Weekly update from Miss Earle
This has been an exciting week, as yesterday was WORLD BOOK DAY. Many year 7 and 8 pupils dressed as characters from novels when they logged in to their online lessons. There was also a tutor group quiz, where pupils tried to identify staff partially hidden by books – thanks to all those staff who participated! It was also the last day of the Readathon sponsored read, so pupils who participated are reminded to submit any collected monies online. Well done to you all.
We received nearly 200 books courtesy of a generous donation from the Rydal Penrhos Society and the family of Peter Watkinson. These are now installed in the Watkinson Library, ready for the return of pupils. This exciting boost to our resources will be linked to the reading lessons in school.
Parents of pupils in years 7 and 8 have also received news of the new Accelerated Reading Scheme, with details of how to log in and test reading ages. The test results generate a baseline reading age for each child and then suggests what book level they should read at in the AR scheme to promote reading age growth. Students will then take the STAR Reading Test 3 further times in each school year to track reading age growth. Teachers will share reports on pupils’ performance in these tests with parents / carers at parents’ evening and in written reports.
In brief, AR goes like this: a pupil reads a book; takes an online quiz and gets immediate feedback. Students respond to regular feedback and are motivated to make progress with their reading skills. Together with Star Reading (our diagnostic testing) and myON by Renaissance (a huge online library of books for our students), it forms a complete reading practice and assessment solution for students of all ages and abilities.
Finally, the Oak Academy library features the author Katherine Rundell, who is sharing an audiobook of The Good Thieves.