This week we celebrated our annual Book Week with a whole range of activities for the children to engage with every day. On Monday they started their first lesson with a quiet period, in what has become known as DEAR, Drop Everything and Read. You could hear a pin drop around the school as the students had their noses buried in their favourite book. Tuesday started with buddy reading in houses where students shared their favourite books with each other. Seeing, hearing and feeling the enthusiasm of your peers helps kindle the spark in some more reluctant readers.
The opportunity to meet real authors is always a highlight of the week, and the seniors from Year 5 upwards met with Sonya Wilson – celebrated New Zealand children’s author. She suggested that when activity stops, imagination begins and encouraged the children to find time to be out in nature. Furthermore, she said and that it is okay to be bored, it often leads to creativity. The junior children were treated on Wednesday to a visit by another award-winning author, Vasanti Unka, who shared her passion for illustration.
On Thursday, all classes were invited to listen to an audiobook blindfolded to see what difference it makes when we take away our most dominant sense. This morning we finished with our traditional dress-up day and parade. The children came as their favourite book character in the colours of their house. As a foil to the children, the teachers dressed in black and white, and the administration staff as rainbow unicorns.
Reading is such an important element of early education, and in fact for setting us up for a life of learning. In our senior syndicate assembly on Thursday morning, we looked at how books can make us wiser as well as better informed. The children were invited to think of a story or character who helped shape how they think and behave; I believe we all have some that have had a profound influence on us. Sometimes the reading of a single book can guide the direction of a life. This is a useful reminder of the importance of what children are reading. Since the founding of Ficino School, an emphasis on providing the best material has been at the heart of our curriculum. This is why we are very careful about what we stock in the school library. Getting children to read is important but providing them with the best is even more crucial. When selecting reading material you might like to ask yourself the question, ‘What sort of person is this book helping my child to become?’
Peter Crompton, Principal
