Today the Canada’s Men’s Hockey Team begins its quest to repeat as Gold Medal Champions at the Olympics. Four years ago in Vancouver the Canadian team capped off an amazing Winter Olympics with a thrilling overtime victory over the USA in the Gold Medal Game. The Canadian Women were equal to the men, once again bringing home the Gold in dominant fashion. What will happen this time around with the Canadian Men’s and Women’s hockey teams?
Millions of people around the world are lending their voices to protest mass surveillance and the infringement on our rights to privacy and freedom. Check out the following links to learn more:
The Day We Fight Back: What You Need to Know (PC Magazine)
Electronic Frontier Foundation
There should be other adults in the lives of our students who are role models when it comes to reading. Sadly, for many of the kids in our schools, there may not be any adults who demonstrate the value of reading in everyday life. It is essential that teachers show our students that reading is a vital aspect of what it means to be a lifelong learner.
From Donalyn Miller’s Four Steps to Creating A School-Wide Reading Culture:
We hope that children have reading role models at home, but many don’t. We must surround children with reading role models throughout the school day – not just in Language Arts class.
Showing children that adults choose to read a wide range of texts for a variety of purposes sends a strong message that reading is important after formal schooling ends. Sharing your own reading life with your students and staff reinforces that you believe reading enriches your life. As much as possible, you should participate in the reading initiatives at your school, not only as a school leader, but also as a reader! Ask students what they are reading… take their book suggestions and share what you enjoy about the books you read.
For many of us, SSR is the best opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are readers. Teachers need to put away the marking and pick up books, magazines or other reading materials to show that reading isn’t just we do to pass tests or assignments at school.
The school library is hosting public health nurses who are here to help immunize our students from a variety of diseases!
We know that the break between semesters was too short but we welcome you back for Semester Two of the 2013-2014 School Year! As always, we extend our invitation to you to make use of all that the school library program has to offer you, whether online or live and in person. We look forward to seeing you and helping you as a student and as a lifelong learner!
Jerry Spinelli was born on this day in 1941. He is the author of many wonderul books for childrena and young adults, including Maniac Magee, which won the Newberry Medal in 1980.
Gung Hay Fat Choi! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Welcome to the Year of the Horse. The Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, begins on January 31, according to the Gregorian Calendar in 2014.
Millions of Canadians, particularly those of Chinese heritage, and people all over the world will bring in the New Year. People of diverse religious, ethnic and political backgrounds come together to celebrate the common bonds of Chinese culture.
For more on Chinese New Year:
Chinese Historical and Cultural Project
As Provincial Exams and other final assessments take place at Lord Tweedsmuir this week, the school library schedule will vary. Thanks for your patience for those that are writing exams in the School Library. You are welcome to come into the library for study, research, quiet work, reading or book selection during those times when exams are not being written.
On Friday, January 31, the Second Semester begins and the school library schedule will return to normal.
India is sometimes described as “the world’s largest democracy.” With over a billion people, India is second only to China in population, and although it is certainly troubled, it has a more democratic system than its Asian neighbour. People in India and Indians around the world celebrate on January 26th of each year, commemorating the establishment of the Republic of India with the passing of the Constitution in 1950.
For more on Republic Day in India:
From the Government of Canada: “During World War II, millions of Jews perished in the Holocaust. Some, however, were saved by the efforts of courageous groups and individuals, such as Raoul Wallenberg who is credited with saving more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews.” (Read more.) Raoul Wallenberg disappeared on January 17, 1945. In 2001 the Canadian Government designated January 17 to be Raoul Wallenberg Day in Canada.
For more on Wallenberg:
Buddhists of the Mahayana tradition celebrate a New Year’s Festival on the first full moon of January. In 2014 this event takes place January 16. The Mahayana form of Buddhism spread north from India into the countries of East Asia.
Find out more about Buddhism:
On this day in 1974 “Happy Days” debuted on television, unleashing the Fonz on an unsuspecting world.
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 