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8 Ontario School Library Association President's Report Much has happened since my last report in The Teaching Librarian. summer has turned to fall, and we are all wrapped up in a brand new school year. we have elected a majority government and, as I write this, looking out over my leaf-strewn garden and enjoying the last of the lovely fall colours, our thoughts are beginning to turn towards winter. For me, as President of the osLa, this has been a whirlwind of a year, one that I have truly enjoyed. sadly this will be my final report to you as President. after our annual General Meeting at super conference, I will hand the responsibilities to incoming President, Jeanne conte, and move into the role of Past President. as I reflect on the work that our council has done and the work we will continue to do, I realize how important it is for us to have this association. This year we have focused on advocating for appropriate staffing and funding of school libraries, taking opportunities to meet with staff from the Minister of education's office, participating in Ministry subject association meetings and continuing promotion of membership in the osLa with teacher candidates in additional Qualification Programs. additionally, there has been an ongoing commitment of our council members to develop webinars and resources to continue to add to Together for Learning (T4L), making it the living document we envision. Through this document, we connect our work in school libraries to explicit curricular outcomes. Inquiry is a hot topic in education that is not going away. It is a topic in which teacher-librarians are expert. T4L outlines the vision for the Learning commons, the role of teacher-librarians and their areas of expertise and support for teachers in co- planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing student learning. all revised curricula are now including Inquiry as an explicit area for teachers and emphasizing the role of the teacher-librarian. This is our time to shine! Moving forward, I encourage you to take this time to entertain the idea of advocating (I know that is a dreaded word) for the specific skill sets teacher- librarians can bring to every school. I encourage you to continue to advocate for appropriate and effective staffing of school libraries in every publicly funded school in ontario. I encourage you to advocate for equitable access to virtual resources for all of our learners across the province, and to continue to make the Learning commons a safe and inviting hub for learning and community in every school. Yes, these are heady thoughts to entertain, but consider the outcomes! Together for Learning is our vision for the Learning commons; all teacher- librarians can bring this to action. z deb kitchener Deb Kitchener with Isabelle Hobbs, Anita Brooks Kirkland, James Sauders, The Honourable Liz Kerr, Minister of Education, and Phillip Jeffrey at the 2014 OSLA annual general meeting. The meeting was Deb's first duty as President. Photo Courtesy of Diana Maliszewski