Library News - Summer 23

It’s been a great year in the library – I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year here as Librarian, meeting so many students, discussing their reading habits, providing guidance for developing students’ reading, and plenty of quizzes/ competitions and activities. There’s so much more on the horizon for next year too!

We have celebrated many reading connected moments on the calendar this year, and this half term we marked Pride UK month with a rainbow led display, additionally using our regular Books of the Week communication to share a wonderful range of books that are now available in the library. We’re delighted this was such a popular display, always hovered around in our library lessons with many books borrowed as a result. We try to mark as many significant events throughout the year to ensure students can see how the world of reading is so relevant.

Book Club has continued throughout the year with a core of consistent attendees who have always brought their sunny smiles, chat and joy of reading along with them. We have shared several books together, discussing what we’ve learnt and the characters involved, alongside plenty of quizzes and being creative in terms of making reading connected items that are often used for the displays. Book Club will continue next year for Years 7 and 8, and we hope to encourage more students to join in and enjoy. 

It was great to meet many of our Year 7 students-to-be during Transition Day. Some groups visited the library and experienced a library lesson that included an opportunity to have a look round and get a feel for what we have on offer. We also included a competition/quiz, which is often a key part of the library lessons that Year 7 enjoy on a rota. The Year 6s completed some brilliant book review book marks which highlighted what enthusiastic readers they are already!  As part of the sessions our Summer Reading Challenge was launched with these Year 6 and I hope many of them will take it up and receive those achievement points and rewards when they join in September. A copy of this, along with the suggested list of detective/ mystery books to read for their English lessons has been sent to parents via Edulink.

We additionally have a Summer Reading Project for our current Year 7 as a way to draw our library lessons to a close for the year. Students have been challenged to ‘Read Around the World’ with a copy of this being sent home via Edulink and paper copies available to collect from the library. As with the Year 6 challenge, plenty of prizes and points are available when they return in September and visit the library to show me their reading success. I hope that many students will extend all their great reading in library lessons this year by taking up the gauntlet!

So, all in all, a great year of reading, which we look forward to building upon next year. Students have full use of our virtual reading app ‘Sora’ over the summer and don’t forget the value of our public libraries. I will certainly be enjoying several books over the summer, getting ahead on the Books of the week for next year. Happy summer reading!