CLUB PROGRAMMES

Before summer, I entered a competition which included writing around 500 words about our school and why we were deserving of receiving 100 Penguin books from Black, Asian and minority ethnic authors. Out of 1600 applications, they only picked 500 schools, and we were chosen as one of the winning schools! The application had to focus on why and how our school would benefit from the donation. Therefore, I spoke about how our children and staff have a range of different backgrounds and how we, as a diverse school, needed a range of books to help educate our students on different cultural backgrounds. After half term, these books will be in the school Library and in 2.11 for students to access. Please promote this as much as possible as we would like students to engage in these novels. Feedback from “Lit in Colour” included this: “It meant so much to hear about how you will use the books and what it will mean to your students. We genuinely hope this donation will revitalise your school’s library and stir inspiration amongst your students”. Miss Moore English Teacher

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Colchester Canon

In September Colchester Academy launched its ‘Colchester Canon’ – a reading initiative designed to promote a love of This term Year 7 students have had ‘The Bookbuzz Experience’. Bookbuzz is part of the BookTrust – a charity which aims to encourage students to read by providing them with their own books to keep. Here’s what some of our students had to say. reading and encourage students to read a range of books, including titles or genres they may not previously have come across. There are 50 incredible books on the Colchester Canon list – 10 for each year group. Each year, students will be challenged Jasmine 7O2 Switch-Up to read as many of the books as possible. The books were selected following recommendations from staff and students. Copies of all books are available in the library and in form rooms. To start our Bookbuzz journey we watched a video containing a review of each of the books.I chose the book SwitchUp about two girls who board the Books in the Colchester Canon include: same flight to London. It’s the beginning of the craziest plan ever. Damiola 7H1 Animals Up Close Bookbuzz is a book company dedicated to getting books to Year 7 students Year 7 – Private Peaceful, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Year 8 – Treasure Island, Refugee Boy Year 9 – The Diary of Anne Frank, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time for free. I think Bookbuzz is a fabulous charity as I was not a fan of Year 10 – The Hate U Give (THUG), Mort reading. In class we watched a 24 minute film about the books and the Year 11 – Rebecca, A Short History of Nearly Everything authors explained the stories. To encourage engagement with the Colchester Canon, all students read in form time at least once a week. This might be Tristan 7L2 Little Bad Man through individual reading, group reading or being read to by their Form Tutor. Since September it has been great to see students enjoying reading and teachers bringing books to life through animated reading and group discussion. Bookbuzz has helped me a great deal. Instead of me having to pay for a book (reading is now one of my favourites) Bookbuzz put it in my hands for free. I could not thank Bookbuzz enough for putting such a brilliant book in my collection. We are looking forward to seeing students work their way through the Canon. Marleigh-Rose 7L2 City of Ghosts Mr Nijhawan Head of English I’ve always enjoyed mystery books so when I saw City of Ghosts I knew I had to get it, almost like a connection.