One place that I visited briefly is the Novi Public Library. I was very interested to see what it was like after hearing so many good things. I didn't have the time to look around and explore like I wanted to, so I plan on going back later this week. A few of my students told me they frequent the library often. After Curriculum Night, one parent told me that she takes her kids there daily after school. I found this to be very interesting. When I revisit the library, I am expecting to see students there (not necessarily mine). I am excited to see what all the hype is about the library. I hoping there will be a pamphlet of information I can have to take home with me also so that I can read more about it. I want to take the time to explore the library so that I can participate in conversations with students. I also want to be familiar with what resources the library provides for my own use as well as being informative for the students.
After looking around the classroom during snack time and during lunch, it was obvious that there are a wide range of taste buds throughout the school. Students were eating Chinese food, pizza, sushi, fruit, etc. This made me curious as to what restaurants and grocery stores are located around the Novi community. Just from driving around on Grand River and Novi Rd, I have spotted all sorts of different ethnic restaurants. One restaurant I saw from afar had it's name in English and another language. I am curious to see how many other restaurants have this. I am planning on looking further into this as I travel around Novi later this week.
After going back to the library, I was able to spend more time exploring. There is an interactive map in the front which I not only used but saw multiple others utilizing as well. There was a wide range of ages in the library that afternoon. There were elementary students, middle school students, high school students, adults, and elderly people as well. I saw one of my own students there with his mom, both were on the computers. One thing I noticed which I hadn't seen before were these free passes that you can check out on your library card. They are free passes to all different places around Novi. I thought this was a great idea. The only criticism I had was that I didn't think the children's section was as inviting and "child-like" as some others I have seen in different libraries. I think the library will serve as a great resource throughout this year.
ReplyDeleteI live in Novi and grew up there so I find it very interesting to hear what interns placed in Novi have to say about this community, my hometown. It's made me realize just how many resources and opportunities I had available to me when I was in school by living in Novi. I also realize that kids in Novi today have even more than I did growing up because the city and school district are constantly changing and improving. As I'm sure you've learned, the current Novi Public Library is brand new and opened at the beginning of the summer. The old library was much smaller, not nearly as nice, and had fewer resources. It was still a great place to go, but now it's even better. I really wish the current library had been around when I was in school.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to learn even more about the community I suggest you visit the Novi Civic Center on 10 Mile, next to the high school. The Parks and Rec office in there has lots of information about community events in newsletters and pamphlets. Novi also has a great community theatre program based out of the civic center. Kids, teens, and adults all work together to put on high quality productions. If you have a chance sometime this year you should try to see one of their plays. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your time working in Novi schools.
I really like the fact that you explored the community library. I basically just looked around at where the students lived and shopped and ate. I feel like I learned a lot, only it was really different information such as their home life a little bi more. It was interesting to see that the library was not as close to the school as this Novi library. It is also a very interesting to point out the children's different taste buds because I would have never taken into account who was eating fruit as opposed to chips, but after reading this, I did notice these details.
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