What's Happening?

LLC News and Updates from Mme Aradj

Thank you for stopping by! Welcome to the Lord Lansdowne Library Learning Commons and Fab Lab virtual space. Check out the menu above for information, resources, links, online reading, catalogues and much more! LLC news, monthly videos, and updates will be posted below.

January 4th, 2024 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

December in the #LLPSLLC Video

Happy New Year! Wishing everyone in both of our school communities all the best for 2024. Check out the video on the right with all of the fun, partnering, learning, and projects we were up to in the LLC & Fab Lab in December. 

Cheers!

Mme Aradj


December 22, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

Merci ~ Thank you!

A huge merci for all of the  thoughtful  gifts,  chocolates,  homemade goodies and  handwritten cards (my favourite!!) . Wishing you all a safe, and wonderful  vacation with family and friends. I wasn't able to access the office with all caregiver emails after school today in order to write all personal thank you emails. I will do so when we return in January.  

Warm wishes,
Mme Aradj

December 7, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

November in the #LLPSLLC

Wow! How is it already December?  Check out the video on the right to see all of the wonderful things we were up to in the LLC & Fab Lab during the  month of November. 

Enjoy!
Mme Aradj

November 3, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

October in the #LLPSLLC

So many fun projects, inquiries, building creations, and not to mention Halloween last month. Check out the recap video on the right.

Enjoy!
Mme Aradj

October 1, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

September in the #LLPSLLC

Can you believe it's already October?  Check out the video on the right to see all of the great things we were up to in the LLC & Fab Lab in September. 

Enjoy!
Mme Aradj

September 22, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Donations Please!

We’re looking for orange textile donations for a school-wide project! Any shade, any material, any pattern that you are willing to part with forever. (Bed sheets, sweatshirts, t-shirts, blankets, towels, you name it!) Please drop any donations off in the office or send them to school with your student before Wednesday, September 27th. Thank you!  

Mme Aradj

September 17, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Book Exchange Schedules & New "1-5 Days" Calendars

Please see below for this year's LL & dV Book Exchange Schedules. I made 5 different "days" calendars this year, one for each day of the cycle to help make it easy to figure out when books are due back. Use this link bit.ly/LLBOOOKS to download the calendar you need and post it somewhere convenient at home to help keep you organized!

If you have any questions please let me know.

Mme Aradj

*For a downloadable/printable PDF copy of the above schedules please access them here: bit.ly/LLBOOKS 


September 8, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

Bonne Rentrée !

Welcome back to our wonderful LLPS students and families! If you don't know me, I'm Mme Larissa Aradj the Teacher-Librarian here at Lord Lansdowne PS. I'm looking forward to working with your children in the LLC this year as Librarian or as their JK/SK STEAM or Junior Media Literacy teacher. Please have a look around the website and keep checking back as I try to update often with monthly videos and I'm still building on some of the scheduling pages.

Wishing everyone an awesome 2023-2024 school year!!

Mme Aradj 


June 30, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

June in the #LLPSLLC

We made it! Check out the final video of this school year to see what we've been up to in the LLPS Library Learning Commons and Fab Lab in June! -->

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing summer break. See you in September!

Mme Aradj

June 6, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

Book Fair - June 12-16!

Hello Families,


Lord Lansdowne will be hosting its English Scholastic Book Fair in June. It will take place in the library, Monday, June 12th to Friday, June 16th. This year we held a French fair in the fall and our ENGLISH fair is happening shortly. Last year, Scholastic made the decision to separate the two fairs and so unfortunately they won’t be able to guarantee as many bilingual titles as they have in the past. This is why we’ve decided to dedicate one fair to French and one to English. I’m told they will be sending some French books along for this Book Fair, but I’m not sure how much of a selection of French there will be. 


The book fair will be open for students to look around and purchase books at the following times:

                                                - 5:00 - 7:30 pm (open during school Dance Party)


The book fair will be closed on Monday, June 12th but during this time students will preview the book fair and make wish lists for books they would like to purchase. The students will bring their wish lists home (look for a purple slip of paper) and you are invited to have a conversation with your child about appropriate ways to spend their money. In the past, students have used their money to buy non-book items. Please be clear with your child as to how they should spend the money you send with them. *If your child is away on Monday they can check out a virtual preview of the fair here: https://digital.scholastic.ca/bookfairs/featured-books/ 


To purchase items, students may visit during lunch recess. In addition, all students will visit the book fair once with their classes and will also have a chance to purchase at that time. 


Items can be purchased using cash, debit/credit, or cheque payable to Lord Lansdowne School. 


If you would like to purchase a book for your child’s class, you may stop by anytime the fair is open to do so. Alternatively, you may send money with your child and reach out to your child’s teacher to facilitate the purchase.


Interested in volunteering for the Book Fair? Please click here, visit bit.ly/LLBFVOLUNTEERS or contact Sarah Warden for more information. 


Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties with Scholastic’s online system, there is no option for virtual purchasing during this Book Fair. 


Please feel free to contact Mme Aradj with any questions: larissa.aradj@tdsb.on.ca


Mme Aradj

June 3, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

May in the #LLPSLLC

Check out all of learning, fun, collaboration, and student engagement going on in the Library Learning Commons and Fab Lab during the month of May by clicking on the image -->

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

May 1, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

April in the #LLPSLLC

I think I blinked and April was over! We still managed to get a lot of learning packed into the Library this month. Check out the video on the right to see everyone in action.

