Library News

Welcome back to NazLib

It has been wonderful to see our students back in the Resource Centre in 2017 looking refreshed and already working hard on their studies. We have taken lots of photos of students at work and play in the library and share them in this first newsletter with you. These have also been displayed on our big screen at lunchtime and recess for students and staff to enjoy.

For the information of new students and parents, I refer you to the Nazareth library webpage which can be accessed from the Nazareth college website -learning/resource centre or directly from

https://sites.google.com/site/resourcesfornaz/

This contains a wealth of information related to reading and research as well as news and events in our library.

Year 7 Orientaion

Our new Year 7 students participated in an Orientation to the Library on their first day. Many were enthusiastic to borrow and have returned to the Resource Centre during recess and lunchtime to catch up on work or meet with their friends for a friendly game of Uno or chess. If anyone missed this orientation session or would like to refresh their memory on the processes and procedures in our library the PowerPoint presentation can be found on the library website.

https://sites.google.com/site/resourcesfornaz/home/about-us

New Ambassadors

Nazlib has a number of new and experienced Library Ambassadors who support our work in the Resource Centre. We are very grateful for their service to the school community. These young people are trained, rostered on for weekly shifts and learn valuable work skills as well as earning 100 house points each term.

Our team in 2017

We take Expressions of Interest for these positions at the end of Term 1 and Term 4 each year. To enquire about becoming a Library Ambassador see any one of the library staff or refer to the Library website

https://sites.google.com/site/resourcesfornaz/ambassadors

Homework Hub

Homework Hub is a regular weekly session after school on Thursday from 3.30pm-4.30pm. This is an opportunity for students to work collaboratively in small groups, meet with teachers to get extra help and to use the school facilities after hours. Homework Hub is a supported learning environment where our young people can choose to remain after school and catch up on some valuable study time. We try to create a relaxed and fun time with a few prizes and raffles for extra interest!

Join us at Homework Hub.

Wide Reading Program

How Exactly Does Reading Help Your Child Improve his or her Literacy Skills?

• The more you read, the more you understand words and are able to relate to the concept in which they’re used.
• You also become a better writer when you read books of good quality.
• Reading boosts vocabulary and helps you become a better conversationalist.
• It also improves your knowledge and makes it easy for you to learn more in less time – when you can read faster and with less effort, you find that it’s easier to pick up knowledge and information in less time.
• It helps (to) learn a new language when you choose books that are not in (your)  native tongue. Books that have pictures and associated words make it easy to pick up the basic words in a new language.
• It provides (you) with knowledge about other countries and cultures – (you) learn more about the world without having to leave home or travel extensively.

Reference: https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2010/11/how-reading-improves-child-literacy.html

At Nazareth College we understand and value reading as an integral part of our students' learning. This year, the Library and English staff are introducing a new program to encourage wide reading in Years 7-9. This will be rolled out over the first term with students being shown how to log on to the new Nazareth College MyReading Website to log their reading and keep tally of the number of words they read. This is a pilot program that we are developing and hope to share with other schools. Our students will be invited to give us feedback as we work together to improve the program and focus on literacy through regular reading. I look forward to sharing the progress of this new venture in future newsletters.

https://sites.google.com/site/resourcesfornaz/reading-1

No Valentine, no problem – fall in love with a good book!

The Library celebrated Valentine’s Day on 14 February this year with a focus on love of reading. Students were encouraged to borrow a book they might love and received a chocolate heart with their loan.

Our new Principal, Mr Cosentino shared with us that the book he loved was John Marsden’s 'So Much to Tell You'. We suggested he might like to read one of John Marsden’s later books. Mr Cosentino has borrowed 'Hamlet' – a novel, which is a contemporary re-writing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. He was helped at our Loan’s Desk by one of our experienced Library Ambassadors, Daniel White and trainee Ambassador Shamiso Sibanda.

We will have to follow up Mr Cosentino and ask his opinion about the book!

Mrs Sue Draculous - Teacher / Librarian

and the Resource Centre Staff