The Notley library aims to foster a lifelong love of reading and learning. Throughout the year, the library holds a number of themed activities and events to promote literature, reading and a passion and enthusiasm for learning.
Our extra-curricular activities have covered a wide range of themes; from art and poetry, to multicultural and historical events. Events from previous years have included a Great Library Bake Off, where participating students won prizes in age categories and sold their cakes to donate to the Queen’s Green Canopy, a charity that provide green spaces in deprived urban areas. We’ve also marked Black History month and Holocaust Memorial day, as well as holding an art competition to help decorate our library.
One of the key events in our calendar is World Book Day. This is a celebration of authors, books and, most importantly, reading. This event is celebrated in our library with new competitions and quizzes every year. This year we asked staff to dress as their favourite book character – this raised a few smiles amongst the students. Costumes of note were two dinosaurs, Death, some munchkins and a Gangster Granny.
The library regularly promotes wider reading and encourages students to explore classic and contemporary literature through special events and activities. This year’s book fair is planned for 24 – 28 June and we’ll be holding a Best Blurb competition to win tokens to spend at the fair.
This year we started our events calendar with the launch of the “BookBuzz” programme for Year 7 students. Every student in Year 7 had the opportunity to choose a FREE Book from a specially selected collection of 17 titles. So, whether you are hooked on horror, fanatical about fantasy or hankering for some humour, there was something for everyone! Students will receive receive their FREE book as a Christmas present from the school library.
Other events in the academic year 2023 – 2024 include the BAT Book Awards where four shortlisted books are read by a group of year 7 & 8 students who then vote on their favourite book. We have already had a visit from one of the authors – Ian Eagleton, author of Glitterboy – who gave us a captivating talk on his experiences growing up, how he dealt with bullying and his process as an author.
The Notley library encourages all year groups to take part in the events. The activities are designed to encourage students to engage with the world around them, to explore new subjects and activities and, most importantly, to have fun!