Welcome to Term 1 in the library. This term I am on sick leave and the library is in the very capable hands of Ms Kara Remmington. I am sure that the students at Cromer will have many exciting reading journeys this term.
Happy reading!!
Welcome to Term 1 in the library. This term I am on sick leave and the library is in the very capable hands of Ms Kara Remmington. I am sure that the students at Cromer will have many exciting reading journeys this term.
Happy reading!!
Book Fair
2024
Every year we look forward to the annual book fair. This year it will take place on Monday October 28th. This is a great opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping and help the school library at the same time.
The Term
Four Library Program
Early Stage One
In this unit
the students will study the work of Julia Donaldson. She is one of England’s most celebrated
children’s authors and has sold more than 100 million books worldwide and been
translated into around 100 languages. From 2011 until 2013 she was England’s
children’s laureate. In her stories, Julia Donaldson has the ability to weave
moral lessons and themes of friendship, bravery, and kindness into her stories.
The rhythm
and songlike quality of the words make her books a joy to read. The colourful
illustrations by Axel Scheffler complement the words perfectly. Importantly,
the repetition in many of her stories encourages the development of word recognition and phonological awareness.
Stage One
The Stage One teachers have requested a library unit of study which focuses on visual literacy
and persuasive writing.
In weeks one
to six a collection of texts has been chosen which enhance the ability to
interpret, comprehend, appreciate, use, and create visual media.
In weeks
seven to ten a collection of texts has been chosen in which the writer attempts
to convince or persuade the audience to adopt a particular point of view. Using
fiction and non-fiction texts, the students will be encouraged to identify the
main points of view to gain a deeper understanding of what they are reading.
Stage Two
In weeks 1 -3 of term 3 we will complete the literature
studies that were planned for term 2.
The library unit in weeks 4-10 is
aligned with the Stage Two history unit researching the First Fleet.
Investigations will include:
Stage Three
The library
unit is aligned with the Stage Three geography unit investigating the unique
characteristics of countries within the Asia region.
In library
studies, each student will research one designated Asian country. They will
then demonstrate their learning in a presentation for their class.
The Library
in Weeks Six to Ten
I will be
taking leave from week six until the end of the year. Miss Remmington will be
very capably taking my place.
We Read,
Learn, Investigate and Create in the Lyle Skippen Library
Every year,
at our book parade, we honour the memory of Lyle Skippen with the arrival of
our mascot, Skippen the Library Dog.
Lyle was a
navigator with defensive night fighters, flying planes known as Mosquitos over
London during World War 2.
During the
war he was injured when his plane crashed damaging his ankle and leaving him
with a permanent limp.
After the war he taught in many schools both in Sydney and country towns. In 1961 he became the first principal of Cromer Public School which was then called Dee Why West School.
Mr Skippen was a very kind man who was loved by parents, and students. The community was very sad when he was asked to move to another school which needed his guidance.
He died very peacefully at the age of fifty-four sitting up in bed reading a book with his glasses on the end of his nose. When he died the whole of Cromer school cried.
Some Sights at the Book Parade.
The Book Week theme, this year is Reading is Magic.
During Book week, we celebrate our wonderful Australian authors and
illustrators.
The value and advantages of reading are promoted during book
week as school and public libraries use the occasion to highlight the
importance and joy of reading.
With our 2024 Children's Book Week theme; Reading is
Magic, we're celebrating reading stories and their amazing power to transport
minds. We are encouraging kids to be curious about the wonders in our world. It
is a positive and affirming message for our young people. The magic of reading
also lies in its power of enticement; a good story provokes conversations.
Talking about the stories with others connects the reader with other readers.
Wrapped around all of this are the "tricks" and skills of our amazing
writers and illustrators, as they use all their powers of language and
illustration to engage the reader in this world they are building. (Children’s
Book Council of Australia.)
Books to be Studied in Term 3 are taken from the CBCA
Notable and Short Lists.
