SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau

Reading inspiration at Whitcoulls

2019-05-07T15:28:00.000+12:00

Our first SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau event of 2019 was an enjoyable and well-attended evening at Whitcoulls, Whangarei, in the first week of the Term 1 school holidays.

We gathered at 5.30 as the shop closed to the public, and were given a warm welcome, with refreshments provided, seating all set out, and a goodie bag of treats each - notebook and pens, flyers etc and some free books which always goes down well with librarians and readers!

We were fortunate to have as guest speaker Whitcoulls book buyer, Joan MacKenzie of Joan's Picks fame. Joan gave an interesting, lively and insightful talk based on her many years experience in the book trade and a lifetime of wide reading.

Many thanks to Whitcoulls for their hospitality and to Marama Keyte at Kamo Primary for organising it all.

After some sharing of reading recomendations and good book shopping with discounts, there was a convivial SLANZA committee meeting at the next door Dickens Inn for some planning for events for the rest of the year.
The SLANZA TTT committee is working hard to create opportunities for professional development and collegial networking, and just need you to come and join in :-)

Organising and utilising an army of Student Librarian Helpers : SLANZA TTT Term 4 event 2018

2018-11-11T10:46:00.000+13:00

Te Tai Tokerau AGM and professional development

2018-06-25T15:31:00.000+12:00

SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau held our 2018 AGM and professional development event for Term 2 at Whangarei Library on Saturday morning, and it was a stimulating, friendly, interesting morning.

We started with the AGM while some technical issues were sorted, and members have been sent minutes from the AGM and Julia Smith's National Executive Report.

The AGM included a short discussion about the important task of reviewing and renewing SLANZA's Vision Statement and Mission Statement. Feel free to contact Julia with any thoughts or suggestions about this to feed into the overall review process. Read more in previous blogpost here.

Wheelers ePlatform

Farah from Wheelers gave a great overview of the Wheelers ePlatform and options for schools for both ebooks and audio books, and drew on her personal experience as a reader of both formats.
Current subscribers appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback with ideas for ways to make it easier for students to find the books they want. Persistent and innovative marketing is crucial for making ebooks visible and inviting for readers.

When talking about harnessing the potential of audio books, Farah shared a useful infographic from the US Audio Publishers Association (Licensed for sharing with attribution) How Audio promotes Literacy
and the links to the research behind this infographic is here

Megan Davidson : engaging readers with engaging booktalks

I tried to get a photo of Megan in action when she was talking about the art and science of book-talking and it was practically impossible (for my amateur photography skills) because Megan was so animated - hand gestures and facial expressions like lightning! Her energy and enthusiasm filled the room and you could well see how she is able to successfully engage students with books...

Megan shared her practical strategies and variety of approaches, and encouraged everyone to give it a go -plan, practice, promote...

The links to her resources are here at the SLANZA Conference website - this may be something you'd like to share with English teachers?

Here's a link to the youtube video Megan has made so you can see her in action! The bit at the end when the students rush up to get the books says it all...

Thanks to those who came along and gave up their Saturday morning to become more informed, inspired and connected to their library colleagues in other schools. It takes a bit of time, money and organisation to create events like this and it is all worthwhile if people pick up on the opportunities!

Reviewing and renewing SLANZA's Vision and Mission statements

2018-06-25T14:58:00.003+12:00

Good morning everyone

SLANZA feels it is time to revise our vision and mission statements. These are important to our organisation and we want to get them right to guide us in our strategic planning. Below are our new proposals, however we would encourage member participation in tweaking them, or even re-writing them. Any alterations will be submitted back to NE for consideration before we present the new statements at our AGM in September, which will need to be ratified by member vote.

I will be asking for feedback at our regional AGM on Saturday, but thought you would appreciate some time to consider these statements. If you are not attending but would like to submit a suggestion, please reply to this email.

VISION STATEMENT

Where do we aim to be? Inspirational and motivational statement that captures the essence of an ideal future, achievable, empowering, provides a sense of direction that focuses our organisation’s efforts.

MISSION STATEMENT

What do we do? For whom? Why? Purpose and values of the organisation, who the organisation is for.

Our Current Vision Statement

The School Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa Te Puna Whare Mātauranga a Kura (SLANZA) aims to strengthen and promote the role of school libraries, to enable all school communities to become information literate.

