All school library personnel in the English Sector of Quebec are invited to the 2022 QSLiN Library Symposium. This annual symposium provides them with an opportunity to receive professional development designed specifically for their domain. Educational colleagues ‒ including educational consultants and administrators ‒ are also invited to take part.
Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 from 9:00 to 4:00, plus social event afterwards
Location: Online Event
Theme: Diverse Readers, Inclusive Libraries
We are pleased to announce our two keynote speakers: David A. Robertson, Canadian author, and Duke Eatmon, CBC Radio host. There will be a panel discussion on diversifying library collections, as well as presentations on assistive reading technologies, and the intercultural competency in school libraries. Be sure to join us at lunchtime for the Drag Royalty Storytime!
Registration starts March 22. Please register by Friday, April 22.
Look below for a listing of the sessions. Click on the blue buttons to learn more about each session.
9:00-9:15 Welcoming and Opening Words
9:15-10:15
Opening Keynote with David A Robertson
Opening Keynote with David A. Robertson: The Importance of Representation in Shaping Self-Perception and Strong Communities
Session A 9:15 –10:15 AM
Session Description:
Every child should have a book in their hands that they can see themselves in. Every child, as well, should read books about other people in their community. It’s empowering, it helps to build self-confidence, and creates an environment of respect and understanding. In this session, David will discuss the historical misrepresentation of Indigenous people in literature, and its impacts, and then focus on why it’s so important to have accurate representation in literature, both at home and in the classroom.
Presenter Bios:
DAVID A. ROBERTSON
DAVID A. ROBERTSON (he, him, his) is the 2021 recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. He is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award, the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award, and was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. His acclaimed YA series, The Reckoner, has won the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award, the Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction, and the Indigenous Writer of the Year Award at the High Plains Book Awards. The Barren Grounds, the first book in the middle-grade The Misewa Saga series, received a starred review from Kirkus, was a Kirkus and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, was a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection, was shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award, and is a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award as well as the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. His memoir, Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory, was a Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire book of the year in 2020, and won the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction as well as the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award at the 2020 Manitoba Book Awards. His second picture book, On The Trapline, illustrated by Julie Flett, has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher’s Weekly, and is a finalist for the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award. Dave is also the writer and host of the podcast Kíwew, winner of the 2021 RTDNA Praire Region Award for Best Podcast. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg.
10:15-10:45 Health Break
10:45-11:45
Projet Kaleidoscope
Projet Kaleidoscope
Session B1 10:45 –11:45
Session CANCELLED:
Malheureusement, en raison d’une situation indépendante de notre volonté, cette session a été annulée. Cependant, l’équipe du Kaleidoscope du YWCA nous a fourni un lien à partager avec vous, afin que vous puissiez vous informer sur le projet.
Projet Kaleidoscope: https://kaleidoscope.quebec/ressources/
Unfortunately, due to a situation beyond our control, this session has been cancelled. However, the Kaleidoscope team from the YWCA has provided us with a link to share with you, so that you can learn about the project.
Original Session description:
La présentation Créer un monde égalitaire à l’aide du livre jeunesse a pour but de réfléchir à nos pratiques auprès des jeunes afin de favoriser un monde inclusif où chaque enfant peut-être lui-même, et cela, dès le plus jeune âge.
Déroulement:
– Présentation de l’organisme YWCA Québec
– Historique et présentation du projet
– Présentation des outils
– Exploration des thématiques de la sélection à l’aide les livres
- Égalité des genres
- Affirmation de soi
- Diversité corporelle
- Diversité culturelle
- Diversité familiale
- Diversité fonctionnelle
- Diversité sexuelle et de genre
- Société
– Conclusion / période de questions.
Meeting the Other Culture
Meeting the Other Culture: Collaboration Between the Library and FSL Classroom
Session B2 10:45 –11:45
Session Description:
In June of 2016, the Advisory Board on English Education (ABEE) stated that 26% of young English-speaking adults wanted to leave the province mainly because they lacked confidence in their intercultural competency. What can we do to reverse this trend in our high school setting? A team of library personnel and teachers from Lester B. Pearson School Board collaborated with the Université du Québec à Montréal to find innovative solutions to tackle this issue. What is the Intercultural Competency? How do we evaluate the resources we already have and choose resources that are relevant to today’s society, students, teachers and curriculum? Leave this session with an appreciation of your own cultural identity, and some concrete tools to use in support of language and intercultural learning in your school community.
