Library

Library Refurbishment Update:

It is both exciting and scary to have been engaged in discussions with representatives from several companies about the types of furniture that we may wish to provide in our learning spaces. The critical issue for the Library staff is that we retain the elements that users love and provide options for better learning outcomes at the same time. The last visit will be Thursday this week at 8am, and this representative is flying all the way from Brisbane – which is humbling. Library Captain for 2019, Airlie Treloar, will be getting going early to join the discussion.

Once we have spoken to the three most likely suppliers, it will be time to set up some floor plans with scaled “furniture” pieces, to work out where and how we place the items we purchase. At this point we will be asking for input from anyone who is interested – it is a shared space across all year levels so we need to ensure everyone and every use is considered. Having moved the whole collection several times over the three years of renovations, it is important that we know where things will be going and how they will fit before we start “moving in”. It will certainly be an exciting year in 2019!

Year 12 Farewell:

I have so many fond memories of this cohort, some of whom I taught when they were in ELC! It has been a privilege to watch them develop into fine young adults. Saying farewell will be sad.

That said, there are some necessary steps we need to work through before that farewell is final. Students were issued with their exit forms on Monday. These forms need to be signed by several people, including us. The question we need to answer is whether all books are returned. Yes – we sign. No – we ask for the books. Ultimately a student who cannot find a book will be charged for its replacement. We are also hesitant to sign of students prior to relevant exams – for example: dictionaries may be required for English; History students need their text books until just prior to the examination.

Global Conditions:

On 6th of November our Year 4 class has been chosen to participate in a Skype call with Ray Fleming Higher Education Industry Director at Microsoft Australia. Ray will be calling us from Swaziland where it will be 5.30am (2.30pm for us!). He is a specialist in artificial intelligence, and his work in Africa is related to the endangered White Rhinoceros. He is very excited at the prospect, and so are we. The links to our climate action work, and the global interactions that have ensued continue to show us the way that our future world will work.

Margaret Simkin