Proposed New Vision and Mission Statements

The School Library Association of New Zealand Aotearoa

Te Puna Whare Mātauranga a Kura

VISION STATEMENT

SLANZA will empower and support school librarians and strengthen and promote school libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand

MISSION STATEMENT

SLANZA is the national professional organisation focused on school librarians and school libraries providing community, guidance and professional development on library practice and programmes while reflecting the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi

Thank you for your time

Julia

Julia Smith BAppSci (ILS)

Qualified Librarian

Kerikeri High School

Hone Heke Road

Kerikeri

Ph: 09 407 8916

SLANZA co-president

SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau representative on the National Executive

SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau chairperson

2018-06-04T14:58:00.002+12:00

SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau

Term 2 event, June 2018, Whangarei

Getting books in hands and on devices: promoting print and digital reading options

Come along to hear about ways to get students reading, digital and / or print books.

eBooks and Audiobooks
We'll start the morning with Wheelers who will demonstrate their ePlatform. Bring your own device if you'd like to have a hands-on session exploring what it looks like and how it works, otherwise just come along to hear all about it and how it is going in other Northland schools.

After a brief SLANZA AGM and a lovely morning tea, our second guest speaker is
Megan Davidson, the teacher librarian at Westlake Girls' High School who will share the art of booktalking to engage readers.

Megan regularly book talks a pile of books to students and then stands back as they rush to the table to grab the titles they are keen on. It doesn't take long to give a hook into a book, but it is a powerful way to get the students eager to find out more. Megan was recently selected to participate in the World Booktalk Championship Competition!

This morning professional development is suitable for primary, intermediate and secondary school library staff and interested teachers. All very welcome.

Programme

9.45 - 10.00 : Join for a cuppa and catch up
10.00 - 11.00 : Wheelers presentation on eBooks and Audiobooks for your library
11.00 - 11.30 : SLANZA AGM and Morning tea
11.30 - 12.30 : Guest speaker Megan Davidson The Art of Booktalking
12.30 : Farewell

Getting books in hands and on devices: print and digital reading options

When

Saturday, June 23rd, 9:45am-12:30pm

Where

5 Rust Avenue

Whangarei, Northland

More information

Our meeting is at the Whangarei Central Library in the May Bain room (upstairs).
Free for SLANZA members/schools.
$10 for non-SLANZA members, payable on the day.
RSVP please to Julia Smith jsmith@kerikerihigh.ac.nz
The Forum North carpark is free on Saturdays.

Get Directions

Submissions open for next Collected Magazine on Reading

2017-10-16T16:11:00.000+13:00

The next issue of Collected magazine is being prepared and we need as many of you as possible to contribute and share your expertise with us all.

The theme for this issue is Reading:

It will cover:

Professional Reading

Personal reading

Reading programmes (that you use successfully or want to try)

Reading Activities (how reading is promoted by you or your school)

Literacy in schools

Primary School Reading Activities and programmes (it would be great to get more input from our Primary Schools)

We also need any other articles of interest, book reviews and articles of interest about local activities and events. The call for Submissions begins September 18 and deadlines for articles will be October 20^th.

If you have any questions or concern, please don’t hesitate to contact me at

collected@slanza.org.nz

Greig Daniels

Editor, Collected

Term 4 Connected Online Learning Module - Active Collection Development

2017-10-16T16:07:00.000+13:00

Registrations for the Active Collection Development module of the Connected Librarians course are open today Monday 16 October and will close Friday 27 October.

One of the best parts of our job is the chance to buy books and resources for our students and schools. This course will help you with that selection process and possibly challenge the way you do it.

On successful course completion, learners will be able to:

· develop a thoughtful selection criteria for one of their library’s collections

· collate a collection of resources to aid in the selection process

· identify personal and external biases in selecting resources

· develop strategies for overcoming bias in the selection process

The course will be starting on Monday 30 October and run for 2 weeks.

This course is designed by New Zealand school librarians, for school librarians - for anyone who is ready and willing to learn and try new things and share their thoughts and learning with others.

The course is free for SLANZA members.

Please visit the Online PD page on our SLANZA website for further information and to register.