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

April 10, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

March in the #LLPSLLC

We had lots of fun and lots of learning in March! Check out the video by clicking on the right. Ramadan Mubarak to all who celebrate! 

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

March 20, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

Book Creator Buzz

You may or may not have already heard of a brand new (to TDSB) digital tool called Book Creator that has recently been pushed out. Anyone who knows me knows I needed to try it out and see how we could use this tool to promote student voice, choice, engagement, and creativity in the LLC. I must say it's an instant crowd pleaser and it definitely has a fan in me! Being able to create digital ebooks that include videos, audio, images, text, auto-draw, and much more on the Chromebooks is a game-changer! We've been doing some experimenting and the first project the grades 5 & 6s created were posters and ebooks about famous Canadians from their Periodic Table of Canadian Black History research and talking about their "Character Powers". You can check out some examples on the right and also on the walls around the school building.
I'm looking forward to continuing to see what other creative projects we can do with this awesome tool in the near future!


Mme Aradj

March 3, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

February in the #LLPSLLC

For a short month, we had a lot of wonderful things happening in the Library in February! Check out the video by clicking on the image to the right.

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj



March 1, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

Local French TPL Event - March 13th

Looking for something to "en français" during March Break? Look no further! The College/Shaw Branch of the Toronto Public Library is offering a sing-a-long with Monsieur Philippe from 2-3 pm on Monday, March 13th for ages 3-7 years. 

Check it out if you're staying in the city!

Mme Aradj

February , 3, 2023 - Posted by Larissa Aradj 

January in the #LLPSLLC

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful winter break. January went by really fast and we still managed to have a lot of fun and learn a lot in the LLC & Fab Lab this month. Check it out in the video on the right to get a closer look.

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

December 18, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

December in the #LLPSLLC

December was a busy month! Check out all of the great things we had going on in the  LLC by clicking on the image on the right.

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

November 30, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

November in the #LLPSLLC

November was Indigenous Education Month, we had a French Book Fair (English coming in the spring!), we did lots of coding, built Rube Goldberg machines, and much more! Check out the video to see the LLC in action. 

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

November 15, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

Adobe Express

Many of the primary classes will be working on an online creative suite called Adobe Express either coming up now or before the end of the year. If your child needs a reminder about how to login from home, please see the slide deck I made below to help streamline the long process. I know in the past after a few times they've become pros but the first couple times can be a little painful 😇

Have fun getting creative with this awesome tool!

Mme Aradj

Adobe Express Login TDSB

November 3, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

October in the #LLPSLLC

What a great October! So much great learning and co-teaching going on in the LLC. Check out all of the great things that happened in the Library & Fab Lab during the month of October by clicking on the image on the right of the screen!

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

October 5, 2022 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Donations SVP !

Hello families! From time to time based on projects we're working on in the Fab Lab/Makerspace. I will sometimes request random donations (usually things you probably have laying around your house!). For one of our co-teachig projects we will be making Rube Goldberg machines so we need a lot of materials. Please have a look at the list below and if you have anything you could contribute please send it with your child or pass it along to the office or to Mme Aradj. Merci in advance for your kindness & generosity! 

-Mme Aradj 

October 1, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

September in the #LLPSLLC

What a wonderful start to the school year! Check out all of the great things that happened in the LLC during the month of September in the video linked here -->>

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

September 7, 2022 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Bonne Rentrée !

Welcome back to our wonderful LLPS students and families! If you don't know me, I'm Mme Larissa Aradj the Teacher-Librarian here at Lord Lansdowne PS. I'm looking forward to working with your children in the LLC this year as Librarian or as their Music/Media Literacy teacher. Please have a look around the website and keep checking back as I update often and I'm still building on some of the scheduling pages.

Wishing everyone an amazing 2022-2023 school year!!

Mme Aradj 


June 25, 2022 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Soundscapes

In my primary music classes, students learned about soundscapes and how to match music and sound with texts and picture books. In grades 1 & 2 students were tasked with making soundscapes that go along with the Land Acknowledgment. They used iPads to record "sounds of the city" and nature around the school building and then we used WeVideo to put everything together. You can see the finished products from Mme Alma's class below (one French and one English):

Alma Reconnaissance de territoireFR.mp4
!Alma Land AcknowledgementENG.mp4

In SK-B (Mme Mikalachki/Mme Gooden's class) we made a soundscape based on the picture book "L'arbre généreux" (The Giving Tree) by Shel Silverstein. Check it out: --> 

(Voiceover credit: https://youtu.be/W2vN0w4-6d0) 

L'arbre genereux SK-B.mp4

June 20, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

Grade 6 Virtual Field Trip Projects

In Media Literacy class the grade 6 students researched cities around the world and used WeVideo to put together virtual trips. They used Google Earth, Google Maps "street view", learned how to screen record, green screen techniques, and many other video editing styles to add depth and creativity to their final products. See the image below to check out some of the videos that students agreed to share online. 

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

Grade 6 Virtual Trip Videos

June 2, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj

Book Purchasing

Back in May, I was able to attend TDSB's vendor fair at the CNE grounds to purchase a large number of books for the LLPS LLC!. My goal when purchasing was to continue to grow our collection of books on diversity & inclusion, with a CRRP lens while keeping in mind the interests of our students as well. I think you'll find there's a little something for everyone! Students have been excited and interested in the new titles. 

May 31, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

May in the #LLPSLLC

I don't know about you, but for me, I blinked and May was over! Check out all of the great things that happened in the LLC during the month of May in the video on the right of the screen!

Enjoy!

