Wednesday, 20 December 2023

Holiday Reading

 Holiday Reading

Here are some fun and FREE ways to help to keep reading over the holidays!

READING CLOUD – eBooks & eAudiobooks

Log-on to our school library and read from our selection of eBooks & eAudiobooks.

This is a fabulous resource.

Winter Reading Challenges

Islington Libraries

Join your local library if you are not a member already and join in with the 
WINTER READING CHALLENGE
at your local Islington Libraries or online.
For more information follow this link.

The Reading Agency 

Join in on line with the Reading Agency's WINTER MINI CHALLENGE.
For more information follow this link.

Merry Christmas

keep reading over the holidays.

🎄🎅🎄📖🎄📖🎄📖🎄📖🎄



Thursday, 14 December 2023

RETURN BOOKS

 

RETURN BOOKS





The Christmas holidays are nearly here and 
it's time to return books borrowed from our school library!


Please try to return all library books by Wednesday 20th December.

THANK YOU!

Christmas

Christmas

The Junior Librarians have been busy decorating the library for the Advent season.

Junior Librarians - Sadie, Eleonora, Aisha & Ellie

 The library Christmas tree has been decorated with special stars for our literary Advent calendar.

Each star has an image of a popular children’s book on the reverse side so that we have a suggested read for each day of Advent.

The children are having fun turning over the stars on our Advent calendar to reveal our daily book suggestion.

 🟍🟍🟍🟍🟍🟍











 

Tuesday, 12 December 2023

Winter Reading Challenges

 

Winter Reading Challenges



To support literacy over the holiday period, we welcomed Islington Library Service to come into school for our Christmas Fair to encourage our children to join their local library and the Winter Reading Challenge.

There are two challenges; the Winter Reading Challenge run by Islington libraries and the Winter Mini Challenge run by The Reading Agency. The challenges aim to encourage children to continue reading over the winter holidays.

Taking part in the Winter Reading Challenge is simple and free. Children need to read 4 books from their library between 1st December 2023 and 29th February 2024.  There are certificates for all those who complete the challenge as well as a chance to win a special prize!

For more information on the Winter Reading Challenge, and more activities taking place in Islington Libraries, please visit www.islington.gov.uk/libraries.

Taking part in the Winter Mini Challenge is free and online. Visit the dedicated children’s website, www.wintermini.org.uk, and gain rewards for reading and reviewing books!  

If you are not already a member of your local library visit https://www.gov.uk/local-library-services to find the library nearest to you. Join today and start borrowing FREE books, eBooks and eAudiobooks.

Thursday, 7 December 2023

Reading at St Joseph's


Reading at St Joseph’s

Our school is strongly committed to improving literacy and knows the importance of reading for pleasure.  There is strong evidence to suggest that young people who read for pleasure daily perform better academically.  We want to encourage children to enjoy reading and to read a wide range of good quality literature. 

As a school we promote reading by providing stimulating environments across the school with a range of material to support individual, group and class reading opportunities. Reading opportunities take place with individuals as well as group and whole class sessions across the curriculum which support and develop phonics, fluency, and comprehension.   Teachers keep records of the reading sessions to monitor as well as track pupil development and engagement with reading.  In addition to bringing home books from reading sessions, each class has a weekly library session to allow them to choose from a wide range of books.

Each child has a purple Home Reading Record which is paramount to supporting reading development.  Each day all children are expected to read for 10 minutes per day at home.  These sessions and any other home reading should be recorded in the purple record.  In Early Years to Year 3 parents should record the reading.  In Years 4 to 6 the reading should be recorded by the child – listing either a comment or new word with meaning and sentence. Parents should sign these records.  Class teachers monitor these logs to ensure that children are reading from a range of material. 

In addition to the physical books that children bring home, our school has access to a digital platform called The Reading Cloud. 

The Reading Cloud is our online library and reading resource that allows pupils, staff and parents to access our digital book collection and read eBooks and listen to audiobooks. Our school library catalogue can also be viewed and pupils are encouraged to use this resource to help with research, to write reviews about books they have read, blog about what they are reading and their favourite authors and search for new books.

Each child has a username and password which has been either given to them or sent home by their class teacher. To access the Reading Cloud and to find out more about the library, please go to the News tab on the school website https://st-josephs.islington.sch.uk/.

Reading Cloud access information: READING CLOUD – Parental Note

We hope that you find this facility to support your child’s reading, both educational and enjoyable. If you have any questions please contact the school librarian, Mrs Rooney, at office@st-josephs.islington.sch.uk.

Thursday, 30 November 2023

Winter Reading Challenges

There are two challenges; the Winter Reading Challenge run by Islington libraries and the Winter Mini Challenge run by The Reading Agency. The challenges aim to encourage children to continue reading over the winter holidays.

Winter Reading Challenge - Islington Libraries


Read 4 books between 1st December and 29th February to get a certificate and the a chance to win a prize!

To support literacy over the holiday period, we welcomed librarians from Islington Library Service to come to our Christmas fair to encourage our children to join their local library and the Winter Reading Challenge.

Taking part in the Winter Reading Challenge is simple and free. Children need to read 4 books from their library between 1st December 2023 and 29th February 2024.  There will be a certificate for all those who complete the challenge and a chance to win a special prize!

If you are not already a member of your local library visit https://www.gov.uk/local-library-services to find the library nearest to you. Join today and start borrowing FREE books, eBooks and eAudiobooks.

