Do you have a favourite Christmas story book that you bring out at Christmas and enjoy reading? Or a favourite Christmas movie that you all watch as a family?
Here are some Christmas movies you may have seen - have I missed some that you enjoy?
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Jingle all the way
Fred Claus
Arthur Christmas
The Polar Express
Here is a nice list of Christmas story books - many of them picture books. My favourite Christmas book is one I've had for many years, and it illustrates the the poem and song - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Clement Clarke Moore is said to have written the original poem, A Visit from
St. Nicholas, in 1823. Here is the poem, sung to a tune we might all recognise:
Or, you might prefer this more modern version of the song - with the pictures telling the story from the poem.
We hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday break, and there are some great books amongst your Christmas presents - perhaps there will be one with a Christmas story - let us know!
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
The Long Haul.... a week-long celebration!
The Long Haul.....Week long celebration....
Recently we held a week of 'Wimpy Kid' activities, games and competitions to celebrate the new "Long Haul" book.
Some of the things we did were; design our own book cover, write our own story, play the shame game and a quiz.
On Wednesday members of the Wimpy Kid fan club dressed up in orange and had a morning tea of all orange food.
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| Here is the winner of our book cover competition |
Some of the things we did were; design our own book cover, write our own story, play the shame game and a quiz.
On Wednesday members of the Wimpy Kid fan club dressed up in orange and had a morning tea of all orange food.
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| Orange out day with our new Principal, Mrs P. |
Sunday, October 12, 2014
11 ways to grow great readers: A parent's perspective
Rochelle Savage, a mother with two primary school aged sons, shares what works for her family when it comes to growing great readers.
I highly recommend her blog post where she shares 11 ways she uses to grow her sons as readers, and finds joy as a family in doing so. Of course, reading doesn't have to be from a book, but Rochelle finds ways to make reading a family experience. I think you will find her ideas familiar, but also refreshing.
Rochelle mentions a competition, where you can win a book for our school, simply by posting a comment on HER blog post.
What ways do YOU grow the young readers in your family?
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| Photo by woodleywonderworks (woodley wonderworks) CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
Friday, September 26, 2014
'The One and Only Springston' Team wins the Christchurch South Lit Quiz!
On Thursday 18 September, 16 children travelled to Somerfield School to compete in the Christchurch South Lit. Quiz that they had been training for since Term 2. The group had to study 6 picture books and 6 novels and answer questions on the night; 10 for each book.
Springston had two teams entered and 'The One and Only Springston' team were in 2nd place after the first round and then in 1st place until round 8; then we didn't know if we had won until the end. The team scored 10/10 for 5 rounds, 9/10 for 2 rounds and 8/10 for 3, then a 6 and 4.5; total 102.5. A fantastic, well deserved win. Our second team finished with 85.5 points in 9th place and our reserves scored 81.
The winners were presented with a trophy, certificates and got to choose a book and the library also got a bundle of books. All of the children received a selection of goodies in a lunchbox. Thanks to Scholastic for their fantastic sponsorship of this quiz and to Opawa School for hosting the quiz this year; our turn next year! Special thanks to our Librarian, Mrs Winter, for coaching and supporting us!
Springston had two teams entered and 'The One and Only Springston' team were in 2nd place after the first round and then in 1st place until round 8; then we didn't know if we had won until the end. The team scored 10/10 for 5 rounds, 9/10 for 2 rounds and 8/10 for 3, then a 6 and 4.5; total 102.5. A fantastic, well deserved win. Our second team finished with 85.5 points in 9th place and our reserves scored 81.
The winners were presented with a trophy, certificates and got to choose a book and the library also got a bundle of books. All of the children received a selection of goodies in a lunchbox. Thanks to Scholastic for their fantastic sponsorship of this quiz and to Opawa School for hosting the quiz this year; our turn next year! Special thanks to our Librarian, Mrs Winter, for coaching and supporting us!
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| Our winning team! |
Monday, August 11, 2014
Look at all our new books!
Did you know that you can find a list of all our new library books, simply by visiting our Library OPAC and following the link to New Items?Enjoy!
Friday, July 04, 2014
For all parents - easy tips to encourage your children to love reading
Does your child love reading?
Do you know how to encourage them?
Bob Docherty suggests 10 simple ideas for parents on how to encourage that love of reading. There may even be one or two tips that provide answers to things you've been wondering about - eg - should they be reading eBooks?
Read Bob's excellent article, 10 tips to encourage children to love reading, on The New Zealand Book Council's 'Booknotes unbound'.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Book Review - The Fault in our Stars - John Green
Book: The Fault in our Stars
Rating: ****
Age: 12+
I would recommended this book for 12+ and adults would also enjoy it. I give this book 4 stars out of a 5 star rating because I really enjoyed reading this book and I am now interested in all the rest of John Green's books.
By Libby
Author: John Green
Rating: ****
Age: 12+
I really enjoyed this book because you never knew what would happen next. I could never say, “This will happen next,” because something dramatic always happened and that excited me and made me not want to put the book down.
Hazel had lung cancer for about 5 years and is free of any cancer for 18 months. Hazel goes to a cancer support group to help her with cancer depression, when she meets a handsome teenage boy, Augustus Waters.
I have found some humour and some sadness in this book and my favourite parts were the phrases ( encouragements ) they used, to express how they felt at times. For example, "Good friends are hard to find but impossible to forget."
