SLANZA Collected # 21

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ISSN 1179–8548

reading ambassadors Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Featured 5

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NCEA Reading lists on Padlet

The Great Escape: A Southland SLANZA/Public Library Collaboration

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Risk it for a Biscuit

issue 21/2017

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Reading with an ‘E’

Pop-up Libraries in West Auckland

EDITORIAL

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Promoting Reading for Pleasure on the other side of the World

Book Club: Hawkes Bay Authors 12

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Northwest Auckland Book Battle

Developing a Reading Culture

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Read Aloud Reading Wizards

Reading Success - My Story

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I do love a good Spreadsheet

Promoting Reading at Freemans Bay School

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Advocating for Silent Reading

Other

Really at the bottom of it all, for me, it is about reading. Reading for pleasure, and for information. While school librarians focus on literacy, critical literacy, and other educational issues, we are also reading ambassadors. Most of us got into this profession because we are readers. Some are librarians by chance like me, others by choice.

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Beyond the Page Children and Youth Literary Festival 28

Imagine....if all School Staff were Readers 29

Conference 2017 - Fran Pashby 30

Capture the Conference 2017 Experience 31

Motueka High School Storylines Visit 32

If I ran the Zoo...

Business Members Contributions

Regular 40

Contains graphic content

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Softlink – Learnpath

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Book reviews

Accessit – Book Promotion

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Region news

20/20 Communications – Digital Inclusion 39

Perform! – Educational Musicals

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Even though my daily life is taken up with library tasks, I still read a great deal in my own time. I’m sure this is true of all our members. I can’t really imagine life without reading, or being a reader. Sometimes it puzzles me why others don’t read. My parents both left school in their early teens in the 1930s and 1940s, but reading was always part of family life. I was encouraged to read and signed up at a library when very young.

Most of my interests were encouraged by reading. Even my long-standing interest in film was started by two or three evocative books I read as a young boy.

So, reading! This is the reading issue of Collected and it covers all things readingrelated. Personal reading, professional reading, reading programmes, reading practice, literacy, different school responses to reading, primary school reading, secondary school reading, reading lists and reading journals, and book clubs both in school and outside school.

We also have our other articles of interest, business member submissions, and our regular reviews. Thanks to Bridget Schaumann who organised and prepared the reviews.

Conference has come and gone and I’m sure those who attended found it worthwhile, and a great occasion to catch up and network with your fellow professionals. I missed Conference this year, to my regret, but I did get the chance to hear keynote speaker Rachel van Riel here in Dunedin. Rachel gave a terrific presentation that sent the audience away buzzing with new ideas and approaches. We have articles reflecting on Conference 2017 in this issue.

Thank you to all who submit articles and reviews to Collected. I have been really pleased to see the large number of submissions for this issue. There are a huge variety of ways to encourage reading and reading engagement — including strategies to try with even the most reluctant readers — included in this issue. I plan to take inspiration from some of these great ideas and I hope you do too!

I hope you all enjoy this issue of Collected.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

As this is the last issue of 2017, we wish you all well for the summer break, and hope you get some time to read. Thanks to all who have assisted with Collected this year.

Publication wouldn’t have been possible without our contributors, proof readers and checkers.

We would love to hear your feedback on Collected and would also welcome any items you may wish to submit. I am only an email away, and am always happy to answer your questions.

Happy reading Greig Daniels Editor, Collected Magazine

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Co-Presidents’' Column COLLECTED 21 For such a small organisation we sure run an awesome conference. The high quality and informative workshops were topped off by enlightening keynote speakers. As a profession, school librarians love to share, and it is for that reason our conferences are so relevant and successful. Yet, conferences also provide a wonderful opportunity to put a face to those inspirational members that we follow on Google+, Twitter, or the Listserv, and it is the company of so many dedicated and professional librarians that make it truly worthwhile. Once again, our heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth Atkinson and her team for running such an outstanding event.

During conference, we were approached by a few members with questions and some concerns regarding NZEI and pay negotiations for school librarians. With the current teacher aide pay equity negotiations happening, and with the possibility that administration staff may be the next pay equity negotiation, in which school librarians are included, it is a critical time to be part of the discussion. We feel this is a really important issue affecting our members, and want to ensure our unique skill-set as school librarians is understood by the union, and be informed and proactive for the benefit of our members. Therefore, National Executive has arranged to meet and discuss pay equity with three NZEI Support Staff National Leadership Group representatives during our November meeting. We will share those discussions with you in our next communique.

The Professional Development team have just completed another Connected Online Learning module — Active Online Collection Development. This course looked at one part of the selection process — book and resource buying — challenging members to identify biases and develop strategies and criteria for selection. We are very proud that these facilitated study groups are designed by school librarians for school librarians, and that we offer them free to members. Huge thanks to Steph Ellis and Clare Forrest for creating this module.

This Connected course was delivered using our new iQualify platform developed by the Open Polytechnic. We believe our members will find this a more user-friendly experience. For those of you who have yet to participate in any of our online professional development, we invite you to take the opportunity next year.

There has been a diverse and inspiring range of professional development offered to members by our regional committees this year, well done to you all. A popular and “in demand” author appeared to be David Riley; he took sessions in four of our regions. Furthermore, SLANZA have renewed our sponsorship agreement with Book Protection Products. This sponsorship is the reason that regions can afford to run such great professional development. We thank them for their ongoing patronage of school libraries, and encourage our members to support their business.

We would like to welcome Jay Shaw to the National Executive. Jay is the Library Manager at Central Southland College in Winton and is the new NE Rep for Southland. We are also pleased to welcome Melanie McVeigh, our new Administration Officer to the team. Mel is no stranger to school library circles as she was the Library Manager at St Cuthbert’s College before leaving to raise her children. We have already seen evidence of Mel’s great organisational skills and one of her current projects is to streamline the SLANZA registration process as you will all see at the beginning of next year.

National Executive members have represented SLANZA at three recent meetings: the Open Polytechnic Library and Information Studies Stakeholder Advisory Group, the Book Council, and the PPTA ICT Advisory Group. Maintaining these relationships with like-minded organisations is vital to build the professionalism of our organisation and to better provide for our members.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Our librarian roles continue to evolve, but instilling a love of reading remains at the core of what we do. Our profession is well aware of the benefits of summer reading, however, convincing our students of these gains can be a challenge. We need to actively encourage summer learning, so let’s ensure we get the books off the shelves and into the hands of our students over the summer holidays.

We wish you all happy holidays and all the best for the New Year

NCEA Reading Lists on Padlet

Kirsty Adam and Julia Smith SLANZA Co-Presidents

ANITA VANDENBERGHE – ST KENTIGERN COLLEGE

At the Goodfellow Centre, St Kentigern College, we wanted to offer our NCEA students a great way to find reading recommendations online. Something that looks great, is customisable, can hold images, text and video, and is easy to use.

WHY PADLETS? Padlets are multi-functional and versatile. They work like storage banks — holding online pages, Word documents, PDFs and videos.

They are easy to navigate. You can go directly to a webpage or YouTube video with one click, or connect related documents on the same padlet via over-arching arrows. They are visually attractive, incorporating different layouts, fonts, and colours.

We’d been experimenting with using Padlet for Social Studies and the History department, and we wonder whether we could utilise Padlet even more to create NCEA reading lists.

21ST CENTURY READING LISTS Our initial idea was to give the books on the reading lists — and available in our collection — a coloured sticker. Gold for level 3 and so on. But a dot on the spine didn’t seem fitting for a generation that treats their smartphone as a Siamese twin; checking it every 3 seconds and using social media and online sources as their preferred way of getting information. We needed to find ways that would appeal to the digital natives — 24/7, easily and instantly available.

I imagined that for an online NCEA reading list we could use a Padlet for each year level. Each Padlet would have a number of columns for the genres; all genres containing 4-6 titles. For each title we would have a short summary, an image of the book cover, links to reviews and trailers, and background information.

When we discussed how to provide the information in a transparent but attractive way, we figured that it could also provide us with another avenue to promote relevant eBooks, eAudioBooks, and DVDs. This would heighten students’ awareness that we might have the same titles available in different formats.

JOINING FORCES Before we made the Padlets public, we emailed the links to the HOD English with the request to have a look for suitability of the titles.

Lots of the titles on the English reading list were no longer in our collection — I’d withdrawn them due to lack of usage. The Goodfellow Centre reading list contains mostly prize winners and very recent titles with some classics available online.

The Heads of Senior and Middle School English responded very positively, and after the thumbs up, the Padlet links were put on the appropriate online pages.

The Heads were actually over the moon with the Padlets and asked our help to support their future plans to set up an online page with ‘Driving Questions’ for each year level, covering a specific theme. A variety of relevant types of literature would be utilised in all formats.

Using the over-arching arrows connecting philosophies and themes could enhance the need for thinking on a grander scale.

We were asked to do initial set-up of the Padlets, and once this was underway, to organise a couple of workshops to help the English teachers create their own Padlets, which was a very positive outcome.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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LITERACY AND INFORMATION LITERACY The reading list Padlet contains 11 columns for the different genres, and on request from the English Department I added a column for biographies, autobiographies and DVDs.

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The QR codes for the NCEA reading list are put on the walls and shelving in the Goodfellow Centre and English Department. Stickers with the relevant QR codes are put inside the books that feature on our reading list; cross-connecting and reinforcing the message.

As administrators we can change Padlet settings such as how secret or accessible the Padlet will be. We can give students and teachers the option to add their own resources while blocking the removal of any information. It can be searchable by Google, accessible with a password, or private and only visible by the creator. We can monitor statistics and of course catalogue the links to the Padlets.

Risk it for a Biscuit JACKIE PHILLIPS – MACKENZIE COMMUNITY LIBRARY Patrons can scroll down the screen on their phone, while walking along the shelves, selecting titles and reading the blurb. They can activate the link that takes them to a book review or a YouTube trailer, and they can instantly see what types of format the title is offered in.

STIMULATING CURIOSITY

With the reading list Padlet we’ve not only diminished the gap in homogeneity between the English Department and the Goodfellow Centre collections, but we’ve strengthened our bond by finding a way to reconnect AND to connect Literacy with Information Literacy.

WHY QR CODES? The catalogue is a great source of information but over the years we’ve noticed that students and staff aren’t using the catalogue as much as we would like. As librarians and information specialists we are familiar with its layout, options and possibilities; our patrons are less skilled (and interested) in using the catalogue as a means of finding the right material.

Students and staff are using their smart phones more and more, a device always within reach, especially by the seniors. That made us think about QR codes. They can target very specific groups.

The only preparation (done on the spot) is downloading a free QR code reader app to your phone. Once you have that installed, you scan the code and it will take you to the page or website with the attached information.

We have used QR codes on several occasions. One of them was a poetry competition, linking 10 QR codes to 10 YouTube videos.

Participants had to watch the poem being read by a performer and answer the question written in the window below. The codes were spread all over the Goodfellow Centre so students and staff could listen and watch in different spots.

Mackenzie Community Library staff have been trialling a new in-house reading programme, “Risk it for a Biscuit”. This was a collaboration between the library and Mackenzie College’s Junior English department.