Clare Forrest

PD Team Leader

Term 3 Google+ Discussion - SLANZA Conference 2017 Empowerment

2017-08-21T11:29:00.001+12:00

The SLANZA PD team is announcing our next G+ discussion topic for the year.

For those lucky enough to go to the SLANZA Conference this July it’s time to share, reflect on, celebrate and challenge ourselves about our experience.

We will be starting this Term 3 discussion on Monday 21 August 2017 and we will keep adding topics and questions for 4 weeks.

Our G+ discussions are designed to be slow, to allow time for deep thought and to reflect on our practices.You can dip in and out of the discussion as time allows you, and participate as much or as little as you wish.

You must be a member of SLANZA to take part in this discussion, as well as belonging to SLANZA’s Google+ Community.

We look forward to meeting you and hearing your thoughts – either for this discussion or one of our next professional development discussions.

Clare Forrest

SLANZA PD Team

SLANZA Administration Officer vacancy

2017-08-02T15:02:00.000+12:00

SLANZA has a vacancy for an Administration Officer. This is a paid position, approximately ten hours a week.

Our current Administration Officer, Ngaio Blackwood, has accepted a full-time position in a school library and as such she no longer has the time to commit to this position. We sincerely thank Ngaio for all her administrative skills and knowledge that she has helped us with.

If you would like to know more about this position or to request a job description please contact president@slanza.org.nz

Applications close on Friday, 11 August 2017

National Executive Communique

2017-08-02T08:06:00.000+12:00

Fiery Futures SLANZA 2017 Conference was amazing, and for many of us this week we are looking around our libraries with eyes wide open and a large action plan! Thanks for all your contributions, your energy, your feedback and your input into conference 2017. We hope it inspires and ignites you! We will have photos and presentation links up from conference soon on our web page!

During Conference at the AGM, the appointment of the co-Presidents was confirmed. Julia Smith from Kerikeri (Te Tai Tokerau region) and Kirsty Adam from Invercargill (Southland region) will share the role for the next two years. We are really excited at the energy and skill these two will bring to SLANZA - we are in for a great journey!

National Executive are thrilled to confirm that Book Protection Products will continue to sponsor SLANZA until 2020. This ensures that we have ongoing support to provide excellent professional development to all our members. Please support our sponsors
Unfortunately, NE has accepted the resignation of our SLANZA Administration Officer, Ngaio Blackwood. Ngaio stepping up to a full-time, sole charge position in a large school library. Although Ngaio only held the position of Administration Officer for a short while, she whipped us into shape with exceeding efficiency. We will miss her skills, but this does provide the opportunity for employment for another person in this role, and this job has been advertised through the Listserve.

Another change announced at conference was that we will hold the SLANZA National Conference tri-annually instead of biannually. SLANZA is trialing Regional Conferences, weekends of learning, networking, and inspiration. This change from our bi-annual National Conference is in direct response to the extraordinary workload on our volunteer members in the three major cities to produce such a high standard of conference every two years. We hope to extend and spread that workload by introducing these Regional Conferences in between our major National Conferences. Therefore, we are excited to announce that next year, Otago will host the 2018 SLANZA Regional Conference in September, followed by the Waikato / Bay of Plenty region in 2019. We will celebrate our 20th birthday at the big 2020 SLANZA National Conference in Wellington.

We also have some new professional development in the pipeline, and just to make sure we are on the right track we will be sending out an email to ask members what you want. Please when it hits your inbox reply to us, so we can target what you need and want!

Lastly thanks to all of you who put your hand up to serve SLANZA in your recent regional AGM’s. We applaud you all and hope it is a meaningful and enjoyable experience for you!

Below is your local NE representative and their contact email should you need any help or support as you library on…

Te Tai Tokerau - Julia Smith JSmith@kerikerihigh.ac.nz
Auckland - Trish Webster trishwebster@rangitoto.school.nz
Waikato/Bay of Plenty - Glenys Bichan bic@camhigh.school.nz
Central - Stephanie Gibbons Stephanie.gibbons@npbhs.school.nz
Wellington - Clare Forrest c.forrest@raroa.school.nz
Aoraki - Sally Stanley Boden sts@burnside.school.nz
Otago - Bridget Schaumann sc@kingshigh.school.nz
Southland - Kirsty Adam kadam@jameshargest.school.nz

Glenys Bichan
Communications
SLANZA National executive

bic@camhigh.school.nz

Congratulations to Marama Keyte!

