LIBRARY

 "The library is not just full of books, but also opportunities."  

Abbey 2016

READING WORKSHOP

Last night I had the privilege of presenting at The St Nicholas School Parent Reading Night for parents of K, 1, 2 students.

Here is my spiel in case you missed it.

The library fulfils a dual-purpose role in the school community:

1. The Library is known as the 3rd space in a school after your child’s learning space and the playground. It’s a space for students to read, to play quiet games, to chat with one another or to just find a quiet space to visit.

2. My role within the Library space is to encourage a love of reading for enjoyment and for learning. The library offers students choice in what they would like to read and borrow. 

Parents, what part do you play in all this:

*Read to your child.

*Make it an enjoyable activity - provide a comfy space, put on some voices when you read.

*Prioritise reading in your family - make time, make it a big deal to ask your child what did you borrow today, let's have a look and a read. 

*Revisit these books a few times until the next library lesson the following week.

By doing this you are building a healthy relationship between your child and reading.

Library books are not home readers.

*It is important to remember the books your child brings home from the library are for them to enjoy either by themselves but ideally with you too.

*At this stage it is not essential that your child be able to read the books they have chosen by themselves. What is important is that they have been given the opportunity to choose a book that has caught their interest, eg a picture book and/or a nonfiction/ information text eg dinosaurs, and they can enjoy the pictures as well as you sharing the story with them.

*Let your child see you read - at this young age you are the most influential people in their lives with school, a close second.

*Help your child be organised with their books and library bag so that they get into a good habit of borrowing and returning regularly.

Finally I used the "campfire" analogy to illustrate the connection between home and school.

You light the spark,

We at school fan the flame,

Together we keep that fire burning bright encouraging our students to be life long learners through fostering a love of reading.

CBCA - SHADOW JUDGING

This year a small number of students for the BOOK BUZZ group have entered the Shadow Judging for the Children's Book Week awards.

The category we have chosen is Picture Books. We are thrilled to have as our mentor Amy Rake from the Town Library. Amy will make regular visit to us to walk us through the process and criteria.

More information to come.

LIBRARY BAGS>>> NEW BOOKS

New books are arriving all the time. Please ensure your child has a library bag so they can enjoy these reads at their leisure at home.

AUTHOR PENPALS

Our author penpals continue to correspond with us and even send through a book or two.

Stay tuned next week for some news.

This week we heard from the following author pen pals:

***Ashleigh Barton, Yr 3 author pen pal. Ashleigh sent us a copy of "Solomon Mararoni and the Cousin Catastrophe" and a letter answering our questions about her.

***Kathryn Apel, Yr 5 author pen pal. 

***Tania Cox, Yr 4 author pen pal. Using the idea in Tania's book we brainstormed our own ideas of what could be at the end of a piece of rope eg an adventure playground, an everlasting supply of icecream, front row seats to a Taylor Swift concert and a stadium where we could play soccer with Messi and Ronaldo, to name a few.

***Jo Sandhu, Yr 6, Yr 4 author pen pal

WEEKLY LIBRARY TIMETABLE

MONDAY - Kindergarten, Yr 4

TUESDAY - Yr 2, Yr 5

WEDNESDAY - Yr 3

THURSDAY - Yr 1, Yr 6 

BOOK BUSTERS CLUB

Book Busters has resumed for the year.

BOOK BUSTERS CLUB is an optional early morning reading club for students who wish to come into the cool library before school to read.

CHOICE = Motivation 

"The strongest positive impact on reading engagement and learning gains come from student self-selection of reading materials. When reading materials are selected for students the links to engagement and learning gain decline significantly." 

How Reading Motivation and Engagement Enable Reading Achievement: Policy Implications, Ana Taboada Barber and Susan Lutz Klauda

When students visit the library a huge emphasis is placed on the 

premise that they have

 CHOICE

in what they can read and borrow. 

TECHNOLOGY IN THE LIBRARY

In the library we are safe online and respectful of each other and the technology.

Please follow the steps:

1. Write your name, class and CB / iPad number neatly in the book.
2. Sit where Mrs McGuirk, or a Library Leader can walk behind you.
3. Always log in on your chromebook using your school login.

If you would like to access another site, please ask Mrs McGuirk first.

LIBRARY BAGS

Please note a LIBRARY BAG is the first item on your child's equipment list for this year.

Thank you for ensuring your child has a library bag. I have some spares and will issue these to students next week who have not yet presented with a bag.

LIBRARY BAGS MATTER...  Not just some of the time but all of the time.

No food or drink on my books.

Food and drink are for the chooks.

Library bags keep ‘em clean.

Books are cool don’t treat ‘em mean.

Bring your bag every time.

Fill it up and get in line.

Have it scanned and scoot on out.

LIBRARY BAGS

We all shout.

J. McGuirk

WORLD BOOK ONLINE - 

Ask your child about the bookmark which provides home access for World eBooks and Worldbook online.

If you have not logged on and had a browse around, sit down with your child and ask them about it. I'm sure all primary-aged students will be able to show you some of the features.

UPDATED - SORA - easy access guide 

Download the free App to access this online reading resource provided for us by the Catholic Schools Office. Your family will have access to thousands of books 24/7.