storytime-kits.html
June 17: Speech language pathologist sharing resources
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/speech-language-pathologist-shares.html
June 17: Reading Buddies
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/reading-buddies.html
June 18: Partnership:  Community nutritionist Merv Leibel from Alberta Health Services (AHS)
Gave us activity books, portion size kits, website for curriculum linked nutritional literacy, health eating cook book and resources for parents and preschoolers.  Mr. Leibel will come with a information kiosk for the COW Bus on July 18, 1 pm.
June 18: Teachers Tips
Cookie sheets and magnetic letters, Cereal box book covers, Making Words templates, pointillism, word search puzzles, puppet storyboard, shaving foam letters, mosaics, word bingos, word searches, hidden words, poem pockets and strips, math mayhem, funbrain etc.
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/06/teachers-tips-word-search-puzzles.html
TDSRC Program Coordinators comment:  The staggering approach to distributing materials worked very well. We gave the posters to students in Week 1. Activity books in Week 2.  Book inuksuk Tattoos were distributed in Week 3.   Invitations (with date and time)  were distributed in Week 4-June 18.
June 18, 10 am: Parent and Volunteers Tea
Display Table with posters
Lots of questions by parents. Which library?
June 18, 2 pm: Grade 6 graduation
Display Table with posters
June 19: Community partnerships
Alberta Health Services nutrition, COW Bus, Samson high school music band, Kasohkowew Child Wellness Society (Capacity development for the Social Workers), internal teachers community, math and Cree resources, etc.
http://schoollibraryservices.blogspot.ca/2012/06/collaboration-bulletin-community.html
June 19: Display table in the gathering area
TDSRC Program Coordinators comment:  In the morning the students were taking the posters, tattoos and activity booklets.
June 20: Community board (outside the school)
TDSRC Summer Reading Program
Wednesdays at EES library from 12:30-4:30, July 4 - August 22
TDSRC Program Coordinators comment:  The process of informing our students is literacy in itself. The questions parents asked were: Will there be games? Which library? So, we said you can visit the neighboring public libraries and at our EES Elementary School Community library.
June 20: Display at the POW WOW
Informational materials were set on the table.
June 21:  EES School staff appreciation lunch (Display table)
For the staff to bring their families.  At the table the teachers were saying to advertise the club on the radio.
June 21: Cree resource room
Patty and Betty gave us many resources from the Cree room
June 21: SPELL Society for the Promotion of English Language and Literacy
Margaret Chegwin board chair shared many ideas such as making a bookmark and writing the list of books behind the bookmark and making words using one consonant and a vowel.  Judy Bortnik the literacy coordinator shared many puppet ideas and book plates.  The Program coordinator borrowed books from the SPELL Society's Library.
June 22: Display table in the gathering area
A parent came to pick her iPod and she saw the display table and took home some literacy materials.
June 26: Accessed the following resource at NALD website
http://www.nald.ca/clo/newslet/june_2012_our_voice.pdf  (page 12 Community Partnerships)
July 2: Reminder posters distributed at the health office and the community boards at the mall in Ermineskin.
July 3: Credit Union gave us stickers and pencils
July 3: Statistics Canada is donating coloring books and crayons.
July 4:  First week of TDSRC
Students read books to self and with families and to puppets.  Activities: Magnetic poetry, made book brochures (Characters, settings, favourite words), a page for My Preferred Book project of IFLA Sister Libraries), painted TDSRC posters using water paint and markers, and visited club website using the code on the stickers.
July 5: John Maude donated reading rewards and the cheque was mailed to Chinookarch regional library system in Lethbridge.
July 6: Distributed invitation for the TDSRC and COW Bus at Walmart (peak shopping time) Thank you Manager Raj and Ms. Louise.
July 7: Gave materials for distribution at Ermineskin Pow Wow
July 9: Gave information packages to Value Drug Mart, No Frills Gords, Nutters, Dollar Store on main street, and Ali's hair saloon.
July 10: Distributed posters at Jim Rattlesnake Recreation Centre at lunch time.  Put the display board on the school street and tied posters with strings on the trees to catch the passengers on the school street.
