SLANSW Celebrates National Science Week
Join us on August 17 for our next online meetup about how Teacher Librarians and Library teams can collaborate across the curriculum and across the school to design and deliver exciting learning activities for students.
The School Library Association of NSW will be presenting an online meetup in the SLANSW Zoom Conference Room on Tuesday August 17 from 7:00-8:00pm. The presenters are Science Teachers, Classroom Teachers, Teacher Librarians and Library staff from Cherrybrook Technology High School and Broughton Anglican College. They will be sharing the cross-curriculum initiatives and teaching programs in their schools and explaining how Science faculties and Library teams can collaborate to engage students in exciting Science based learning activities.
Secondary School Setting
Our presenters will be sharing their experiences relating to the implementation the Murder in the Library program at Cherrybrook Technology High School. Whilst this program is aimed primarily at Year 10 Science (forensics) it is also a cross-curricular program and is used for English (Year 9 Investigative Journalism and Year 10 Crime genre study) as well as Legal Studies and sometimes as a fun activity for Gifted and Talented junior classes. The activity also involves staff from across the school, including everyone from the Principal and Deputies to Head Teachers and classroom teachers from a variety of faculties.
Primary School Setting
Our presenters from Broughton Anglican College will be sharing their experience about how collaboration between Teacher Librarians and Primary Classroom teachers to integrate information fluency skills into Science programs leads to greater student engagement, an improvement in the quality of work produced and greater support of teachers in planning units, developing assessments and rubrics.
About Amber Sorensen
Amber Sorensen has been a teacher-librarian at Cherrybrook Technology High School (CTHS) since 2014. She began her career as a corporate librarian before retraining and working as a secondary History teacher. Amber is passionate about encouraging a love of reading, developing student information fluency skills and supporting teaching and learning through collaboration with classroom teachers.
About Magali Mello
Magali Mello has a background in laboratory management, specialising in Food and Environmental Testing and has also taught at TAFE and Western Sydney University. She retrained as a secondary teacher to pursue her passion for Science and education. Magali is a big advocator of student-centred learning that encompasses practical tasks to encourage a love for Science in her students.
About Catherine Havenaar
Cath works as a Teacher Librarian at Broughton Anglican College, a P-12 College in South-West Sydney. She started in the position in 2020, along with commencing her Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) at Charles Sturt University. Cath has been teaching Primary since 2014, after moving out of a 20 year career working as an Intensive Care Paramedic. Term 4 in her first year of teaching seemed a good time to throw out the rule book and integrate all her Year 5 programs to conduct a Guided Inquiry unit around Global Connections. Working closely with the Head of Information Services, Cath was hooked. The move to Information Services was inevitable – although it took a few years to get there. Cath’s current focus is rebuilding collaborative relationships with primary classroom teachers to integrate the teaching of information fluency and inquiry skills into curriculum programs. Her favourite book series is Alan Bradley’s Flavia De Luce series, and she is currently reading, Am I Just My Brain, by Sharon Dirckz.
Suggested Standards addressed by this Online Meet-up
2.2.2 Organise content into coherent, well-sequenced learning and teaching programs.
2.3.2 Design and implement learning and teaching programs using knowledge of curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements.
3.3.2 Select and use relevant teaching strategies to develop knowledge, skills, problem-solving, and critical and creative thinking.
6.2.2 Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.
7.4.2 Participate in professional and community networks and forums to broaden knowledge and improve practice.
About SLANSW Online Meet-Ups
The one-hour meet-ups take place in SLANSW's Zoom Conference Room and include a presentation from a guest speaker, with facilitated discussion between participants. We aim to include Q&A time as a wrap-up of each online meetup.
A maximum of 100 places are available for each meet-up, so get your registrations in ASAP.
Participation in SLANSW online meet-ups is at no cost to members. Non-members may access the meet-ups for $35 per session.
The one-hour meet-up takes place in SLANSW's Zoom conference room.
Those who register for this event will receive an email within 24 hours before the event, with details to access this online session.