Students select a wrapped “risk”, read the entire book and completed a review card before receiving a Cookie Time biscuit reward. The review cards were displayed in the library which was a great way of promoting peer-to-peer recommendations.

Librarians selected high-interest books that were not daunting, but were designed to extend Year 7-8 students’ reading and encourage them to read outside their comfort zone. The books were wrapped in brown paper along with a review card, which was created using the free online card catalogue creator www.blyberg.net/card-generator.

The programme was so popular that next year we may open it up to other year levels at Mackenzie College as well as our local primary schools..

Jackie Phillips, Mackenzie Community Library, Fairlie

We also used QR codes to announce music performance sessions, providing background information and dates. The QR codes were put up all over campus, and were frequently scanned. To promote the History and Social Studies Padlets we attached the QR codes to the walls above the desk copies of the Rainbow Warriors and New Zealand Wars/Vietnam War to remind the students to check out the curated online resources as well.

Students are curious, and if they see a QR Code they’ll scan it.

We’re very pleased with both Padlets and QR codes as pathways to inform and connect with students and staff. It is a versatile way of communicating and fits with the Goodfellow Centre’s philosophy of providing high quality information — 24/7 — in diverse and easily accessible ways.

Anita Vandenberghe, Goodfellow Centre, St Kentigern College

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Pop-Up Libraries in West Auckland Book Club: Hawke’s Bay authors

NOVA GIBSON – MASSEY PRIMARY SCHOOL

I have always loved the concept of pop-up libraries in the community, and people who know me well have sent me photos of ones they have found on their travels.

Books are sourced from op shops, donations, or are ex-public library books; fridges are from the side of the road or Freecycle.

Last year while doing an online course through the National Library, we were asked to find a ‘reading need’ and come up with some initiatives to mitigate that need.

Through casual conversations with staff and students alike, I discovered that some children come to school lacking good oral language. Less than a third of our students use the public library regularly, some barriers being fear of fines for lost books, distance, and lack of time when parents work full-time.

I contacted the people in charge of two neighbouring kindergartens, and the coordinator of the playgroup that meets in one of our classrooms, and asked if they’d like a pop-up library on their premises. I explained that I didn’t want to create extra work for staff and that all they had to do was make a box of books (that I would supply) accessible to caregivers and children, and advertise it in their newsletter. The idea would be that children could take a book home, hopefully to be read with parents, and then bring it back and take another. No record needed to be taken for borrowed books and no chasing up of ‘lost’ books. This idea was met with enthusiasm and there are now five in-house pop-up libraries in local preschools. Twice a term I call in with more books. The feedback I get is very positive.

STEPH ELLIS – NAPIER BOY’S HIGH SCHOOL

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We are lucky in Hawke’s Bay to be surrounded by a number of talented writers. And they’re all so nice! I cheekily approached a few to share some of their bookish thoughts. Without exception, they all agreed to, and were very generous in giving their time. Read on to find out which books have special meaning for them.

ADELE BROADBENT A children’s writer, former librarian, and children’s specialist bookseller. Adele is the author of Too Many Secrets (2010), Just Jack (2011), The Last Herrick Secret (2012), and Trouble in Time (2014).

A BOOK WITH IMAGES AS NICE AS THE WORDS… A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay

I have no desire or know-how to ‘measure outcomes’, but positive feedback from kindergarten staff and the hosts make it something I intend to keep doing.

Nova Gibson, Massey Primary School, Auckland

Then I thought some pop-up libraries on the road would be great. The call for volunteers to make cute wooden boxes on poles came to no avail, so fridges it was.

I put the call out for old fridges and have had two helpers who took out the motors, made them watertight but safe and painted them in our trademark teal and yellow colours. Decals denoted their purpose.

They are ‘hosted’ outside houses of people I know, who are willing to keep an eye on them and let me know when stocks run low. There are now four of these. One was stolen, much to the outrage of the Facebook community. Fortunately it did return months later (possibly when the thief realised it would never work as a fridge again).

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

This is my favourite book ever — not only for the beautiful story told by an award winning author (that breaks my heart every time I read it), the illustrations (by Jim Kay) in black ink are stunning. This book won both the CILIP Carnegie Medal for story and the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration in 2012 — the first time a book has won both medals. Although dark in topic and illustration, they work together brilliantly.

A BOOK THAT YOU LOVE FROM A LOCAL AUTHOR… The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward New on the shelves on 1st August 2017, this is new and fabulous from a Napier author! For me it has the wonder of amazing worldbuilding and likable characters like the Harry Potter series, but with more action and grit like the Cherub series, rolled in. The language is full and rich and the steampunk genre and plot hardly takes time to breathe, giving an action-packed ride. For readers 10+, but I know many adults have loved it as much as I have.

A BOOK TO HELP YOU TRAVEL THE WORLD THROUGH WORDS… Anna and the Swallow Man by Gavriel Savit This is a book that helped me travel the ‘world of words’ more so than the world itself. A simple storyline of a man who saves a young girl whose academic father has been taken by the Nazis, its language stopped me over and over again as I read it — it was so beautiful I wanted to re-read the sentence I’d just read. I was reading things out loud to my family and sharing it with whoever was around. Gorgeous.

AN OLDIE YOU GO BACK TO OVER AND OVER… Jennie by Paul Gallico A small boy called Peter would love a kitten of his own. Little did he know that when he rushed across the street to see a cat in the park, he would wake up as one! Jennie is a small street-cat who comes to the rescue of a very frightened boy in a cat’s body. Friendship, courage, patience, and determination all come into this story, with a love story too. Any cat lover reading Jennie will recognise or learn about dozens of cat traits, instincts and feelings along the way. Gallico portrays these expertly. I’ve had my copy for 30 years and still go back to it.

A BOOK FOR KIDS THAT ADULTS WILL LOVE TOO… Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk A spiteful, mean, girl called Betty. A caring, thoughtful, smart girl called Annabelle. A man suffering the after effects of a war where he believed he’d done terrible things. These are the key ingredients of this novel with a story that spirals from hatred and spite down through to forgiveness and love — but at what cost? Wolf Hollow made me gasp, sigh, smile, and wipe my eyes. Eleven year old Annabelle is brave, but no matter how many truths or lies she tells to try and help, things soon twist away from her again. Shocking, beautiful, and sad all at the same time. The antagonist in this story (Betty) was one of the nastiest I’ve ever met in a book.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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CHARITY NORMAN Used to be a barrister specialising in crime and family law, on the circuit in the northeast of England. Now a writer for adults, Charity is the author of Freeing Grace (2010), Second Chances (2012), The Son-in-Law (2013), The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone (2015), and See You in September (2017).

A CLASSIC THAT’S WORTH THE HYPE… Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen This reply is a cliché, I know, but this deceptively subtle story would have enduring appeal even without the image of Colin Firth in a wet shirt. I must have read or listened to it twenty times — no, more — and every time I find myself laughing aloud, captivated by Austen’s wit, wisdom, knowledge of human nature, and a social commentary and feminism that absolutely still applies today.

A BOOK THAT PUSHES BOUNDARIES… Conundrum by Jan Morris This autobiography of the acclaimed journalist, historian, adventurer, and writer describes her adventures in the army, her marriage, her involvement in Hillary and Tenzing’s Everest expedition — and all of this while tortured by the certainty that she was a woman trapped in a man’s body. Throughout the writing you sense Morris’s brilliant mind, as she transitions from macho ex-army husband and father to the successful woman she has now been for many decades.

A BOOK THAT WAS FORMATIVE FOR YOU GROWING UP… Watership Down by Richard Adams.

This is so much more than a gripping tale about rabbits, and the 1978 film — while beautiful — doesn’t even begin to do it justice. It’s funny, warm, terrifying, joyous — written with an unselfconsciously lovely use of language, knowledge of the world, and affection for the English countryside. It covers themes of genocide, escape, camaraderie, and a band of refugees; the difficulties of setting up a new life in a new world, the qualities of a truly great and good leader, and the evils of a totalitarian regime. There’s even a creepy cult whose members accept death in return for an easy life. Heck, this is a good book.

A BOOK TO READ ON A LONG-HAUL FLIGHT… Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson.

It doesn’t matter too much if you fall asleep or get bounced about by turbulence and lose your place, and you can dip in and out of this travelogue when the cabin crew bring your dinner. Bryson is funny, acute and staggeringly knowledgeable. Occasionally a ranting curmudgeon — but even then, hilarious. Try not to snort and wake your fellow passengers.

A BOOK THAT MAKES FOR GOOD DINNER CONVERSATION… Good Behaviour by Molly Keane Was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize in 1981 (it lost out to Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children). Keane is a heroine of mine — a writer whose razor-sharp observation cuts through every page; think Austen but with a lot more malice. Set in 1920s Ireland, this dark comedy features a naïve narrator — well no, not naïve, she’s actually a homicidal sociopath, but who can blame her? — to die for.

Bereavement, betrayal and ruin stalk the St Charles family, but they know the value of Good Behaviour. “We had behaved beautifully. No pain lasts.”

AARON TOPP A young adult writer, and former teacher, who now lives and works in rural Hawke’s Bay. Aaron is the author of Single Fin (2006), Creating Waves (2009), and Hucking Cody (2015).

THE MOST READ BOOK ON YOUR BOOKSHELF… Breath by Tim Winton That’s an easy one, Breath by Tim Winton.

OK, I’m slightly biased because of the whole surfing theme, but the story’s 1970s backdrop is as authentic as the pop and crackle on a Bob Seger album. From a reader’s perspective, it’s raw and racy and takes you into super-dark places. As a writer, it’s been nothing short of a revelation for me.

A BOOK YOU READ AS A TEEN THAT YOU STILL LIKE NOW… Foreskin’s Lament by Greg McGee Not really a book per se, but Greg McGee’s Foreskin’s Lament is timeless and still resonates with me. As a teenager I would’ve preferred being out chasing a rugby ball than reading, so this play was the best of both worlds. For a rugby-mad country I still find it hard to believe there hasn’t been anything like it since — probably because it set the bar so high.

GARETH WARD Has many strings to his bow, but for the sake of brevity we’ll stick with: children’s writer, independent bookseller, and magician! Gareth is the author of The Traitor and the Thief (2017). And those of us that have read it are eagerly awaiting its sequel.

A BOOK TO GET THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOWING...

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman The man is a genius. His writing is captivating and original. He creates a fantastic, fully formed world that I want to live in. Splenderific.

THE LAST BOOK YOU READ (AND ENJOYED)...

Lockwood & Co series by Jonathan Stroud I have just finished Lockwood & Co: The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud. It’s my favourite series and I had that reader’s dilemma of desperately wanting to read the story but also wanting to eke it out because I knew it was the last book in the series.

A BOOK YOU LOVE FROM A NEW ZEALAND AUTHOR… The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward

A BOOK FOR WHEN YOU’RE IN NEED OF A CHUCKLE… The Far Side by Gary Larson

Yes, I know it’s my book, which is completely egocentric, but during the editing process I must have read it at least fifty times and it still makes me laugh, it still makes me cry, and I’m super proud of it.

Do Gary Larson’s The Far Side books count? It was the original meme stream for Generation X.

A BOOK YOU ENJOYED WITH YOUR CHILDREN… Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver

A BOOK TO GET YOUR MIND TICKING… The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr

We loved reading this series as a family book. The wolf was a particular favourite of ours and always seemed to rescue Torak in the nick of time.

I’m going out on a limb here and saying The Emperor of Scent

by Chandler Burr is a fascinating story of one man’s crusade to convince the perfume industry and its boffins that humans identify smells through the vibrations each smell transmits rather than the conventional theory they’re made up of molecular shapes. It’s actually really easy reading and a great David and Goliath story.

A BOOK THAT WILL TEACH YOU SOMETHING… Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White I’m taking this question literally here and saying Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is essential reading for anyone — at any level — who is trying to string a sentence together. Takes the classic rules of writing and grammar and keeps them relevant. I still keep my copy closer to the laptop than my Thesaurus.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

A BOOK YOU CAN BINGE IN ONE SITTING… The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr I could pretty much binge any book I like in one sitting — if only I had time. I have very fond memories of a Sunday about two years ago where the family was away, I had no commitments and a plentiful supply of chocolate buttons and coffee. I spent the whole day in bed and read the entire The Diabolical Miss Hyde by Viola Carr. Not one for younger readers, as it is a touch lewd in places, but not too uncivilised and with a nice nod to Steampunk it made for a happy, lazy day.

Steph Ellis, Napier Boy’s High School With thanks to frankie magazine for the inspiration

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Northwest Auckland Book Battle NOVA GIBSON – MASSEY PRIMARY SCHOOL VICKI MUNRO – MARINA VIEW SCHOOL The idea for a West Auckland flavoured interschool reading challenge began in 2015. Several schools had taken teams to Kids’ Lit Quiz and, while the students enjoyed themselves, we realised that our students didn’t really care ‘What Katy Did’ or what colour Anne’s gables were (what are gables anyway?!)

In June this year, due to high demand, we ran two separate competitions, for the two different age groups. The morning session had twenty-two teams of Year 5/6 students from twelve schools and eighteen teams of Year 7/8 students from eleven schools in the second session.

All our schools in the North West Cluster are full primaries (Year 1-8), very diverse culturally, and come from the extremes of the decile rating system. We wanted to provide a fun but challenging competition, free of charge, based on the books our kids read. It was also important to hold it locally, to eliminate the need to travel on Auckland’s carparks (aka motorways) for hours, and of course to keep costs to a minimum. Hobsonville Point Secondary School (HPSS) came to the party, offering us use of their fabulous auditorium free of charge. Georgi de Stigter (HPSS Teacher/Librarian) came on board, organising not only the venue but also prizes, questions, and technical support.

We feel that our goal to provide an alternative reading challenge for our students has been achieved and it has exceeded our initial expectations. Feedback from students, staff, and parents has included: “My child isn’t great at sport so it’s been wonderful for her to have an opportunity to represent her school through the sport of reading.” “Great fun, can we do it again next year?” “You should quit your day jobs and tour the country with the Book Battle!”

Taking baby steps, we started with a small team — one public librarian and five school librarians — to organise the event, which became known as the ‘Book Battle’. We held one competition for teams of four students from Year 6, 7 and 8. The competition comprised 10 rounds of 10 multiple choice questions. We begged around local businesses for additional prizes, and provided goodie bags with treats for each contestant.

On the day we had thirteen teams of excited students, from seven schools. HPSS provided students as helpers and to run Kahoot, which was used for the questions. However, Kahoot proved to be a barrier to good teamwork and with one wrong keystroke all data was LOST! This happened right before the final round, so although the exact scores were lost, we could remember the top five teams. A dash to provide paper and pen saved the day and we continued the old-school way.

Post-competition feedback was overwhelmingly positive, especially the pen and paper option! It was obvious from the response that this was going to be an annual event.

With 100 questions over ten rounds, the challenge we foresee for 2018 is coming up with more interesting and intriguing literary categories. We’ve already used Whine and Cheese, Super Dudes, Bottoms Up, and Bacon and Eggs — any suggestions?

Read Aloud Reading Wizards NICOLE WRIGHT – KELSON SCHOOL

I am a librarian for Kelson School on the western hills of Lower Hutt. At the start of each year we advertise the positions of student librarians within our school. The Year 4 - 6 children then fill out job application forms and later attend a formal interview. This prepares the children for the work ahead as a student librarian. I am very fortunate to have student librarians who help with displays, keeping the library tidy, and processing new books.

With thanks to our colleagues and partners in crime (novels): Christine Calis (Massey Public Library), Cathy Gray (Huapai District School), Georgi de Stigter (HPSS) and Leigh Abraham (HPSS).

Nova Gibson, Massey Primary School and Vicki Munro, Marina View School

Barfoot & Thompson West Harbour came on board in 2016, with sponsorship that enabled us to provide generous prizes, maintain free entry, and experience less organisational stress. By word of mouth, the Book Battle grew to thirty teams from thirteen schools, and our geographical cover of competing schools had spread. We judged the Year 6-only teams separately from the composite teams, but the two competitions ran simultaneously. The auditorium was chockablock ” with enthusiastic readers and supporters. Again we used the pen and paper system, much to the delight of students and teachers.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

At the start of each year, we all discuss what we want to do in the library. One discussion this year was to hold read aloud sessions. The student librarians are all good readers and I need to use their love of books to engage and enrich the other children in the school. My idea is that the student librarians can go out and read to the children in the playground as the Kelson School Reading Wizards. The children were very apprehensive when I suggested that they could do these sessions. I didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable, when they are without some sort of training; Jill Marriott at Hutt City Libraries offered to help with that.

We are looking forward to presenting our Reading Wizards to the school in Term 4, hopefully when the weather is better so they can read aloud in the playground. Also, we will encourage participation, to view the sessions as an incentive in the activity section of our Reading Challenge.

Our student librarians have chosen a text and taken it home over the school holidays to practise and create puppets and props (if needed). Their confidence — thanks to the Hutt City Libraries team — has increased and the students are very excited to be the Reading Wizards. I have obtained a cloak which will help identify their presence in the playground, and they are also advertising to promote our new initiative.

Nicole Wright, Kelson School

Jill and Judith came into the school to train the children in the art of reading aloud. This training is usually presented to adults as a course, but Hutt City Libraries adapted the programme for us. The training included discussion around the best type of book to use, how to emphasise text, use of puppetry, drama, and projection of voice. The children took a book home to practise for a week and then returned to present their read-aloud book to the group. Jill and Judith gave constructive advice where needed and praised our student librarians for their extremely good efforts in presenting their choice of book.

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Advocating for Silent Reading using Research MEGAN DAVIDSON – WESTLAKE GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL

In late 2015, I proposed expanding our silent reading periods to include senior classes. For many years, the Year 9 & 10 English classes had been coming to the library fortnightly for reading periods, but with a larger library we were able to accommodate more classes and wanted to start including Year 11, Year 12, and Year 13s. I also hoped to include ESOL classes. In conjunction with the HOD of English, I presented this idea to the English Department, who agreed. They were especially keen to have regular library periods since their curriculum included two assessments based on wide reading (1.10 and 2.9).

Below is the rationale and the research I used to convince the English teachers (and the principal) that silent reading was a valuable facet of our students’ education.

ORIGINS

I DO LOVE A GOOD SPREADSHEET CLARE FORREST – RAROA NORMAL INTERMEDIATE

A while ago, I read an interesting blog about spreadsheets. As oxymoronic as that sounds, what it inspired was the use of a tool to reveal more about myself, what I read, and how this affects the recommendations I make to my staff and students. I started to record what books I read, something that in itself can be both depressing (if, like me, you have barren patches of sparse reading which makes me feel like I’m not doing my job properly), or uplifting (when I find the time and the wonderful books and the whole process is a delightful escape).

What was really interesting for me was the recommendation that as well as recording the usual information, I also keep track of the sorts of books I read and the sorts of authors as well, both their gender and nationality. I really did believe I read widely for the greater good of all, only to be proved by the statistics to be deluding myself. I only record the books I finish, so all those abandoned ones — still sitting in a pile with the bookmark a few chapters in — aren’t on my spreadsheet. Maybe they need to be there in another “couldn’t finish” column, so my biases are not so obvious, and to at least show I had good intentions.

Everyone has their own preferences, of course, but when I see a graph that shows me I read ten times as many American books as I do those written by local authors, I know I need to address that imbalance. Even before I look at the pie chart (with two thirds of the pie distinctly female) I know I would much rather read a book written by a woman, but I have to remember I am not just reading for myself and I have to make a bigger effort to find that even spread from all genders and walks of life. Not to mention that the graph with the two big bars for fantasy and realistic fiction requires me to be braver to face those horror stories I know our boys want to read. Even more horrifying for me, reading war stories — titles that I know many students are keen for and that I need to know about.

What next? Start another spreadsheet, one that has quotas as well, to ensure greater diversity in my reading habits. More genres, a greater variety of author nationalities, a bottom line of more NZ and Pacific Island stories, and maybe the addition of a “gender of main protagonist” column to check that balance as well. I figure what I really need to do is just read faster so I can read them all!

Clare Forrest, Raroa Normal Intermediate

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

The idea came from two sources.

1. A formal review of our Scholarship programme recommended that students needed to do more outside reading.

2.

A panel of university librarians speaking to high school librarians at National Library in 2015 said the biggest problem with first- year university students is their inability to keep up with the heavy load of reading required at university level.

BENEFITS FLUENCY If senior students have more book recommendations and the opportunity to read more frequently, it will increase their fluency.

WELLBEING Besides improving fluency, reading is proven to be good for students’ well-being. Amidst stressful internals and looming deadlines, reading for an hour provides them a chance to relax, escape into other worlds, and improve their fluency/spelling/vocabulary/writing simultaneously.

PERSONALISED LEARNING Students gets to choose their own book at their own level and in their own interest area = differentiation! Plus they have control, which they crave.

AFFECTIVE Choosing their own book is more motivating than assigned texts.

They have a better attitude towards reading, and can develop a lifelong love and habit of reading WHICH IS THE REAL GOAL. EMPATHY

HOW SCHEDULING At the beginning of the year, I timetable forty three senior classes in addition to thirty junior classes and fourteen ESOL classes. They are pre-assigned a fortnightly reading period throughout the entire school year, beginning in week one.

SPACE There are two classes having a reading period in the library at the same time, in two different spaces.

BOOK TALKS Book talks are given to every class by a librarian, and are customised for year level and ability level. Each book talk lasts about ten minutes.

Then the students have the remaining time (forty-five—fifty minutes) to read a book of their choice, which might be one that was advertised, or might be one from the shelves.

Reading also develops empathy, because they see a story through many characters’ eyes. Being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is difficult for teens, but a necessary skill for assessments that require different perspectives.

EQUALISER Providing reading time and books at school helps eliminate the disparity of poverty at home where some kids’ lives are flooded with books, and others’ lives are empty of books.

COMPREHENSION, VOCABULARY, SPELLING, WRITING More reading time improves comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, and writing skills as well as, or better than, traditional programmes (meta-analysis by Stephen Krashen confirmed in 51 of 54 studies) As a teacher, I acknowledged that it’s hard to accept that what they teach is less important than letting them read … but that’s what the research says. On the plus side, their job will be easier with less direct teaching and more time to read.

