Collaboration is key to any successful library program. Much has been said about the importance of collaboration between school librarians and teachers in all grade levels. (https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/school-librarianship-collaboration-key/). The American
Library Association reports that, “Collaborative instructional and curriculum planning is one of the most important roles of the twenty-first century school library media specialist. Effective collaborations between library media specialists and teachers, according to Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning, ‘helps to create a vibrant and engaged community of learners, strengthens the whole school program as well as the library media program, and develops support for the school library media program throughout the whole school’ (AASL and AECT 1998, 51).” (To read the full report at http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol4/SLMR_CollaborativeCulture_V4.pdf)
The OHS Superiors' Holiday Village displays are the result of collaborations across the curriculum. What began as a partnership between the OHS library and Superiors soon grew to include other students and teachers throughout the school community. Members of the OHS National Honor Society volunteered to help the Superiors decorate the houses and build the village display. The newly created CTE Engineering class joined in by printing many of the houses on their 3D printers. The culinary arts teacher, another new CTE program, came to see the finished houses, and we began brainstorming ways his class can collaborate wit
h us next year by preparing real gingerbread and buttercream frosting! The Holiday Village collaboration has the potential to involve five very different school groups.
Originally, I registered to enter only one display in the village. Displays can only be a maximum size of 2.5 square feet of space. My volunteers really went above and beyond to create a holiday display that incorporated the houses into a village scene. Using marshmallows, toothpicks, candy, and graham crackers, they added roads with cars and sleds, a Christmas tree with a star, a snowman with a scarf, Santa's sleigh with snow, a train track and train engine with billowing smoke, and sidewalks with candy cane lamps. The work of the volunteers really brought the houses to life. With all of the added detail, not all of the houses would fit on one platform. Our village had to be split into two platforms. The second platform will include some of the Superiors’ work but also showcase a few special edition houses created by other students who just wanted in on the fun.
I was amazed at the students' excitement about the project. They loved creating the houses and making the village. Teenagers can be finicky, so I was thrilled to see everyone work so well together. I love that library was once again at the center of imagination and collaboration. Making brings together opposites, like sugar and spice, to create something nice!