All school library personnel in the English Sector of Quebec are invited to the 2023 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, February 15th, 2023 from 8:45 to 4:00, plus social event afterwards.
Location: Online Event
Theme: Creating a Community of Belonging
We are pleased to announce our two keynote speakers: Roen A. Higgins and Jael Richardson. There will also be presentations on using media to create community, on removing barriers to create belonging, on accessible books for young readers, as well as book recommendations from Constellations.
Registration starts February 1st. Please register by Friday, February 10th, 2023.
Look below for a listing of the sessions. Click on the blue buttons below to learn more about each session.
8:45-9:00 Welcoming and Opening Words
9:00-10:00
Opening Keynote with Roen A. Higgins
Opening Keynote with Roen A. Higgins: Off The Shelf | Curating a Safe and Engaging Experience for All
Session A 9:00 –10:00 AM
Session Description:
Imagine a space where students engage, connect and discover a memorable community. Roen invites participants to explore the thought of the library being the pulse of the school and discusses how to foster a safe community centred space; a source for exploration and a place of belonging. A place where youth won’t look to find books to escape, rather find themselves off the shelves.
Presenter Bios:
Roen A. Higgins
Roen A. Higgins is an award-winning spoken word poet, educator, dynamic speaker, certified impact coach and a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) facilitator. Founder of The Elevated Creative, her mission is to elevate her audience with important life skills such as self-care, resilience, leadership, creative literacy & community well-being. An active Special Care Counselor for the past 22 years as well as a community change agent, Roen loves helping young people emerge and adults shift towards elevation. As a coach, she is dedicated to raising others to get unstuck and tap into their genius zone.
10:00-10:10 Health Break
10:10-11:10
The Caring Library: Removing Barriers to Create Belonging for All Students
The Caring Library: Removing Barriers to Create Belonging for All Students
Session B 10:10 –11:10
Session Description:
In this session Courtney Morrison, board librarian from the Eastern Townships School board will highlight the impacts of colonization on library practices, the barriers and exclusions we might not be aware of and the ways in which we can actively take part in fostering inclusive practices. We will explore the power of language, relationships and belonging.
Presenter Bios:
Courtney Morrison
Courtney Morrison is the school board librarian at ETSB and is a member of QSLiN. Courtney obtained her MLIS from Mcgill University and has a BA from Bishop’s University. She has worked in school libraries for 8 years. At her board she is on the IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity & access) committee as well as the committee for truth and reconciliation in education. She has given professional development workshops to teachers and library colleagues on respectful & inclusive language, inclusive genrefication, and how to select and audit collections to ensure representation. In her spare time, Courtney can be found enjoying the outdoors with her family and is known to do a lot of thinking, tinkering, and working on her many creative projects.
11:10-11:20 Health Break
11:20-12:20
Opening the World of Canadian Youth Literature to Everyone
Opening the World of Canadian Youth Literature to Everyone
Session C1 11:20 –12:20
Session Description:
Carol-Ann Hoyte will share the objectives of the CCBC’s two-year project dedicated to accessible Canadian books for young people and discuss the various components which make up the project. Spencer Miller will speak about Bibliovideo, the CCBC’s YouTube channel, created to locate and learn about great Canadian books for young people. He will share the types of videos and resources available on the channel including a special focus on its new Accessible Books playlist.
Presenter Bios:
Carol-Ann Hoyte (she/her), B.A.
Carol-Ann Hoyte is the Program and Events Coordinator, Canadian Children’s Book Centre. After a 20-year relationship with the CCBC, Carol-Ann Hoyte joined its team in June 2022. She is a published children’s poet and teaching artist with the national, bilingual organization, Poetry in Voice, based in Montreal. Carol-Ann loves stories in the form of books, plays, films, and musicals.
Email: carol-ann@bookcentre.ca
Spencer Miller (he/him), B.A., B.Ed.
Spencer Miller is the Channel Assistant, Bibliovideo. He is an English teacher for the New Frontiers School Board. He loves to share about diverse Canadian kidlit through his work as the Editorial Coordinator of Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom and the channel assistant for Bibliovideo.
Email: spencer@bibliovideo.ca
Twitter username: @SpencerBMiller
Walk With Your Community to Transform Your Library
Walk with Your Community to Transform Your Library
Session C2 11:20 –12:20
Session Description:
It is easy and exciting to dream and imagine a new library. However, we must embark on this process of transformation hand in hand with the entire school community. During this session, I will share the story of my approach.
