Library 

Prize Winning Books Collection

The two new ‘Prize Winning’ collections have been well-received and indeed we have been getting recommendations for literary prizes, which we had not previously heard about! One teacher alerted us to a wonderful senior/adult prize called the 'Women’s Prize for Fiction' (formerly known as the 'Orange Prize'), which is a UK based award, but for women who write in English from all over the world.  25 years worth!

The teacher says, “I read as many of the nominees and all the winners of this prize every year as they are all women. They are usually a great read, often more approachable than the Man-Booker!" 

HERE is the link to their website and you can see some of the excellent past winners.

Tutors and Mentors

The tutor, mentor and after-school Homework Club are becoming more popular as the year progresses. Students are able to pick up timetables from the Library for when the mentors are here and for which subjects they specialise in.  A copy of this list is attached to this newsletter.

Reservations

The Library has recently begun to print out the reservations made by students from their online library catalogue account when they are not in the Library for books which are on the shelves.  The Library’s previous catalogue system did not allow this and until recently I was unaware that our new system allowed such reservations.  You can see from the photo that our reservations shelf is now overflowing!

Students are alerted by email that a reservation has come in for them, and we also hand the books out to the students in Years 7 to 9 as they come in to have their fortnightly reading class.

Displays

New displays and bookmarks have been made for World Earth Hour and National Unicorn Day! (9 April.)  We like to maintain a balance of seriousness and fun in the Library.

We also showcase photographs of student and College activities in-house on an Apple Mac placed on the circulation desk.  The students love to see images of themselves! This year we have had images of our current Year 12 students from activities done when they were in Year 7 and 9, which has caused a lot of giggles and shrieks.  Other activities displayed this term have included this year’s House Swimming Carnival, St Patrick’s Day and the Year 7 Camp.

Book Chats

During 'Book Chats' we have been looking at some of the books that have been nominated for the 'CBCA 2022 Book of the Year Awards' and students have been introduced to many of the new books available. We have been discussing the importance of building reading stamina for reluctant readers. This involves setting small goals and training the brain to focus for longer periods. Like any training, endurance builds strength and aids development.

Parent Book Club

We had our first Parent Book Club meeting online in March. It was lovely to welcome many new Year 7 parents to the group. 

We discussed the books that are the most popular with our students this term and chose one that we would like to read. We will discuss these at our next meeting which will be held in the Library in Term 2. 

It is never too late to join. If you are interested, email Ms Yvonne Langford at Yvonne.langford@kilbreda.vic.edu.au

Angus Pearson

Library Coordinator