Lovely Gift from the NHS Exec Board

PFTSTA is a small school with 350 students, so I have to wear many hats beyond the librarian one. Seven years ago I initiated our school's chapter of the National Honor Society because I thought a college prep school needed to have NHS. I always have enjoyed working with the seniors who hold office on the executive board, but this year was special. This is the first class that went from 6th to 12th grade, and this group has so many smart kids who are good thinkers with great work ethic and are eager to learn. There are many kids in this class that I am really going to miss next year. 

Today was the last NHS meeting of the year that the senior officers will attend. They took me by surprise when Lauren, the out-going president, handed me a shiny red bag. Inside was the small plaque that you see in the picture below. The inscription brought me to tears. I love this gift because I know that in some way I touched these students's lives. Isn't that what teaching is all about? Making a real connection with my students is what makes me want to get up every morning, and this gift proves to me that all my hard work is appreciated. Thank you Lauren, Alicia, Micquel and Nick for the awesome gift--I really did enjoy the time that we spent working together for the organization as well as getting to know each of you individually as the amazing young adults that you are. I can't wait to hear about all your wonderful accomplishments and achievements after you leave Taylor. I will truly miss you all of you!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Holidays from BRiMS and Bookmarked

I run two book groups at Patrick Taylor. My high school book group, Bookmarked , was created in the fall of 2007 which was my second year as librarian at the school. The students really wanted a library club, but the square footage of the library was so small that I could not imagine how any students could do any actual library work. Instead I created a book discussion group. Not only did we meet to talk books, but I tapped these students to help me with fundraisers and special programming like Teen Read Week. Helping me with these special activities seemed to appease the members. I waited until February of 2009 to institute a book discussion group for my middle school students called BRiMS, or Books Rule in Middle School . Both of the groups meet during lunch, and this year, the school added a third lunch. Now BRiMS is made up of only 6th and 7th graders. Bookmarked has 8th-12th grade students. This has actually worked well because in 2014 and 2015, Bookmarked lost a lot of members w
Read more

Banned Book Week: Students Make Comments Pro & Con Censorship

Image
This blog post is being designed as a lesson for the English I students at PFTSTA. The teachers and I have collaborated on an activity to celebrate Banned Book Week (BBW). Many times in the past during BBW, I have invited the 8th graders into the library to discuss the banning and challenging of books in schools and libraries. I usually show some videos and share books owned by our library that have been banned or challenged somewhere in the US. This activity always spurs great discussion among the students and teachers. This year we wanted the students to create a written response to the presentation. We thought there was a real world connection if we had the students post their opinion online as a comment to someone writing about censorship in schools. The teachers and I want the students to learn how to compose a well thought out comment that is supported by evidence and concrete details. How more real world could it be than having the students comment directly on their librar
Read more

Students Weigh in on Banned Books and the Freedom to Read

Image
Every year, for Banned Book Week, I prepare a lesson for our 8th graders. It was always teacher directed with discussion until last year . The English I teachers and I created a lesson for the students that included research and writing. I pulled the materials that I wanted them to read, and the students would write a very short essay declaring their belief in the need for teens to be able to exercise their freedom to read what they want to or the need for certain books to be taken off the shelves of the library or pulled from the English curriculum.  Above is the slide presentation that I have made for the students. Included in the slides are several videos that I thought would get the students thinking. There are slides with links to specific articles that we want the students to read and use for the concrete evidence to support their stance. A rubric is included at the end so the students know exactly what is expected. The teachers and I want the writing to have a rea
Read more