Mme Aradj

May 12, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj

      Book Fair - May 16-20

Hello Families,

Lord Lansdowne will be hosting another Scholastic Festival du Livre! It will take place in the library Monday, May 16 - Friday, May 20. 

The book fair will be open for students to look around and purchase books at the following times:

 

The book fair will be closed on Monday May 16th but during this time students will preview the book fair and make wish lists for books they would like to purchase. The students will bring their wish lists home (look for a purple slip of paper) and you are invited to have a conversation with your child about appropriate ways to spend their money. In the past, students have used their money to buy non-book items. Please be clear with your child as to how they should spend the money you send with them. *If your child is away on Monday they can check out a virtual preview of the fair here: https://www.scholastic.ca/festival/livresrecommandes 

 

To purchase items, students may visit during lunch recess. All students will visit the book fair with their classes and will have a chance to purchase at that time. Items can be purchased using cash, debit/credit, or cheque payable to Lord Lansdowne School.

If you would like to purchase a book for your child’s class, you may stop by anytime to do so. If you cannot come in person, you can purchase online at this link: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/fr/pages/5182324 

Alternatively, you may send money with your child and reach out to your child’s teacher to facilitate the purchase.

 

Please feel free to contact us with any questions: lauren.haugen-stanley@tdsb.on.ca and larissa.aradj@tdsb.on.ca 

 

Mme Aradj & Mme Haugen


April 29th, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

March & April in the #LLPSLLC

A look back to March & April in the LLC & Fab Lab! Click on the image on the right to view the video.  
Enjoy! 

Mme Aradj

March, 2022 - PUblished by Larissa Aradj 

Robots & Coding in the LLC

A huge thank you to the School Council for accepting the proposal for robots for the LLC. We are so well equipped now and have sets for all age levels! We have been able to start exploring in many classes already. Encore MERCI!!! 

Mme Aradj

February 28, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj 

February in the #LLPSLLC

A busy month in the LLC! Click the image on the right to view the  video.

Enjoy! 

Mme Aradj

January 31, 2022 - Published by Larissa Aradj

January in the #LLPSLLC

I will be attempting to share bi-weekly or monthly updates and glimpses into the Lord Lansdowne Library Learning Commons and Fab Lab. As a parent, I know how much I'm missing getting to "see" what's happening inside my children's school. I hope this gives you a little taste of all of the fun, creativity, innovation, and learning going on. Click on the image to view the video.

Enjoy! 

Mme Aradj 

January 3, 2022 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Password Help and Info for Parents & Students

Happy New Year!!

I hope some of the points below will help you get your child online for this new announcement of Online Learning. 😢

For more support please check out the link below or to this DOC for support to help get your child(ren) online: 

https://www.tdsb.on.ca/School-Year-2021-22/Virtual-Learning/Student-Virtual-Learning-IT-Support 

I hope this is helpful! 

Mme Aradj

November 24, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Code Monkey

The grade 1/2 class had a blast using Code Monkey during collaboration in the LLC today. It's an online block-based coding program that simplifies the process of computer programming. Some of the core concepts include:  

Students can drag and drop coding blocks (arrows, loops, etc) that represent code. This is just the beginning of our coding journey but if they'd like to try at home they can visit:  https://hourofcode.com/codemonkeyjr  and click on the yellow "Start Playing" button to begin. This is a great starter program for beginning coders (SK-gr. 2).

For more coding fun at different grade levels, check out: https://hourofcode.com/ca/learn

Have fun coding! 🐒🍌

Mme Aradj


November 22, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

New Book Displays

A few new displays have popped up in the LLC. This week is Bullying Prevention Week, Computer Science (Hour of Code) is coming up in December, and winter holidays are around the corner. 

Happy reading!

Mme Aradj


November 16, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Virtual Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair will be taking place from Monday, November 22nd until Friday, December 3rd. Some of the proceeds from sales come back to the library/school. If you have any holiday shopping to do or need to add some bilingual books to your home collection please check it out!

Please visit bit.ly/LLbookfair21  

*Note that unlike last year the books will be shipped to SCHOOL and not to homes. Books will be distributed to students at school. 

The junior students made some amazing posters to advertise around the building. I've added a few here for your viewing pleasure. 

Mme Aradj


November 15, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Music 

Parents, please see the Padlet that I use to post the songs/activities/videos we're working on in class here. Please note this is a working document and I will continuously be adding to it throughout the year. I use this for the SK-B, Grade 1/2, and Grade 2 classes. It is by no means "homework" or anything but rather a way to share what we're doing in case your child would like to practice, listen or play at home. 

In other news, the music classes have been busy prepping for our LLPS Annual Winter Concert. It will be a virtual video again this year. Stay tuned for more on that soon! 

Merci ! 

Mme Aradj


October/November 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

LLC/Fab Lab, Media & Collaborating/Partnering Updates

Wow! The beginning of the year has FLOWN by! It's been wonderful to have the Library Learning Commons and Fab Lab open again this year, it makes my heart happy to see all of the books being borrowed and deep learning going on. Please see below for some of the things classes have been up to with me in the LLC and/or in Media Literacy classes.

Merci ! 

Mme Aradj

Où est Waldo ? 

Waldo is the newest addition to the LLC! He's going to be hiding in different places around the library and promoting use of French (he doesn't understand English tee hee!) and directional language. The excitement around this small initiative is contagious and even the juniors are joining in the fun. Ask your child where Waldo was this week ;) 

Fab Lab

The Fab Lab (Makerspace) is being used by classes who come to collaborate with me in the LLC. We've had a lot of fun introducing students to the various activities. We're working on inquiry projects, STEM challenges and primary classes are slowly getting into simple coding and soon robotics, and much more. Stay tuned for updates!

