We have been lucky in the last two weeks to have storytellers and authors visiting the OLC library.
Ms. Marsha Brawls delighted our kindy and pre primary students with her puppet show explaining how the the Autumn fairies change the colours of the leaves. Her story was mesmerising and even the top youngest students were totally engaged! Thanks for visiting Ms. Brawls!
It has been a very busy few weeks for us as we have met over 60 brand new potential readers with our Kindy classes starting library lessons last week. It is always lovely to see the enthusiasm with which younger students approach reading and the fearlessness and joy they express when interacting with books. Our aim is to help you as parents to foster and maintain this love for reading from a very young age.
Often at the beginning of a child's learning journey, parents will have some worries about how they can help their child to learn to read. There are some practical and enjoyable ways to help your child to read. This short video from Australian Website School A-Z offers some excellent advice for mum's and dad's new to schools looking for ways to help their children read.
If you don't have time to watch the video, here are the main ideas in a nutshell:
1. How to help your child to read:
2. How to help your child choose a book:
(From http://bit.ly/1TM6zn8)
Thursday Kindy group enjoying reading time in the library.
Hopefully in collaboration with yourselves and your child's teacher, we will together nurture some fantastic future readers and learners.
Please feel free to visit us in the OLC Library anytime!
Kaya everyone! That means hello and welcome in the Noongar language!
Today the students at OLC were lucky enough to participate in a Noongar storytelling session with our special guest Charmaine Bennell from the Noongar Boodjar Cultural Centre.
Charmaine delivered three separate sessions to the junior, middle and upper primary students and used a combination of oral story telling, song, games and actions to pass on her cultural knowledge.
We learnt that the South West corner of WA (from Esperance to Geraldton) is Noongar Country, and is made up of 14 different clans. Dunsborough is the home of the Wardandi people.
It was interesting to learn that of almost 14 different dialect groups that originally existed amongst the Noongar people, only 3 exist today. It is part of Charmaine's role to pass on her knowledge of the Noongar language to keep these remaining dialects alive.
Students listened to a number of traditional Noongar stories, some specific to our area. They especially enjoyed the tale of how the Robin Red Breast and the Wren got their colours. They also listened very intently to the story of the the two naughty boys who were turned to rock after they stole the egg of an Eagle (Waalitj)! Students also loved the story of the hairy man - ask them to retell it! I am sure they will be home before dark from now on! Charmaine's storytelling skills were amazing and the students were captivated by her animal impersonations, singing and actions.
Today's visit highlighted the importance of storytelling in Aboriginal culture as a means of teaching traditions, passing down lessons and morals, and teaching particular skills such as hunting for survival. Charmaine's messages highlighted the importance of respecting our environment and our elders, which is something anyone from any culture can learn from. Thanks so much Charmaine, we learned so much and loved having you visit our school!
What a day we had last Wednesday celebrating Book Week and Indigenous Literacy Day! Students came dressed as all manner of characters and the time and effort that went into the costumes was amazing. Thank you parents! Amongst the activities for the day, we were lucky enough to receive an address from David Wirrpanda regarding the importance of reading. Take a look at what he had to say here:
We also had a special musical performance from the OLC staff encouraging students to read - with some very funky dance moves included! This magic will be uploaded soon! Stay tuned!
Our Great Book Swap raised over $630 for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation! Great job! We will tweak the procedure next year to ensure that all students walk away with a new book to love. There were no books left over at the end of the day, so most children went home with something new to read. Thank you for the generous support of this fundraiser.
Below are some magic photos of the day. Thanks for your support everyone!
Yours in Reading,
Mrs. Amie Meyer and Mrs. Mary-Lee Kemp
Our Book Week celebrations occur next Wednesday. Hopefully you have had a chance to discuss and create the character costume your child will wear for our traditional Dress Up Parade on Wednesday morning in the hall. We also have a guest speaker coming to share traditional Aboriginal Stories with our students and later in the day we will hold our Great Book Swap. Students will be able to buy a book for a gold coin donation, or many books for many gold coins. We hope to raise significant funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation while giving our students a chance to read something new. Students are asked to bring in their gold coins to their teachers from Monday. Parents, we would love to see you there! Learn more about the Great Book swap from author Andy Griffiths here:
Each year, schools and public libraries across Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians develop activities, offer competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading.
As in previous years, we will be celebrating this week with a number of fun events designed to promote and enjoy Book Week. These activities will take place on WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2.
On this day, students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character. Purchasing costumes isn't necessary - try and encourage your child to be creative and make something from items they have at home. Below are some ideas.
This year for the first time, we will also be participating in a Great Book Swap on the same day. Over the next few weeks students are asked to bring in between one and three favourite books that they have loved but are ready to swap for a different book. We ask that books be in good condition and suitable for students the SAME AGE as your child. A box has been placed in each classroom to collect contributions which will need to be in by Friday August 31.
On our Book Week Dress up day, these books will be set up for the students to peruse and swap for a gold coin donation. This year we are raising money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation to help promote literacy in remote Australian communities. It's a win-win situation! Our students get a new book or two for a gold coin and our school raises money for those children less fortunate than we are!
We also hope to have some guest speakers attend our day. Please start bringing in books as soon as possible and discuss with your child their Book Week Dress up day costume. We look forward to an exciting celebration in Week 7.
I recently came across an amazing website called Rewordify.com which can help students to understand what they read. Paste any text or website into the box to rewordify the text into simpler language. Easier to understand words replace difficult text shown with highlighting. This is a fantastic tool for students trying to comprehend online information for research purposes, and will also help them to broaden their vocabulary. Amie Meyer.
