Grants from ISLN supported library officers from member schools to attend the Job-Alike-Workshop at Tanglin Trust School on 19 October, 2018. Below are some of their thoughts, pictures, and reflections.
Sharifah, Martina and Jess from German European School Singapore
The JAW at Tanglin was very informative, both in terms of sharing approaches to common practices (for example, library visits and genrefication) and in taking home some ideas and new knowledge to apply in future.
The most useful sessions for us were the presentation on ‘The Importance of SingLit’ by Kenny Leck and the workshop on using Canva to take posters to a new level of professionalism. We plan to put more emphasis on highlighting the SingLit we already have in our collection, with some dedicated book displays. Some of us have also already used Canva both privately and professionally to create eye-catching documents, and the tips on using online colour wheels to find complementary or contrasting colour schemes was a real eye-opener!
In general, the workshop sessions in the afternoon were good fun, with an appropriate mix of hands-on, fun makerspace activities and informative talks.Thanks to the team at Tanglin for a memorable day and to the ISLN for making it possible for us to attend!
Khairin from Hwa Chong International School
After I missed the JAW 2017, I was eager to attend the 3rd Library JAW at Tanglin Trust School. This year the JAW committee has chosen the theme “Not all heroes wear capes”. Library JAW was organised by library officers for library officers in Singapore International School Libraries. We gathered to share and gain knowledge.
Upon arriving and doing registration, while having breakfast provided I made new friends from UWCSEA (East campus) and GESS, and met few old friends from previous JAW 2016.
Our hosts Azlinda and Ekta started the workshop and told us to fill up the coloured paper which was given during the registration. We had to describe 3 physical descriptors of ourselves and made a paper plane out of it. We were told to fly our plane to the front and then pick-up a plane of different colour of our original paper plane. We were task to look for the owner of the paper plane by the description written on the paperplane. It was a great ice breaker session and I made a new friend, Mala from UWCSEA (Dover Campus).
After theicebreaker, Mr Michael Kelly/Head of Infant Library at Tanglin Trust School welcomed us with a very thoughtful speech.
Then UWCSEA (East campus) were our first speaker for the day. Shirin shared their various library visits to few tertiary and school libraries, which include SMU & Australian Intl School.
The second speaker is Dr Ilaria Belfiore from Total Health Chiropractic, shared with us the importance of taking care of our spine. They also provided free neck screening station that all participants were encouraged to take part.
The third speaker, Ms Kim Beeman, Head of Senior Library in Tanglin Trust School, shared how she led the team to revamp the library’s website, and the approach the teamused – thinking like a user rather than as a librarian. We tend to forget to put ourselves as the library users. This is a good point to take note for our future projects or library survey.
The fourth speaker for the day, Kenny Leck, who is the owner of BooksActually and the mastermind behind local publishing arm Math Paper Press, shared with us the importance of SingLit, his first encounter with local literature, and suggested ways library staff can support and encourage our libraries to include SingLit in the collections. I might create a SingLit corner in our library.
The final speaker, Peck Hoon, shared how her team at the Singapore American School library started a project to classify their books by genre. She talked about some of the challenges they faced, and the positive feedback they received from their users and teachers, as well as tips on how to undertake similar projects in our own libraries. To classify the fiction collection by genre it’s a great idea. It will definitely benefits the users to zoom into their favourite title via the genre label on the book.
After lunch, we were given a card to complete 5 stations of hands-on activities. I managed to complete 4 out of the 5 stations.
The closing speech by Janine Murphy, Head of Junior Library was a warm and moving speech. Then we had a group photo and as we were leaving, each of us was given a goody bag with lots of gifts inside. It was really a meaningful and awesome sharing session indeed! I loved the bag and it came with “superhero” snacks! I am really amazed how the team organised a superb workshop for all of us! Thank you Tanglin Trust team!
Elli and Lenny from the Australian International School
What is a JAW?
- It is an innovative and engaging workshop organized for library staff working at International schools across the region.
- JAW provides school libraries to evolve and be relevant in the digital age.
- JAW provides a platform for library staff to share and discuss:
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Ideas
- Expertise on building, maintaining and managing relevant libraries in new era
Highlight 1: The Right Posture Puts You in the Right Mood
- Dr Ilaria shared with us how in our jobs, it is challenging to always maintain proper posture.
- Being aware of our posture goes a long way and sometimes afew tricks and tips could also help.
- Tips and tricks for a healthy posture
- Stretch daily – 5-10 minutes of stretching every 90 minutes of sitting
- Exercise Ball – Is known to strengthen the core, improves balance and aids in spinal re-conditioning
- Foam-roll your spinal stress away
- Symptoms to look out for after a long day at work
- Neck and shoulder tension
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Low back pain
- Anxiety
Highlight 2: 8 Design Tips for Non-Designers
- Who are you designing for?
- For Font’s sake! Limit your fonts and typefaces
- Your posters should always have a Focal Point
- Arrange your headline, details and fine prints in order
- Balance is key! Spacing, alignment and hierarchy
- Design process: Design, Research, Plan and Design
- Ask for ideas and collaborate
- Tips and tricks for Canva (takes patience and practice!)
Reflections from Elli: My greatest takeaway from the amazing PD session at Tanglin Trust is that “the people in your team are your greatest asset” Quote from Mr Michael Kelly, Head of Infant Library: “Not all heroes wear capes. Being a librarian, we are the children’s everyday hero,igniting interest, showing them the way, helping them explore the world of reading.” So in our own ways, we are their heroes each and every single time a child walks in the library.