Observation: Radio, community boards and word of mouth were the reminder methods to promote the TDSRC for FNs communities of Hobbema.  I think word is spreading and people are seeing the posters and talking about it. I heard people talk about the TDSRC in Hobbema.
July 11: Informed the band Newsletter Editor about the TDSRC and this will be covered in the July 12 Newsletter.  
July 11, Week 2: 16 students and six parents. All participants stayed for three hours.
Observation: Plan and be flexible let students do things their way.  Foam animal stickers were used for tracing. Ribbons (which I thought would extend the bookmark) was used to make hairs of a girl bookmark.  Radio, posting on the community board in the Ermineskin mall had high reach and was mentioned as the best reminder medium by parents. My goal was to reach FN parents as parents would bring their children to the library.  Of the parents who came, five were moms and one dad.
Keep conditions: I told all students to read and make a book brochure. Then, a craft, painting and computer time.  For some students, I requested them to fill a reading recommendation form.
Understand: For teenagers the parents would make them come to the library and then give their teenagers some tings they want. This means that some teens mindset is 'forced to come;'  so try to keep them interested atleast they are in the library.  So, I coach them into reading graphic novels or play board games.  Fill a reading recommendation instead of a book brochure.  The role of parents as 'Reading Supporters'  is very important.  
 http://schoollibraryservices.blogspot.ca/2012/07/week-2-july-11.html
July 11: Fish and Wildlife brochures about threatened wildlife in Alberta
Visit the following page to view the endangered animals collage created by students from brochures and information materials provided by Fish and Wildlife office.
http://aboriginalsummerreading.blogspot.ca/2012/07/week-2-students-creating-collage-about.html
 July 12: Nutters Donated candies
July 12: Called the radio and requested them to run, 'My Favourite Book' contest.
July 13: Printed Week 2 progress report and ditributed to key stakeholders by email or fax or blog. Goal was to create awareness.
July 13: Requested for a table at the Ermineskin Mall from the band office
July 13:  Autoparts donated a small gas stove
July 13: TD Bank gave 100 pencils
July 13: Visited AlbertaWorks office and compiled a list of childrens organizations and employment office in Hobbema and faxed the posters.
July 14: Distributed TDSRC, Prarie Tales and COW Bus posters to Filipino store,  Shoppers Drug Mart, Sobeys, Reid Cycle shop, Liquidation World, Sportcheck, Canadian Tire, Safeway, Boston Pizza,  and  Tim Hortons.   In the parking lost handed the posters to FNs people.
June 15:  Reflection day
Strategy 1: Direct children (promotion in School)
Strategy 2: Direct parent (after the school was closed for the summer)
Strategy 3: Raise awareness about 'Reading is a  Essential' skill to stakeholders
Strategy 4: Raise resources and support from the community
Strategy 5: Provide access to books on reserve land when schools are closed as transportation is a barrier for some children and their families
Strategy 6: Increase capacity in the community by letting the FNs people take the leadership role in their communities
July 15: Accessed the following report from the NALD website
http://www.nald.ca/library/research/ccl/summer_learning_loss/summer_learning_loss.pdf
Coordinators connection with summer reading trends
July 15: Posted updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter
July 16: Connected by telephone with key local FNs gatekeepers. Sent faxes to FNs children's services and daycares to broadcast the two main events on July 18 - COW Bus and Prairie Tales.  Faxed the information to Samson for their bulletin board.
July 17: Promotion day
July 17:  Ermineskin Recreation Centre day camp participants invited for COW Bus and Prairie Tales
July 17: Ermineskin band office staff were invited
July 17: Ermineskin and Samson daycare staff and clients invited for TDSRC
July 17: Display table in the mall
July 17: Mall tenants were given the TDSRC information
July 17: Thirty five FN friends on Facebook
July 17: Informed Hawk Radio and Wetaskiwin Times
July 17: Posters given to clients at the Health Office
July 17: Posters put on the windshields of the cars at the Ermineskin mall and health office
July 17: Events created on Facebook
July 17:  Events accessed on NALD
(Events posted on NALD Website)
Prairie Tales:    http://events.nald.ca/event/8884 
COW Bus:  http://events.nald.ca/event/8876
July 17: Picked up the July 12 issue of Emineskin Band newsletter and the reading program was mentioned on page 5 and 8.