Design Thinking for Halloween

During collaboration periods with Grade 2/3 & 3/4, students built structures using the Design Thinking Model to keep everyone safe during halloween during the pandemic. 

Pixel Art (Junior Media Lit)

Students learned how to use conditional formatting in a Google Sheet (spreadsheet) to "paint" their pixel art. 

Virtual Lockers

Junior students created their personalized lockers and wrote paragraphs to help me get to know them a little better at the beginning of September. So many creative ideas! 

Media Literacy Mind Maps

The students in grade 6 learned how to use Mindomo to make visual mind maps. We learned about taking good notes and how to build a mind map with the information from our notes about Media Literacy.

October 29, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

November is Indigenous Education Month

November is Indigenous Education Month at the Toronto District School Board and in Ontario. Calendar of events here. I have made displays of Indigenous books to support students and teachers in their learning journey. If you know any other titles that might be missing please feel free to contact me, I love getting recommendations!

Mme Aradj

October 8, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

The Great Pumpkin Challenge! 

During library periods and collaborations some of the students took part in the great pumpkin challenge. They had to draw a book character onto a pumpkin template. We have some amazing artists!! In SK we worked on shape recognition in French and made pumpkins with shapes instead of with characters. 

Bravo tout le monde !

Mme Aradj

September 27, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

New Books in the Library  

Many new titles have been added to the LLPS/dV library for students to borrow. I have them on display with signs showing the new books. They'll stay on display for 1-2 weeks before being shelved. Students are welcome to check these books out anytime!

Happy reading! 

Mme Aradj

September 13, 2021 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

BIENVENUE ! Welcome back! 

I am beyond excited and thrilled to be back in the Library Learning Commons (LLC) this year as Lord Lansdowne and da Vinci School's Teacher-Librarian. For those who don't know me, my name is Larissa Aradj (Mme Aradj). The LLC space is open for use for one cohort at a time this year. Each class is scheduled one period per week in the afternoon to come with their homeroom teacher for book exchange, some co-teaching, and/or to use the Makerspace (Fab Lab), and some technology/robotics once we get it all sorted. *Please see the schedule below to see when your child has their library period so you know when to return books to school. If you're unsure what "day" it is please find the calendar here. 

I am also teaching Music in the mornings to the following classes: 

And Media Literacy to:

*For a downloadable/printable PDF copy of this schedule please click here & "Days" calendar here. 

A copy of the following bookmark has been sent home (or will be very soon!) on red paper and hopefully how you found your way to this site 😏

 Here's a digital copy ➡


I hope your children are adapting well to being back at school! I'm looking forward to a great year of learning, fun, and creative thinking ahead!

Mme Aradj



June 25, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

LLPS Student Virtual Rooms 

Students in grades 4-6 created virtual rooms using Google Slides with links to various activities, games, or projects they've created or curated. I'm very impressed with the results, their digital skills and creativity. I've showcased/"housed" them all at bit.ly/studentroomsLLPS for you to check out! 

Wishing you all a wonderful, safe, relaxing and happy summer vacation! I'll continue to miss all of you. 

All the best & I hope to see you in September!

Mme Aradj

June 8, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Fab Lab Virtuel / Virtual Makerspace 

Here's a brand new Virtual Space for you to check out! I tried to recreate the Fab Lab in digital form. I've included several STEAM Challenges for you to try at home. Check it out here: bit.ly/LLCfablab

Think about how you can share your challenges with me. I've added some suggestions in this parent letter (or you can find it under "Parents click here" in the room). 

This is optional but recommended (and fun!) 

Merci! 

Mme Aradj

June 5, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Please Return Library Books 

I made this video reminder for you about returning library books. Please search your home to see if you have any from school that your parents could return for you when they come in next week. 

Thank you! 

Mme Aradj

June 4, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Another Anti-Racism Resource

Here's another virtual room space with more resources that IS available without a TDSB login. 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fwehqHbjecZJOmmo7MqCz_pdlF6dOZFAdJeKD0QH800/mobilepresent?fbclid=IwAR06Ox0yZCM7hEFlZ7O5QGsXhxd4HrHxqPN2YTi9U5RLCCHJgwQ9pDABRyk&slide=id.p 

Mme Aradj

June 4, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Anti-Racism Resources 

I wanted to share some resources on equity, inclusion and anti-racism put together by TDSB Librarians. Due to some copyright, you will have to be logged in with a TDSB account in order to view. 

Anti-racism resources: https://sites.google.com/tdsb.on.ca/tlsleading-learning/home/reading-literacy/anti-racism-resources?authuser=0 

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!

Mme Aradj

The above virtual library space works without TDSB login 

May 23, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

COVID-19 Story 

I wanted to share this Indigenous Story called Nuttah & Kitchi by by Sandra Samatte. It's a free e-book about COVID-19 and how to stay safe during this global pandemic that I'm sure you will enjoy! I found this book at an FNMI bookstore site called GoodMinds. 