2017-07-28T19:41:00.001+12:00

Marama Keyte captivated her audience with her enthusiasm and creativity at her presentation at the SLANZA meeting at the end of last term in Whangarei. She shared so many fun, practical, interactive strategies to make the library a lively, literary learning place.

Marama also represented Northland brilliantly at the SLANZA conference in Auckland with her presentation there – people were buzzing about it afterwards and the Northland contingent was very proud of her.

At the Conference, Marama was also presented with a SLANZA Award of Merit as someone "who has demonstrated an outstanding level of service to their school library to support its contribution to improving student academic achievement".

Marama receiving her SLANZA Award of Merit from SLANZA Co-President, Julia Smith

2017 SLANZA AGM

2017-07-06T08:23:00.003+12:00

SLANZA AGM

Tuesday 18th July 2017

Kings College, Auckland, 12.30 – 1pm

Agenda

· Welcome

· Apologies

· Minutes from previous AGM and any matters arising

· Co-Presidents report

· Financial report - in progress. Will be sent out separately when back from the accountant.

· Appointment of Auditor

· Membership report

· General business

o Future conferences

· Any other business arising

Please send any apologies to admin@slanza.org.nz

Regards

Kirsty Adam
Library Manager, James Hargest College
SLANZA Co-President

Phone: 032176129
Mobile: 0273157976
Email: kadam@jameshargest.school.nz
Website: library.jameshargest.school.nz
Address: 288 Layard Street, Invercargill 9810

SLANZA / Open Polytechnic fee free study offer

2017-06-15T16:15:00.001+12:00

This is a reminder about the fantastic study opportunity with the Open Polytechnic that SLANZA can offer you.

As you know, SLANZA is strongly committed to raising the professional standing of School Library staff through ongoing PD and professional qualification opportunities. Last year, a fee free offer was arranged between our two organisations for current SLANZA members studying the Certificate in Literature and Library Services for Children and Young People.

SLANZA is very grateful to Open Polytechnic for their willingness to make this opportunity possible, and their commitment to ongoing collaboration. Members looking at study or already working towards these qualifications will be aware what incredible value this offers in the study fee saving.

Who is eligible

This fee free offer is available to SLANZA members taking either of two courses in the OPNZ OP6273 Certificate in Literature and Library Services for Children and Young People (Level 6):

· 72276: Literature and Information Resources for Children and Young People

· 72277: Library Services for Children and Young People

Enrolments for the Trimester 2 course 72277: Library Services for Children and Young People are open now, with the course starting on 3 July. 72277 is only offered once a year, in Trimester 2, and enrolments close on 25 June 2017.

72276 Literature and Information Resources for Children and Young People will be offered in Trimester 3 2017.

Note that the OPNZ $60 annual administration fee cannot be waived. It is also important to note that SLANZA members who wish to take up this offer must have either completed the Diploma in Information & Library Studies (Level 5) with OPNZ already, or alternatively, have completed the four prerequisite courses that apply to this certificate. Information on these prerequisites can be found under the ‘entry requirements’ tab of the certificate on the Open Polytechnic website.

How to take up this offer

1. Your SLANZA membership subscription must be paid in full. If you are not sure of your membership status, please contact Ngaio Blackwood (admin@slanza.org.nz) or your regional representative on the National Executive

2. Check that you meet the OPNZ’s prerequisite requirements for the certificate

3. Enrol online via the OPNZ website here.

4. At the payment section, use contract code 0663 to receive the fee-free offer. OPNZ will verify SLANZA membership before approving course entry.

We strongly encourage our members to take advantage of this offer now.

Further information

Any questions? Please contact Jan Irvine:

Email: Jan.Irvine@openpolytechnic.ac.nz

Phone: 0508 650200, extension 5594

SLANZA 17 Conference welcomes Steve Braunias as final plenary speaker

2017-06-14T15:38:00.001+12:00

We are delighted to announce that on the last morning of Conference we have Steve Braunias, who is sure to entertain and intrigue.

