Category: Library News

Red Dress Day

Ms. Haigh

May 5th is Red Dress Day. It is a day of action on behalf of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People in Canada where female identifying people are murdered at more than 10x the national average. 

 

 

 

 

Amnesty International has the following to say:

Indigenous women, girls and 2 Spirited people face a human rights crisis in Canada, the violence that they face amounts to genocide. It is not just a crisis – it is a national shame. Canada has built systems that disappear Indigenous women from the Indian Act to modern policing. These broken structures are doing what they were designee to do: erase Indigenous presence, silence Indigenous voices, and sever Indigenous futures.

Red Dress Day matters because it makes the invisible visible. It forces this country to confront the truth. It reminds us that every single life matters, that these lives still matter, and we will never stop fighting for justice.

 

If you would like to learn more about this day, below are some videos and podcasts that shed light onto this systemic issue. Please note that these resources contain some mature content and may include descriptions of sexual and physical assault.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More information can be found in the library and on the display in the foyer.

Escape Room Fun

Ms. Haigh

The library was transformed into Will Byers’ (Stranger Things) basement in 1984, for our first ever escape room in the library. The event took place April 14th – 20th and saw 14 classes come through to test their problem solving and lock cracking skills.

Students did not have to have any knowledge of Stranger Things to participate, but simply needed to locate and crack clues in various parts of the library to unlock 4 distinct lock boxes. Using the hive mind of their 3-5 person groups, most students were able successfully “escape” with a few extra hints along the way from Ms. Haigh. Thankfully, as a result, Will was save from being trapped in the Upside Down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This activity was adapted from Breakout EDU.

Halloween

Ms. Haigh

With Halloween next week, just a reminder that costumes should be fun, without causing harm. If you’re at a loss for what to be, below are some book themed ideas that are easy and fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is technology making you feel bad?

Ms. Haigh

HOW TO CONTROL YOUR TECH USE

adapted from:https://www.humanetech.com/take-control

 

 

 

  1. SET BOUNDARIES

    • turn off notifications and alerts
    • use focus mode
    • set your device to grayscale (less visually stimulating/addictive)

  1. REDUCE (OR REMOVE) HARMFUL APPS

    • make it harder to use your apps
      • don’t save your passwords
      • hide apps from your home screen
      • unfollow accounts that are negatively impacting your health
      • once or twice a year remove apps you no longer use.

  1. CREATE TECH-FREE SPACES

    • designate certain areas in your home as tech free
      • don’t use your device at meals
      • charge your phone outside of your bedroom
      • use a dedicated alarm clock (not your phone)

  1. CULTIVATE POSITIVE FEELINGS

    • take screenshots of the positive messages you receive (helps to not focus on the negative)
    • keep a daily gratitude journal
    • use technology to express your appreciation
    • follow inspirational and positive accounts

  1. BE COMPASSIONATE

    • pause and remember there’s a real person behind the screen
    • politely private message someone to try to understand their point of view

  1. DO A DIGITAL DETOX

    • try a whole day to be offline
    • take a tech-free vacation

Welcome Back!

Ms. Haigh

Now that the school year is well under way, we wanted to remind everyone that the library is open and the books are ready to be signed out! Each student is able to take out 5 books at a time, and gets to keep them for 3 weeks. If you aren’t finished your books within that time, please speak with Ms.Haigh to renew them.

Black History Month

Ms. Haigh

As we enter our final week of Black History Month, now is the time to make sure you check out The Periodic Table of Canadian Black History, on display in the library window. This display comes from the work of Parents for Diversity and can be found in digital copy here.

The table highlights the significant contributions of Black Canadians in many areas, including athletics, government and theatre. This resource focuses on the Canadian Context and allows Black Canadians to be brought to the forefront during this important month.

For further reading about some of the people mentioned in the table, and other significant Black people from a more global context, come see the Black History Month book display inside the library as well.

Alpha’s Book Club 2025

Ms. Haigh

This year Alpha is running its very own book club on Tuesdays at lunch in the library.

There are 2-3 books being read each month, and students can choose to read as many as they’d like.

The schedule of when books will be discussed is below. Please attend the meeting date(s) for the book(s) you want to chat about with your fellow bookworms. We can’t wait to chat about these books in the new year!

***Copies of the books can be found in the library. See Ms. Haigh to sign them out.

Nov 20th – Transgender Day of Remembrance

Ms. Haigh

The International Trans Day of Remembrance is next week, on November 20th. It is an annual observance that honors the memory of Trans, Two-Spirit, Non-Binary, and Gender Non-Conforming community members whose lives were taken from acts of violence.

As you may know, the Trans community has been put under a microscope by many government administrations across the world, including Canada. Because of this, many members of the Canadian Trans community have felt an increase in pressure, oppression, and violence.

  • Transgender communities, and in particular Trans People of Colour, face some of the highest rates of violent crime – with 70% of Trans Youth in Canada experiencing some form of sexual harassment or violence.
  • Transgender and Non-Binary Youth are more than twice as likely to have thought of self-harm in their lifetime compared to those who are cisgender (a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth)
  • Stats recently released from Vancouver show an increase of 83 per cent in hate incidents targeting those who are Trans, Non-Binary, Agender or Intersex between December 2022 & December 2023.

Some things that you can do include: