Faculty Report

"Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey."

— Anna Quindlen (How Reading Changed My Life, 1998.)

Reading is the gateway to world of imagination, as well as a world of lifelong learning. Mazenod Library offers students both of these with a diverse collection of fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels and picture books. There are books for every level of reader, from those who are building their reading muscles, through to those who strong readers wanting to stretch their wings and challenge themselves and climb the reading ladder. Frequently we see those who work at their reading in Years 7-9 become those who are more successful and among our top achievers in Year 12. “Free voluntary reading results in better reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical development” (— Stephen D. Krashen, 2004)

Students are supported in their reading by qualified and knowledgeable Library Staff. They are encouraged to choose reading material at their level that they will enjoy – using strategies such as I PICK and the Five Finger Rule. Self-selection is very important, reading that is not enjoyed soon becomes a chore. “Empowering students to choose their own books sets them up for being lifelong readers” (Meagan Daley, 2019). During some of their fortnightly library classes, students have enjoyed Genre Taster lessons, where each class discusses a particular genre and choose from a wide selection of formats in that genre. This has resulted every time in students discovering reads that they would never have picked up otherwise.

Genre tasters have gotten me to expand my interests, especially in terms of the material I casually read.

— Elijah Jiminez, Year 9

It was a time that I could catch up on my reading with little to no interruption, and where there was peace and quiet for that day. Usually I have library lessons every fortnight on Friday Period 6, making the day go fast a little quicker. Every library lesson, new genres are introduced, allowing me to deeper explore different books and step out of my comfort zone.

— Lucas Velasquez, Year 8

Year 7 students in particular have enjoyed writing book reviews for the Reading Room, where they are displayed as a revolving presentation on the screen. The students love giving their opinion and other students appreciate having reading recommendations from their peers. 

Later this term, we will be acknowledging Mazenod’s reading community at Celebrating Reading – an annual event where we invite completers of the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, Top Readers, Book Club and the staff who support them, for lunch in the Library. It is always a highly anticipated event for our regular library users. Certificates are awarded to outstanding readers, as well as those who completed the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge.

If you would like to find out more about the power of reading and student self-selection, we have several books in the Library.

• Raising Readers, Megan Daley
• The Power of Reading Stephen D. Krashen
• Reading Magic Mem Fox
• Reading For Life, Lyn Stone

Library staff are always happy to discuss student reading with both students and parents so please reach out if you have any questions.

Jess Neville

Teacher Librarian