CSLA Conference

CSLA is the California School Librarian's Association and has a conference in Southern California every two years. The alternate years the conference is held in Sacramento. This year the conference started last Thursday in Ontario. I always overestimate how long it will take me to drive 50 miles on five freeways and end up with time to spare and no where to go. However, the workshop I attended on Thursday afternoon was about how to create or perfect a library website and I am enthused about pushing harder to get EVHS's official website up ASAP and to get a library website up with OPAC and Database links that the staff and students could use from home.
I want our website to be user friendly, simple, logical, and useful. So, I will be trying to get our web coordinator to start building the site and all the necessary pages before East Valley hits it's second birthday. Anyone out here want to help?

First Academy Assembly

DId you ever notice that when something must be accomplished by a group, there are movers and helpers, naysayers and MIAs? Our little academy only has about 12 teachers in it and we couldn't get them all to our first assembly, or get them all to nominate students for the October awards, or get them to pay toward prizes. We have the go getters who do everything on time, ask if help is needed or even step in to make events flow more swiftly... but we also have the no shows who are not absent, just not willing to participate. how does one motivate someone who refuses to see a need? Who does not feel one of the team but also doesn't want to be on any team? Our small cadre of people who show up to meetings and events on time, prepared and motivated are slowly being dragged into the morass of apathy and doubt created by the few but vocal negative members of the team.
I sometimes feel that therapy or relaxation massage should be a required perk of teaching, part of the medical program htat we fight to renew every year. Am I alone in my frustration? I know I am not; but I feel like I am sliding across thin ice toward a deep hole from which I may never recover and I want to find a mental crampon or icepick to halt my slide before it is too late and I lose my joy in helping students discover their joy in learning.

Campbell's labels for Education

Has anyone collected soup labels as a fundraiser?

I have been collecting them for a few months and don't even have enough for a palyground ball. I would like ot know if this is normal and how to publicize the collection w/o antagonizing people. If it is not a good fundraiser I would like to know, so I won't waste too much time.

A new Beginning

I am a High School librarian in North Hollywood, CA. I am the parent of a few teenagers and work with teenagers all day, so I decided to see how they spend their time. This blog will record some observations from the "trenches" and hopefully give them a chance to ask me questions. I just gave my studetns their final project template and showed them my sample research powerpoint. Now they are choosing their subject and beginning research on their selected person, place or thing.
I will probably learn way more than I wanted to know about tatooing and reggaeton bands.