July 18: COW Bus
July 18:  Visit to Ermineskin Social development, band office, recreation centre and Young Spirits
July 18: Display table at the mall
July 18: Posters again were put on the Windshield of cars at the mall and health office
July 18: Week 3: 157 people came to visit the COW Bus. 5 community partners and their resources.
 (5 community partners: COW Bus, Ermineskin Daycare, Merv Leibel from Alberta Health Services, Film makers Zoe and Bailey from Prairie Tales and books from First Books Foundation.)
Coordinators Observations and Learning:
Radio and Facebook are the two media to coordinate; followed by Word of Mouth and Face to Face meeting.  Piggyback on nonprofit organisations who have face book page to post event information such as Maskwachis Employment Centre.  
Generic marketing of the reading program in public places such as Walmart or Malls by a school librarian becasue one cannot just give information to a specialized group such as FNs people. Promoting reading is a inclusive process.
Working with community partners works; pooling of resources to serve FNs people.
Don't give up.
July 23:   First Books Foundation coordinated pick up of 31 boxes from the Edmonton distribution
July 23:  Followed up with Alberta Chapter of IODE for the fall Breakfast program
July 23:  Week  4 - Making prints poster created and 3 channels marketing (Facebook, WOM networking and radio)
July 23: Posted Week 3 TDSRC update under discussion CLA group on Linked in.
July 25: Week 4
http://schoollibraryservices.blogspot.ca/2012/07/week-4-july-25-animal-facts-brochures.html
Next step timeline:  
•    Week of May 31 to June 9: Launch
•    Week of June 10-14: Distribution of reading club packages to students
•    Week of June 14-21: Collect resources and ideas from teachers
•    Week of June 22-29: Prepare for the program
•    Week of July 2-4: Set up the area for the program
•    Week of July 4-11: First week and reading reward prizes
  
The activiy books and posters were distributed at the entrance of Walmart in July and August.
Statistics:
  • Week 1: 5 students, 4 parents = 9
  • Week 2: 16 students, 6 parents = 22
  • Week 3: 60 students, 50 preschoolers, 47 parents = 157 (included 5 community partners COW Bus, Ermineskin Daycare, Merv Leibel from Alberta Health Services, Film makers Zoe and Bailey from Prairie Tales and books from First Books Foundation.)
  • Week 4: 18 students, 7 parents = 25
Band communications
Ermineskin band newsletter covered the reading program in the following issues:
  • July 12, 2012, p.5
  • July 27, 2012, p.8
  • August 10, 2012, p.4
Ermineskin.wordpress.com
Suggestions
  1. Be flexible and we ran the program as continuous intake, drop-in and no registration required and this meant informing new students about how the program works.
  2. Use staggered approach to distribute program materials. Distribute booklet one time, distribute poster the second time, distribute stickers the next time, distribute tattoos next and finally rewards or prizes.
  3. When inviting people to come I always gave a small gift with the invitation.
  4. Use the input of one activity as a output for another activity. Our students did a brainstorming session on the posters and coloured the posters. Then, made a list of brainstormed ideas and rated the top 5 best things to do this summer at the library.
  5. Cap on the success of the program as a base and opportunity to create partnerships and generate resources. 
  6. Build the program promotion into your lifestyle and this is a time management tip. I always had some promotional materials when I was walking or shopping for grocery.  If  going with your family be careful not to embarrass or upset your family members. 
  7. Pace and develop the program at the rate at which you can manage.

Opportunities for the library a a result of the program

  1. Indigo's Adopt a School program which will give us books
  2. Home visitation library service with Social and Welfare agencies
  3. IODE to provide resources for the breakfast program
  4. A corporate company to provide BBQ fund raiser and a bus
  5. Reading is an essential skill community coffeehouse on September 21
  6. A winter Reading Program from December 1, 2012 to January 21, 2013