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RESEARCH

CONCLUSION

KRASHEN’S CONCLUSIONS

POSITIVES

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more reading takes place if the teacher reads along with the class (Von Sprecken, Ujie, J. Kim)

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Borrowing for senior students has more than tripled since they began coming for regular library periods, from 2287 to 7521.

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“read alouds” help increase reading (Trelease)

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direct encouragement leads directly to more reading (Shin)

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giving rewards has no effect (McQuillan, Krashen)

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More students come to the library every day (2500 on average), including those who used to spend years without setting foot in our building.

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comics are OK to read (Ujiie)

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just one positive experience — “that perfect book for that kid at that time” — can create a reader (Von Sprecken, Ujiie, J. Kim)

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the “perfect book” is not necessarily a “quality” book (Ujiie)

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good readers tend to be narrow readers, which is OK (Lamme)

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Serving ESOL classes regularly has been especially good for our relationship with Westlake’s 200+ International students, and as a result they are more comfortable asking us for help with computer issues, printing, passwords, etc. ESOL students are also borrowing more books and reading more books, which obviously accelerates their language acquisition.

• eminent, successful people are nearly all voracious readers (Simonton) •

more reading leads to less apprehension about writing (S.Y. Lee)

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there should be minimal censorship (Krashen)

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they don’t have to finish a book (Krahsen)

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no book reports/assignments should be required (Krashen)

NZ RESEARCH STUDY BY WARWICK ELLEY OF CANTERBURY In his famous study, he collected data from 10,000 students (age 9 and 14) in 32 countries about their reading habits and their reading ability.

He found some common characteristics of high scoring countries such as: •

large school libraries

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regular book borrowing

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frequent silent reading in class

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frequent story reading (9 year olds)

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more female teachers

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frequent voluntary reading at home.

NEGATIVES (BUT NOT REALLY) •

One glitch that I was anticipating never came to pass. We were concerned that the English teachers would be resistant to being forced to read during the silent reading periods, rather than marking or working on the computer. However, we emphasised the research that showed the importance for them to model reading, and they have been grateful for the comfortable teacher armchair for reading. With more time to read now — during all their classes’ library periods — they are becoming more familiar with young adult literature, short stories, and texts they might want to teach.

• We needed to hire an additional librarian to cover the extra book talks, but our administration agreed to invest in silent reading periods.

(He also found some characteristics that made no difference such as whether students attended preschool or not, longer school year, more testing, and smaller class size.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Elley, W. B. (2006). How well do our students achieve? A summary of 35 years of international comparisons. Set, 2-10.

Krashen, S. (2004). The Power of Reading : insights from the research.

New York, NY: Heinemann.

Krashen, S. (2017, Oct 17). 81 Generalizations about Free Voluntary Reading. Retrieved from successfulenglish.com: http:// successfulenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/81Generalizations-about-FVR-2009.pdf Lamme, L. (1976). Are reading habits and abilities related? Reading Teacher, 30: 21-27.

Lee, S. Y. (2007). Revelations from three consecutive studies on extensive reading. RELC Journal 38 no. 2, 150-70.

McQuillan, J. (1997). The effects of incentives on reading. Reading Research and Instruction, 36: 111-125.

Shin, F. (2003). Should we just tell them to read? The role of direct encouragement in promoting recreational reading. Knowledge Quest 32(3).

Trelease, J. (2013). The Read-Aloud Handbook, 7th edition. New York, NY: Penguin.

Ujiie, J. and Krashen, S. (1996). Is comic book reading harmful?

Comic book reading, school achievement, and pleasure reading among seventh graders. California School Library Association Journal, 19,2: 27-28.

Von Sprecken, D and Krashen, S. (1998). Do students read during sustained silent reading? California Reader 32 (1), 11-13.

With research and data to support my proposal, everyone agreed to expand the silent reading periods to include senior English classes and ESOL classes. So for the last two years, the library has been serving eighty four classes every fortnight. The long-term effect on individual readers is hard to measure, but according to the research they will become better spellers and better writers in addition to being better readers. Overall, the programme has been an undeniable success.

Megan Davidson,Westlake Girls High School

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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The Great Escape: A Southland SLANZA/Public Library Collaboration

Reading with an ‘'E’'

KIRSTY ADAM – JAMES HARGEST HIGH SCHOOL

ALISON JOHNSON – PAKURANGA COLLEGE

For the last three years, Southland SLANZA has been collaborating with the region’s public libraries to provide a comprehensive Summer Reading Programme for readers of all ages. Joining together with the same brand allows all of our libraries to promote summer reading in a way that would be recognisable throughout the region and moves smoothly from school to the public library service.

Reading for pleasure has been the in thing recently, and it has been interesting looking at what our teenagers are doing with their ‘pleasure reading’. The worry that computers would take over the paper book has so far been totally unfounded, with our statistics for print book loans still far ahead of our e-book loans at the rate of five to one. This trend has been in slight decline as more of our students become used to reading e-books, and many that currently do seem to prefer e-books over physical, whereas others still like to read both.

As our students get older, those who do like reading a lot, find that time becomes their biggest enemy. Having to study and read more for school means reading for pleasure becomes a luxury.

We decided on “The Great Escape” as our brand name, as it conjured up lots of wonderful summer holiday images; it can refer to the act of reading itself, the action in the books or the holiday escape of the Christmas break. Each library can choose to create their own posters and additional promotional material or they can use those created by the graphic designer at the Invercargill City Library.

Towards the end of the school year, Southland SLANZA hosts a launch party to give school and public librarians a chance to discuss their plans and share ideas. This is a great excuse for a party (if one is ever needed!) but it also ensures that everyone has the same information. Each of the region’s public libraries create their own programme of activities and rewards and the launch party is the opportunity to promote these to the school librarians who in turn promote these to the students as they leave for the six week holiday.

In the first year of “The Great Escape”, Southland SLANZA received funding from The Community Trust of Southland and The Southern Trust to purchase tote bags for students to take books home over the holidays. These brightly coloured bags give students an easily recognisable place to store their books (when they aren’t reading them) and a way of transporting their piles of books to and from school.

Next year LIANZA are providing their own branding for Summer Reading so there may be some changes to our collaboration.

Fortunately it is likely that The Great Escape will still fit into this scheme and our collaboration can continue to develop.

Kirsty Adam, James Hargest High School

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

But is it really? When you ask someone “do you read?” everyone seems to assume that you are talking about books; and as librarians know, there’s nothing better than reading a good book. But does reading for pleasure, especially in this modern online era, limit itself to novels and books in general? Do not blogs, websites, fanfiction, magazines and even tweets qualify, especially if they are fun and enjoyable to read? Is reading a blog for five minutes not considered reading? And more importantly — if you want to read it — enjoyable?

Like those reading comics and graphic novels in the past, does this online ‘low-brow’ reading still not count when it comes to reading for pleasure? And for many students, the idea of not finishing a book, make them a failure? Why is this so? So many books, so little time — if it’s not interesting, try something else. Another suggestion I also give my seniors is to try a short story. There are also a number of e-books which a single short story, rather than a collection of short stories. Reading for twenty minutes and completing that reading has become much easier.

It has also been interesting looking at what the students have been reading as e-books, compared to print — my top e-book this year was Veronica Roth’s Allegiant, but John Green still won the print book stats with The Fault in our Stars, which came 9th in the e-loans, whereas Allegiant didn’t even make it in the top 20 print book loans.

But on the whole, most of the popular e-books have been the same as the popular print books. Some of the things that the students have liked about our e-library have been the same, in general, about e-books. The instant loan, getting books sooner because they don’t need to be processed, reading companion stories to series that authors haven’t published in the physical world, and being able to adjust the book’s settings such as font-size and dyslexic colour settings. But there is still this need for the physical book, to hold it in one’s hands, to smell it, to curl a page as you turn it, that students like.

Whatever the outcome, reading for pleasure should include all formats, how it is published shouldn’t be the factor. The fact that it is fun, enjoyable and thought-provoking should be what draws children and teenagers, and all of us, into the amazing and wonderful world of words.

Alison Johnson, Pakuranga College

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Promoting Reading for Pleasure on the Other Side of the World MICHELLE SIMMS – TE TOTARA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Earlier this year, I visited England to have a look at how they promote reading for pleasure*. I chose England because they have recently added reading for pleasure to their curriculum. There is a lot of support for schools who wish to promote reading for pleasure, from organisations like the Reading Agency, the Book Trust, the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education. Most initiatives are aimed at teachers, but this is often because primary school librarians in England are an endangered species. I picked up a lot of ideas from these organisations, and from the schools and “bookish” people I visited. Here are some of the ways they are encouraging reading for pleasure: 1. By sharing with each other the high quality, powerful books that engage their students and captivate their imaginations.

There is a lot of book chat going on in England, between educators, authors and librarians who are helping each other find high quality literature to share with students. I’m not saying we don’t have some excellent sharing of literature in NZ too, but if you’d like to see what children’s books are being raved about in the UK, try following Twitter accounts like @MrBoothY6, @smithsmm, @marygtroche and @Mat_at-Brookes.

2. By encouraging teachers to become more knowledgeable about children’s literature and developing their reading for pleasure pedagogy.

Professor Teresa Cremin (@TeresaCremin) and her team found that many teachers don’t know a big enough range of books to enable them to meet the different needs and interests of their students and to foster their reading development. I met Teresa at the UKLA National Conference and saw her launch a website, Research Rich Pedagogies, which shares research around reading for pleasure. The site also offers ways for teachers to review their practice and gather practical classroom strategies.

As children’s literature experts, we are in an ideal position to use this information to support our teachers and help them to become more confident in encouraging their students to read for pleasure. You might like to set up your own Teachers’ Reading Group so that you can share the site’s rich resources, help build teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature, and enable them to build reading communities within and beyond the school. I have done this and it has provided me with far more attention from teachers than I’ve ever managed to get before!

Developing a reading culture CAROLE GARDINER – QUEEN’S HIGH SCHOOL

3. By providing time for students to talk about books with each other.

Reading can be a social activity, and excitement about books can be shared from student to student. Teresa Cremin emphasises the importance of providing students with the opportunity to talk informally about the books that they are reading. One thing that has worked well at my school is when, at the start of a library session, teachers give their students time to talk about their books with each other before they return them. The noise level always goes up, in a good way, and a lot more children choose to take out books being returned by their classmates.

Book clubs are another great way to encourage students to discuss books with each other.

Nearly every English school I visited that had a librarian, had a book club. They were part of organisations like Chatterbooks, or the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, and did activities like shadowing book awards (reading all the shortlisted books, discussing them, and having a vote to decide their own winner). If you visit these organisations’ websites, you will find they have made some great resources available.

4. By appointing a Patron of Reading We’ve used the NZ Book Council’s Writers in Schools programme for a number of years now, as a way to have authors and illustrators visit our school and talk about their work. Our students have always enjoyed the visits. However, in the UK they have set up a Patron of Reading scheme, which takes this a step further. The idea is to develop a deeper relationship with an author or illustrator by having them visit your school several times. The author or illustrator helps to promote reading for pleasure in your school, works with reluctant readers, does blog posts, writes in the school newsletter ... anything that the school and the patron decide they want to do.