Presenter Bios:
Sophie Lapointe
Sophie Lapointe has been in education for the past 30 years: as a teacher, elementary school Principal and now as an administrator for adult education and International students. She started her career in Alberta, before coming back to her hometown province, Quebec. She has been working for Riverside School Board for 25 years. Not only is Sophie a dedicated educator, in whatever role she is playing in the education system, she is also an artist. She loves using her creativity and passion for photography in both her personal and professional life.
12:20 to 13:30 Lunch
Lunch
Drag Royalty Storytime with Uma Gahd!
Optional 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!
13:30 to 14:30
Using Media to Create Community and Share Information
Using Media to Create Community and Share Information
Session D1 13:30 –14:30
Session Description:
Joan Harrison from The Sacred Heart School of Montreal and Chelsea Baker from the Central Quebec School Board in Quebec City will highlight some of the ways they have used media to create a community of belonging in their roles as school librarians. Whether it is to share information, promote reading and new books, show how to access digital resources, or provide tips on technical and literacy skills, the aim of using media is to bring visibility to the library and to show the role the library plays in the school as a whole.
Presenter Bios:
Chelsea Baker
Chelsea, Librarian, Central Quebec School Board and Librarian at Ste-Foy Elementary School in Quebec City, has a MLiS from Western University in London, Ontario. Originally from New Brunswick, she has been working in Quebec City for the Central Quebec School Board since 2008. Sharing and making children’s and young adult literature accessible to students and teachers brings her a lot of professional satisfaction. When she is not reading books, you can find her on cross-country ski trails, playing with her cat, baking cookies, writing postcards, or playing her viola.
Email: chelsea.baker@cqsb.qc.ca
Joan Harrison (she/her), MA (Mus.), MLIS
Joan Harrison is the Librarian at The Sacred Heart School of Montréal, a private English Catholic high school which was established in 1861 to give a quality education to girls of all backgrounds. Ms. Harrison also supplies additional technical support, working in collaboration with the school’s I.T. department and teaching a course in Education Technology to Grade 7 students.
Email: jharrison@sacredheart.qc.ca
Twitter username: @KJoanHarrison
Constellations
Constellations
Session D2 13:30 –14:30
La session se déroulera en français
Description de la session:
Au cours de cette session, Julie Nollet présentera des livres en français, de qualité et s’adressant aux niveaux primaire et secondaire. La sélection portera sur le thème du symposium, soit la mise en valeur d’un sentiment d’appartenance à la communauté. Julie Nollet montrera comment utiliser les outils de Constellations et abordera les applications pédagogiques de la littérature.
Biographie de la présentatrice:
Julie Nollet
Julie Nollet, de la Direction de la formation générale des jeunes (DFGJ) du ministère de l’Éducation, responsable du site Constellations et de la Liste orthographique.
Le site Constellations est un site de développement pédagogique, conçu et produit par la Direction de la formation générale des jeunes (DFGJ) du ministère de l’Éducation. Il vise à développer le goût de lire ainsi que des habitudes durables de lecture chez les jeunes. Constellations est une sélection de livres variés, mise à jour régulièrement. C’est aussi un laboratoire d’animation pédagogique et culturelle.
14:30 to 14:45 Break
14:45 to 16:00
Closing Keynote with Jael Richardson
Closing Keynote with Jael Richardson
Beyond Diversity: Cultivating Care and Community through Literature
Session E 14:45 –16:00
Session Description:
In 2016, Jael Richardson founded the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) an annual literary festival in Brampton, Ontario that centres and celebrates authors and storytellers from marginalized communities. As the Executive Director for the FOLD, Richardson continues to expand the work of the FOLD, writing books and delivering keynotes across the country that encourage readers to explore what they read and what kind of books they share with others. In this dynamic keynote address delivered by best-selling author and the former book columnist for CBC’s q, audiences will discover critical ways to transform their approach to diversity and inclusion in literary spaces with a single question.
Presenter Bio:
Jael Richardson
Jael Richardson is the author of The Stone Thrower and the founder and Executive Director for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) in Brampton, Ontario. Her debut dystopian novel, Gutter Child was shortlisted for the Amazon First Novel Award, a finalist for the White Pine Award and won a Word Award. Her second picture book, Because You Are, was published in July 2022. Richardson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and lives in Brampton, Ontario.
A copy of Gutter Child and Because You Are will be awarded to lucky Symposium attendees courtesy of Librairie La Maison Anglaise, an accredited Bookstore in Quebec City.