librarian extraordiarian.

I wanted to share something about the awesome librarian we have here in Nome.  She is one of the most genuinely wonderful people I have ever met.  I have been thinking about her lately, because right now she is down south getting treated for some pretty serious cancer.

In the scheme of school things, people don't always remember to stop and think about the importance of the librarian, especially in this day and age when everything is going in a digital direction.  The fact of the matter remains, however, that like any good educator the librarian is extremely influential in students' lives.

Our librarian Joy is one of those rare educators who goes above and beyond her job duties, and inspires and touches the lives of our students.  For the last few years she has been working on a literacy campaign that uses high-school athletes as reading role-models for our elementary kids.  In our community, the little-un's really look up to the athletes, so seeing them reading sends an important message.  Joy has graced the walls of our schools with her excellent photography and her classy posters that all put out a simple but very important message: READ.

Well, it appears the word is out. Below is a video that the Nanook boys' basketball team made as a gift to Joy.  It really reflects the love and time she has put into our school and community... you can see that that love is reciprocated: