Alpha Library Learning Commons
a place to learn, discover, and connect
The Vancouver Writers Fest’s annual youth writing contest is held in spring every year and is open to all students enrolled in grades 8-12 in British Columbia. The 2021 contest is now open and will conclude on May 31, 2021. Winners will also be published in our online newsletter, Books & Ideas, which has a readership of over 17,000.
For more contest details visit the website here.
Below are a few podcast recommendations from the School Library Journal Article: Eight Podcasts About Black Changemakers. These short and sweet episodes all highlight a different important Black figure from history. Enjoy during Black History Month, or really any other month of the year.
Encyclopedia Womannica. “Warriors: Rosa Parks”
This I Believe. “Muhammad Ali: I Am Still the Greatest”
Ted Talks Daily. “Using Your Voice Is a Political Choice” – A talk by poet Amanda Gorman
At the end of last quarter we had a grade 8 English class in the library to create book spine poetry. After searching the space for interesting book titles, they stacked the books to create a poem. This was a fun activity which allowed students to be creative and to get to know the books in the library better. Below are their creations.
Take a tour of Alpha’s Library Learning Commons in our newly created video for the 2021 Open House. As parents and prospective students can’t come check out the space in person, we wanted to ensure that they could see everything it has to offer from the comfort of their own homes. Enjoy!
Want to learn more about famous Black Canadians? Check out this cool interactive Periodic Table of Canadian Black History. Click the link to hover over the “elements” to learn more about each incredible person. The table highlights Black activists, artists, musicians, athletes, writers and more.
During Black History Month in February, take a look at this online exhibit that offers more than a glimpse into the history of Black pioneers in British Columbia, and how they helped shape our province. Put together by the BC Black History Awareness Society.
A friendly reminder as pandemic fatigue continues to set in, books are a great way to pass the time and to go on adventures in our minds when we can’t physically go anywhere! Stop by the library to check out up to 5 books. If you don’t know what to read, ask Ms. Haigh the Librarian and she would be happy to give you a recommendation (or two).
It’s officially Quarter 2 and we are finally fully back into the swing of things. YES! the library is open. Come on by to do some work or to check out a book. We are open during class time and until 3pm after school. You can also come by Monday, Tuesday or Thursday at lunch.
We just have some safety protocols in place during Covid-19. See below for more details.
Below are books that are about racism in Canada. There are titles which focus on Indigenous People and others which are more specific to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The last title White Fragility is not a Canadian book, but discusses racism in general and how to combat your own internalized biases without getting defensive.
Are you looking at what’s going on around the world right now and thinking, what can I do? A great place to start is by reading books on the topics of systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Educating yourself is key to combating internalized racism and prejudice in the world.
A good place to start: Ideal Bookshelf has created artwork and a book list of Antiracist YA. According to the website these “are very specific books on being an antiracist and being Black in America, but also some about being discriminated against for other qualities (including magical powers! see: Children of Blood and Bone), and how to love everything about yourself ❤️”. All books on this list are for age 13+.
The Bookshop Diverse Spines, a shop that highlights female authors of colour, has also created a book list called the #diversespinesreadingchallenge. The idea is to diversify what you read to include more books written by people of colour in order to encounter more view points and experiences which differ from your own. See how many you have you read from the list and try to read some more.
They have also curated a list called An Anti-Racist Reading List to Help You Do The Work
* please note that the last two lists are general and not specifically focused on teens
I will leave you with this quote from Leslie Dwight:
What is 2020 isn’t cancelled? What if 2020 is the year we’ve been waiting for? A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw- that is finally forces us to grow. A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us from our ignorant slumber. A year we finally accept the need for change. Declare change. Work for change. Become the change. A year we finally band together, instead of pushing each other further apart.
2020 isn’t cancelled, but rather the most important year of them all.