“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Dr. Seuss
Reading is such a gateway to developing your children’s imaginations and here at Castle Court we believe that reading is pivotal to shaping your child in their understanding and overall development
This year our Year 8 Leaders have been going in to the junior classrooms three mornings a week to give our pupils additional practice of this invaluable skill It has been so heart-warming to see our Year 8s embrace this time, and it has certainly been welcomed by the little ones who have loved this time with our senior pupils
Whether it be reading, or listening to audio books, these stories give children access to new vocabulary, new ideas, themes and characters Our advice is to read, listen and enjoy the magic of literature to transport your child to another place
With this in mind, we at Castle Court have some ideas for you:
Read a book as a family every night!
If your child is an avid reader already, encourage them to try a different genre or a different author
Listen to an audiobook
- Kirsty Thompson
READING
VISiTINGAUTHOR
KEITHHATTON
Keith will be visiting our Year 4, 5, 6 and 7 pupils running different mini workshops with these year group at Castle Court
Keith grew up in a small village in the rolling hills of the Dorset countryside and attributes his creativity to a sense of freedom and space when he was growing up He trained as an actor the Central School of Speech and Drama then, after a brief foray treading the boards, became a primary school teacher, where he rekindled his love of storytelling. He has been writing professionally for 7 years now, since leaving the teaching profession, having set up his own publishing company ‘Ginger Cat Tales’ (inspired by his family ginger cat, Hamish) and now tours his books around schools He would love to inspire the next generation to write their own stories and love reading for pleasure.
Keith has written 8 books in total, a mixture of picture books for younger children and chapter books for older children. They include two book series: Agent Purple Panda (The Rogue Penguin and Maverick Money Mayhem) and Professor Plunder’s Time Machine (Seizing Caesar, Perfect Prehistoric Pets and The Doors of Doom) all of which you can find on his website www.gingercattales.com
He will be introducing his newest book, Nature Boy, to the children of Castle Court on Tuesday 4th March. Here is the summary for his book:
Stan Wield is a troubled young man who lives for the outdoors. Always in wellies and shorts and carrying an unnecessarily large rucksack, he troops around his local area looking for animals and plants to record in his scrapbook. An encounter with a mourning old man draws Stan into the world of growing fruit and vegetables on a disused allotment, allowing Stan to find his place in the world. Follow Stan’s emotional journey, and a collection of wonderful local characters he meets along the way, as he battles bullies, deals with the disappearance of his father and finally flourishes like the plants he helps to grow.
VISiTINGAUTHOR
LYNDAMSTEWART
Lynda is a writer and illustrator who lives in Dorset with her husband, two children and two pet guinea pigs. She is a qualified Primary School Teacher and has been teaching KS1 children for the past 30 years.
During that time, she has read hundreds of wonderful stories and she knows how much children of all ages, enjoy listening to them. She loves using her imagination to create stories! It has always been a dream of hers to write and publish her own children’s books.
Lynda will be visiting Pre Prep on the 3 March to read some of her books to our children, and she will be based outside Pre Prep at collection to sell and sign her books, should you wish to purchase any of them.
Lynda will be visiting our Pre Prep during World Book Week! We are so excited to have a local author join us
IAN.RJOHNSON
A review on his recent novel: The Witcher Keys: Ian will be running online workshops with our Year 7 and 8 pupils.
Ian Johnson is a qualified civil engineer who has lived in Australia and New Zealand. Back in the UK he rebuilt a historic fire-damaged hotel in the Cotswolds before running it for two years He is a keen inventor, has three daughters, and lives near Malton, not far from the wild North York Moors
“Heart-breaking, heart-stopping and breathless, frightening and funny. It plunges readers into danger and darkness. Crypts, caves, castles, mines, farms and mansions are its settings - good versus evil its theme... I don’t know if it’s the next Tolkien, JK Rowling, Philip Pullman or Derek Landy. I do know this is a fantastic, phantasmagorical read.”Scarborough News
HELENANDTHOMASDOCHERTY
Helen and Thomas Docherty will be visiting our Reception, Year 1, 2 , 3 and 4 pupils running two different workshops.
Helen Docherty has always had a love of reading and writing As a child, she spent a lot of time either reading or writing stories, and at six she even began making her own books.
“All I needed to keep me happy was a pile of books to read (I was a regular visitor to our local library), some blank paper, a pencil and some felt tip pens that hadn’t run out ” - Helen Docherty
Mrs Gollings (our Librarian) has some top benefits of reading to share.
Children who read frequently will:
• be transported to other places
• begin to form opinions (and gain an understanding of the opinions of others)
• develop a sense of humour
• become acquainted with people, characters (personified animals who talk and behave like humans) and their emotions
• develop empathy
• ‘visit’ parts of the world (and other worlds!) they had no idea existed
• develop their imagination
• learn facts
• make links between their own and other people’s lives
• become discerning readers, make informed choices increase their vocabulary
Ideas to promote reading:
Anything from poetry to instruction manuals, magazines, comics, biography, fiction, history, information – it’s a lifelong resource. You can do it anytime, anywhere. Also, listen to audio books - in the car, at bedtime etc.
WORLDBOOKWEEK COMPETITIONS
We will be running some competitions inthisweek(3rdtothe7thMarch)
ReceptiontoYear2
As part of our World Book Week, we invite all children from Reception to Year 4 to decorate a plate in the theme of a book they have read! They can be as creative as they like! This will need to be handed in on Tuesday 5th March.
Year3toYear6
For Year 3 to Year 6 we invite all children to create a “book in a box”. Pupils will be required to represent one of their favourite books in a box. These will need to be handed in on Tuesday 5th March to their English teachers!
Winners from last year (Year 5)
Winners from last year (Year 3 and 4)
Year7and8
Found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words and phrases from other sources and reframing them by making changes in spacing and lines, thus impartingnewmeaning.
You are required to write your own found poem using a page from any book of your choice as Inspiration.
Present it on an A4 sheet.
Pay attention to how you present your poem using colour and images to enhance your poem
You MAY NOT cut up a page from your book, simply photocopy the page you would like to work with (you may bring this to Miss T to copy for you).
Please provide the title of the novel your page is from, and create your own title for your poem.
Children will be given a World Book Day Voucher each worth £1. They can deduct £1 from a book of their choice from the Book Fair. Please deduct this £1 from the stated purchase price of the book and pay the reduced amount. The children can then keep hold of that voucher as they can also then use it to buy or set against the official World Book Day books in a bookshop.
I look forward to seeing all the children at the Book Fair! Mrs Gollings
REMINDER
PLEASE REMEMBER TO DRESS UP FOR WORLD BOOK DAY AS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS ON THURSDAY 7TH MARCH!