I would recommended this book for 12+ and adults would also enjoy it. I give this book 4 stars out of a 5 star rating because I really enjoyed reading this book and I am now interested in all the rest of John Green's books.
By Libby
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Our Library catalogue is online
With our new Access-it Library software, every computer at school or home now has access to our school library catalogue!
Bookmark this link to easily find and browse our catalogue, and to find out about our new books. In the not too distant future, you'll even be able to reserve books, find out what books have been issued to you and when they're due back, and much more.
We're still working on the Catalogue's home page, but wanted to tell you about this great development with access to the catalogue now!
Bookmark this link to easily find and browse our catalogue, and to find out about our new books. In the not too distant future, you'll even be able to reserve books, find out what books have been issued to you and when they're due back, and much more.
We're still working on the Catalogue's home page, but wanted to tell you about this great development with access to the catalogue now!
Monday, May 12, 2014
2014 Kid's Lit. Quiz
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| Libby, Mya, Rob, Molly & Emily at Cobham |
We had 100 questions in total on a lot of different topics. Ten questions on each topic. Some of the topics were; Mythology, Dogs, Christmas, Beverages, Food, Anatomy, Creatures and this year a whole section on Harry Potter. Our best topic was Mytholgy where we got 8/10.
Do you know who is the male and female of Ying and Yang?
Ying is the female.
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| Molly, Emily, Rob & Mya |
What is the Japanese symbol for old age?
A turtle or a crane.
What is Captain Haddock's favourite drink?
Whiskey.
We got 63.5/100. The top two teams were Cobham 1 & Cobham 2, they got 85 & 84.5 and will now compete in the New Zealand final. Afterwards we went to the Children's Bookshop to look at all the new books.
Look out for Libby's choice : 'Out of my Mind' by Sharon Draper.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
AnyQuestions Easter holiday hours
For those of you who make the most of the amazing, free AnyQuestions resource provided for all NZ students through the National Library of New Zealand.......you'll be delighted to know that they are remaining open over the holiday period, with closure only on the Easter and Anzac public holidays. Outside of those days they will be open their regular hours, Monday to Friday 1 pm - 6 pm. The online ManyAnswers website will remain open throughout.
And if you haven't tried out this service, where you can ask seek online and one-to-one assistance from qualified librarians, then the holidays are a great time to try it out. You may also like to read a earlier 2011 post about using AnyQuestions.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Have YOU been on a bear hunt?
I'm sure we have all enjoyed going on a bear hunt! After all, we've all read the famous book by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.
Did you know, this book is now 25 years old!
I hope you enjoy this special performance of the story, by the author himself!
Would you like to leave us a comment below - where else have YOU been for a bear hunt?
Did you know, this book is now 25 years old!
I hope you enjoy this special performance of the story, by the author himself!
Would you like to leave us a comment below - where else have YOU been for a bear hunt?
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Book Review: 'Half Bad'
Half Bad
Book: Half Bad
Author: Sally Green
Rating: ✯✯✯✯
I like this book because of the way the author made the story twist and turn and dark secrets turning up at the least expected time.
In this book Nathan is very passionate about his family and his blood line. I also like the way it's written in first person with his thoughts. I like that, because in movies you can’t always tell what the character is thinking.
Nathan is always on the run or in the outdoors is also one of the reasons I like this book because I love fishing or camping under the stars.
This is a book I would read again but not straight away as I would need time to think about it. I was left wanting more and I can’t wait to see if there is a sequel.
In this book Nathan is very passionate about his family and his blood line. I also like the way it's written in first person with his thoughts. I like that, because in movies you can’t always tell what the character is thinking.
Nathan is always on the run or in the outdoors is also one of the reasons I like this book because I love fishing or camping under the stars.
This is a book I would read again but not straight away as I would need time to think about it. I was left wanting more and I can’t wait to see if there is a sequel.
By Jackson P
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
You have everything you need....
If you have a garden and a library,
...you have everything you need.
(Cicero)
Cicero was a very learned Roman stateman who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC.
Do you think these words are still true, more than 2000 years later, in 2014?
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| Cicero |
Monday, March 03, 2014
Our Library in 2014
Welcome to 2014. The weather is already looking rather autumnal, so snuggling up with a book certainly appeals!
We have lots of exciting things happening at the moment!
The Library is being used as a classroom by our Senior Class, until their new classroom is completed in a few weeks. We still manage to fit in visits by other classes whenever possible. We have lots of new students at school, who are finding out what a fabulous Library we have here at Springston School.
Over the holidays we have updated our Library software system, and have made the switch from Musac to Access-It. Karen is busy doing online training and getting the system in place.
One important change will mean that you will be able to search our school catalogue and reserve books from any computer, no matter where it is. So, you can see what books are available from your classroom, or even from home. There will even be access to web links on some topics.
And last but not least, we have new Librarians who are almost ready to start. Look out for an introduction from them soon.
We have lots of exciting things happening at the moment!
The Library is being used as a classroom by our Senior Class, until their new classroom is completed in a few weeks. We still manage to fit in visits by other classes whenever possible. We have lots of new students at school, who are finding out what a fabulous Library we have here at Springston School.
Over the holidays we have updated our Library software system, and have made the switch from Musac to Access-It. Karen is busy doing online training and getting the system in place.
One important change will mean that you will be able to search our school catalogue and reserve books from any computer, no matter where it is. So, you can see what books are available from your classroom, or even from home. There will even be access to web links on some topics.
And last but not least, we have new Librarians who are almost ready to start. Look out for an introduction from them soon.
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