Steve is a New Zealander and an award-winning writer who has written under a variety of hats – as a journalist, non-fiction author, newspaper columnist, magazine feature writer and editor, as well as a primetime television writer.

Not only is he a writer whose career has crossed many different mediums, he is also an author who gets you scurrying around the library, across an incredibly wide selection of subject areas. His non-fiction topics include birdwatching; criminal psychology; cities and towns; politics; and retail stores. His passions are varied, but almost always come back to the places, things and people of New Zealand.

He writes stories with satire, opinion and comedy and has been described as “a scavenger of social lodestone” a wonderful phrase which conjures up all kinds of images. We are very lucky to have him speaking at Conference and can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

Trish Webster

Library Manager
Rangitoto College

SLANZA 2017 Conference update

2017-06-13T08:17:00.001+12:00

Our sponsors and exhibitors play a key role in supporting the SLANZA Conference and our School Library community. As a result we are delighted with the support and enthusiasm we have received from so many companies around New Zealand & Australia.

We are grateful to the following companies for their support:

Gold Sponsor: Open Polytechnic

Silver Sponsors: Accessit

Gale

Library AV & Large print

SCIS Schools Catalogue Information Service

Softlink

Author Sponsor: NZ Book Council

One of the benefits of attending Conference is access to the key people from companies, they know their products; they know school libraries; and they know we like ideas to make our work easier.

Conference breaks will give you the opportunity to put faces to well-known company names, discover new products and explore what services are available.

Exhibitors

The Dorothy Butler Children's Bookshop	Hydestor Shelving
Infobase Learning Australia	Distinction Furniture
Mike's Woodshop Ltd	Softlink
Lundia Shelving	Open Polytechnic
University Bookshop Ltd (Ubiq)	Access-It Library
CiteMaker.com	Education Services Australia - SCIS
Gale, Cengage Learning	Wheelers
Library AV & Large Print Pty Ltd	Bibliotheca Australia
South Pacific Book Distributors	Paper Plus

Lonely Planet	Oxford University Press
Miller Books	Mighty Ape Ltd
Lioncrest Education	Dubois Enterprises Ltd

There will be lucky draws to enter and prizes to be won in the exhibition hall, we look forward to seeing you there at SLANZA 2017.

Elizabeth Atkinson

Conference Convener

Reminders: Membership and Conference payments

2017-06-07T09:07:00.002+12:00

Thank you to the 85% of members who have paid their SLANZA subscription for 2017. All members will have received a receipt by now, so if you haven’t and believe you have paid, please follow up with your school’s accounts department in the first instance before contacting Ngaio Blackwood, our SLANZA Administration Officer. Membership forms can be found on the SLANZA website.

Under six weeks until Conference! Earlybird registrations close next week, Thursday 15 June. May I please remind those still to pay their Conference registration to use the correct bank account stated on the Conference invoice. We have many registrations coming through to the SLANZA account, presumably the school account departments are paying into the SLANZA account saved on their management system rather than the Conference account. Thanks for your help with this.

Julia Smith

Communications

SLANZA Life Membership Award - call for nominations

2017-05-29T09:20:00.001+12:00

Life membership is SLANZA’s ultimate award and honour, recognising a SLANZA member whose contribution to school librarianship is so outstanding that it is of lasting importance to the advancement of the whole field of school library service.

SLANZA National Executive would like to call for nominations for our Life Membership Award. Information and criteria for the award can be found on the Award Page on the SLANZA website.

As always, the awards are presented at the discretion of the Awards Committee. If a recipient is selected, the Life Membership Award will be presented at SLANZA’s National Conference in Auckland this July.

Please send nominations with all the required documentation to admin@slanza.org.nz by Friday 23 June 2017.

Term 2 Google+ Discussion

2017-05-29T09:18:00.003+12:00

The SLANZA PD team is excited to announce our second G+ discussion topic for the year. It will begin on Tuesday 6 June.

The Ministry of Education is committed to providing innovative learning environments where everyone can work together to support the best learning for everyone. What does this mean for school libraries and the way we practice?

Our G+ discussions are designed to be slow, to allow time for deep thought and to reflect on our practices. Over four weeks there will be four readings followed by reflective questions. You can dip in and out of the discussion as time allows you, and participate as much or as little as you wish.