For more information on the Winter Reading Challenge, and more activities taking place in Islington Libraries, please visit www.islington.gov.uk/libraries.

Winter Mini Challenge - The Reading Agency

Taking part in the Winter Mini Challenge is free and online. Visit the dedicated children’s website, www.wintermini.org.uk, and gain rewards for reading and reviewing books!

Keep reading during the holidays!

Thursday, 23 November 2023

Birthday Book Club


BIRTHDABOOK CLUB

Celebrate your child’s birthday with a donation to our school library!

We are writing to you about our Birthday Book Club which provides you with an opportunity to donate a book to our school library in honour of your child’s birthday and ensures that we have new and exciting books for your children each year.

We have a very special library here at St Joseph’s and we wish to maintain its high standard in meeting all the learning needs of our children. Ensuring this provision is especially difficult in this climate of diminishing school budgets.

Donating a book not only helps to build our library collection with the very latest in children’s literature but makes your child feel special at the same time. It is the perfect way to support your child and school.

Join the Birthday Book Club by making a payment of the membership fee of £6.00 via ParentPay only. Your child will then be able to select a book with the help of the school librarian.

All books will have a bookplate placed inside with your child’s name and birthdate. Their name will be placed on our Birthday Book Club display in the Library and they will be the first to borrow the book.

Your support in our endeavour to keep our library well-resourced and an inspiring place for our children is invaluable. Your gift will become part of our library and a source of enjoyment and learning for many others.

Please contact our School Librarian, Mrs Rooney, for further information.



Thursday, 16 November 2023

Junior Librarians

 

Junior Librarians at work!

Our junior librarians have been chosen from children in Year 5 and Year 6.

Since the beginning of our autumn term they have been busy helping to run our school library.

They have many duties such as the following:

·      To keep the library tidy and in correct order

·      To keep book corners around school tidy

·      To help issue and return books

·      To recommend books to other children

·      To help children to find books


This week at lunch times they have been focusing on being reading buddies for children in Year 1 and Year 2. The librarians go and collect the children from their playground, bring them to the library and read them stories.


Our junior librarians, Giancarlo and Alfie from Indigo Class have been holding READING CLOUD Workshops.


They have been demonstrating to children from all year groups how to access and enjoy ebooks and eAudiobooks on our READING CLOUD using chrome books.

They have as a mission to help to get all the children in school to use our great online digital reading resource.

Giancarlo and Alfie have shown fabulous independent learning.

Thank you to all our enthusiastic and creative junior librarians who help to make our library such a special place and to encourage reading for pleasure.

 

Friday, 10 November 2023

Book Fair

BOOK FAIR


CONGRATULATIONS


Together we raised £2,805.67 which means we have £1,683.40 to spend on new books for our library.

Well done all!



Wednesday, 8 November 2023

Bookmark Competition

 BOOK FAIR

COMPETITION WINNERS

Well done to all the children who took part in our 

Book Fair Competition and made fabulous bookmarks.

Congratulations!

The winners of our Bookmark competition were announced and presented with a

£5 book voucher to spend at our Book Fair. 

Tahlia - Year 2

Tahlia's Bookmark

Rhea - Year 6

Rhea's Bookmark

Star - Year 4

Star's Bookmark


Elena - Year 5

Elena's Bookmark

Well done!

Monday, 6 November 2023

BOOK FAIR


 BOOK FAIR


There is so much excitement about our Book Fair.

Classes have been visiting the Book Fair during the school day and enjoying looking at the books and watching fun videos of authors like Julia Donaldson, Lydia Monks and Sharon Rentta reading from their books.

Alice Hemming reading from 'The Leaf Thief'
Julia Donaldson reading from 'A Squash and a Squeeze'
Sharon Rentta reading from 'Animal Explorers: Toby the deep-sea diver'


 They have had a chance to browse and make a 
WISH LIST showing the books they would like from the Fair. 
This is a good way for them to be able to share their
wishes at home!

If you wish to purchase any books from the Wish List please return it to school along with proof of online payment or cash so that the books can be given to your child.

Children will be able to bring money to purchase books on the day that they are scheduled to come to the Fair.
Please provide the money in an envelope clearly marked with their name and class 
and give it to your child, teacher or the school office.


Payments can be made at the fair using contactless and cash. You can purchase gift vouchers or make payments online. Please let the school know what books have been purchased online so that we can give them to your child.

Remember when you buy one book we get one FREE for the library!

Thank you for supporting our school!

Thursday, 2 November 2023

Book Fair - Competition

 COMPETITION


Design your own Bookmark and win a £5 book voucher
to spend at the Book Fair



Book Fair

 Our BOOK FAIR 

Our BOOK FAIR 
has arrived!


When: Thursday 2nd November – Wednesday 8th November

 

Times: 8:40 – 9:00am and 3:00 – 3:45pm

 

Where: New Conference Room

 

Please follow this link to your Book Fair Invitation september-invite-scholastic-2211949.pdf.

At the fair you will be able to purchase books using contactless credit or debit cards or cash.

If you’re unable to visit the book fair, your child will be sent home with a Wish List and you can pay for their chosen books using the online payment system at www.bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/pay. Please make sure the Wish List is returned to school so that the books can be given to your child.

Pre-paid gift vouchers are also available. Go to www.bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/gift-vouchers to buy vouchers.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Fair!