Michelle Simms, Te Totara Primary School *I received a support staff scholarship from NZEI that made this possible. If you are a member, it is worth keeping in mind that these scholarships are available.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Developing a reading culture: Ideas for increasing the value given to reading within your school Schools with an established reading culture are more likely to be successful in encouraging their students to read. The benefits that reading brings are well supported by a large body of research, making a strong reading culture within a school a desirable thing. So what exactly is a reading culture, and how can you develop one?

In general, culture can be defined as the pattern of behaviour, rituals, values and beliefs that structure and guide people’s lives. A reading culture therefore encompasses the creation, development and implementation of reading behaviour, values and practices.

In a school with a strong reading culture, the library will be highly valued for its important contributions to literacy, reading, student achievement and developing life-long learners.

THE LIBRARY COLLECTION A good place to start when creating or improving a school’s reading culture is to establish and maintain a library collection that reflects the interests of its students and staff. You want to encourage reading, so the library needs to have the books that its readers want to read, in the formats that they wish to read them in. To do this you need to know your library users well. Talk to them about books, reading and their interests. Encourage students and staff to request or suggest titles using suggestion books and online forms and buy as many of these suggestions as possible. You also need to purchase new and popular titles that your library users may not know about. Follow book review blogs, sign up for publishers’ newsletters, take note of award-winning titles, talk to other school librarians and, of course, read as much as you possibly can.

Adding new titles is only half of the collection development story.

You also need to weed. To make the shelves more attractive, old and under-used books need to be removed. After weeding, the library as a whole will be more appealing and library users will find it easier to browse and choose books. Collection development is an ongoing process, so you will continually need to evaluate new titles and formats for purchase, and weed out-of-date or irrelevant titles to ensure that your collection is relevant to your library users and able to support a school-wide reading culture.

READING ROLE MODELS Much has been written about the value of adults as reading role models for children and young people. Most recently Jennifer LaGarde has blogged about this (see Further Reading), including tips for being a good reading role model. It is worth sharing these posts with your teaching staff so that they can be an effective part of the school’s reading culture.

Not everyone is a reader and not all your staff will be good reading role models. You need to be an example to them, as well as to your students. Read as many books as you can, across as many genres and formats as possible. This will allow you to speak knowledgeably and honestly when talking about books. For those books that you aren’t able to read yourself, ask others to read them and give you their opinion. Or even better, encourage other readers to recommend books directly to their peers, either in conversation or via book reviews and library displays. Once staff and students are having frequent conversations about books, authors and reading, the school’s reading culture will be looking very healthy.

BOOK AND READING PROMOTION There are numerous book-related events that you can run in a school library to promote reading and reinforce the importance of reading within your school culture. These should be widely advertised in the school newsletter, on the school website, around school and on social media.

The list below includes some of the things that I have found to be successful. Our staff are also encouraged to take part in all of these activities.

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Blind date a book — this is simple to run and fun for the readers.

The aim is to get people reading a book that they wouldn’t normally choose for themselves. Books are wrapped so that the covers are hidden and readers take a ‘lucky dip’.

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Speed date a book — there are a number of variations on this activity but all tend to be noisy, get students talking about books to each other, and are lots of fun.

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Reading Success - My story •

Sustained Silent Reading — known by various names, this involves students and staff silently reading on a regular basis within the school timetable.

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Book displays — set aside areas for regular displays of new books or less well-known titles that readers can browse and borrow. These should change often and look attractive without being overwhelmed by props.

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Book of the Week — this might be a book displayed at the issues desk or promoted online or with posters around the school. It could be chosen by students, staff or librarians.

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Reading Challenge — this has become an annual competitive event in our school, with all entries earning points for form classes and school houses, and the chance to win spot prizes. We also have a spot prize for staff.

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Library Week or Library Day — we have an annual Book Lovers’ Week full of competitions and prizes. Book Spine Poetry is becoming a regular part of this event, as is the grand prize draw (with cake) for the Reading Challenge winners.

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Book Groups — these can take many forms depending on what works best for your students and staff. They need to be fun and focused on books, but other than that, anything goes.

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Silent Reading Lunchtimes — these are very popular with the library users who just want a quiet place to read.

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YouTube playlists — create playlists of book trailers, movie trailers (for books made into movies), BookTube videos, poetry performances or anything else along these lines, and play them at lunch times.

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Student Librarians — encourage students to help out in the library. They become library experts who will then help their friends to find good books to read.

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Summer Reading Programme — this hugely popular event is highly anticipated each year and generates lots of book excitement across our school. Students and staff can apply for a bag containing 6 library books specially selected just for them. The element of surprise makes the book bags a bit like an early Christmas present, as well as allowing students to be enticed into reading or extended with more challenging titles depending on their reading needs. Summer reading programmes have a variety of forms, so you can choose or adapt the format that best suits your readers.

FURTHER READING: For guidance on writing a Collection Development Policy see the National Library Services to Schools page at natlib.govt.nz/ schools/school-libraries/collections-and-resources/your-collectionmanagement-plan/developing-a-collection-management-plan For more ideas on places to look for book recommendations see the Useful Websites for School Library Collection Development Livebinder at www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=409529 Jennifer LaGarde’s blog posts on reading role models are at www. librarygirl.net/2017/08/when-adults-dont-read-kids-lose.html and http://www.librarygirl.net/2017/10/when-adults-dont-read-kidslose.html For more on some of the library events listed above see the Queen’s High School Information Centre website at qhsinfocentre.weebly. com/home/category/events For ideas on summer reading programmes see the resource on the SLANZA website at hreading.slanza.org.nz/summer-reading.html For an overview on creating a school wide reading culture see the National Library Services to Schools page at natlib.govt.nz/schools/ reading-engagement/understanding-reading-engagement/a-schoolwide-reading-culture For lots of ideas and activities to promote a reading culture in schools see the Scottish Book Trust’s website at www.scottishbooktrust.com/ learning/learning-resources/resource/creating-a-reading-culture-getyour-whole-school-reading

Developing a strong reading culture takes time and is ongoing in response to new ideas and practices. The school library is pivotal in this process, and the librarian has a key role to play in creating and developing a strong reading culture that will successfully support students to become life-long readers and learners.

Carole Gardiner, Queen’s High School, Dunedin

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

BRIDGET SCHAUMANN – KING’S HIGH SCHOOL

When I was at school, there weren’t many things I was good at. I was rubbish at maths, shorthand, science, commerce, phys ed, spelling, art and music. I was however, good at English. And I was hard to beat at reading and I could talk and give a speech. Oh, and I was good at typing! Reading and writing were the only things I could excel in. I sometimes encounter kids like I was. Readers who are chatty, who like to talk about their books, who are busy being sociable and who, in the privacy of their homes, read voraciously. I remember I used to hate holidays where we had to drive long distances because it was all that time spent sitting doing nothing and not being able to read because I got so terribly carsick. Then I grew up and travelled the world and got stuck in not very exotic locations with only university libraries’ English language collections for company, that is where I read a lot of the classics. I begged for parcels of books to be sent for birthdays and Xmas and set up lending schemes with other ex-pat wives. These were desperate times.

I’m a reading evangelist! I want everyone to get the pleasure from a book that I do. I want people to feel the burn that I get when a new book comes out from a favourite author. I get upset at the lack of time to read more books. I’ve become an avid audiobook consumer, using our e-Platform and the Public Library’s platform. I buy e-Audio books in the same way I buy shoes and paper books. I may be single handedly keeping publishers afloat, according to my wife! I think that those who don’t know the pleasure of being alone with the people you meet in books, with the people whose stories are interesting, with characters conjured by imaginations of fantastic authors, are missing something really special. I love the escape from the daily grind, the way that someone can be so clever as to transport me to an entirely different planet or time, who can move me to tears and then have me shaking my fist in anger. Why wouldn’t everyone want this kind of emotional rollercoaster in their lives?

Now I get to do a job where reading is part of what I need to do. I get to test drive the books before the students, I can be very “graspy”!

Then I get to tell students about the wonder between the pages; I’m in the privileged position of having every class come through for book-talks and I get to work with every student in our school in their junior years. I hand pick books for each class; I have stacks of books in my office, fine-tuned for the taste of each class, and I have a system of working through the library so that they don’t see the same book more than once. I found this elderly book which proved to be a very handy tool when I started and I read Nancy Pearl’s books and used her style. I have fun doing 5 word reviews and challenge the boys to do the same. The power of the wildly enthusiastic book-talk is not to be underestimated!

9DS’S STORY So, at our school we do lots of work with our students who can’t read well. We have a special focus on these students because as we all know, those who don’t read well are disabled all their lives.

They cannot function as well as other people in the workplace, they struggle to get qualifications, and they face more struggles than other people. We want them to be successful in all areas of their lives, and being literate is one of the most important things they need for success. I become incensed when writing is the main focus for students in schools — if you cannot be successful in reading then how can you be successful in writing? I note in many schools and literacy organisations a lot of mention of the word writing, but not nearly so much of the word reading. I believe this is just plain wrong. They go together.

Our small class of very poor readers is called 9DS, they are a very interesting bunch, some of the loveliest humans you could meet, but for all of them, reading is not something they find easy. They may have had bad experiences in the past, missed a lot of school, been able to get away with not participating in class, or moved around a lot. For these reasons and a myriad of others, they are not good readers. Some have had a reading age of 7 when they arrived here in Year 9. We have allocated them an hour in the library per week. In that hour we work hard for them. They have their teacher, the RTLB, a teacher aide, and me. It is full immersion, nobody else is allowed to use the library just this one period a week. It belongs to them. They love it. A lot!

• They have a book-talk — I show them everything. Manga, graphic novels, short stories, picture books, lots of high interest non- fiction and all kinds of fiction books about all kinds of things.

• We drag things off the shelves, lay them on tables face up for browsing.

• We get out the pop-up books.

• We sit in the pit and talk about the cool things we read.

• Every week we try to come up with something new.

• I buy them anything they ask for.

• We read to them, lots of different things.

• They use the e-Platform and the e-Audio platform.

• We use things like Annual to do projects such as making zines.

• I have a box of books to give them as gifts at the end of the year.

• They have as many bookmarks as they could possibly want (man, they love bookmarks!)

• Each student is interviewed about their reading past — but in a gentle way.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Promoting Reading at Freemans Bay School DALE TIFFLIN – FREEMANS BAY SCHOOL

At first we didn’t care whether they read the books they took out, we just wanted them to engage with the fact that these were books and that they didn’t hate them. We wanted them to see that books came in lots of different forms. We wanted them to take them home and talk about them with their families.

What we didn’t do: • We didn’t make rules about what and how much they could borrow.

My hope is that these boys get to be people who consider themselves readers. Who, when in situations like I was, will reach for a book or a magazine to entertain themselves, who will find a library near them to join, who will share a love of books with their kids, who will own books. Who will help create a nation of readers and who will be people who know things — things they learnt from books and reading.

Bridget Schaumann, King’s High School (working with Robin Sharma, Chris Panther, Viv Smith)

• We didn’t judge their choices on difficulty or content.

• We didn’t harass them about overdues.

• We didn’t restrict them in any way.

• We didn’t do any stuff at all about library rules or Dewey — I consider that a bit pointless for any class — but that is another conversation.