You must be a member of SLANZA to take part in this discussion (and it’s a great year to join with conference coming up), as well as belonging to SLANZA’s Google+ Community.

We look forward to “seeing” you and hearing your thoughts – either for this discussion or one of our other professional development events planned for later this year.

SLANZA Awards Nominations - due next week

2017-05-26T09:14:00.001+12:00

ONE WEEK TO GO, ALL NOMINATIONS

DUE NEXT THURSDAY 1^ST JUNE!

SLANZA encourages and rewards excellence in school libraries, recognising the success and achievement of those working in and with school libraries, with a series of annual awards. Therefore the Slanza National Executive would like to call for nominations for our Awards of Merit to be presented at the upcoming National Conference in July at King’s college, Auckland. Further information about the criteria for each award can be found on the Awards Page on the SLANZA website.

As always, the awards are presented at the discretion of the Awards Committee.

Please send all nominations with all the required documentation to admin@slanza.org.nz no later than Thursday 1^st June 2017.

School Librarians of Aotearoa - interview with Julia Smith

2017-05-23T11:52:00.000+12:00

I was honoured to be interviewed for 'School Librarians of Aotearoa' column in the The Sapling, a New Zealand website dedicated to children’s literature.

The interview, where I was sent questions to answer on my role, philosophy, library organisation and other things, went live today. If you are interested in reading it you can find it here

New Zealand authors' panel discussion

2017-05-10T08:11:00.002+12:00

Don’t forget, this Thursday after school we have the Storylines Festival New Zealand authors doing a panel session for us.

This is open to everyone, including students and the wider community. It will be marvellous to hear from New Zealand authors regarding their writing journey.

National Executive Communique - April #2

2017-05-03T10:16:00.000+12:00

The National Executive met last weekend, 8-9 April 2017, in Wellington at Raroa Intermediate School. Below is Part 2 of a two part summary of some of the discussions held at the meeting, You can find Part 1 on the SLANZA website’s news page

Membership

As expected in conference year, there has been an increase in membership, as evidenced in the number of invoices issued. To date, 76% of member subscriptions have been paid. Thank you, your timely contribution is appreciated. Please note that unpaid membership fees for 2017, $60 per person, are OVERDUE.

Financial Report

We have a healthy budget and are looking at options for spending some of this on strengthening our organisation.

Conference Grants

Book Protection Products have been a substantial supporter of SLANZA regional professional development for many years. This year each region’s $500 grant will be allocated to assist members to attend the Auckland conference. In addition, National Executive will top up this amount by $1,500, therefore increasing the grant allocated to each region to $2,000. This grant money must be used exclusively for assisting members to attend conference. Please contact your regional representatives for more information or to apply for funding.

Conference

National Executive would like to acknowledge the fantastic job the Auckland Conference Committee are doing. Holding a conference is a huge task that falls to just a few volunteer members, yet it provides valuable professional development and networking opportunities for approximately a third of our members.

Have you registered yet? Too expensive for your school? Senior leadership may be more amenable if you secure a SLANZA Conference grant towards costs. Consider applying for grant money and take advantage of this quality professional development opportunity. See the conference website for the programme, speakers, registration and more.

SLANZA Awards

Call for nominations for SLANZA awards to recognise excellence, success and achievement within school libraries are now open. Criteria for each award can be found on the Awards Page on the SLANZA website. Please send nominations with all the required documentation to admin@slanza.org.nz no later than Thursday, June 1, 2017. Awards will be presented at the upcoming National Conference in Auckland.

Professional Development

The Google+ community has grown to 165 members, up from 111 members from the same time last year. Term one’s monthly discussion entitled Self Censorship and the School Library, was instigated by the SLANZA Professional Development team in response to a Listserv discourse at the end of 2016. This pd challenged all participants to reflect on their library practices, and the resulting conversations added depth and understanding to the contentious issue. Twenty-five members actively contributed but members who followed along reading the articles and responses gained valuable knowledge to better serve their school communities. These discussion threads remain open if you would like to catch up on some professional reading over the holidays. Keep an eye out for the Term 2 discussion.

