Calendar of Events
Past Events
A Wonderful Way to End the Year! Listening to our local author share a plethora of good information about books in "Own Voices" and meeting our scholarship winners was a terrific way to end the year.
December PWSLA Event at Bookworm Central
It’s Destiny! April 15 Chat & Connect - Thank you to everyone who joined PWSLA to share ideas for using local headings, Destiny collections, etc. to help students find diverse books in our libraries. It was a great opportunity to learn new things and to reinvigorate.
Winners of the PWSLA and Partners Awards received their notifications and awards in December. Each winner has submitted a synopsis of how they put their funds to good use for the March or April PWSLA Newsletter. Congratulations to all of these winners and thanks to everyone who applied.
The PWSLA December Event was a great opportunity to connect and have fun - and we did! Radhika Bajaj from Bookworm Central hosted PWSLA last Holiday Season at the Bookworm Central Warehouse and we invited her to join us online this year. Radhika shared information about Bookworm's newest iteration of Book Fairs for schools and provided a link for everyone to view. As usual, Bookworm Central continues to be a strong partner for school librarians in our area and we always learn something new and useful when she joins us. PWSLA looks forward to being back at the Bookworm Central Warehouse for next year’s PWSLA Holiday gathering. Find information about the Bookworm Central Book Fairs with this link.
We were also joined by Corinne Jones from Blue Orange Games who shared interactive games for all grade levels, with a focus on some games that aid in social emotional learning. Bookworm Central sales a variety of game from Blue Orange and games can be ordered through Bookworm Central. Corrine also left links for the Blue Orange Games Catalog and Game Suggestions for School Libraries as well as a Gift Guide.
And for this December evening of information and fun with games, Carolyn Vibbert graciously hosted a pretty competitive yet friendly game of Color it! Want to add more games to your library? PWSLA has a veritable treasure trove of ideas in Carolyn and we are appreciative of her time and willingness to share.
Prize winners for the December Event included Tamara Ingalls and Betsy Masterson who both won Color it! for their school libraries. Lori Willis won four games provided as a generous donation by Corinne at Blue Orange Games.
We are grateful to have had this time together and thanks to everyone who could attend and join in the fun and sharing!
These three night were packed with great information about how our different school libraries are using Canvas. Favorite tech tools were discussed and stories shared about what is working in the different libraries as well as how goals are being met and obstacles overcome. Look for a synopsis of each evening in the November PWSLA Newsletter.
PWSLA and Library of Virginia Information Evening
On September 3, 2020, PWSLA held a virtual Professional Development with Nan Carmack, Director of Developmental Networking for the Library of Virginia. Members spent over an hour with Nan going over the wonderful resources that are provided to every Public Library and public-school student in Virginia.
PWSLA's first Virtual IGNITE!
PWSLA's first Virtual IGNITE! was a success! Nearly sixty participants joined the event on August 11, for seven separate informative sessions. Included were Canvas tutorials, breakout discussions at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, and strategic plans for operating Battle of the Books competitions and using Gale databases in the virtual setting. Thanks to all our participants, and especially our presenters!
Spring Virtual Get Together
Thanks to every school librarian who joined online for an end of the celebration. Your hats were wonderful but the good work you are doing is even better. Keep up the good work and we'll be back together, sharing and learning soon!