Here's the link to the book: https://goodminds.com/sites/default/files/media/Nuttah_&_Kitchi.pdf 

I hope you are all able to enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Mme Aradj

May 19, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

L'Heure de compte (French Storytime) 

I recently heard that the Théâtre français de Toronto is hosting some live French storytime sessions for age 2-9 on Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. The next one is on Thursday, May 21st. They are organized via Facebook Live and can be accessed here: https://www.facebook.com/events/th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre-fran%C3%A7ais-de-toronto/lheure-du-conte-pour-les-2-9-ans/593075974626638/

If you miss the live session you can also see the recordings on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/user/LeTheatreFrancaisTfT  

Here's some information about in en francais: 

L'HEURE DU CONTE : de 2 à 9 ans.

Nouveaux contes publiés tous les jeudis à 14 h.

En partenariat avec les garderies francophones Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, le TfT propose chaque semaine sur ses plateformes de diffusion vidéo deux nouveaux contes autour d’un thème. Ces contes, l'un destiné aux 2-5 ans et l'autre, aux 6-9 ans, seront lus et incarnés par des acteurs professionnels. 

Pour voir et revoir les vidéos, rendez-vous sur la page Facebook du TfT ou sur notre chaîne Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/user/LeTheatreFrancaisTfT 

Mme Aradj

May 9, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Virtual Library Space Activity Boards

I've made a couple Virtual Library Learning Commons spaces for you to check out. Each one contains items that can be clicked on to read, play, watch, listen and more! There are two versions, one for SK students and one for Primary (1-3) students. These are optional, of course but I wanted to try to bring a little bit of our library (and French learning) into your home. 

The SK version can be found here: bit.ly/LLCSK

The Primary (1-3) version can be found here: bit.ly/LLCprimary

Have fun exploring the digital LLC! 

Mme Aradj

May 6, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

30 Creative Activities for Kids Using iOS!

I hope you're all doing well. 

I wanted to share these awesome optional activities that Apple has put out to promote creativity using iOS devices. There's some really cool stuff to try out. If you end up creating anything I'd LOVE to see it. Please share with me in the stream of our Media (4-6) or Science (1-3) Google Classrooms! 

Click here to check them out: https://education-static.apple.com/creativity-for-kids/index.html 

You can also find a French version here: http://education-static.apple.com/geo/ca/creativity-for-kids/30_activites_creatives_pour_les_enfants.pdf 

Mme Aradj

April 30, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Check Out the New Choice Boards!

I hope everyone is doing well. 

I wanted to let you know that I've been building up our "Online Reading" and "Fab Lab" tab with some new optional choice boards that you can try out. There are some fun activities, links and learning to check out related to picture books, novels and makerspace!

I hope you enjoy these. I will continue to add more as I find them/create them! 

Mme Aradj

April 27, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Optional Coding Webinar for grades 4-6 

Wednesday, April 29th at 12pm

I hope everyone is doing well. 

Any of you that are interested in video game development and coding should check out this webinar on Wednesday, April 29th at 12pm. I'm sure it'll be great and it ties in nicely with the current Media Literacy (gr. 4-6) project. This is optional, of course but I wanted to share for anyone who might be interested. The link below will get you to Code to Learn page, scroll down to the event called "Game Development: Exploring Creative Uses of ‘On touch’ through Classic Video Games" and click "Join Event" to sign in at noon on Wednesday. Everyone welcome (parents, too!)

Code to Learn 

Mme Aradj



April 20, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Virtual Earth Week - Eco Schools

I hope everyone is doing well. 

I wanted to share some virtual Earth Day events happening April 20-27.

A message from Eco Schools:

This year, we've gathered a set of mindful activities to celebrate Earth Week.

The practice of mindfulness in challenging times, allows us to find some calm amidst the chaos , experience the present moment and give gratitude for all the elements of the natural world that support our daily lives.  Thanks to Compassion Games Earth Week for inspiring these actions.

Monday, April 20th - Celebrate a Special Place

Choose a natural place that is meaningful to you: A forest trail. A garden. The beach. Under a tree, sitting on a bench.Imagine you are there. Feel the vibrancy of life in and all around you.What might this place might be like in one thousand years? What wonders and peacefulness might someone like you enjoy? Learn more about the Indigenous history of your favourite places.

Tuesday, April 21st Love Water Today, appreciate water for its many gifts. As you engage with water today, be mindful of how precious water is to life and how much you are using. If you can, try to use a little less, saving where you can. What's your water footprint? In the end it does not matter who you are... for we all drink from the same world-wide well.

Wednesday, April 22nd Serve the Earth Act with compassion, on behalf of the Earth and all her creatures. Plant a seed, restore beauty, enrich lives. Feel new life stir within and around you. Commit to restoring natural places that sustain our lives and inspire our spirits. Join your place as a caretaker in the web of life. It begins with each of us. Happy Earth Day! Submit your act of green.

Thursday, April 23rd - Save Energy Energy comes from the sun. Plants absorb this energy. Animals, like us, depend on plants. to access this energy in order to live. Our electronics, our lights, our heat, our cars, our entire way of life requires the energy of the sun to power them. Coal, natural gas, and fossil fuel oil are crude forms of the sun's energy. Unsustainable. Today, consider using a little less energy and minimize the impact of our energy use on the Earth. Find out how much

 energy your electronics really use.

Friday, April 24th - Celebrate Interconnections Nothing exists on its own. Everything is connected. Interaction is always taking place, providing not only context, but everything we need to survive. Pause and reflect. What is something you had to eat today? Where did this food item originate? How did it find its way to you? Celebrate this interconnection, this harmonious oneness, the interaction of resources, that brings your food to you. Want to do more? Calculate your food miles online here.