Once again, the Connected Online Learning PD team responded to topical issues and offered a module on Digital Literacy and Fake News. Thirty-four members actively participated which is the biggest cohort to date, well done those members who have taken this opportunity to further their learning through SLANZA. There was lots of stimulating discussion and critical thinking going on. In addition, these modules provide a space to build collegiality and gather like-minded learners to follow on your pln (personal learning network).

Issue 20 of SLANZA’s online magazine Collected will focus on conferences, SLANZA and non-SLANZA conferences. We welcome articles on special experiences, inspiring speakers or workshops, on how to make the most of the opportunities, professional development and collegiality of the event. Call for submissions opened yesterday and will close on May 15th. Please consider submitting articles or reviews to collected@slanza.org.nz; Collected is your magazine and we want to hear your voice.

We are also seeking volunteer book reviewers and proofreaders of articles and reviews. We would really appreciate your support in helping to edit your magazine. If you would be willing to help out, please contact collected@slanza.org.nz

Outside Agencies

Since our last committee meeting National Executive has had meetings and/or ongoing discussions with LIANZA, the Open Polytechnic and the National Library. Maintaining relationships with associated national professional organisations is important for our credibility as a professional organisation. These connections help us provide and support you, our members, with more opportunities than SLANZA alone may be able to provide.

Jackson Ertel, Open Polytechnic, discussing the iQualify platform with NE, Raroa Intermediate.

National Executive wishes you a Happy Easter and safe holidays after a long school term.

Julia Smith

Communications

National Executive Communique - April #1

2017-05-03T10:14:00.000+12:00

The National Executive met last weekend, 8-9 April 2017, in Wellington at Raroa Intermediate School. Below is Part 1 of a two part summary of some of the discussions held at the meeting, Part 2 will follow in the next couple of days.

National Executive Personnel Changes

With no nominations for President Elect received from members National Executive have nominated Kirsty Adam and Julia Smith to be co-Presidents-Elect.

Current President, Sandi Faulconbridge, has accepted a new job opportunity with the National Library. Due to the conflict of interest, Sandi is unable to hold any office-bearing role within SLANZA and has stood down. Sandi has been president for seven months, taking on the role in difficult circumstances. Yet her outstanding organisational skills, quick thinking and equally quick wit has helped steady the SLANZA organisation and reset forward momentum. We sincerely wish Sandi all the best in her new role.

As a result of these exceptional circumstances, co-Presidents Elect Kirsty and Julia, with the full support of the NE, move into the role of interim co-Presidents until their positions can be ratified at the AGM in July.

Kirsty Adam represents the Southland region and is the Library Manager at James Hargest College in Invercargill. She has a degree in psychology and education, is a trained teacher and worked at the Invercargill Public Library before moving to her current position five years ago. Kirsty took on the role of NE rep for Southland in 2014 and has done an incredible job of rebuilding SLANZA Southland. Her enthusiasm and drive, coupled with a strong can-do attitude has certainly benefited both her region and National Executive. Kirsty has recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Applied Practice through Mindlab.

At the other end of the country, Julia Smith, represents the Te Tai Tokerau region. Julia joined SLANZA fifteen years ago, completed her BAppSci in Information and Library Studies through the Open Polytechnic in 2010, and about the same time secured a full-time job at Kerikeri High School. She has been involved with SLANZA for many years, stepping up to Chairperson in 2013, then the following year became the SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau National Executive Representative; she still holds both of these positions. Julia’s main role within NE has been Communications, though she has enjoyed moderating the Google+ community discussions and facilitating the Connected online learning modules.

Kirsty Adam and Julia Smith

The National Executive welcomed four new members at this meeting. Greater regional representation provides a stronger voice for members, encourages robust discussion and helps to share the workload. Our new NE members are:

· Stephanie Gibbons, library manager at New Plymouth Boys High School who takes over the role of NE rep for Central region.

· Glenys Bichan is the new representative for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty region, Library Manager at Cambridge High School, and current Chairperson for her region.

· Ngaio Blackwood is our new Administration Officer, the only paid position within SLANZA. Ngaio is a librarian at Tamatea Intermediate in Napier and has spent the last thirteen years in school, tertiary and public libraries. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) and a postgraduate Certificate in Information Studies (library). Ngaio can be contacted at admin@slanza.org.nz

· Bridget Schaumann representing the Otago region, was warmly welcomed back. Bridget, as a past President and with many, many years experience on NE, offers a vast knowledge repository that is truly remarkable and invaluable.

