A word from our Student Librarians

Library Catalogue is live!

A preview of what the front end of the library catalogue looks like was shared with some students in the past week. All were very excited by the visual elements and level of information provided about books in our collection. Great news for our community is that now everyone can access the catalogue from any computer or device and search the collections.

The link for the catalogue is on the school website under the Staff tab.

Above is what the catalogue landing page looks like once you click enter. This is where you can check on your borrowing record, contribute reviews, make lists of books to read, search collections, access podcasts from a curated list and access e-resources as they are added to the collection. To login, use your compass details.

To search just type in a relevant search in the top left corner. Each item in the catalogue will usually have a summary next to a thumbnail image of the item. This will assist to make decisions on what you would like to read or listen to next.

Events in the library are advertised on the front landing page of the catalogue too so check in and see ‘What’s On’ throughout the year.

The catalogue will be dynamic and change as our library constantly evolves.

The following is the curated podcast list that you can access to listen to over the holidays. It is also accessible via the library catalogue.

Reflection on student-led clubs

Student-led clubs started half way through this term and proved a great learning experience for all students involved. Students have had to negotiate marketing their clubs, developing and delivering activities, altering timetables and venues when external factors impacted and formulating guidelines for respectful engagement during the clubs.

It’s been great to witness students develop the skills of organisation and leadership and we are looking forward to more next term.

Following are some reflections from some of our student club leaders on what they have learnt so far.

Samreen – It shows that even students can lead other students and teach them new skills.

Skyler – It can be hard to lead because some students choose to do their own things so we had to work on coming up with rules.

Daisy – You have to learn new skills to present to others. It will help with leadership roles in the future.

Fatemah – I feel more confident because of the practise of talking in front of other students. You have to come up with ideas to present. It can help with work interviews.

Milanya – I’ve learnt leadership skills such as being responsible and organised.

Share a story for Refugee Week

The library hosted a ‘Share a story’ event for Refugee Week as aligned with the theme for the week. Two of our teachers shared their experiences with students. This provided a great opportunity to share diverse experience and learn about the personal stories of seeking asylum. Students were very engaged and had many questions. Nothing is more powerful than connecting with personal stories.

“It was beautiful to see the students share little stories and reflect on the difficulties that refugees face during their journeys.” from Merjam who shared her own story.

“It was a really good event. I liked how teachers had the confidence to talk about their past and how it was challenging” – Kanzy in Year 7

Share a Review

Jasper Jones – Craig Silvey

Book Review by Bianca Viapiana

For the first time in my life, I struggled to put a novel down! When I saw the novel, first thing I noticed was the multiple awards won by Craig Silvey for his novel Jasper Jones. To my surprise, this novel has a high level of absolute intensity that covers things such as injustice, hypocrisy, young love, racism and inhumanity. I could not stop reading, I wanted to know more, and I became so invested in the characters Jasper & Charlie. Two complete strangers sharing a shocking secret that bonds them together. At times I laughed out loud and there were times I was shocked and heart-broken.

Jasper Jones is an amazing tale by the brilliant new Australian author, Craig Silvey. Highly recommended!

My Sister Rosa – Justine Larbalestier

Book Review by Bianca Viapiana

I loved this very dark and disturbing novel! It centres around the protagonist, 17 year old Che and his life that revolves around his creepy 10 year old sister, Rosa. Rosa is a psychopath. There were times where the novel was very slow (especially at the beginning) and this did influence my rating. However, it picks up! And my gosh! The massive twist at the end – I never saw it coming!! Truly, one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in a long time!

Men in Black (MIB) – International directed by Felix Gary Gray

Film review by Merjam Music

The recent film “Men in Black (MIB) – International” presented a feminist re-working that really drew me in! In previous versions of the film, a majority of the positions of power were held by men. However, it was refreshing to see a female actor, and a woman of colour – Thessa Thompson, starring as Agent M opposite Chris Hemsworth. In fact, Thompson is proven to be the stronger, more intelligent and trusting agent, particularly when compared to the other “men” in black. I also love how the film reminds the audience that expressing yourself as a feminist comes in all shades of diversity. Amazing!

Grammar Girl

Podcast Review by Mare Maticevski

I absolutely love language, discussions around words, grammar, writing and musing on how to construct the best possible sentence, poem or paragraph. In my own time I love engaging in creative writing and this podcast is a dream for people who love to write. I often listen to this podcast just to enjoy the learning around correct usage of apostrophes, new words that have entered our lexicon or the origin of certain words and how they are used. If you love words and wordplay and want to stretch your mind further I highly recommend listening to Grammar Girl. Each podcast is a short and digestible snippet of word knowledge. You can locate a link to Grammar Girl via the school library catalogue. Enjoy listening.

The Mediterranean - Armin Greder

Book Review by Mare Maticevski

The Mediterranean by Armin Greder is an example of the power of images to convey a story. This book covers the plight of many refugees who have drowned in the Mediterranean sea while embarking on a boat journey seeking asylum. In the three years leading up to 2017 there were more than 12000 deaths alone. Often bodies have been found by fisher-people and, being fearful of what may happen, they have thrown the bodies back into the sea. Many people have been missing in oceans since 1996. At the end of the book a detailed summary explains this and enables the reader to seek further information in sparking a research journey. These stories are powerful and need to be voiced. The book has been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year award for 2019. The winner will be announced in August during Book Week.

“With eloquent and devastating imagery, the creator of the multi-award-winning book The Island again asks us to examine our responses to the plight of refugees. How long will we remain silent witnesses?” - Riccardo Noury, Spokesperson, Amnesty International Italy. Accessed from https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/childrens/The-Mediterranean-Armin-Greder-9781760630959

Mare Maticevski

Library Resource Centre Manager

Calendar of Events

Term 3