The global pandemic has affected every part of our lives here in Oman. We moved to virtual learning in March of 2020 and have yet to be go back to in person learning. The Ministry of Health has announced that schools may begin a hybrid system on in person and online learning beginning November of 2020, and we are still waiting for the details of what that will mean for international schools. Meanwhile we adapt and do the best we can to provide a high level of instruction, support, and sense of community for ABA students.
When I found out the 2020-2021 school year would be starting out virtually, I immediately started campaigning for a curbside pickup program for the libraries. Luckily our new Head of School agreed, and we immediately jumped into action with our Click & Collect program. Our first week we had 151 students click and collect 674 library books! The program has been very active, very well received by our students and parents, and crucial in getting books and supplies to students stuck at home!
As the Secondary School Teacher Librarian, I have continued supporting research and information literacy skills while students are having online classes. I worked with grade 8 teachers to design an Ecosystems Research Challenge . I led a Full Moon Challenge professional development for teachers about research and the resources available at ABA. I continued to support the Extended Essay with a tutorial on using Turnitin as a formative tool to check for plagiarism. And these are just a few favorites - it's been a creative challenge to find new ways to support students and teachers, but I'm proud of how I've been able to adapt.
Being online meant we couldn't have our normal whole school celebrations of World Book Day. So instead we asked students and teachers to send photos of their "shelfies" (selfie with their bookshelf), dressed as a favorite book character, or reading a favorite book. We put the photos together and made a movie to share with the community. It was a great success and brought some much needed smiles in the early days of online learning.