What has happened is that they have gone from book haters to book lovers. They love manga, recipe books, books about sport, comics, how to draw, science books, history books and books which teach you how to do stuff. They give an emphatic thumbs-up to the Weir Do series by Anth Do! These guys love books. They have been going home and talking to their parents about how much they love books. They make me thank you cards, of their own volition, they feel like the library is their special place and that they are welcome, and they are always here en masse at interval and lunchtime. One of them made me a wonderful poster because I bought him Deadpool books!

Most thrillingly, their reading has improved enormously, their reading ages increased markedly, across the board. These students are achieving 100% better in all their subjects. They now know that they can do it, that they are readers, that reading is for them. Many now are moving into fiction books which would have been a mystery for them earlier in the year. A few now are coming along to BookGang (our avid readers group) and lots of them talking to other students about the new books which have been bought for them.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Following my attendance at a workshop led by Megan Davidson from Westlake Girls High School on ‘Engaging Readers with Engaging Book Talks’, I decided that we would start a weekly activity of ‘exploring, discovering and sharing’ what we read.

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Finding interesting, funny and amazing facts in their nonfiction reading. Using encyclopaedias to learn more about information in their reading.

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Quoting lines from the characters in their book.

The activity started with a weekly selling of what’s in our collection, with six classes of students in Years 3 and 4. We began with weekly timetabled visits of 50 minutes for each class. Given the diversity of our students we have become aware that not all children have had the opportunity of visiting a school library prior to attending our school.

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Discovering new words to write better sentences.

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Speaking about interesting paragraphs.

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Highlighting series of graphic novels and fiction titles to their class mates.

The goal of the activity was to expose students to what is in our library and help them choose something to read — be it a graphic novel, picture book, dual language book, easy reader, fiction, or nonfiction book. Every student had to issue a book. I selected books from each area of our collection to show and tell what is available, and why it is important for us to explore what we have in our library. Revealing what we have motivated students — they moved from their comfort zones into the unknown. Excitement grew. Some students remarked, – “WOW we have this! Did you see this?”

The rules are:

• Introducing chapters that they were reading, linking with previous chapters, therefore setting the scene and stretching imaginations.

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Promoting their new discoveries and creating excitement and curiosity among their class mates.

This year the activity was extended to Years 5 and 6 because Year 4 students that have moved to Year 5 explained to their teachers what was going on during their library visits. Today ‘Explore, Discover and Share’ is an integral part of our library activities, with inclusive participation and engagement of students and teachers from Years 3Three-6.

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Every student must borrow a book from our library to read and share with the class during library visits.

Students have remarked that:

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Language will not be the barrier to sharing. Given the diversity of our student community, children are encouraged to speak in their native language. Translation takes place as most classes have two or more students who speak the same language.

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At first I did not like chapter books but now I read them and I like them.

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I like to listen to other people share what they are reading.

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I like that I can borrow the book that other people have shared.

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Every student will share.

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I like exploring our library for new books and different genres. I have read lots of different genres.

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We got to know each section of our library and talk with our friends about our books.

Exploring – students are encouraged to try something new, be it fiction or non-fiction, graphic novel, or picture book.

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I like sharing my book because I learnt to talk about it in front of other children so they can pick it.

Sharing – apart from sharing the usual information about the characters, setting and plot, students will talk about what is interesting and new, and share information they discover. It is all about having a conversation — “do not shake your head like a sheep or a donkey, speak in whatever language you are most comfortable with”. Conversational skills are necessary for all of us to proceed in whatever we do.

It is rewarding to see students become animated when explaining what they have read.

Presentation – students will stand up to speak, speak clearly, and make eye contact.

Here are some of the things students experienced: •

Discovering new words by using the dictionary to find the meanings of words.

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Researching authors and illustrators using non-fiction resources and Google.

Quiet students become talkative, talkative students become boisterous, and students grow in confidence. Those from other countries have become more comfortable with speaking in their native language in front of others. More students use the library catalogue to search for titles, circulation numbers have increased and there is a demand for titles that had once been forgotten.

Dale Tifflin, Freemans Bay School

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Beyond the Page Children and Youth Literary Festival JUDITH MCGHIE – HUTT CITY LIBRARIES STEPHNIE BURTON – UPPER HUTT CITY LIBRARY

This year’s July school holidays provided the opportunity for children and young people throughout Wellington and the Hutt Valley to interact with stories and reading in a variety of forms at the inaugural ‘Beyond the Page’ festival.

First proposed by Upper Hutt City Library, this event saw representatives from Upper Hutt, Hutt City and Wellington City Libraries working for more than a year on planning.

Our aim was to highlight the different forms of storytelling as well as encourage young voices and emerging talent. The festival name, ‘Beyond the Page’, reflects the focus on embracing all literacies, including digital, a growing area of interest for public libraries as new technologies change the way we interact. It was a great chance for us to redefine and transform perceptions around libraries as being purely book-centric or even irrelevant in an increasingly digital age.

Over the 16-day period of the festival, we held over 100 events at 22 libraries across the Wellington region, with 4372 participants.

One of the highlights for us was a live action detective experience designed to test participants’ team work and problem solving skills.

Cryptic clues located throughout the library had to be deciphered before teams could work out what happened and why, and of course, ‘whodunnit’. This event was specially designed and run for us at three different libraries by Wellington business Escape Mate, who offer escape-room adventures from their premises in the city, and we are indebted to them for their generous support!

Another highlight was our interactive storytelling sessions with Mary Kippenberger and Peter Charlton-Jones, AKA ‘Rhubarb!’ This fabulous duo is enormously entertaining, and their storytelling includes a good deal of audience participation with each child receiving a personal positive affirmation at the end of their part. Both families and library staff were in awe of these sessions, and we are keen to repeat the experience.

The Beyond Amazing Race was a three-cities-wide scavenger hunt challenging participants to explore the region in a different way.

By discovering hidden treasures and learning new things about their own neighbourhood, with activities ranging from bush walks to Writers Walks, and monuments to parks. Correctly answering questions commonly involved reference to commemorative plaques or information boards, so this event actively supported reading and writing practice.

Illustrator and designer Fifi Colston presented World of Wearable Art demonstrations, which we followed up with costume workshops run by library staff. In these, participants were challenged to create a costume using a box of odd bits and pieces, and there were some great displays of imagination and creativity – in one case the resulting costume also incorporated the box itself!

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Divine drag queen LaQuisha St Redfern appeared at Rainbow Storytimes across the three cities, where the focus was on diverse stories. Children were enchanted by LaQuisha in her gorgeous wig and full beard, and parents commented on how refreshing it was to see alternative family groups acknowledged.

Local comic artist Nani Mahal presented a number of manga character creation workshops, where we discovered some highly enthusiastic and talented young people here in our cities.

Zine-making workshops were led by our own library staff, and whole families joined in this activity. These small self-published works of original or appropriated texts and pictures are usually reproduced by photocopier, and participants were thrilled to take home copies of their own and other people’s zines.

Special ‘Animal Tales’ storytimes in conjunction with Hutt City Animal Control and HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) Charitable Trust provided an opportunity for children and their families to learn about being safe around dogs. These hugely popular sessions were concluded with a meet & greet, where children (and parents) had the chance to greet and pat the highly trained and well-behaved dog!

Poetry was explored in a brunch event hosted in each city. Hutt City Libraries were delighted to have the fabulous Geraldine Brophy at our event, gently persuading every participant – even mums and dads - to create an original piece of poetry.

A number of Lego events inspired children to use their imaginations and building skills to create a masterpiece. With younger groups a story was read to set the scene, with participants encouraged to build something relating to the story. Older children were given a specific building challenge.

Other events included: •

Te Reo Storytelling with Matai Smith from Te Reo Wainene o Tua

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Ballet Storytimes had Sir Jon Trimmer of the Royal New Zealand Ballet reading the story of Peter and the Wolf

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Meet the Robots, with participants seeing Wellington Libraries’ Nao Robots in action, then drawing their own trails for Hutt City’s mBots to follow

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Youth Quiz night for teens

And last but certainly not least, one of our favourite promotional activities – a recorded reading of Lynley Dodd’s popular children’s story “Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy”. Wellington and the Hutt are home to a number of celebrities, both local and national, who generously supported our event by recording a line of the story for us. You may be surprised at how many names or faces will be familiar, so go ahead and take a look! www.beyondthepage.nz Beyond the Pge will be happening again in 2018, bigger and better, and we invite schools to contact us with any suggestions for events.

We plan to have promotional material ready to distribute in June, so that local schools can encourage their students to participate. To keep up to date with what’s happening, ‘like’ our Facebook page!

Judith McGhie, Hutt City Libraries and Stephnie Burton, Upper Hutt City Library

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Imagine....if all school staff were readers JO BUCHAN – NATIONAL LIBRARY OF NEW ZEALAND TE PUNA MATAURANGA O AOTEAROA

“Imagine if we were deep in the jungle, where butterflies drift and jaguars prowl, where parakeets squawk and wild monkeys howl…”

- Alison Lester, Imagine In her 1989 classic picture book Imagine, Alison Lester encourages young readers to imagine themselves in a variety of natural environments. My son spent hours learning to identify the animals in various landscapes and, although I was dreaming of moving on from the dinosaurs and penguins after about the 100th reading, my son’s thirst for Imagine was limitless.

For some of us disappearing into other worlds, across time, continents and star systems and into people’s lives, cultures and minds is one of life’s great pleasures. It’s a pleasure with multiple and long-lasting benefits. It allows imaginations to flourish, improves literacy and learning, empathy and wellness, and brings greater insight into human nature and cultures.

Encouraging and supporting kids to read for pleasure is what steered many school librarians to their careers, and reading and literature lies at the heart of literacy programmes in New Zealand schools. Despite this, many teachers and even school librarians have surprisingly few opportunities and little time to explore children’s and YA literature or to think about how to incorporate reading for pleasure into their programmes or strengthen the school’s reading culture.

Yet explore they must. In 2015, 74% of kids aged 6-17 in The Australian Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report stated: “I’d read more if I could find more books I liked.” To be able to spark students’ interest and guide them to books they might enjoy, teachers and librarians must be readers who have a good knowledge of children’s and YA literature and of their students. They (along with parents and whānau) are critical reading role models, who have daily opportunities in the classroom, the library, the playground, at the school gates, and at sports events, to chat with students about books, and to ask about students’ interests, to recommend, inspire and encourage.

Teresa Cremin, a Professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University in the UK ran a study in 2008 of 1200 UK primary teachers, whose main responsibility was not literacy related. It showed that the 73% of teachers who read personally for pleasure had a limited knowledge of children’s authors, poets and picture book illustrators, depending on a few favourites such as Roald Dahl. A second phase of the study confirmed the difference a good knowledge of children’s literature made to a teacher’s ability to inspire and encourage children to read for pleasure.

“The Phase II project demonstrated that, when teachers recognise their professional responsibility to expand their repertoires of children’s literature and other texts, they are enabled to talk about such texts, make tailored reader-to-reader recommendations and foster reading for pleasure.”