Saturday, April 25th - Reduce Waste Recognizing we are already whole, just the way we are, we don't need the latest product, the latest trend. Buy less. Re-use more. Re-purpose. Share. Focus on what makes us happy:  Friends and family. Learning new skills. Giving back to the world. Appreciating meaningful experiences. Reduce waste. Increase joy. Upcycle and create some

 trash into treasure.

Sunday, April 26th - Start a Dialogue When we talk about climate change we move the conversation from fear to action, from action to hope. Transforming despair and bringing about what we hope for starts with: Taking in a clear view of reality Honouring feelings of fear and anxiety, Expressing gratitude for how the earth sustains you, Identifying your vision for what you hope will happen, Celebrating the actions that you and others are taking, Taking active steps to help bring that vision about. adapted from Joanne Macy, Active Hope

Download The World's Largest Lesson on Climate Conversations!

April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

Now, more than ever, the Earth needs us to step up and act. We need the courage to raise our voices, to heed the insights from traditional cultures and to advocate for strategies informed by science. Earth Day Network is organizing 22 daily challenges you can take to fight the climate crisis from lockdown. Check out the 7 eco-friendly actions for kids during the pandemic and a citizen science app to join other citizen scientists helping to make a cleaner, healthier planet.

Happy Earth Day!

Mme Aradj

April 14, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Choice Grids for Grade 1-3 Science

I hope everyone is doing well. 

I've been busy creating fun choice boards for the grade 1, 2 & 3 science classes that I teach. You may have noticed some book-inspired ones I shared on the "At Home" page but I decided to take the idea and make Science-themed ones.  Grade 1  - Energy,  Grade 2 - Solids & Liquids, Grade 3 - Structures.  I realize science is not one of the mandatory subjects for grade 1-3 students during remote learning. That being said I still wanted a way to expose those who are interested to their science subjects. I have posted an optional (but strongly recommended) choice grid in your child's Google Classroom under "Classwork". I wanted a fun way for them to keep up some science, I hope they enjoy this! I’m not putting a timeline/due date on it but if your child is interested please know it’ll be here as something to work through at their own pace. I wanted to make sure they had access to some Science learning from home. I realize there’s a lot coming your way with regard to school work so please do what you can. No pressure from me :)

Merci, thinking of all of you!

Mme Aradj

April 8, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

My Hero is You - Online Book for Children on COVID-19

I hope everyone is doing well. 

My Hero is You, Storybook for Children on COVID-19. It was developed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to help children cope and understand what is going on around the world. There are several different translations of the book, including English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. The books are in PDF format. I've included both French and English on the right. For other languages click here. 

Wishing you all a Happy Passover & Easter long weekend. 

Mme Aradj

French

English

April 5, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Connected North has some awesome videos (in English, French and First Nation languages) and some live events happening during the school closures to help support students. See the schedules for live events on the right. 

Check out previous English recordings here: https://videos.connectednorth.org/ 

Check out previous French recordings here: https://alamaison.connectednorth.org/  (**A special virtual field trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Alberta is included and will expire after one week so watch it soon!) 

Enjoy! 

Mme Aradj


Click to enlarge French Schedule (above)

Click to enlarge English Schedule (above)

April 1, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Tips for a Google Hangouts Meet virtual call with your teacher. 

Some teachers may be organizing online virtual meetings with students using Google Hangouts Meet as it is one of the TDSB approved learning tools. If you need some tips or a cheat sheet please see attached on the right of the screen. 

I've also included some bilingual "norms" posters to follow as we all continue to learn about proper online etiquette and virtual classroom rules. 

Google Meet - Student's View

March 30, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj (**Please note this message was also posted in all of my Google Classrooms for all grade 1-6 students at LLPS**)

Salut tout le monde ! 

First, I want  to say that I hope you are all keeping safe at home with your families during this time. I know this is an unusual and difficult time for everyone. I hope you’re enjoying this extra time with your family. Please know I think of you often and would love to be back in the LLC learning with you right now. As some of you know, I do a lot of technology training for teachers and I am continuing to support TDSB educators at our school and beyond as they learn and figure out how to do the remote learning thing, which is keeping me really busy. My two young boys are also keeping me on my toes ;) I hope in this time you can use all of the digital citizenship knowledge I have taught you and put it to good use as you learn online/remotely and show everyone the awesome, responsible and digitally savvy students that you are. 

To help you with your learning at home, I wanted to share a few optional things with you.

1) See below (and in the previous post from Mach 19) for a link to a step-by-step for how to log in to Google learning tools from home (your Drive, Classroom, etc). If you have a younger sibling at home please act as a support to help them access their account if needed. 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQOnrj9GP1RzNWaFbeWwTRZCQJIZzDEY7niGUGAm1nllNCpJP62Jd3ufqmWQ-pzkLgkJBi0mYjaeO5j/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000 

2) Online resources on the TDSB's Virtual Library. I've attached the "Learnmark" which is a bookmark with links and passwords to all sorts of fun activities and learning resources you can access on the TDSB's Virtual Library. I've also attached a letter that explains how to use the Learnmark and the Virtual Library. You may want to have your parents/guardians help you access these resources, so please share the letter and Learnmark with them. (Please see the post in your Science/Media Literacy Google Classroom for these links as they aren't to be shared widely on the internet). 

3) Our online LLPS Library Learning Commons website (this one!) is still online and contains an “At Home” tab with some of your favourite learning activities, and the “Online Reading” tab has access to a lot of eBooks in French and English you can check out. I’ll also be posting messages on the Home Page under “What’s Happening?” as I come across new learning material or news to share. 

bit.ly/LLPSLLC 

Take care everyone, I miss you all and will be in touch with more specific learning activities in the next little while. 

