With the renovations about to begin, life for us is all about adapting, overcoming and improvising. We are doing very well!
This year library lessons will be conducted as team teaching sessions in the classroom. These lessons are based on a two weekly cycle with each grade involved in an author study.
A very warm and cosy library ‘nook’ has been created near the big television and many of the popular titles have been relocated to this area for ease of borrowing. I am delighted to see parents sitting and reading to their children in the ‘nook’ before and after school.
While music lessons are being conducted in the library the borrowing times are as follows:
• Any morning before school except for Thursday when we have a staff meeting.
• Any afternoon after school except for Monday when we have TPL meetings.
• Monday, Wednesday and Thursday during second half lunch.
The team teaching programs are outlined below.
Kindergarten
The Kindergarten classes are studying the work of the author Pamela Allen. Using the wiki, which can be found at the address below, the students will gain information about the author, enjoy some examples of her work, discuss other books that they have read and follow links to Web Sites which provide deeper experiences with topics and issues in the books. They will study and respond to the texts in interesting ways.
Kindergarten classes have begun reading for the Premier’s Reading Challenge and are working their way through a bag of PRC books that has been supplied from the library.
http://pamelaallen.wikispaces.com/

Year One
Using the wiki at the address below, the Year One students are involved in a study of the work of Babette Cole. Her Web Site is quite fascinating and allows the students to see and hear her reading some of her most entertaining books whilst providing information about the author herself. She has issued us a challenge to write an Easter story so we will be hard at work on that.
Year One is also busy reading for the Premier’s Reading Challenge with their own bag of PRC library books.
http://babettecole.wikispaces.com/
Year Two
The Year Two students are learning all about the author Mem Fox. Using the wiki at the address below, we are enjoying her wonderful books, learning about her life and her journey as an author and enjoying listening to her read some of her most famous works. We are also undertaking writing tasks modelled on her stories.
The year two grade has been given a Premier’s Reading Challenge bag from the library which the students are enjoying with their teachers.
http://authorstudymemfox.wikispaces.com/
Year Three
The Year Three students have entered the very fascinating and complex world of Anthony Browne. We are looking in detail at the text and illustrations in his books. We are using both the wiki, which can be accessed at the address below, and a Smart Notebook which has been created to facilitate discussion and meaningful responses to the books studied.
http://abrowne.wikispaces.com/
Year 4
In Year 4 we have embarked on a study of the work of Roald Dahl. Using the hotlist at the address below and a Smart Notebook, we will explore various aspects of his work and embark on some writing activities inspired by themes and issues in his novels. Roald Dahl books are extremely popular in our library and his work is most entertaining for us all.
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listroalddad.html
Year 5
The students in Year Five are busy practising their narrative writing skills. Using a wiki and a Smart Notebook that have been created to provide discussion, modelling and writing tasks, the students will examine various sub-genres of the Narrative style . They will then undertake writing tasks inspired by these sub-genres. Each session will focus on a particular author whose work is an excellent example of the sub-genre studied.
http://thenarrative.wikispaces.com/
Year Six
The students of year six are studying the themes and issues that are evident in the works of Morris Gleitzman. Using a wiki and a Smart Notebook, the students are practising the skill of examining a text to identify the author’s purpose and finding evidence to prove their interpretation. Morris Gleitzman is renowned for writing about serious issues using characters that are always optimistic. His work is underpinned with humour. Gleitzman is another popular author in our library.
http://gleitzman.wikispaces.com/
The Premier’s Reading Challenge
From the March 1st the students can begin recording their Premier’s Reading Challenge books on the PRC Web Site. Whilst we have a wonderful collection of books on the PRC shelf, I encourage all students to visit Warringah Library where the choices are very broad. Visit the address below for a taste of what you can borrow:
http://www.wls.nsw.gov.au/readingchallenge.htm