Library News

It has been a busy start to 2022 in the library. It was fantastic getting the opportunity to meet our Year 7 students during their library orientation and to discover some of their favourite books and authors. Students were guided through how to use our library catalogue through their student portal so they can renew their loans and check their loan due dates as well as search for items. They also had the chance to check out the Wheelers platform, https://henrykendah.eplatform.co/, through which our e-book collection is available.  

A great selection of texts are available in our e-book collection and this month the Children’s Book Council of Australia notables were added. These include Girls in Boys Cars by Felicity Castagna, How to Repaint a Life by Steven Herrick and Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn which have all now been shortlisted for the book of the year; older readers category. 

Recent additions to our physical book collection that are now available for borrowing include Girl, Transcending: Becoming the woman I was born to be by A. J. Clementine, Sonny Bill Williams: You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining by Alan Duff and Sonny Bill Williams, Growing up in Country Australia edited by Rick Morton and Growing up in Flames by Zach Jones. 

Incorporating one of our Library Leaders great ideas we now have Community Creations books available. Students can borrow a writing or art book and create their own text to share with the school community. They can draw artworks in a range of mediums, write poetry, stories, scripts, biographies or snippets of their own memoirs. This allows students to share their creative interests and connect with their peers. 

The Library Leaders, our student library monitors and ambassadors, were an amazing asset to the library over a disruptive 2021. We are grateful for their enthusiasm and contribution to the library and school community. Applications are open for students to apply for one of the positions as a library monitor or ambassador and will close at the end of Monday April 4th. All year groups are welcome to apply. Our 2022 Library Leaders will be announced at the end of Term 1. 

Our keen readers will be interested to know that the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) for 2022 is now open and will close on the 19th of August. Students are encouraged to participate and record their reading online at https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html Students need to read twenty books, fifteen which they choose from the PRC list, to complete the challenge. Students can find what PRC titles are available in the library by searching the PRC reading list on our library catalogue and by browsing the books and selecting those with a blue PRC sticker. 

Creative Writing Club has returned for face-to-face meetings. The group meets on Friday break one each week in the library. Students that enjoy writing in a range of forms and who are looking for a supportive and fun group to share their work with are welcome to join. Currently there are a range of writing competitions available to enter including the Dorothea Mackellar poetry competition, Whitlam Institute: It Matters to Me competition, Little Stories Big Ideas micro fiction competition, and the ongoing monthly competitions from Write the World. Interested students can join our Google Classroom, by inquiring with Miss Klein, to be kept informed of upcoming competitions or are able to check out the information board in the library. 

Information about the events at the Central Coast Council libraries happening over the holiday break can also be found on our information board, including an online workshop with illustrator and artist Matt Lin, skateboard deck art and a zine making workshop. 

We are so happy to see students reconnecting with the library and reading this term. We encourage students to use the library to complete schoolwork, undertake research for assessment tasks, select and read books, and engage with the activities available such as origami.

Miss Shelley Klein

Librarian Teacher