Library News
A ‘Reading Cafe’ is now operating in the library every Thursday break two. This is a time when the library is focused only on sustained recreational reading. Students and staff are able to purchase a hot chocolate, find a quiet comfortable space and enjoy a book of their choice. With a range of new titles added to the collection it is a great time to find an interesting book to read whether it is fiction, non-fiction, manga or a graphic novel.
Reading is great for mental well-being as it helps to reduce stress levels. Providing time for reading allows students to explore books and discover what appeals to them without the pressure of curriculum. Developing enjoyment and a positive attitude for reading is beneficial for lifelong learning.
'Reading Cafe' provides students with a space and time to read at their own level and pace. This provides opportunities to develop their vocabulary as they experience words in contexts that are engaging. The exposure to a range of writing styles and sentence structures has a positive influence on students' own writing skills. As vocabulary, reading fluency and motivation increase so does comprehension. Sustained quiet reading assists with the ability to focus for long periods and is great practice for completing examinations.
In Week 6, a senior students and staff library book club will meet for the first time. Book club meetings will occur twice a term during 'Reading Cafe'. The first meeting discussion is on the debut novel, The Nowhere Child, by Christian White. It was the winner of the 2017 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript. As stated by the publisher the novel is, "Inspired by Gillian Flynn’s frenetic suspense and Stephen King’s masterful world-building, The Nowhere Child is a combustible tale of trauma, cult, conspiracy and memory." The novel is based on the disappearance of two year old Sammy Went and shifts between two time periods. In the present Kim Leamy is approached by a stranger who has been investigating Went's disappearance twenty-eight years earlier and is convinced Leamy is the missing Sammy Went.
The library has implemented a library monitor program this term. This expands student leadership and civic awareness into the library. A formalised library monitor program allows students to provide valuable input into the development of the library and raise the library profile with the student body. Students in Year 7 to 10 were able to apply for one of the positions available and twelve students were successful in gaining a position. As library monitors students will be expected to work in the library once a week during an allocated break time and will be provided with skills-based and age-appropriate training.
On Wednesday 22 August Miss Klein went to training in Sydney on Embedding Information Literacy skills in Stage 6. This course delivered by experienced teacher-librarians reviewed the information literacy process, highlighted the focus areas in each new syllabus for History, Science and Mathematics and provided an opportunity to explore a range of teaching strategies and scaffolds to support senior students. It highlighted the ways that Miss Klein in her role as teacher-librarian is able to assist students and teachers. This includes collaborating with class teachers and supporting students in developing their skills in navigating journal databases, identifying quality sources and reliable websites, locating appropriate resources, structuring reference lists and by scaffolding skills for internet research methodologies. To gain the widest access to resources and databases senior students should become members of their Central Coast public library and the NSW State library.
These services are free and applications can be completed online. Another great resource for students is Trove, a digital archive of resources relating to Australia including maps, newspaper articles, photographs, music and more. The links to these valuable sites are provided.
https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/join-us
http://www.s.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/libraries/membership
Ms Shelley Klein - Librarian