Reflections from Lenny: The talks were all very informative and interesting, in particular, “The importance of SingLit”. The speaker highlighted that Singapore Literature allows readers/students to learn seeing things from a different perspective, exposure to local cultures, history and even locations, for example Sherlock Sam book series. This is especially useful for international students to get acquainted with the culture here. The 6 mini activities after lunchtime was very refreshing. Each of us were given a card,and got it punched after every activity. We got to bring back the Art-Bots and leather bookmarks that we made.
Komala and Shirley from Dulwich College
Reflections from Komala: JAWS 2018 for me incorporated the senses of sight, hearing, feel, touch and taste so in one phrase the JAWS workshop 2018 was: Bridging Senses with Synergy!!
- Sight: Environment was bright and your team members were very cheerful, happy and hospitable.
- Hearing: the information sharing was light and easy
- Feeling: the talks on wellbeing showed how much you cared for us, on what we needed to know to take precautions and care for ourselves
- Touching: the hands-on activities I thoroughly enjoyed. The robot making and the leather bookmark making made me realise how much fun I’ve missed out in the recent years.
- Tasting: Food was super good..light and delish!!
All in all the synergy involved in the website creation is a remarkable effort. The toils and triumphs you faced, the way you involved your staff and their expertise into the whole project, making them shine together in your success story is very encouraging.
Reflections from Shirley: I am glad to have attended the Job Alike Workshop on 19th October 2018 with my colleagues. Course design and people presenting are very interesting not forgetting the activities are worth attending. It was helpful to me as well, especially the resources on genrefication stickers and signage tips. Interesting Health Chiropractic screening and talk benefiting my lifestyle.
Shirin, Rozi, Seri, Izzah, Suhailah, and Ernie from UWCSEA East
Reflections from Shirin: It was a enriching and informative workshop. The ideas of having different topics in different stations were awesome. We were shown and hands-on on the different kind of activities that can be done such as making a leather bookmark, robot making, sharing sessions etc. The topics by different speakers were good as it covered variety of topics and one of them was health.
I would say that the teamwork was superb, by the way the workshop was organised., alot of teamwork was involved. The goodies bag was awesome and of course the food that served us were delicious.
Reflections from Rozi: I was pleasantly surprised. Warm welcoming and ending speeches. Well structured event. Scrumptious food!!! Varied activities at different stations!! Wider audiences (includes participants from Bangkok) and speakers (Home and guests). Very informative and enriching. Fun-filled and enjoyable and welcoming. Nice stuffs in Goody bag. Most of superb teamwork!!! Thank you!!! Nice to be back for a day.
Reflections from Seri:Well planned workshop. It was insightful, useful, and interesting.
Reflections from Izzah:It was such an enriching experience to be given the chance to attend this workshop! I love how this workshop stresses on the importance of taking care of our own selves especially with the different responsibilities that we carry. It is something that we always take for granted and to be educated more on our health gives us a great reminder to take mindful breaks in between!
The different stations that were facilitated by the Tanglin members during the second half of the workshop was a unique experience – getting the participants to squeeze our creative juices. These stations include leather bookmark making, robot making using recycled materials and learning how to make posters using Canva etc. They provided a safe space as well for us to share our ideas or things that we have been doing in the library and it was so welcoming!
Lastly, the food was so amazing! Thanks Tanglin Team for being so accommodating! And thank you ISLN for giving us the opportunity!
Reflections from Suhailah:A beneficial workshop. Really appreciate the health talk/sessions, a topic which is often overlooked. Overall, useful takeaways, great food and awesome goodies. Thank you!
Reflections from Ernie:An enriching workshop which integrate library sharing knowledge and health tips together. We were given good pointers during Kim’s presentation on how to start a project and how important it is to receive feedbacks and ideas from your target audience so that the library can cater to their needs and achieve your library goals.
Fun-filled activities on the second half of the workshop. I definitely enjoyed the hands-on activity of making the robot and the discussion on our health by the gym instructor. And we definitely enjoyed the spread of delicious food too!
Jayasree from Canadian International School
We had a great time at the Tanglin JAW. All the sections were very informative and clearly explained. We really appreciate the sections for personal well being. It was a well-organized event and of course with a lot of good food.
UWCSEA Dover Staff
- This year JAW was very interesting and enjoyable
- The Importance of Singapore Literature – Promoting the local collection
- To promote the Singapore Literature so that it is easily accessible for the international school students. By promoting the Singapore collection, not only do we introduce the majority or minority locally but also local lifestyles, cultural aspects and ethnicity. Through reading Sing Lit titles it creates awareness or short knowledge for ‘first timers’ in Singapore.
- Sharing work processes from other libraries
- Interacting with other library staff
- Diamond BookShelf Newsletter – The Graphic Novel Resource for Educators and Librarians
Stamford American International School Staff
On October 19th, we were fortunate to attend the 2018 JOB-Alike-Workshop (JAW) at Tanglin Trust school in Singapore. It was a very interesting and engaging workshop organized for library staff from international schools around the region.
The highlights of the day for us were the guest speakers who spoke on topics ranging from the importance of correct posture to the benefits of SingLit and library visits. We also heard about the process of genrefication and website design, both of which were new to us and very interesting.
Tanglin were extremely generous and welcoming hosts. We came home with full tummies and full minds. Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in JAW this year. We were grateful to be part of this exchange of knowledge, skills, ideas and expertise.