Presenter Bios:
Marc Albert Paquette, Pedagogical Consultant, Lester B. Pearson School Board
Marc-Albert is a pedagogical consultant in French as a Second Language at Lester B. Pearson school board. He believes that languages and cultures should be celebrated as they help us understand each other.
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@marcapaquette |
Lumi Susan, BEd, MEd, CA, MLIS, Library Technician, Beaconsfield High School, Lester B. Pearson School Board
Lumi Susan, BEd, MEd, CA, MLIS, Library Technician, Beaconsfield High School, Lester B. Pearson School BoardHappy to actively participate to this era of transforming school libraries into library learning commons, Lumi Susan, hopes her instructional and personal background will continue to open more and more doors to the changes in libraries and information sciences over the next years. A dedicated educator for almost 25 years, wearing different hats: teacher, teacher-librarian or library technician, she cannot picture a work day without both students and books.
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@LumiSusan |
Andrea Hyde, Library Technician, Westwood Senior High School, Lester B. Pearson School Board
Andrea Hyde, Library Technician, Westwood Senior High School, Lester B. Pearson School BoardAndrea has been a Library Technician for the Lester B Pearson School Board for the past eleven years. She is currently working at Westwood Senior High School. She is known by many names: Miss Librarian, Miss Book, Libby, and Coach. Andrea believes passionately in the power of words, and language, to expand horizons, move mountains, and to build bridges between worlds.
Making Reading Accessible to Everyone!
Making Reading Accessible for Everyone!
Session B3 10:45 –11:45
Session Description:
Are you wondering what kind of reading formats are out there that can be accessible to all students? Are you interested in learning about how to access them for your readers that need alternate formats? In this session we will discuss the concept of accessibility through the Universal Design for Learning lens, as well as which student learning profiles can benefit from accessible reading materials. We’ll then do a deep dive into assistive technology tools we are using to improve reading accessibility in both English and French. Finally, we’ll explore accessible reading formats that are available on the SQLA, CELA and Bookshare platforms that are available to your students through our English schools in Quebec.
Presenter Bios:
Andrea Prupas (she/her/hers), B.Ed., M.A., M.A.Cert.
As an assistive technology consultant for the EMSB, Andrea works with students and teachers with both specialized assistive technologies and universal solutions. Andrea also supports evidence-based practice for assistive technology planning and implementation for the school board. Andrea’s experience in the English School Boards of Quebec has been with the Directors General Table and the Ministry of Education in the area of UDL implementation and accessible technologies. She has taught diverse student populations in both educational and health care settings and loves working with students with new assistive technologies! Andrea has been a frequent presenter at international inclusive education conferences, including the Assistive Technology Industry Association and the Council of Exceptional Children.
Elisa Mei-Farina (she/her/hers), B.Ed.
Assistive Technology Consultant, English Montreal School Board
Elisa is an assistive technology consultant for the EMSB as well. She works with students and teachers in mainstream and specialized settings to model, train, and support the assistive technologies being used in the classroom and at home. Elisa’s experience started at the EMSB, teaching English, French, and Math at the elementary education level. During the global pandemic, she decided to further her education by enrolling in an Educational Technology Master’s program at Concordia. Through this program, she discovered a new career path as an assistive technology consultant at the English Montreal School Board.
Teresa Seminara (she/her/hers), B.A., M.A.T.L., M.A.
Assistive Technology Consultant, English Montreal School Board
As an assistive technology (AT) consultant, Teresa encourages the use of AT tools to play to students’ strengths while by-passing their learning difficulties. Before joining the EMSB community, Teresa launched her teaching career abroad where she taught grade 12 English at a Canadian International School in China. Since joining the EMSB, she has taught in high schools as a Social Science/Humanities teacher and, more recently, as a Resource teacher. Her teaching experience with diverse learners has inspired her to pursue further graduate studies in Educational Leadership and to obtain Universal Design for Learning (UDL) certification.
11:45 to 13:15 Lunch
Lunch Session: Drag Royalty Storytime with Uma Gahd!
Drag Royalty Storytime with Uma Gahd!
Lunch Session 12:15-13:00
Session Description:
As library staff, we are often found in a storytime with our students, sharing both new picture books and treasured older favourites. In this session, we get to sit back and enjoy being in the audience while Montreal drag queen, Uma Gahd, reads to us! We hope you’ll join us for some LGBTQ2+ picture books, in both English and French, and a conversation with Uma about the importance of diversity on our shelves and in our programming.
