Library

Library Borrowing Term 4

Sadly, borrowing for 2024 has come to an end! Last Friday, November 15th, was the last day for library borrowing, but, classes will continue to visit the library during their allocated time and day until the end of term. I ask that all library books be returned to the library this week, Week 6, in readiness for the completion of the school year and the commencement of the 2025 school year. Please don’t forget to put library books you are returning into your library bag! Children will still be able to access books to read via SORA, the online platform.

If your child/children have books that simply cannot be found please contact me via email mholley@arm.catholic.edu.au so we can arrange a replacement or if your child/children has outstanding books that they feel have been returned, please ask them to come and see me in the library and we will look for them together or notify me via email. 

Many thanks for your support and understanding in this matter.

Overdue Books

During Week 7, I will be following up on books that have not been returned to the library during Week 6, the specified time for books to be returned to the library. I strongly encourage your child/children to look for library books at home and return them as soon as possible. 

Damaged Books 

Accidents do happen and unfortunately library books can and do become damaged! In the unfortunate event of this happening whilst you have a book on loan from the library, please let me know straight away so that damaged books are not being returned to the shelf. Some Stage 1 students have taken the initiative and have left notes on books that have been damaged, even specifying the page - this enables me to repair the book before it is placed back on the shelf! 

Book Club

Catalogues for Issue 8, the last Book Club of the year, will be distributed later this week and are due back at school by the 29th of November. If you are ordering a book that is an intended gift, please identify this when ordering and we will hold it at school and notify you when it arrives; you will then be able to arrange a suitable time for collection. 

Book Club orders from Issue 7 will be sent home with children when they arrive at school, hopefully this coming week! I have been informed by the team at Scholastic that their Issue 7 catalogue has had a massive response and that they are experiencing delays in the shipment of Issue 7 orders, they are hoping to have Issue 7 orders delivered this coming week and apologise profusely for the delay.

A huge “thank you” to all the families who have ordered from Book Club throughout the year. The credit points we accrue through your purchases has allowed for purchase of valuable resources for our school, so once again, “thank you” for your support. 

Lunch Time in the Library 

It is wonderful to see so many children taking the opportunity to get out of the heat and enjoy the air conditioning in the library during their lunch break! From board games, to colouring, drawing, chess, jigsaws or just having a chat, the library is the place to be! All students are most welcome to join us every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the second break.  

Christmas Gift Idea

Are you looking for ideas for practical Christmas gifts for your child/children? I would like to suggest a library bag! As we all know all students require a library in order to borrow books from the library. If this is something you are considering providing for your child, please ensure they are able to protect library books and are large enough to hold some of the larger books in our library collection.

Reading at Home

Don't forget that your child has 24/7 access to reading material through SORA and World Book Online. Please note that your child will need their school login details to access SORA,  if they are unsure of their login details please contact the school so we are able to provide them for you.   

SORA

The students at St Joseph’s are able to access ebooks, audiobooks and magazines through SORA, the Armidale Diocese digital library. SORA has an extensive collection of ebooks, audiobooks and magazines for students of all ages. 

Instructions for logging onto SORA are as follows: 

Step 1: Install Sora app from  Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or soraapp.com.

Step 2: When in Sora, click on I have a setup code -  “setup” code is cenetau - then sign in.

Sign into your School – Select your school -  ACEN

Step 3: Browse the tab and  borrow a book. Your book will open so you can start reading right away.

Step 4: Close the book and go to see all your books (including assignments). From there, you can:

• Select Open book or Open audiobook to read or listen to the book.
• Select Options to renew or return the book, see your notes and highlights, and more.  

     © 2020 OverDrive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.    

NB You will need to use your school username and password to access this.

WORLD BOOK ONLINE

Our school has a subscription to World Book Online! This means you have FREE access to this wonderful resource from home or on the go with any internet-connected device. World Book Online may be accessed via the Oliver home page or by visiting the World Book website www.worldbookonline.com

What is World Book Online?

• Homework help
• Read stories, articles, and current events
• Complete activities and Webquests
• Play educational games
• Learn how to do research
• Explore pictures and videos
• Find reliable information for assignments and projects

World Book Online is a safe, trusted, 21st-century learning environment for students.

The World Book products our school has access to include:

Kids: 

• simple navigation
• easy to read articles
• translations 
• text to speech (with 10 voices) 
• educational games and activities 
• science experiments 
• a dictionary 
• an atlas 
• interactive maps 
• map outlines 
• a tool for comparing places or animals.  

Student: 

• expansive reference database 
• multimedia library 
• games 
• behind the headlines 
• citation builder 
• research tools 

Timelines: 

• over 650 timelines including Gold Rushes in Australia, Australian Prime Ministers, Cricket World Cup, Star Wars and Harry Potter. Edit or create your own timelines.

User ID: joseph2340

Password: joseph2340

Encourage Learning Anytime, Anywhere!