Research Rich Pedagogies http://oro.open.ac.uk/ or this website https://www.researchrichpedagogies.org / To provide an opportunity for school staff to increase their knowledge of children’s and YA literature, the National Library Services to Schools has been running the Open the Book: Literature at the Heart of Literacy learning event around the country. It is the first in a series of three seminars for school leaders, teachers and librarians about creating communities of readers, who understand the importance of reading for pleasure and know children’s literature. Learning events are just one step towards the aim of the National Library’s reading priority — to build a nation of readers.

As well as delving into the research around the benefits of reading for pleasure, participants have reflected on themselves as readers, and teachers as readers. Using a planning template, they’ve explored how they can use various genres and formats (such as picture books) to engage students with reading and to explore visual and written language, the imagination, values, and deeper cross-curricular themes. They’ve also looked at how strategies such as talking about books, book talk and reading aloud can be used to bring books to life, and the role of libraries in providing that most crucial ingredient — books.

One school librarian who attended the Auckland event commented that the session was: “affirmation that reading for pleasure is essential for literacy and life outcomes — just need to convince teachers now”. School librarians have an important role in not just supporting and encouraging students to read for pleasure, but also their colleagues. As Michael Rosen, author, poet, literacy advocate and UK Children’s Laureate (2007-2009), has so eloquently pointed out: “We have to be committed, ingenious, flexible and experimental in coming up with ways of making literature come alive for every single child — no exceptions allowed”.

Jo Buchan, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Conference 2017 FRAN PASHBY – WAIMAIRI SCHOOL

The first thing I learnt at conference is that the collective noun for librarians is definitely not a Sssshhhhhhh! A genrefication of librarians? A stack? A delight? An inspiration? Yes, that was it for me, an inspiration of librarians.

And that is what we should be doing: inspiring our readers. From Hamish Curry’s “Inspiration Service Provider”, via Rachel Van Riel’s “Delight before Instruction” to Adele Walsh’s reminder that “it’s all about the STORY”, I came away from conference feeling bolder, braver and with more hope for our disinterested readers than ever before.

Mirroring the modern, now innovative learning environments being introduced into our schools, the emphasis was definitely on putting the student first, front and centre. From a book that can talk for itself (that beautiful, tempting cover — face it forward!), to multimedia and onto transmedia, it would seem there should be something for everyone in our vast, fast world.

Steve Braunias was labelled “stupid” at school, and he claims he thought of nothing but football for years, but he read about it, talked about it, and immersed himself in it, and ultimately his passion reassembled itself into a career involving words and communication.

This conference was all about communication. Sharing ideas from the simple to the ones that we will be begging for the time and money for.

(Who will become NZ’s first provider of curvy shelving?!) Meeting other like-minded individuals and talking, linking and becoming BFFs (book fiends forever).

I met Sarah from Nelson, who told me all about Raina Telgemeier. I met Megan from Invercargill who shared photos of the crazy forts she built with kids after hours in her library. I met Sarah-Jane from Wellington and told her seeing ‘Matilda’ on stage should be compulsory!

I have come back to Christchurch with hundreds of ideas which I now have to cogitate over, share with my school colleagues, and plan what I’m going to implement when! I will never stop loving books and I now have lots of exciting ways to promote them better, and make the experience of discovering them more pleasurable.

Fran Pashby, Waimairi School

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Capture the Conference 2017 Experience DALE TIFFLIN – FREEMANS BAY SCHOOL

SATURDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2017 AT ST CUTHBERT’S COLLEGE. AUCKLAND It rained and the wind blew wildly, school and community rugby games were cancelled — but not our workshop. Twenty-nine members arrived to a warm library and relaxed environment and we started promptly at 9.30am.

Elizabeth thanked all for braving the weather to attend our postconference 2017 workshop, and introduced the three members who had received sponsorship from the Auckland branch to attend the conference. They were Jody Jessep (Mt Roskill High School), Robin Achmad (Green Bay High School), and Rose Nisbet (Ormiston College).

After a delicious morning tea (with lots of chocolate to sustain us) members went off to their chosen workshop.

Workshop One: Digital Tools with Pritcilla Meikle (St Cuthbert ‘College) Workshop Two: Censorship, self-censorship, & banned books with Megan Davidson (Westlake Girls) It was a morning well spent, chatting about what we enjoyed at SLANZA Conference 2017, exchanging what we do and how we do it in our libraries, and gathering new ideas and knowledge.

Dale Tifflin, Freemans Bay School, Auckland

All of them shared their experience of being able to attend SLANZA Conference 2017. They spoke about changes they had made, the new things they had implemented, and what they hoped to change in the future in their school libraries.

Motueka High School Storylines Visit 12/09/2017 MICHELE AYRES – MOTUEKA HIGH SCHOOL

Sharon and Corinne led the Unconference session. Two statements were placed before us for discussion and debate. Lively discussion followed with members expressing their views, with some unconventional and provocative statements. The room buzzed with enthusiasm.

Thanks to a Storylines Tour organised in conjunction with Storylines, Motueka High School students were entertained by multi-talented writer, poet and musician Apirana Taylor.

It is always a treat to see Apirana perform and draw on his whakapapa, his culture and history. It is a privilege for the audience to witness his personal journey through poetry and music, and thereby understand his views on peace, war, disillusionment, and happiness.

Stirring were the words on Te Rauparaha, Parihaka and Hinemoa; playful was his use of the English language with much alliteration, metaphor and rat-a-tat-tat. Insight and understanding flowed.

Te rangimarie me te whakawhetai Apirana.

Apirana’s recent book Five Strings was launched in May 2017.

Aku mihi nui ki a koe

Censorship, self-censorship, & banned books with Megan Davidson (Westlake Girls)

Digital Tools presentation by Pritcilla Meikle (St Cuthbert ‘College)

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Michele Ayres, Motueka High School

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If I Ran the Zoo...

STEPH ELLIS – NAPIER BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL

OR WHAT SCHOOL LIBRARIANS CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE CURRICULUM If I had a classroom teaching do-over, knowing what I do now about the skills and knowledge good school librarians have, I would totally change how I did things. I would plan differently, I would resource differently, and I would run classroom programmes differently. A skilled librarian would allow me to do this.

PLANNING With my new and improved knowledge, the first thing I would do is invite the school librarian to planning sessions. Particularly, when planning units of inquiry and writing programmes.

During the planning process, I would ask for the librarian’s expertise on which specific information or digital literacy skills should be integrated into the unit. I would want to know at what points in the unit these could be most effectively introduced, and how the skills or knowledge could be seamlessly integrated into the teaching and learning.

In the unit planning stages, I would also want to know about any digital tools that the librarian knows about that could aid in the teaching and learning of the unit. Tools that would be especially useful to know about would be ones that made gathering or synthesizing information an easier prospect for students. Also, digital tools or platforms that made the sharing and presenting of information easier or more engaging.

RESOURCING As an enlightened teacher, I would think a lot more about the resourcing of the unit during the planning process — the input of a skilled librarian would be invaluable at this stage.

Access to the National Library collection is generally through the school librarian. By having the library staff present at planning sessions, they will be able to have a much clearer idea of the types of resources that are required and be able to be more specific when making their request. There would be less opportunity for requests being “lost in translation”.

As the librarian builds and maintains the school collection, their knowledge of it would be helpful to tap into during the unit planning stages. Library staff will know what suitable resources the library already has available and be able to establish, in a timely manner, whether it is possible to add new resources for the unit into the collection.

The availability of digital resources that can support the unit of learning can also be established by school librarians during the planning process. Their knowledge of information repositories, and student-friendly sites and search engines, will save teacher and student time. If it has already been established which information literacy skills are being focussed on during the unit, student searching may not be necessary at all. Library staff could collate appropriate digital resources so students spend their time developing skills other than searching.

School librarians also have many connections within the community.

They will have a knowledge of different people “resources” that can be tapped into. It could be organisations or individuals to approach for information or materials; or it could be people or groups to bring into the school as guest speakers or to be “human books” that can be checked out by students.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

TEACHING AND LEARNING

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attend beginning teacher meetings to tell them what I can do

Now that the school librarian’s expertise has helped to design a superior learning experience, I would ask the librarian if they were comfortable teaching aspects of it. After all, library staff are a resource too.

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make a brochure detailing how I can support teaching and learning (I always fancied making one based on Liam Neeson’s “certain set of skills” speech from the movie Taken. There, you can have that idea.)

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talk to teachers about what they are teaching and any resourcing or technology issues they may be having

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ask for an invite (or just turn up) to planning sessions, department or syndicate meetings

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email teachers resources or tools that may be useful for units they are doing (or going to do)

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attend teacher-focused conferences, taking opportunities to present to teaching colleagues about how school librarians can help them

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generally be more assertive in offering my skills to teachers.

Specifically, I would want the librarian involved in the information and digital literacy aspects of the unit, and also with the introduction of any digital tools that they were familiar with. Depending on timetabling and availability, this could be done as whole class teaching sessions. However, my preference would be for the librarian to be in the classroom, teaching groups the necessary skills and tools as the needs arise. Or, alternatively, teaching groups in the library who can then become classroom experts.

School librarians are an amazing resource that are seriously underutilized in most schools. Many teachers are unaware of the wealth of skills and knowledge that is contained within their friendly librarian.

I am convinced that if they did, they would want to take of advantage of it to benefit their students. And make their own life easier!

FROM THE OTHER SIDE With that said, if I had a school librarian do-over, knowing what I do now about teacher knowledge of how librarians can support the curriculum, I would also do things very differently.

I would:

I know it is hard for many school librarians to put themselves forward. But I seriously believe that keeping quiet is detrimental to our students, our teacher colleagues, and our profession. Share the awesomeness so that your school can provide the best teaching and learning opportunities possible. And if you’re really struggling to overcome the speaking out barrier, feel free to leave this lying around in prominent places. If teachers know how you can make their job easier, they will want you on board!

Steph Ellis, Napier Boys’ High School

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attend a full staff meeting and explicitly state how I can support teachers

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attend new staff induction days to tell them what I can do

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/en/gorilla-silverback-monkey-ape-845119/

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Business Members

Helping schools solve the challenges of information overload and media literacy with LearnPath

Business Members • 24/7 access to content for the whole school community • Seamless integration with Oliver 5 school library system, providing direct access to library resources • Fully web-based, with no installation required on client machines • Share embeddable code to/from other eLearning tools.

• Responsive Web Design • Set up unlimited accounts

Addressing the challenges of Information overload and media literacy have been hot topics for educators this decade.

School library professionals play a pivotal role in connecting students and faculty with relevant, quality resources and delivering information and media literacy training.

Providing a structured, integrated platform to curate information helps schools improve educational outcomes and Softlink is proud to have worked with school libraries to develop LearnPath, a new product which does just that.

Softlink is running webinars demonstrating LearnPath throughout November. For more information on these free webinars visit the Events page of the Softlink web site.

Or contact Softlink w: softlinkint.com e: info@softlinkint.com p: 0800 47 63 85 (Freecall NZ)

LearnPath is an information curating tool used to collate, structure and digitally publish targeted content and resources.

It helps schools solve the challenges of media literacy and information overload by allowing you to present easily accessible, focused information and resources that meet your educational goals.

With LearnPath, you can produce structured learning guides related to curriculum, assignment tasks, faculty, special events or any other topic using text, images, embedded digital and interactive resources, links to books in your library, and other content.