PARENTS/CAREGIVERS: 

I miss all of your children very much and wish I could be back in the library teaching. We are still waiting for more direction on what the next little while will look like in terms of remote learning. I wanted to share a few things your children could be doing at home (see above). No pressure, these are mere suggestions of some possible approved tools and sites that will help if you’re looking for ideas. You should also refer to the TDSB learning resources and the Learn at Home site put out by the Ministry of Education. 

Hang tight, I will post more information as it becomes available to me. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding during these uncertain times. 

Parents/guardians, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. My email is larissa.aradj@tdsb.on.ca 

Stay healthy, 

Mme Aradj 

March 19, 2020 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

How to Login to Google/G Suite for Education Tools from home. 

Students can access their Google Drive (cloud), Google Classroom and all of the amazing tools offered by Google at home. Please see the step-by-step tutorial on the right to help students log in from home. 

I hope everyone is enjoying March break! 

-Mme Aradj

How to login to Google (G Suite) from Home TDSB

January 30th, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Adobe Spark Online Video Creation Tool

Students in grade 3-6 have been exploring video creation through an online tool called Adobe Spark. Adobe is available for free for all TDSB students using their school board login credentials. It can be confusing to get into the program for the first time. I've created this easy step-by-step to help students with the process at school and/or at home. You can find the instructions here: bit.ly/TDSBadobe  or in the slideshow on the right. 

Adobe Spark Login TDSB

December 4th, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

STEAM Partnership & Design Challenge with Mr. Crimmins and the grade 6 students!

I was lucky to be able to join in on Mr. Crimmins in his science class where students planned, designed, tested and built projects. The mission was to create a structure that could land upright on an uneven surface while protecting an egg from damage. There were so many creative ideas! Here's a video I put together of all of the amazing work and results of the testing last week.

IMG_1733.mov

November 11th, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Book Fair Begins Tomorrow!

Hello Families,

Lord Lansdowne will be hosting another Scholastic Festival du Livre! It will take place in the library from Tuesday, November 12 to Friday, November 15.

We're still looking for some parent volunteers. If you're available and interested in helping out please fill out this spreadsheet.

The book fair will be open for students and parents to look around and purchase books at the following times:

The festival will be closed on Monday, November 11th but during this time students will preview the festival and make wish lists for books they would like to purchase. The students will then bring their wish lists home and you are invited to have a conversation with your child about appropriate ways to spend their money. In the past, students have used their money to buy non-book items. Please be clear with your child as to how they should spend the money you send with them – or better yet, come by with your child(ren) while you're at school for Parent-Teacher conferences. 

To purchase items, students may visit during lunch recess. All students will visit the festival with their classes and will have a chance to purchase at that time. Items can be purchased using cash, debit/credit, or cheque payable to Lord Lansdowne School. 

If you would like to purchase a book for your child’s class, there are teacher-wish lists posted at the festival.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions: lauren.haugen-stanley@tdsb.on.ca and larissa.aradj@tdsb.on.ca 

Hope to see you there!

October 3rd, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Curriculum Night!

Thank you to all of the parents and community who joined me in the LLC last night for our first pop-up Fab Lab/Makerspace. It was a pleasure to meet and chat with many of you about what we're planning this year in the library. It looked like everyone was having fun exploring and getting hands-on with their children. 

Also, a huge thank you to the LIT student volunteers who helped set up, run and tidy up the stations last night. It's so wonderful to have such dedicated student helpers. 

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the library, resources, Fab Lab or whatever it may be. I'm here to help! 

Please follow along with the hashtag #LLPSLLC on Twitter & Instagram to see what we're up to on a daily basis. 

September 20th, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Did you know that students can get help from their school library even when they’re not at school?

The TDSB Virtual Library has carefully selected digital resources, to support student learning, that can be accessed online anytime, anywhere. 

Attached to this letter you will find the 2019-20 Virtual Library Learnmark which includes passwords students will need to access many of the Virtual Library resources from home. 

Please keep the Learnmark in a place where you can easily find it.

The Virtual Library is designed to help students find:

Find the Virtual Library at: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/library or through your school’s webpage.

For more information about how to use the Virtual Library with students at home, we’ve created a section on the site just for you! Look for the Parent button on the left toolbar.

If you’d like to learn more about the Virtual Library and your school’s library resources, please contact your school’s Teacher-Librarian.


September 18th, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Dear Parent/Guardian of LIT (Librarian in Training) member, 

I’m reaching out because on the evening of Wednesday, October 2nd during Curriculum Night I’m planning to run a Fab Lab playground in the library to show parents the kinds of things we’ll be doing in the LLC this year. I’ll have makerspace-type stations set up and was hoping some of you might bring your LIT helper along so they could volunteer helping with the stations that evening. I can supervise them while you’re away meeting the teachers. 

If your son or daughter is available to help please drop me a line at larissa.aradj@tdsb.on.ca and if you have a chance I hope you yourself can come check out the library and try some first-hand Fab Lab fun with us! 

Thank you!

September 11, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Welcome back to a new school year! If you don't know me, I'm Larissa Aradj I am the Teacher-Librarian, Primary Science & Media Literacy teahcer here at Lord Lansdowne PS. I'm excited to begin my first full year in the LLPS LLC (Library Learning Commons), I have a lot of wonderful things planned for our students and staff and cannot wait to learn with and from your children. 

