OKM Library Connections

 

CC Image Attribution:"TL09 View of School Libraries"
Flickr -  C. VanHook

Husky Teams Work Together
in our library . . . 


Teachers, library staff and students collaborate and support active learning, critical thinking and digital literacy. Collaborative planning and shared ideas lead to rich learning experiences. Everybody wins!

"None of us is as smart as all of us."  Ken Blanchard

 In our library, students learn to question the information they find on the internet. They develop competent searching skills, using information both creatively and ethically while becoming actively engaged in the learning process. 

"Copy and paste syndrome" is sometimes still a concern with digital projects, but our OKM students are moving beyond this. More and more of our teachers are preparing library lessons to encourage creativity and collaboration rather than just using computers for basic internet searches and presentations. Help is available in the library to set up project criteria in advance and to set the stage for thoughtful research. The teacher librarian partners with teachers and supports all students in the school. Exciting learning occurs as we all use, create and respectfully share information.

The focus in our library is to help all of our students and teachers meet their goals. This will continue as we work together in the final term of the 2009-2010 school year.  We have all heard about funding shortfalls for education in British Columbia this spring. Cuts are expected to have a major impact on libraries and  on the arts, but I am confident that we have strong leadership and community support at OKM that will help us to weather the storm. We value literacy. We value learning. We value our students.

In 2008 our own Minister of Education in British Columbia stated that:
"I am personally proud that British Columbia is the lead jurisdiction for literacy in our country."


"Goal 1" on the home page of our own school web site. is to "continue to improve literacy for all students..."


Our library facilitates the development of lifelong learning skills. Students don't just learn to read. They  share their love of stories. They don't just find and repeat facts using computers or books. They use a rich variety of resources and tools for creative problem solving and discovery learning. 

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot

learn, unlearn, and relearn." Alvin Toffler (Writer and Futurist)

"The library is an arena of possibility, opening both a window into the

soul and a door onto the world." -Rita Dove (Pulitzer Prize winning American poet)