World Book Day
This year the Prep School made World Book Day about celebrating the joys of books by having a Festival of Reading! They read them, swapped them, listened to them, talked about them, sampled them and completely immersed themselves in them.
In preparation for the ‘The Great Day of Books’ children brought in preloved titles to swap. Classes were able to visit the book swap stall and delve through the cornucopia of reading delights. Brand new titles were immediately opened and excited children were keen to take them home. Lessons throughout the day included a bookish element with Maths becoming an opportunity to gather data about what was the most preferred reading genre, to solve a Murder in the Library Mystery or to decode some book titles. Tomorrow’s future illustrators were inspired in Art lessons which became an opportunity to draw, sketch and colour book characters which were proudly shared and carefully packed into bags to take home.
Years 4 to 6 participated in the Big Footy & Booky Quiz answering 20 multi-choice questions about either football, books or sometimes both. The library became the “Read Your Way” Book Cafe, serving a bounty of reading delights from a menu carefully curated by the amazing Mrs Bailes. The keen Year 6 librarians were waiting staff who deftly delivered orders to awaiting customers to satisfy their literary appetites. From books to dip into, to a main course full of books to make you laugh, jump or cry, the range of prose and poetry was varied and designed to satisfy even the most voracious of reading appetites.Those who enjoy a mystery delighted at the opportunity to pair staff to photos of their bookshelves in the ‘Staff Shelfie’ competition. Mysteries continued in the hub where curious minds paired teachers with their favourite childhood books. Even the teachers got involved trying to solve the mystery of which of their colleagues chose each book. Using the skills of deduction, observation and a little inside knowledge proved for some amusing conversation.
With so many opportunities to read, it was likely to be an exhausting time for children, so the opportunity to visit the Ritchie Hall Audiobook experience was a very welcome break. Children relaxed on beanbags and yoga mats beneath a starry backdrop, with an ambient, coloured light display and listened to an audiobook chosen from a range offered through the World Book Day site. At the end of the day, the children gathered in Houses to participate in a QR code quiz. With iPads at the ready and a little help from friends, a hunt around the playground ensued to find codes and correctly answer reading-related questions. This energetic activity was paired with an opportunity to sit and listen to a story, read by one of the many members of staff seated around the playground.
In the Senior School, our wonderful librarian Ms Birch took over Wellbeing Wednesday this week and educated pupils about the value of reading, and in particular how reading non-fiction can develop the human skills of imagination, creativity and empathy. Pupils also learned about wider benefits too; it helps you live longer (reading fiction books for at least 30 minutes a day could add an average of two years to a reader’s life), it slows cognitive decline as you age, it improves sleep quality and duration, and it enhances social skills. Furthermore, they were given a range of helpful tips to help them read more, including finding a book they actually want to read to try reading it for just 10 minutes a day, discovering an audiobook to listen to when doing chores or walking, reading during another daily routine such as having breakfast, and asking a friend to recommend a book to them.
Click here to find out more about our Prep School.
Download the FREE Wells Cathedral School app to easily keep up with the parts of Wells that interest you, interact with our social media feeds, access useful links more! We highly recommend enabling notifications to stay informed about the many wonderful things happening at our School.
In preparation for the ‘The Great Day of Books’ children brought in preloved titles to swap. Classes were able to visit the book swap stall and delve through the cornucopia of reading delights. Brand new titles were immediately opened and excited children were keen to take them home. Lessons throughout the day included a bookish element with Maths becoming an opportunity to gather data about what was the most preferred reading genre, to solve a Murder in the Library Mystery or to decode some book titles. Tomorrow’s future illustrators were inspired in Art lessons which became an opportunity to draw, sketch and colour book characters which were proudly shared and carefully packed into bags to take home.
Years 4 to 6 participated in the Big Footy & Booky Quiz answering 20 multi-choice questions about either football, books or sometimes both. The library became the “Read Your Way” Book Cafe, serving a bounty of reading delights from a menu carefully curated by the amazing Mrs Bailes. The keen Year 6 librarians were waiting staff who deftly delivered orders to awaiting customers to satisfy their literary appetites. From books to dip into, to a main course full of books to make you laugh, jump or cry, the range of prose and poetry was varied and designed to satisfy even the most voracious of reading appetites.Those who enjoy a mystery delighted at the opportunity to pair staff to photos of their bookshelves in the ‘Staff Shelfie’ competition. Mysteries continued in the hub where curious minds paired teachers with their favourite childhood books. Even the teachers got involved trying to solve the mystery of which of their colleagues chose each book. Using the skills of deduction, observation and a little inside knowledge proved for some amusing conversation.
With so many opportunities to read, it was likely to be an exhausting time for children, so the opportunity to visit the Ritchie Hall Audiobook experience was a very welcome break. Children relaxed on beanbags and yoga mats beneath a starry backdrop, with an ambient, coloured light display and listened to an audiobook chosen from a range offered through the World Book Day site. At the end of the day, the children gathered in Houses to participate in a QR code quiz. With iPads at the ready and a little help from friends, a hunt around the playground ensued to find codes and correctly answer reading-related questions. This energetic activity was paired with an opportunity to sit and listen to a story, read by one of the many members of staff seated around the playground.
In the Senior School, our wonderful librarian Ms Birch took over Wellbeing Wednesday this week and educated pupils about the value of reading, and in particular how reading non-fiction can develop the human skills of imagination, creativity and empathy. Pupils also learned about wider benefits too; it helps you live longer (reading fiction books for at least 30 minutes a day could add an average of two years to a reader’s life), it slows cognitive decline as you age, it improves sleep quality and duration, and it enhances social skills. Furthermore, they were given a range of helpful tips to help them read more, including finding a book they actually want to read to try reading it for just 10 minutes a day, discovering an audiobook to listen to when doing chores or walking, reading during another daily routine such as having breakfast, and asking a friend to recommend a book to them.
Click here to find out more about our Prep School.
Download the FREE Wells Cathedral School app to easily keep up with the parts of Wells that interest you, interact with our social media feeds, access useful links more! We highly recommend enabling notifications to stay informed about the many wonderful things happening at our School.