Book exchange periods are slowly starting this week and all students will have library book exchange once per week either with their homeroom teacher or myself. We're still working on the schedule and once it's finalized I'll post it under the "At Home" tab above so you know when your child needs to bring his/her books back to school.

The LLC is always looking for donations of different kinds to help support the new Fab Lab. Please check out the "Donate" tab above to see if there's anything you can clear out of your house to help here at LLPS. Thank you in advance! 

More to come soon, stay tuned!

May 17, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Excitement is growing in the Fab Lab! We've finally installed the long-awaited Lego Wall and it has already been put to good use to try lettering, spelling words, making patterns and designs by our SK & grade 1 students. Here are some photos of the Lego Walls in action: 

May 12, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

On Friday, May 10th the grade 4 & 5 students attended Go North Youth - Canada's largest celebration of digital skills with over 1,300 youth from across the GTA. The event was hosted by the Engineering Outreach at the University of Toronto, Actua and Google Canada. The students got to participate in a variety of hands-on STEM-related activities and workshops. Here's a 3-minute video recap of our aweSTEM day at Go North:

April 7, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Hello Families,

Lord Lansdowne will be hosting another Scholastic Festival du Livre! It will take place in the library Monday, April 15 - Thursday, April 18.  We're still looking for some parent volunteers. Please sign up here if you're available. 

The book fair will be open for students and parents to look around and purchase books at the following times:

The festival will be closed on Friday April 12th but during this time students will preview the festival and make wish lists for books they would like to purchase. The students will then bring their wish lists home and you are invited to have a conversation with your child about appropriate ways to spend their money. In the past, students have used their money to buy non-book items. Please be clear with your child as to how they should spend the money you send with them, or visit the fair with your child. 

To purchase items, students may visit during lunch recess. All students will visit the festival with their classes and will have a chance to purchase at that time. Items can be purchased using cash, debit/credit, or cheque payable to Lord Lansdowne School. 

If you would like to purchase a book for your child’s class, there are teacher-wish lists posted at the festival.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions: lauren.haugen-stanley@tdsb.on.ca and larissa.aradj@tdsb.on.ca. 

Hope to see you there!

Mme Aradj & Mme Haugen

March 27, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Francofête 2019 Video

As promised, here's the Francofête video slideshow. It was such a great week of learning, Franco-fun and the costumes were amazing! Thank you again to School Council for the lighting and professional green screen which made the costume day photos turn out better than ever before!

Enjoy!

March 21, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

Book Fair Coming Up in April!

We will be hosting another Scholastic Book Fair in the LLC from April 15-18th. The fair will include mostly French books and also a small English section. This is a great time to stock up on some summer reading for your children. Please see the schedule below. We are currently looking for parent volunteers, if you're available please contact Sarah Warden or sign up for a timeslot in this spreadsheet. 

March 10, 2019 - Posted by Larissa Aradj

LLC & Fab Lab - What's in a name? 

For those parents who don't know me, I'm Mme (Larissa) Aradj. I've just recently returned to the school from maternity leave and will be teacher-librarian this year replacing the amazing Mr Lawrence who did an excellent job getting the year off to a great start in the Library Learning Commons (LLC). I'm very excited to be back and about this new online virtual space! 

Along with the physical changes happening in the Lord Lansdowne Library come some new name changes as well! From now on we will be referring to the library as "Library Learning Commons" or LLC.  

What is a Learning Commons?

A Learning Commons is a flexible and responsive approach to helping schools focus on learning collaboratively. It expands the learning experience, taking students and educators into virtual spaces beyond the walls of a school. A Learning Commons is a vibrant, whole-school approach, presenting exciting opportunities for collaboration among teachers, teacher-librarians and students. Within a Learning Commons, new relationships are formed between learners, new technologies are realized and utilized, and both students and educators prepare for the future as they learn new ways to learn. And best of all, as a space traditionally and naturally designed to facilitate people working together, a school’s library provides the natural dynamics for developing a Learning Commons. Source: Together for Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons (Ontario School Library Association: OSLA)

Why a Learning Commons?

There is growing consensus among educators that students need to learn transferable skills in order to work efficiently and successfully in our future world. To achieve this, students will need to become critical consumers of information, effective problem solvers, capable decision makers and innovative communicators as well. They will require the skills and ability to flow with change. And most of all, students will need to understand that these transferable skills give them the capacity to make a difference in this world... personally. A Learning Commons provides boundless opportunity for growth. It is based on a cross-curricular perspective that recognizes literacy, numeracy, knowledge, thinking, communication, and application as foundations for learning how to learn. A Learning Commons becomes the physical and virtual catalyst where inquiry, imagination, discovery, and creativity come alive and become central to growth — personal, academic, social and cultural. Source: Together for Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons (Ontario School Library Association: OSLA)

Fab Lab

I'm thrilled to announce the new addition of a brand new Fab Lab to the LLC! "Fab Lab" is the French term for makerspace and short for "Laboratoire de fabrication". I'm sure many of you saw the LLPS Parent newsletter about the changes and updates and new Fab Lab. I wanted to give a sincere thank you to School Council for the funding of this new collaborative, hands-on learning space. This will be a common shared space where students from all grades will be able to grow, learn and explore using critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and more!  We have plenty of high-tech, low-tech and no-tech resources coming in to begin growing our new Fab Lab. For more about Makerspaces you can see our School Council FUNding Proposal here. This is a big project and will take some time to get up and running and I'd love your help! Please see the Donate tab to see if there's anything you can contribute and for an up to date list of what we need. Please contact me if you are interested in giving some time to help in any way as well.