A short outline of the organisation and area of work.

Zespol Szkol Budowlanych is a public Vocational Education and Training school. We teach students in the following professions: IT, building construction, land surveying and landscaping. There are 650 students in our school, including students with special needs (learning, health, Asperger syndrome, aphasia. Our students take general and professional examinations. One of our priorities is to help students with additional learning requirements to graduate, and support them in their learning process. On the other hand, we have students who take part and score high in national competitions in IT, building construction and geodesy. We adjust teaching methods and materials, tailored to students’ needs. For our students with learning difficulties we offer a wide range of supporting tools, which include:

Individual approaches and procedures; for each students with special needs we adjust the teaching programme and materials to their needs and abilities, teachers working with those students meet at least twice a year (when necessary, even every month) to discuss students’ progress, their difficulties, suggest changes in the teaching approach and support, which are later incorporated into the teaching process

Extra lessons (2 per week) in those subjects that students have the biggest difficulties with, these are one to one lessons

Regular meetings with career advisor and school counsellor

Context of study

The aim of the project is to:

• to engage young people to participate in cultural life
• to attract young people to the library as a school information centre and to strengthen relationships
• to develop interests, talents and passions
• to increase interest in library and library projects
• to integrate the student community

In the context of their future careers, students become entrepreneurial and develop interpersonal skills that will be useful in their working lives and are valued by employers. Nowadays, employers are not only looking for candidates with a set of necessary hard competences (i.e. specialised knowledge, knowledge of foreign languages or operation of computer programmes, for example), but also with social skills, such as:

– communication,

– assertiveness,

– active listening,

– relationship building,

– cooperation with others,

– conflict resolution,

– negotiation skills,

– mediation,

– decision-making,

– team management.

Through participation in the project, students have the opportunity to develop these skills and become attractive on the labour market.

Scope of the study

The projects are addressed towards learners from each class who actively wished to participate.

The programme allows working with both gifted students and engaging learners who require additional learning support.

The idea was to facilitate cooperation between students and the library on a wider scale.

The programme is carried out periodically from September to June each school year.

The following sections are involved:

– collection access section (e.g. reader service, register of returns and rentals, assisting readers in selecting books)

– order and conservation section (e.g. arranging books on shelves, book binding, book repair)

– events and exhibitions section (e.g. assistance and participation in organising events, designing event posters, creating articles for a website)

Pictures from left to right – theme-based field games, students reading, Fashion show promoting school sweatshirts, reading together, Contest Let’s be friends with Art, theme-based field games, theatre production, reading to kindergarten children, Organisation of meetings with guest speakers, No Backpack Day, a day when students swap their backpack for another container, A series of photo shoots “You look good with a book”, reading together

What took place

In cooperation with the Class Library Connectors (i.e. librarian assistants: students transferring information between the library and classes), for example, the following was realised:

• The publication of a volume of student poetry “Scribo ergo sum”.
• The publication of a collection of fantasy short stories by our students “Guerra”.
• A series of photo shoots “You look good with a book”.
• A night of crime fiction with the school’s ‘Escape the Classroom’.
• Screening of the play “K as Cinderella in Silesian”.
• Theatre production of “The Morality of Mrs Dulska”.
• Joint reading
• Joint reading of “Ballads and Romances” (National Reading).
• Reading aloud to kindergarten children.
• Fashion show promoting school sweatshirts.
• Annual plebiscite “My beloved book”.
• Reading quizzes and tournaments.
• Contest ‘Let’s be friends with Art“
• Great Christmas lottery.
• Making cards for socially isolated people and old age home residents in our town
• Regional poetry competition “Give me a word”.
• Organisation of meetings with guest speakers from the local community (writers, activists and travelers).
• No Backpack Day (i.e. a day when students swap their backpack for another container
• Theme-based field games.

Outcomes

• All the activities and events that took place as part of the library project were beyond everyone’s expectations.
• The programme integrated the school community.
• All the stated goals introduced in the Context of the Study were met.
• Students were able to identify their career preferences
• It was fun

Quotes and Endorsements

“Spending a night of crime fiction at school – a fantastic event. We need to do it again.” – Tom from grade three.

“Encouraging young people to read through quizzes, photo competitions, shared reading events, competition is a great initiative” – Polish teacher.

“There was a bit of music and a bit of poetry – we believe everyone went home internally enriched and the time spent together was different from a typical afternoon – and that was the point!” – librarian teacher (on the regional ‘Give me the Word’ competition.

“Thanks to the school sweatshirts and T-shirts, we are recognizable in Rybnik”. – Anna from grade four.

Key messages:

Use library not only for reading

Let students find and develop their talents

Make an enterprise interesting and involve students in every way possible