Early Stage One:
Hope is the Thing by Eric Wagner
Easy Peasy by Ky Garvey
Who’s Afraid of the Light? By Anna McGregor
The Swaddledok by josh Szeps
How to Hatch a Dragon by NickBland
Dad, Get Off Your Phone! By
Bowerbird Blues I by Aura Parker
Where Will the Sleepy Sheep Sleep? By David Metzenthen
Trees! by Victor Steffensen
Stage One
The Concrete Garden by Bob Graham
Bowerbird Blues by Aura Parker
Raised by Moths by Charlie Archbold
Etta ns the Shadow Taboo by Jeremy Field
Dad, Get Off Your Phone! By Craig Sheather
Mini and Milo and the Teeny Tiny Voice by
Venita Dimos
Trees by Victor Steffensen
The Garden of Broken Things by Freya Blackwood
Stage Two
Midnight by Peter Cheong
Where History Happened by Mark Greenwood
Timeless by Kelly Carnby
When You’re a Boy by Blake Nuto
Votes for Women by Mark Wilson
Caroline by Mark Wilson
Gargoyle by Zana Fraillon
Stage Three
The students will study the shortlisted novel Scar Town by
Tristan Bancks.
Tristan Bancks is a very popular Australian author. His
books have won and been shortlisted for many awards. His novel Two Wolves
is an absolute favourite in our library.
Bancks has a stated mission to re-engage readers and take
them away from screens. He trusts his targeted readership to cope with slightly
scary plots that do, however, resolve themselves in a positive way. This book
does just that. The child characters in the book (who are aged 12 and 13), face
dangers and challenges that test them both physically and emotionally as well
as testing their loyalty to each other.( CBCA Reading Time 2024.)
Premier’s Reading Challenge
The challenge will close on Friday August 23rd.
National
Simultaneous Storytime
We are
looking forward to participating in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday
the 22nd of May. This year the chosen text is Bowerbird Blues by
Aura Parker.
Bowerbird
Blues stars a beautiful bowerbird on the search for (you guessed it) BLUE! It’s a moving story of longing and
connection, that unfolds as the bowerbird’s search sends him soaring across the
sea, sky and city. He swoops and snatches vibrant treasures for his collection,
and soon his bower – a mix of natural and unnatural objects – attracts
something greater and more fulfilling than he could ever have imagined (ALIA 2024).
The
Australian Library and Information Association reports that, in 2023 more than
two million children read the same book on the same day. “NSS throws an
international spotlight on the important work that libraries do every day”
said ALIA Acting CEO Trish Hepworth
She further
states:
“When we
read together it helps language development, learning and literacy, all while
building community. It’s also a lot of fun.”
As we
celebrate National Simultaneous Storytime, we will look back on many of the
texts that we have enjoyed in previous years. The whole experience is a true celebration
of reading.
The Term Two
Library Program
Early Stage One
The work of
Colin McNaughton is a wonderful vehicle for introducing young readers to visual
literacy. Visual images are becoming increasingly more important in the modern
world. Most information is presented with a combination of words and images.
It is
essential that students develop the ability to decode, interpret, question,
challenge and evaluate texts.
In this
study the students use visual images to help them read and understand texts.
Visual information can support reading and help the reader to make meaning of
the text. The humorous and entertaining work of Colin McNaughton is a great
place to start such a study.
Stage One
The library lesson series for Stage One has
been designed to support the stage one geography unit that is being covered in
class lessons.
The library
unit will be literature-based on the theme of sustainability. Both fiction
and non-fiction texts will be studied
The main
objective is to investigate the reasons why some places are special to people,
and how they can be looked after.
The unit will
seamlessly integrate with the library unit in term one which dealt with
Indigenous sacred places.
Stage Two
In 2022 the
Stage 2 teachers requested that the library program be linked to the Science
unit which they were studying. They also requested that the students learn to
evaluate websites and use accurate search words when researching information.
Again, this
year, in the Stage 2 Science program, the students will be making cars and
testing their designs. Therefore, the
library research topic is about cars.
