SPANISH EXCHANGE…
On the week of the 22nd of January, 20 Year 10 and 11 students took part in an Exchange trip to Utebo, Zaragagoza. Students stayed with host families and were able to immerse themselves in the Spanish language and culture. Students visited some important monuments in Utebo and in Zaragoza and made a lot of new friendships. An experience they will never forget! Thank you to Mr. Adair for accompanying Mrs. Melo and the students in this adventure. And thank you to all the families who supported us and made this Exchange possible. We can't wait to welcome our fellow Spanish students next month at Ridgeway.
TERM 3 IN THE LRC…
It was a New Year New Books kind of start to term 3 and our students tastebuds were tempted with over 50 new books added to the catalogue; 20 of which were added to our Dyslexic Friendly collection. Information Literacy and Study Skills sessions have been delivered all term - cross curricular lessons with Geography (Year 8) and History (Year 9) have focused on research skills, specifically source evaluation linking to extreme weather and Holocaust Memorial Day. Year 10 mentor groups have been picking up hints and tips in our Google Like a Pro session whilst R6 students have been thinking about their time management skills as well as talking about the importance of reading widely as a way to broaden subject knowledge as well as gaining a window on the world. R6 students also registered with our various digital resource subscriptions, including the FT online and JSTOR, a digital library of academic journals, books and primary sources; the latter affording an excellent opportunity to gain confidence and proficiency with a scholarly database used commonly at University. In addition, Child Development students in KS3 and KS4 have been coming to the LRC and learning about and practicing Harvard referencing to support their coursework requirement.
Library loyalty cards have been introduced with Front of the Line Passes up for grabs for those completed. With one of the challenges to attend a club or event in the library, the massively popular Heartstopper Night fit the bill perfectly - students were jam packed into the LRC after school to watch the dramatization of what is our most frequently borrowed book. Students have also been tempted to step out of their comfort zone with our Book Blind Date Challenge – deciding whether their mystery book is a red-hot riveting read or a rubbish red herring.
This is what has been happening in the library, but what else have the librarians been up to. Still basking in the glow of their national award that they won as part of the team behind the Swindon Youth Festival of Literature, the Swindon school librarians were further honoured by featuring on a magazine cover. The cover of the quarterly School Library Association magazine has been dedicated to them with an amazing drawing by local artist and author Steve Antony, with the big reveal taking place at the launch of his latest book Rainbowsaurus in London.