Presenter Bios:
Uma Gahd
Uma Gahd, everybody’s favourite unofficial auntie, is a drag queen extraordinaire! She is a fixture in the Montreal drag community where she can be found on a variety of stages, ranging from Bar Le Cocktail and Cabaret Mado to The Diving Bell Social Club and The Wiggle Room. Voted in the top 5 drag entertainers of the year – according to CULT MTL’s annual reader’s poll – for the last 6 years, she is the only drag queen to take the #1 spot from beloved drag icon Mado Lamotte! As a constant participant in the Montreal Fringe Festival Uma has also garnered nominations and awards for her theatrical creations, including her internationally toured one-woman show, “Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, Gahd.” Known for her comedic and conceptual drag numbers, she is an applauded hostess for her local drag productions “Church” & “Coven”, where drags of all styles come to congregate. Uma has also had the opportunity to host and perform in shows in Just For Laughs, Comiccon, Otakuthon, Montreal’s OFFTA, and the Edinburgh Fringe!
The actor behind Uma is Ryan Sauvé, a bilingual, qualified Early Childhood Educator who has had experience teaching in daycares ranging from theme-based to Reggio-Amelia. With a passion for storytelling, Ryan (often as Uma) has taken part in story time events including Rainbow Story Hour, and events with Fierté Littéraire, and Literacy Québec. Fabulous outfits and silly voices make every story come to life!
13:15 to 14:45
Let’s Talk Collections with Kelsey Bogan and Rabia Khokhar
Let’s Talk Collections with Kelsey Bogan and Rabia Khokhar
Session C 13:15 –14:45
Session Description:
This session will be a panel style discussion on diversity and equity in collections development and management with Rabia Khokhar and Kelsey Bogan. We will discuss their work in collections, some of the challenges of the work, as well as a look at some of the resources they have developed. We will discuss “weeding as an equity issue,” a framework available as a guide, and the present and important question of book challenges.
Presenter Bios:
Kelsey Bogan
Kelsey is a high school Librarian working in Southeast Pennsylvania, who most enjoys teaching media literacy, utilizing social media for advocacy and community building, and implementing antiracism and equity work into collection & program development efforts. She’s the kind of librarian who loves weeding, hates “shushing,” and who believes that graphic novels and audiobooks count as “real reading.” She is also a professional Speaker who presents nationally on topics such as Social Media for Libraries, Diversity Audits, Developing Diverse Collections, and Media Literacy. Connect with Kelsey on twitter @kelseybogan, or on her blog www.dontyoushushme.com! kelseybogan@outlook.com
Rabia Khokhar
Rabia Khokhar is an elementary Long Term Occasional Teacher with the Toronto District School Board and an education and equity consultant at Rabia Teaches. She is also a PhD student at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE). Rabia believes that the school library plays a key role in helping all students feel reflected, represented and seen through an asset based lens. She is interested in bringing equity theory to practice and enjoys sharing her teaching and learning on her social media platforms @Rabia_Khokhar1, www.rabiakhokhar.com. Rabia is the recipient of the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario’s 2021 Anti-Racist and Equity Activism Award.
14:45 to 15:00 Break
15:00 to 16:00
Closing Keynote with Duke Eatmon
Closing Keynote with Duke Eatmon.
“Knowing Yourself Starts At Home”
Session D 15:00 –16:00
Session Description:
Noted CBC Broadcaster, author and music historian will be talking about cultural awareness, pride, racial dignity and confidence being a thing that must be implemented in your life when you’re young by your care givers.
Presenter Bio:
Duke Eatmon, CBC Broadcaster, author and music historian
Named by his Afro-Canadian father and a Native-Canadian mother after the great Duke Ellington, and growing up in a household always filled with music, Duke Eatmon was greatly influenced towards involvement in the world of music. He has been involved in the Montreal music scene for many decades now, earning many awards and accolades for his contributions to the world of music, including the Montreal Dynastie Award in 2017 for Best Anglophone Radio Personality of the Year. In 2018, he was a Laureate for Black History Month in Montreal. Additionally, he taught music taught music at John Abbott CEGEP and McGill University in 2005-2006. You can read a more detailed biography in an article in “The Montrealer“.