Tuesday 28 July 2015

Wednesday Catchup Corner


What we're reading at the moment...

Bobbi-Grace is reading Scarlet Lies, Racheal has I am Daniel Tahi and Aki is reading Telesa

'Asinate is reading the third book in a romance trilogy, The Next Always, Cherub is reading Wintergirls and Ms Wethey just started reading The Colour Purple.

Lana is reading Sophie's Legacy, a non-fiction work about a university student who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. Mele is reading The Miracle Stealer, about a boy and his family who don't get along and Christina is going to try The Vanishing Season on Ms Metcalfe's recommendation and see how it goes.

We had a chat about how we fit reading for pleasure into our day. Most people said they did homework first and then read, but some people scheduled time to read...

Bobbi-Grace- reads at 8.40pm for 20 mins. 
Racheal- 9pm-11pm
Lana- anytime she feels like it
Asinate- when she goes to bed, around 10, tries to limit herself
Aki- depends, sometimes after homework
Mele- averages three chapters a day after homework
Ms Metcalfe- after children go to bed, usually around 8
Ms Wethey- readsbefore sleeping, usually late night, but time varies



Wednesday 22 July 2015

Books Yay!



Welcome back to Term 3! We had a good discussion around teaching and learning, particularly what motivates students to work hard enthusiastically. Thanks guys for the interesting ideas.

We also discussed where we buy our books online- bookdepository and amazon are both popular.

This is what we're currently reading- 2 copies of Scarlet Lies were floating around the table.

Bobbi - Scarlet Lies by Lani Young
Lana - Torn by David Massey
Cherub - Bone Bearer by Lani Young
Asinate - The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts
Mele M - Telesa by Lani Young
Racheal - I am Daniel Tahi by Lani Young
Kim - Infernal Devices by Phillip Reeve
Ms Metcalfe - The Mage Winds by Mercedes Lackey
Aki - Selection stories by Keira Cass


Wednesday 8 July 2015

Holiday conferencing

Fangirl and Colquhoun fight crime.


I'm at the English teachers' conference at the moment, hearing from great authors and great teachers. Yesterday we were serenaded by Glen Colquhoun, a poet for whom I have a longtime affection (see pic above with me fangirling).

I enjoyed hearing from Bernard Beckett this morning. He is a teacher and author who spoke about many things, including his new book Lullaby coming out soon which sounded creepy but delicious. It reminded me of the ideas explored in The Adoration of Jenna Fox- what makes us us?

It's great to get recommendations for new books- here is a list of some (of the many) that I have suggested to Mr Moses our school librarian (love librarians!)

Keeper Mal Peet- literary sports trilogy
Long Shots underdog stories
Wild Boy- boy walked around NZ Coast line
Pretty Deadly Joe Schreiber
Boys Don’t Cry Malorie Blackman