CVHS librarian wins Rookie of the Year Award

Angela Anthony, the new CVHS librarian, won the Rookie of the Year Award for her hard work and positivity during her first year here. 

Anthony has persevered during these challenging times to make our school library online and accessible to all students. Kids can request books to be picked up from the library during school hours on Wednesdays. In addition, both Anthony and our previous librarian have dedicated funds to organizing Sora, an online platform that offers ebooks and audiobooks that students are able to check out through CVHS accounts. 

“Ms Anthony has been a fantastic advocate for literacy and technology this year. She has supported new teachers during distance learning teaching them new skills to support online learning,” said Assistant Principal Brigitte Luna. “Ms Anthony built relationships with our students and supported their reading repertoire. We appreciate her commitment to culturally responsive books and building our capacity for tech.”

Anthony has had to face various challenges and frustrations over the course of the pandemic, as all of us have.

“My favorite part of being a librarian is being able to see students face-to-face, and sort of nerd out over books, and it’s just not the same over a zoom box,” said Anthony.

Despite challenges, she has pushed ahead and found ways for students to continue to stay connected to the library, and accessible books, throughout the first semester and continuing on into the second. 

She has also organized virtual events such as the “blind date with a book” for English- Learners classes where novel titles are displayed on a virtual spinner and whichever book the student lands on they will get to take home. This took place on the Friday before Valentine’s day, Feb. 12, to get students reading and to make Valentine’s day a more positive experience for everyone. 

“The way that I adapted was, okay, how can I provide the same services online. It was more getting to know people, asking what they needed, and then building what they needed,” said Anthony. 

Anthony also expressed the kindness and openness that the CVHS community welcomed her with. Many teachers invited her to speak in their classrooms and explain what the library offers (particularly online) and did their best to make her feel welcome in this new community. 

“There’s only so much time you can spend on TikTok and watching TV, so might as well pick up a book. Try it out; I really want to hear from the community about what they want to read, so that I can better serve what you all want,” finished Anthony.