All the
research questions and necessary links are in a Stile lesson. However, the
students will record their answers in individual workbooks.
Stage 3
In the first
half of this term, the students will be completing their Information Fluency
investigation researching the question, why are the characteristics of
materials important when designing and producing?
The
students have completed their workbooks and are now busily researching and
writing their speeches which will conclude the unit.
A
literature study is planned for the rest of the term.
The
Premier’s Reading Challenge
The
challenge will conclude on Friday August 23rd and many students are
happily reading selections of the many examples of quality literature that is
available in our library.
It is
exciting to be back in the library this term with all Cromer students
enthusiastically borrowing and participating in the library lessons.
I encourage
all students to borrow regularly from the library collection which houses over
11,000 fiction and 4,000 non-fiction texts. I am sure there is something to interest
everyone!
Premier’s
Reading Challenge
I would like
to encourage all our Cromer students to participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge. It will open on Monday February 26th and close on August
21st. We have an extensive range of PRC books in the library.
Follow the link above to learn all about Sami Bayly, who created the PRC poster.
The Library
Program Term One
Kindergarten
It is
important that our kindergarten students learn to love the library and experience
the joy of exploring new worlds in books. We encourage them to explore all areas
of the library and make personal discoveries of genres that interest them.
We begin our
library studies learning the difference between fiction and non-fiction books.
The pictures, words and elements of both genres and the reason for reading them
will be examined.
Teaching the
difference between fiction and nonfiction requires students to understand the
difference between real and make-believe. Large-group and small-group
activities will give the students practice in identifying the different types
of books.
Stage One
(Years One and Two)
In term one
the library program will be linked to the history unit that is to be studied in
class. It asks the question: How Are People Connected to Places?
In support
of this unit of study we will be deeply diving into five texts which illustrate
the importance of connection to country for Indigenous people.. The texts are:
Open Your
Heart to Country by
Jasmine Seymour.
Ceremony by Adam Goodes and Ellie Liang
Baby
Business by Jasmine
Seymour
Somebody’s
Land by Adam Goodes
and Ellie Liang.
Each text contains illustrations which appeal to the very young, while sharing a deeper message for older readers. They invite the reader to reflect on the importance of place to, not only Indigenous people, but everyone.
Stage Two
(Years Three and Four)
The stage two staff has asked me to focus on experiencing and understanding various forms of
poetry in our library lessons with a particular emphasis on the skills of inferring, summarising and making connections.
Poetry is a
form of expression. Writing it enables us to express our feelings and thoughts
on a subject and reading it encourages us to connect and find meaning in our
experiences.
Poetry can have a positive impact on the
social and emotional learning of children. It may offer them a new way of
thinking about issues and events in their lives.
The aim of
this unit is to explore the many devices used in poetry and to provide the
students with the opportunity to express themselves in a variety of poetic
forms.
Stage Three (Years
Five and Six)
The library unit
is aligned with the Science and Technology Unit which asks the question: Why
are the characteristics of materials important when designing and producing?
Investigations
will include:
Comprehension
tasks, an investigation task entitled Escape the Science Lab which sets
the students on an adventure exploring the properties of matter, and a research
assignment investigating materials used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander People as hunter, gatherers.
The unit
will culminate with a research task of a particular product and its properties,
origins and uses.
Author Visit
New author, Fiona Evans, visited Cromer on Monday 27/11 to read her first children’s book to some year one students in the library.
The students
loved The Magic Mermaid Shell which Goode Books describes as:
The tale
of a young mermaid princess, who can count on her friends to help save the
kingdom from a dragon and a mischievous witch. A sweet story about friends
helping out in times of need, aimed at preschool and kindergarten children ages
3-6. ... Google
Books
The students
had many questions to ask Fiona after the reading and launched with gusto into
the two activities that she presented in response to the text.
In my
experience, children love to meet authors. Their interest in reading is truly
spiked when they have the opportunity to interact with an author in the flesh.