IN THE LIBRARY, LOUD AND PROUD

In the Library, we are very proud of drawing everyone’s attention to important events that amplify community voices and celebrate aspects of our identity or the people we love.

Mother’s Day Card Making

One such celebration took place on Friday May 12th. This year we were blown away by how many students were interested in participating in our event ahead of Mother’s Day. There literally wasn’t enough space on the tables in the makerspace to fit in everyone wishing to join in. It was so popular that groups of students were spilling down onto the floor, literally, and stretching around the corner in the reading nook. By some miracle, we all managed to squeeze in somehow. In the end, students had fun making cards and showing off their creativity.

IDAHOBIT Day

In honour of IDAHOBIT Day on May 17th, which is a day to support the LGBTIQA+ community and reject any homophobia, the Teen Library Advisors created a beautiful inclusive rainbow display using the colourful jackets of books. There were a lot of beautiful rainbow books on display too. If you missed out click here for the link to our website that highlights some of our fabulous rainbow books.

At lunchtime, we proudly hosted an event celebrating our brave and beautiful LGBTIQA+ community and allies. The event was well attended by staff and students. We showed the moving and entertaining Pixar film ‘Out.’ If you haven’t seen it, we recommend that you do, especially as PRIDE month is only around the corner. Also, delicious rainbow snacks were enjoyed by all who came.

Sorry Day & National Reconciliation Week

To amplify the importance of Sorry Day, the Teen Library Advisors organised an astonishing display. Our best ever. It was Noora’s ingenious vision to create a tree from paper hands. We decorated the hands with Indigenous Designs and wrote the word sorry in English and other languages. The flower decoration was the desert rose or native hibiscus. This flower was chosen to represent the Stolen Generation because it grows across Australia and is symbolic of the strength and resilience of our Indigenous community. The colour purple also signifies healing and compassion, so it is particularly fitting.

Ms Doran, our special guest at our TLA Meeting during National Reconciliation Week, expressed her appreciation of our display and commented on its effective symbolism. Ms Doran also related interesting stories. She shared her perspectives on the importance of Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week for Indigenous people. We were deeply moved by some of the stories of the past.

The Teen Library Advisors led by Baseera also acknowledged the work of the ES Staff in the Library. The students thanked Ms Maree, Ms Prince and Mr Sanchez for their gigantic contribution in making our lives so enjoyable in the Library.

Teen Library Advisor Badges

If you are a TLA then you need to wear the badge that fits depending on years of service. Seventy students successfully finished the trial period this year and on Tuesday 13th June, we finally awarded the TLA badges to students. It is such an honour to work with you. Some of you have been volunteering since 2019, so regardless if you are a new TLA or old TLA, wear your badge and dangle each medallion representing each year of service with pride.

The TLA of the Month of May was Zinat and Library Awards in May also went to Gulalai, Hudor, Shokria, Amanda, Sofia and Aisha. Congratulations to you all.

The term is not finished. We have been kept breathless with so many momentous events taking place in the Library. No doubt there will be quite a few more before the term is done. So, my advice to you is: stay tuned.

Maria Papazoglou

Library Manager

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