2023 NSW PREMIER'S READING CHALLENGE - Update

A huge congratulations to all the students who have completed the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge. Participation certificates have been printed and will be distributed this week. Prized Gold and Platinum Awards have arrived and will also be distributed this week. A Gold Award is an award issued to a student who has completed the PRC for four consecutive years, and a Platinum Award is issued to a student who has completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge every year since Kindergarten; I am sure you will agree that is a commendable feat.

Don’t forget that any books you read over the summer holiday period can be added to your reading log for 2024!

Overdue Library Books

A gentle reminder that if you have any outstanding library books could they please be returned to the library ASAP. Overdue notices have already been sent home in order to assist you in locating overdue books. If you have searched for an overdue book and have not been able to locate it, please encourage your child to come and see me as it may have been accidentally replaced on the shelf; occasionally, books are returned to the shelves before they are scanned!

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me mholley@arm.catholic.edu.au

A sincere “thank you” to all the families who have returned overdue books already!

A Christmas Suggestion

Library Bags

The forthcoming school holidays provides the perfect opportunity to check the condition of your child’s library bag, or indeed if they even have one! Perhaps your child’s library bag needs washing, or replacing, or isn't quite big enough - a brand new one could make an ideal Christmas gift! Tick it off as 'Something you need'.

Remember that ALL students K-6 require a library bag for library borrowing!

Summer Holiday Reading

The importance of continued reading over the Summer Holiday break cannot be overemphasised. Unfortunately, one of the things that many children tend to do over the holiday break is to stop reading. We are all aware how hard our students and teachers work to improve reading skills and strategies; holiday reading for pleasure will help in maintaining and reinforcing these acquired skills and strategies. Statistics tell us that children may lose months of academic progress over the long Christmas break if they do not continue to read. So, in the words of Roald Dahl;

"So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away,

and in its place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall."

Reading at Home

Don't forget that your child has 24/7 access to reading material through SORA and World Book Online - all through the school holidays.

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:

Getting started with Sora

Sora - get free ebooks and audiobooks from your school.

Step 1: Install the 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, then sign in.

The “setup” code is cenetau

Sign into your School – Select ACEN from the dropdown box.

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

Step 4: Close the book and go to the shelf to see all your books. 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 and more.

© 2020 OverDrive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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

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.

Our User ID: joseph2340

Password: joseph2340

My wish for you this Christmas:

"The gift of love. The gift of peace. The gift of happiness. May all these be yours at Christmas."

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