World Book Day

Our pupils were treated to a range of activities to celebrate World Book Day this March 2nd. We are very fortunate to have Ms Skipper at the helm of our library, who continually works to bring literature into the lives of our pupils. On 2nd March, Ms Skipper ran a scavenger hunt, where pupils had to locate 14 hidden characters around the school. Once all characters were found, it resulted in a hidden secret message that was revealed once all the answers were entered onto a grid. Winning entries were placed in a draw for a £10 Boojum voucher.

Ms Skipper also has a chllanege on the display board in the library. She has listed the favourite books of some members of staff and asked students which staff member matches the books on display. It's certainly got everyone thinking!

Reading was also the theme of Friday’s House Assemblies. Our Housemasters chose difference aspects of Book Day and took the opportunity to highlight to pupils that reading is an important skill not just to get through school but also in life. Reading frequently increased exposure to written language which in turns helps readers improve their writing, grammar and spelling. It can inform on areas of interest too such as your favourite sport or hobby or take you off to far-away places.

We hope you received Ms Skipper’s newsletter Book Break via ParentMail last week which outlined some of the additional activities that took place in the College. Here is a recap for anyone that missed it:

Free Books!

Ms. Skipper offered free books to our Year 8 and 9 pupils. Additional copies are available to any pupils who would like them and there are some great non-fiction World Book Day books too.

World Book Day Tokens

Book tokens were distributed this year via a link posted on Firefly. The token will give pupils an option to purchase one of the specially published World Book day books or £1 discount off audio and paper books priced at £2.99.

Don’t forget about audiobooks!

The World Book Day website has several audiobooks available for free. Additionally, the College Library subscribes to Listening Books and logins are available from Ms. Skipper. There is something for everyone!

Book Fair open until Thursday March 23rd

We have recently set up a Scholastic Book Club and we are glad to report it is now up and running! You can browse your favourite titles online and for every £1 spent, the library will earn 20p in Scholastic Rewards. Purchased must be completed by Thursday 23rd March. Thank you to everyone who supports our club!

Reading Challenge

Books are not just for reading during World Book Day! To encourage reading a broader range of genres, which some pupils (and adults) can find quite challenging, Ms, Skipper has set a reading challenge to pupils in Years 8-10 in the hope that they will expand their reading horizons and discover new categories of book to enjoy. A reading challenge bookmark has been issued which guides some reading suggestions such as:

• A Classic you have never read
• Published after 2020
• A book of a female author
• A book adapted into a movie or show
• Set somewhere you’d like to visit

As you can see, Ms Skipper has provided some great prompts to help pupils consider what to read next over the next two months.  There is also a helpful booklet that guides pupils to consider new authors based on the previous books they have enjoyed. It is available in the library from Ms Skipper. The Tutor group with the most books read during this challenge will win muffins at break so that should be a good incentive!

Reading choice booklet

Book Clubs

For anyone who wants to read more and share this with others, there are Book Clubs that run from the library during break times. Junior Book Club meets on Wednesday lunchtime on Week 2 and Senior Book Club meets in the library after school. Please sign up or speak with Ms Skipper to learn more.

More on Ms. Skipper

Ms Skipper was featured in a recent Spotlight on the Library feature. If you missed it first time around, you can access the post here.

Ms Skipper was recently invited to speak on a panel of librarians to discuss her experience of developing initiatives for students to encourage reading. You can hear this forum discussion on the links below to a video and a podcast:

Video:     https://youtu.be/XEP7zRFyt-k

Podcast: https://ehutchinson44.podbean.com/e/world-book-day-how-do-we-balance-silliness-with-seriousness/

Happy reading everyone!