Today was Summertime Stories – with Tohby Riddle, Ursula Dubosarsky and WestWords‘ Judith Ridge at Blacktown Arts Centre.
These are my five two-minute sketches of artist Dub Leffler, who ran a great art workshop for kids (and adults) at the event!
Category Archives: news
Reading Picnic 2012
Today was Penrith Public School’s annual reading picnic, this time celebrating our 97% success rate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) in this, the National Year of Reading. It was also the second anniversary of our occupation of our BER school library. How the time has flown!
Our special guest was Judith Ridge, of WestWords. Judith is a recognised expert in the field of children’s literature, a former editor of the School Magazine and a member of the PRC selection and reviewing panel.
Our Guest of Honour, Judith Ridge of WestWords.
Parents, caregivers, toddlers and community members brought with them books, picnic rugs and snacks and joined the 400+ students and teachers for a relaxed afternoon of reading in cosy corners of the playground. Some students sat in class groups, and others sat with family and friends. And Mother Nature turned on some perfect picnic weather after several days of looming thunderclouds.
The school also received a special package from author and illustrator Emma Quay! A beautiful giclée print (Mr McLean had to look up that term on Wikipedia!) and a lovely handwritten letter, explaining that this artwork is a preview of her forthcoming picture book, Not a cloud in the sky (2013).
Emma Quay’s letter and giclée print!
Our school captains present Judith with a school crest keyring.
Judith Ridge, who was very complimentary of our students’ work with digital storywriting, book rapping and our school’s blog and wiki, shared a quote from E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s web and Stuart Little:
“A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people — people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.”
A commemorative plaque has now been mounted on the wall of the school library.
Pupils make most of web in storytelling adventure
Stage 1 students are media stars again! The full article by Jessica Aquilina is HERE, courtesy of today’s Penrith City Star newspaper. Above photo courtesy of Gary Warrick, Penrith City Star.
Our digital stories are here:
Champions read!
Superheroes are champion readers!
How the whale got a hole in his head
Selby licks a lollipop: a Candyland adventure
Lovely library limericks
The elephant’s child
The three little pigs
A Flood in the library?
Class 6W represented the picture book “Flood” with a tabletop 3D model.
The flood was as quick as Usan Bolt.
The flood was as deadly as a spider.
The flood looked like a massive, roaring sea.
The waters of the flood were as unhygienic and dirty as a rubbish heap.
The flood was as wet as a water bomb exploding on your face.
The flood was like a horrifying nightmare.
The flood was as dangerous as a tornado.
The flood was as cold as an ice block.
The flood was as fast as a cheetah running away.
The flood was as violent as the devil’s anger.
The flood was as dangerous as a wild tiger.
The flood was as loud as a lion’s roar.
by students of 6W, 2012.
Class 1-4P presented the Crichton Award-nominated “York’s universe”.
Class 3M presented the information book “Bilby secrets”
Exciting new books – and their book trailers
Happy Book Week!
In the lion book trailer
The new picture book by James Foley!
Unforgotten book trailer
The new picture book by Tohby Riddle!
I also bought “Too many elephants in this house” by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner. While there is no trailer, as yet, I still love Andrew’s Youtube clip promoting their previous picture book, “The terrible plop!”:
A magical morning with Phyllis Wong’s friends
Today, at The Children’s Bookshop, Beecroft, Paul Macdonald introduced the irrepressible author Geoffrey McSkimming, of “Cairo Jim” fame, to a young audience who’d come to celebrate the start of Book Week with some magic! Geoffrey read from his new novel, “Phyllis Wong and the Forgotten Secrets of Mr Okyto”, the first in a projected series of six books. His professional magic adviser on the book, Sue-Anne Webster, performed some wonderful feats with the help of members of the audience. There were autographs and collectible lapel badges for all!
Paul Macdonald introduces Geoffrey McSkimming
Author Geoffrey McSkimming is about to unleash his “Saturday imagination”, and magician Sue-Anne Webster prepares to catch it in a paper bag at The Children’s Bookshop. For his weekday imagination, Geoffrey would need a bigger container.
A highlight of the event:
Geoffrey: “Any questions?”
Comment from audience: “What’s behind that black cloth?”
Geoffrey: “Books I didn’t write.”
Phyllis Wong and the forgotten secrets of Mr Okyto – book trailer
and, as presented by the author, Geoffrey McSkimming:
I found a Youtube clip of Sue-Anne performing rope tricks:
Sue-Anne Webster magic ropes
More displays for Book Week
Penrith champions read – in 2012!
Lots of the students didn’t know what daffodils looked like. Luckily, Daffodil Day is coming up!
4W’s poster for the book.
More Book Week displays from the classes have been arriving in the school library:
4/5E decided to create a display using the 2012 theme for Book Week
KB presents “Squish Rabbit”
A close-up of one of the Squish portraits:
It’s Rabbit Season:
There are no bears in KI…
… or so we thought:
Watch a slideshow of all of these displays (and more as they are added) HERE!
Book Week looms!
It’s Term 3, so the first Book Week displays from classes have started to arrive in the school library! This has been an annual tradition at my school long before I arrived here. The displays become a part of the library decor until the next Book Week, when everything is refreshed. This year’s slogan is “Champions read”.
1/2H presents “The last Viking”
K-2B presents a frieze featuring “The three billy goats Gruff” and a farm
3F presents “A bus called Heaven”
“A bus called Heaven” – revealed!
K-3R presents “Ben and Duck”
1G presents “Rudie nudie”
1K presents “Surrealism for kids”
Click HERE to see some sample pages.
The creators of “The last viking” have also posted 1/2H’s display on their website! Congratulations 1/2H!
Watch a slideshow of all of these displays (and more as they are added) HERE!
London bus does push-ups!
Here’s a pre-Olympics treat from Youtube that will be of interest to our Stage 2 students, especially, since it builds on recent science & technology work on levers and pulleys. The kinetic sculpture was created by Czech artist, David Cerny.
London double-decker bus does push-ups for Olympics.
London bus doing push-ups reaches its stop in Islington.
ITN News report by Sam Datta-Paulin.
In the news…
Pic by Gary Warrick. Penrith City Star‘s coverage of my John H Lee Memorial Award for “excellence in leadership in innovative and collaborative teaching practice through the integration of learning technologies”. Presented jointly by School Library Association of NSW and Charles Sturt University. See the full article HERE.