So COVID-19. Wow. Many of us are simultaneously working, teaching, learning, parenting, and disinfecting. Let’s be honest: if these are our frustrations, we are the lucky ones. It means we are healthy. I desperately want to write about this global pandemic, but it’s so overwhelming and I don’t even know where to start. So many topics are ping-ponging through my brain right now: Check my … Continue reading Today. Just Today.
I’m posting a series articles that I wrote for the Alaska Association of School Librarian’s newsletter about a conference I attended in Minneapolis the week before Thanksgiving. This the last in a three part series about my experience as a first-time attendee at the ALAN Workshop. So now what? Attending the ALAN workshop was a highlight of my professional career, but how could I ride that … Continue reading The Aftermath
I’m posting a series articles that I wrote for the Alaska Association of School Librarian’s newsletter about conference I attended in Minneapolis the week before Thanksgiving. ALAN Day 2: It’s Like Christmas for Librarians This is the second in a three part series about my experience as a first time attendee at the ALAN conference. We woke bright and early on Monday morning. When we entered the convention … Continue reading ALAN Workshop: Day 2
I’m posting a series articles that I wrote for the Alaska Association of School Librarian’s newsletter about a conference I attended in Minneapolis the week before Thanksgiving. ALAN Part 1: It’s Like the Oscars for Librarians! This is the first in a three part series about my experience as a first time attendee at the ALAN Workshop. The ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the … Continue reading It’s Like the Oscars for Librarians!
Today I’m grateful that our library is once again fully staffed. One of our assistants finished his degree last spring, and took a position as the Teen Librarian at Loussac. Of course I was thrilled for him, but supervising our enormous space solo and covering the bell schedules for both schools has made for some long days. Our newest team member started today, and she seems … Continue reading Fully Staffed
What a relief that no one was hurt in last week’s magnitude 6.2 earthquake that rattled Alaskans. My school library sustained some decent damage, but my ego may have taken the biggest hit of all. Here’s the scoop: There were three classes in the library that morning, in addition to about a dozen kids on individual passes. When the shaking started I was walking down … Continue reading Gratitude Day 2: Happy Endings & Lessons Learned
Last week a language arts teacher at my school asked me to write an elegy to share with her students. At first I thought she meant a eulogy, but she set me straight: an elegy is a poem honoring a deceased person, whereas a eulogy is a speech that is read at a funeral. Who knew? The hardest part was coming up with a subject that … Continue reading Seussical Celebrations
I have a new job at an old school. When I say old, I mean really old. Here’s a photo of my not-so-new library: Yup, that would be a roof leak, which is apparently a regular occurrence. There are other signs of age as well: my desk is so old that the drawers sit cockeyed in their tracks, but with 2600 students to serve I … Continue reading Back to School: Mom
We have catapulted straight out of summer and headfirst into another school year. (This journey actually happened a few weeks ago, but I’m still trying to land on my feet and catch my breath!) The transition for the kids was a simple one: same school, same friends, and even the same teachers as last year. If the kids had their way, they would have returned … Continue reading Back to School: Kids
It seems like so many of our greatest accomplishments in life go unnoticed. Since becoming a mother I sometimes feel bitter about this, secretly wishing my family would paint me a homemade merit badge for all it takes to keep our little unit happy. It’s not easy to simultaneously keep our children alive (I mean nurtured) and the countertops free of cereal crumbs (I mean … Continue reading Guilty Rewards
Profoundly Ordinary 