The fact that two of our SLANZA presidents have so recently been employed by National Library is well worth noting. National Library has obviously recognised the work, responsibilities and leadership potential that SLANZA provides and nourishes. Although we may begrudge National Library harvesting our best people, it is with pride that we acknowledge the role that SLANZA has played in furthering both Miriam and Sandi’s careers.

The second part of our meeting summary will be shared in the next couple of days.

Julia Smith

Communications

Collected submissions closing soon

2017-05-03T10:05:00.005+12:00

This is a timely reminder that the Deadline for Collected 20 approaches. Submissions close on 15th May,2017.

Our theme for the issue is “Conferences and Professional Development”. We will be promoting SLANZA Conference 2017 Fiery Futures. The theme is SLANZA and non Slanza conferences people may have attended. Stories about special or uplifting experiences, speakers, workshops etc. and tips to navigating conferences, making the most of the opportunities, professional development and the collegiality of professional development would all be welcome. We also welcome articles of interest, reviews from members and accounts of local SLANZA or library related activities.

If you wish to submit something and have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at collected@slanza.org.nz or greig@tokohigh.school.nz
Guidelines for submissions can be found at slanza.org.nz under the Resources tab. Our deadline for this issue is May 15 2017

Please feel free to contact me at the above address if you have any questions or concerns

Greig Daniels
Editor, Collected

New Zealand authors panel discussion

2017-05-03T10:01:00.001+12:00

SLANZA is fortunate to have secured three New Zealand children’s authors for a panel discussion after school NEXT THURSDAY, 11 May, 4-5pm, at Kerikeri High School Library.

I appreciate it isn’t much notice of the event but it is too good of an opportunity to miss while they are touring with Storylines National Festival Story Tour. It is a free event, open to adults and students.

Come along after school at 3:45pm for afternoon tea followed by the panel talk:

· Melinda Szymanik recently published Fuzzy Doodle, wonderful picture book about words, stories and writing illustrated by Donovan Bixley, as well as plenty of other titles (Song of the Kauri, Winter’s day in 1939, The Were-Nana etc), and has run workshops about getting published so if you have any questions on that front she would be a good person to talk to.
· Tim Tipene is the author of Taming the Taniwha, Haere, Jack, Haere, and Warrior Kids books.
· Diana Menefy is a Northland author, living in Hikurangi, and her latest books are 1915 : Wounds of War and Shadow of the Boyd

SLANZA wishes to acknowledge Storylines sponsorship to hold this event, and our huge appreciation of the authors for their time while they spend full days in schools on their Northland tour.

SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau

Reading inspiration at Whitcoulls

Organising and utilising an army of Student Librarian Helpers : SLANZA TTT Term 4 event 2018

Te Tai Tokerau AGM and professional development

Reviewing and renewing SLANZA's Vision and Mission statements

SLANZA Te Tai Tokerau

Term 2 event, June 2018, Whangarei

Getting books in hands and on devices: promoting print and digital reading options

Programme

Getting books in hands and on devices: print and digital reading options

Saturday, June 23rd, 9:45am-12:30pm

5 Rust Avenue

Whangarei, Northland

Thanks to SLANZA's sponsor, Book Protection Products, Ltd.

Submissions open for next Collected Magazine on Reading

Term 4 Connected Online Learning Module - Active Collection Development

Term 3 Google+ Discussion - SLANZA Conference 2017 Empowerment

SLANZA Administration Officer vacancy

National Executive Communique

Congratulations to Marama Keyte!

2017 SLANZA AGM

Agenda

SLANZA / Open Polytechnic fee free study offer

Who is eligible

How to take up this offer

Further information

SLANZA 17 Conference welcomes Steve Braunias as final plenary speaker

SLANZA 2017 Conference update

Reminders: Membership and Conference payments

SLANZA Life Membership Award - call for nominations

Term 2 Google+ Discussion

SLANZA Awards Nominations - due next week

School Librarians of Aotearoa - interview with Julia Smith

New Zealand authors' panel discussion

National Executive Communique - April #2

National Executive Communique - April #1

Collected submissions closing soon

New Zealand authors panel discussion