Year 8 Readers Cup Competition: A team of enthusiastic Year 8s – Ruby Smith, Olivia Ellis, Scott Roy and Mason White stepped up to the challenge of preparing for the Sunshine Coast Readers Cup Competition held at Chancellor State College last Thursday 7 June. Participating in the competition was a great opportunity for building teamwork, encouraging others to enjoy a new book genre and immersing yourself in a new world that an author created just for readers to enjoy.

The Challenge – Reading six books in less than 10 weeks and being quiz-ready to team up against 18 other schools.

The Choices – a range of books from different genres including fantasy, adventure, realistic fiction and history were selected for team study for the competition.

The Outcome – the challenge of 20 teams racing to answer each question within the 20 second time limit made for an exciting evening of competing for the Readers Cup Prize. Our team performed well in the challenging first round of heats but unfortunately did not qualify for the final round. Our students are commended for their commitment to reading the books, for regularly meeting to work on book study and memory strategies and for their teamwork on the night. The winning team from Mountain Creek State High School will now prepare for the Readers Cup State Final to be held in Brisbane in September.

The guest author for the evening was Tash Turgoose, a final year USC honours student. Tash gave an entertaining and enlightening presentation, sharing her passion for writing, reading and illustrating as well as about how ‘failing’ can empower you to press on to new goals where you will surprise yourself with what you learn along the way. For Tash, a university assignment became a published work that is delighting readers with a captivating story shared in images and words. Tash’s artistic talent and her flair with words is not to be missed.

Favourite books from the Competition

Sometimes it’s hard to pick a favourite book when there are so many great authors and stories to choose from. However, the books from this year’s competition are certainly highly recommended by our Readers Cup Team and also Mrs Morris!

The next Readers Cup event for 2018 will be the Year 9 Readers Cup Competition that will be held in Term 3 during Book Week and the final Regional Competition for the year will be for the Year 7s in Term 4 in late October.

Year 5 Code Club Fun

Code Club has been held weekly this term for a competent group of Year 5 students. Teachers nominated students interested in participating and from there 10 students were selected to take part. The aim of Code Club is to provide a platform where students can explore and create interactive stories, games and animations using coding. Coding is becoming an essential skill in our rapidly changing world and strengthens students’ problem solving skills, encouraging critical and creative thinking. Scratch teaches the basics of coding by working through a range of creative projects that progress from simple to more challenging tasks. The Scratch platform is free to join and a great way to start coding, providing self-paced tutorials for anyone interested in exploring it. A great platform to explore with your child at home. For more details go to https://scratch.mit.edu/.

Reflections from our clever coders:

I love what we do in Code Club and that we have such a friendly environment. We share ideas and help each other when we need it. Aimee Cullen

I’m new to coding, but I enjoy it and love having my friends help me out. I’m working on a times tables game for my class. Ellie Nyenhof

I love making games at Code Club, especially when working with friends. At the moment Jordan and I are working on a game together. Dylan Goodman

It’s been a long journey learning how to code, but I love the challenge it brings. Sam Porfiri.

Library and Information Week Winners

Congratulations to the following students who took part in our Library Maze Quiz during Library and Information Week:

Prep – Year 2: Eli Wight PG
Year 3 – 4: Mia Gregson 4W
Year 5 – 6: Zara Wilkes 6G
Year 7 – 9: Maddi Bramman 7W
Year 10 – 12: Eloise Grigor 12W
Mystery Prize Winners: Michael Mansfield 10M, Tully Brown 8G

 Holiday Writing Workshop

Sunny Kids Writing Camps are held at Gondor Writers Centre, 19 Caloundra Street, Landsborough, with the aim of helping children with their writing and to foster the authors of tomorrow. The workshops are listed on Eventbrite and are planned for Monday 9 July and Wednesday 11 July. These workshops are always popular and explore a range of different topics, genres and writing styles in each session. The price for each full-day workshop is $65. BYO food.

Writing Competition

Penguin Random House Australia and the Just Kidding Magazine Team have launched the 2018 Australian Creative Writing Competition.

The Challenge – Students use their awesome storytelling skills to create a 500 word short story. Then they simply drag and drop or upload their story here. Categories include: 7-8 Years, 9-10 Years, 11-12 Years. Go to this link to access the competition page, mentor information and writing tips. Entries close 31 August.

 

Awesome prizes on offer – The winner in each category will receive signed copies of their mentors’ books and a personalised congratulatory video from their mentor. The winning story in each category will be turned into a physical book for the author to keep (ten copies per winner). Each winning story will be published in Just Kidding magazine alongside an interview with the author. The winner will also receive a Penguin Random House bumper book pack featuring some of this years’ best reads and a Penguin Random House book pack for their school library.

Theme ideas to inspire our writers:
A Day In The Life Of Me
Lights, Camera, Action!
When Time Stood Still
School Days
I Took To The Stage And…
Back In Time
My Best Friend
Or choose your own title.

Celebration of Books Maleny Event

Celebration of Books Maleny Event is a boutique community event designed to embrace and inspire all who love books. The coordinating team include booksellers, librarians, authors, artists, editors, arts administrators and teachers, brought together by a shared passion for the written word. Set in the gorgeous Sunshine Coast hinterland, the scenic book town of Maleny plays host each year to a weekend dedicated to celebrating all things books, reading and writing. This year, Celebration of Books includes a unique program of events for children and families. Many of these events are free.

Events to consider:
A display of Illustrations and Children’s Books Artwork
The Dream Bird Pyjama Party Book Launch
The Sunshine Storytime Party featuring Aleesah Darlison, Emma Middleton, Rachel Noble, TM Clark, Allison Paterson & Kellie Byrnes
Children’s Writing & Illustration Workshops
Tickets on sale now. Limited places. Don’t miss out.

View the full program here https://celebrationofbooksmaleny.com/program-friday/

 

 

 

Koorong Book Sale on Grandparents’ Day

We are holding a Koorong Book Sale on Grandparents’ Day, Thursday 21 June from 8:15am -1:30pm outside the Library. All welcome, especially Grandparents, Parents and Caregivers. A range of Christian titles will be available, suitable for students from Prep to Year 6. All items will be available to purchase and take on the day. No reorders will be taken. Please note cash sales are preferred. Click here to see the wide range of titles Koorong offers.

Koorong is a company that began over 40 years ago at a family residence in Koorong Street, near Macquarie University in Sydney. As well as a street name, Koorong is also an Indigenous term for “watering hole” or “oasis”, which is a great metaphor for the services they offer. Today Koorong operates online and in 15 stores across Australia. Our local store is Koorong Mooloolaba at 102 Brisbane Rd, Mooloolaba. Koorong provides a wide range of Christian books, Bibles, music, DVDs and gifts to help people in their walk with Jesus Christ. The profits support Bible Society Australia as it undertakes Bible translation, Bible distribution and Bible engagement both here in Australia and around the world. As a College, we also benefit from the sales of the items purchased on Grandparents’ Day.

See you in the library.

Vanessa McKellar and Beryl Morris, Teacher Librarians