You can create as many guides as you want, and organise them into unlimited hierarchies of your own design, which are simple for students, teachers and parents to access.

LearnPath is very easy to use, so teachers can create their own guides that align with class topics and assessment items.

“LearnPath is very simple and easy for both the user and content creators.”

– Lauren Murphy, Middle Years Librarian, Brighton Grammar School, Victoria, Australia.

LearnPath is fully integrated with the Oliver v5 library management system, providing a direct pathway to library resources for users of both systems.

The ability to embed searches into your guides means that students can benefit from the resources you have chosen as well as developing their own critical analysis and selection skills and improving their medial literacy.

LearnPath encourages use of the library and improves return on investment in library assets, as well as promoting library staff as knowledge specialists and collaboration leaders Key features of LearnPath • Create and publish an unlimited number of guides and navigation hierarchies • Easily embed digital and interactive resources, reading lists, slideshows and other linked content • Flexible design options with no HTML required • Easy to use administration interface with drag and drop functionality

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Business Members

Book promotion —Easily done on your Library Management System!

Many librarians underplay the imperative role they have in creating a captivating, up-to-date and complete learning hub for their school. To successfully promote your catalogue as the one-stop-shop for all the reading and research material your borrowers will need, you’ll want to employ all the tools you have at hand. What if all these tools were packaged together in a library system?

ENTICE NEW READERS WITH A RANGE OF RESOURCES Enticing new readers can be a tricky thing. By cataloguing a range of resources, you will ensure that the library becomes the first point of call for all information and research needs. Even beyond that, adding book trailers, author interviews, or related educational quizzes or games to your catalogue records will encourage students to interact with content in a way they mightn’t have before.

PROMOTION AND VISIBILITY ARE KEY Whilst promotion of your competitions, reading programs and literacy initiatives could be done through your school newsletter, website or even “live” at assembly, nothing beats having an attractive, interactive interface engaging your school community.

Of course, the Accessit Web App is totally customisable. You can theme your dashboard, promote competitions, post news items, or even show off your latest resources with book carousels. If you have a learning management system at your school, you can tie it back to the library with live links to book lists, allowing teachers to create reading lists of books, eBooks, websites, electronic and video content.

With access to the catalogue anywhere, anytime, on any device, your students will see in real time the availability of items, and even participate themselves by reserving, ‘liking’ and reviewing resources. They can even create “to-read” lists and recommend books to their friends whenever they like. Parents can also participate in their child’s learning, choosing reading material with their children from the comfort of home. Accessit caters for the individual, allowing users to select their own favourite authors and subject areas, alerting them when new resources come in matching their interests. You can even catalogue and track your National Library loans, sending links of lists to the teachers, allowing them to see the availability in the library and to reserve them for their classes.

Business Members Big long federated search lists are clumsy and time consuming to wade through. Students hate having to keep coming back to the library catalogue to change their search, select the database and wade through the list again, switching off when it becomes too hard. Accessit’s One Search makes this easy for them!

With One Search, students can simply click on the databases or websites they want to search through and it will take them to the site (log them in, if it’s subscription or EPIC content) and carry out their search, all in a single click. They can still use the limiters, and change their search if they need to, within their chosen databases.

With your Wheeler’s eBooks available directly from the Web App (without requiring a secondary login) and your other electronic resources sitting side-by-side with your physical books, it really is a one-stop shop!

Reporting is a breeze, and can aid you in your reading promotion.

Be sure to make use of the fantastic reporting functionality in the Accessit Management App, to track which authors or Web App searches are most popular, and which searches are not yielding results. These reports can guide you when considering collection development, to alert you when other search terms need to be appended to resources, or even which topics/authors are popular so you can create vibrant displays. You can even run reports on non-active borrowers allowing you to intervene or to consider which resources may re-engage the student.

SEE HOW ACCESSIT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIBRARY TODAY! Our customers often tell us that the time they save with Accessit means that they can spend more time doing the things they love, like book promotion and engaging with their students and teachers. If you are interested in a remote presentation of our brand new version of Accessit Library, which is packed with even more functionality and features than ever before, please email sales@accessitlibrary.com or book on an online presentation at accessitlibrary.com/book-a-demo/ Want to learn more about us? At accessitlibrary.com you’ll find specific information for librarians, principals, teachers and IT staff, as well as many wonderful case studies from our customers.

For further information on any of the above, please call us on 0800 542 727 or email us at info@accessitlibrary.com

THE ITINERANT LIBRARIAN! Be visible! Being able to circulate from the Accessit Web App means that, armed with a device that’s connected to the internet, you can become a travelling librarian! Visit classrooms and do book talks, and take the books with you, allowing students to issue them straight away. Visit the staffroom with staff picks, or topic resources that the teaching staff may like to issue for their classes to use. The possibilities are endless!

THIRD PARTY INTEGRATION Accessit’s Web App seamlessly integrates with third party providers — online digital content and databases (including EPIC), Wheelers, Accelerated Reader, Clickview and much more, with new content integration being added continually.

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Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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Business Members

Digital Inclusion: Manifesto for a New Government

Business Members

Perform! Educational Musicals

LAURENCE ZWIMPFER MNZM – 2020 COMMUNICATIONS TRUST BOOK WEEK and STORYLINES FESTIVAL 2016 IS COMING SOON! By the time this article is published we should have a new government! It might then be possible to progress a digital inclusion agenda for all New Zealanders. While digital inclusion was perhaps not the most prominent agenda item during the election campaign, there was considerable support from most if not all parties for an equitable society. The most vulnerable and disadvantaged were recognised as a priority for pressing issues such as housing and poverty.

The 20/20 Trust prepared a digital inclusion manifesto for all political candidates and this has received widespread support. We believe that all New Zealanders should have affordable access to the internet and the necessary digital skills and confidence to enhance their learning and employment opportunities as well as to engage online with government, their whānau and communities. Digitally included people have (1) motivation to use the internet, (2) affordable access to the internet, (3) core digital skills and (4) trust in online services.

The manifesto presented eight goals and suggested ways in which the incoming government can address them. The goals are: 1. All people living in New Zealand are able to fully participate in the digital world.

2. All New Zealanders have equitable access to digital technologies and online services to enhance their lives, irrespective of geographic location or ability.

3. ‘At-risk’ families are supported with access to the internet and the necessary skills to make effective use of online services.

4. Children have access to future-focused digital learning opportunities, including online access from their homes and digitally literate whānau to support their learning.

5. School leavers are equipped with work-ready skills, including digital skills.

6. New Zealand businesses employ digitally skilled people to improve productivity.

7. New Zealanders can use their digital skills to maintain a healthy lifestyle and respond positively to social challenges.

8. New Zealand seniors have access to digital technologies and the digital skills to remain connected with their families and communities.

Libraries in our communities (public and school) are critical in achieving most if not all of these goals. Two in particular relate to students during their schooling years. Goal 4 focuses on ensuring equitable learning opportunities for all children from their homes. This requires physical access to digital technologies but more importantly digitally-literate adults who can guide and support their children’s learning. Goal 5 relates to schoolleavers and ensuring they are equipped with work-ready skills, including digital skills.

According to the 2013 Census, 85% of all households with school-aged children had access to the internet in their homes but only 68% of all households with pre-school children had access. Our concern as a society must be for the 15% and 32%, respectively, who do not have access.

Past governments have supported the 20/20 Trust’s Computers in Homes programme that has helped close this digital gap for nearly 20,000 households during the last 17 years. But the job is not finished! Programmes like this must continue until all our young people have equitable access to learning and to jobs.

Copies of the Digital Inclusion Manifesto can be downloaded from the 20/20 Trust’s website www.2020.org.nz

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

The Book Week in Schools in educational musical featuring a selection of the 2018 NZ storylines notable books is coming!

The show will be touring into school libraries during Term 2 & Term 3, 2018.

Our multi-disciplinary educational musical for 2018 celebrates books & reading and is the ideal creative and interactive format to engage and inform children across your primary school!

SUPER DUPER! is an exciting educational theatre incursion that presents both a gateway into accessing the best in children’s literature and a tale that explores the themes of inclusiveness and understanding of every individual’s potential to achieve.

Featuring the best in contemporary and classic New Zealand children’s books – CONTACT US now to reserve a date for your school library or Book Week activities in 2018.

And check our more details online at: www.performmusicals.com Perform! Educational Musicals is a multi-award winning producer of educational theatre for primary and secondary schools. Touring to both the North and South Islands of New Zealand since 2005, our specialty educational musicals have been performed to over two million students across New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Our in-school musicals provide the ideal creative format to engage, inspire and educate children. Each production is highly interactive, giving students the unique opportunity to learn through direct engagement with professional performers.

Reinforcing vital educational themes and key learning areas across the topics of literacy, reading, bullying and cyber safety, our high energy productions bring the magic of live music theatre and engaging performance directly to your school and students.

Our teams of writers, directors, actors and educators combine their talents to ensure a detailed focus on the content and outcomes of each production in order to inspire, educate and entertain our school audiences.

Teacher Testimonials: Book Week in Schools “Back in 2006 Whitford Catholic Primary School started our Book Week celebration on the Friday before Book Week with Ready, Set Go! Twelve Book Weeks later, we are still being amazed by the enthusiasm of the actors, the skilful and pertinent writing of the scriptwriters!” – Whitford Catholic Primary School, 2017 The students were mesmerised from beginning to end and chattered endlessly about the books and the actors’ ability to cover so many characters effortlessly - come once a term would be awesome they said. – Rutherford Primary, 2017 The actors were so enthusiastic which rubbed off on the children, and throughout the day I’ve never seen them more keen to read!

– St Joseph’s School, 2017 We are a dual medium, full primary school, and ALL our tamariki thoroughly enjoy your shows! It is a great way for us to kick off our Book Week celebrations and encourage enjoyment of reading. – Kihikihi School, 2017

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Contains Graphic Content WONDER WOMAN: THE TRUE AMAZON // ISBN-13: 978-1401249014 – BY JILL THOMPSON, 2016, DC COMICS It has been a high-profile year for Wonder Woman, in both the world of comics and movies. The new film starring Gal Gadot has been very well received. The character Wonder Woman has been around since 1941, one of the few continuously published comic characters over the last 75 years.

Wonder Woman’s creation was the byproduct of Freudian psychology, early feminist thinking, suffragette resistance, and the first generation of American collegeeducated women at the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th.

Combining these threads, Wonder Woman was created by psychiatrist William Moulton Marston (inventor of the lie detector), who had some curious ideas about relationships.

The character was introduced as a comic series in 1941. Marston was a man with an eye for the main chance and a bit of a “shonky” reputation, but his idea of a strong, caring female superhero was a very positive one, and ahead of its time.

The character has gone through various changes over the years: World War II propaganda tool, romance comic, campy superhero, Emma Peel-like secret agent, TV-driven character, feminist icon, and empowering superheroine and ambassador of peace. The trend over the last twenty years has been to tie her to the Amazons and the gods and goddesses of Greek myth, and exploit the heroic warrior, fantasy ‘sword and sorcery’ concepts.

Recently, cartoonist Jill Thompson has produced a lovely graphic novel that retells

the story of Wonder Woman’s birth and her early life in Themsycira, the Paradise Island of myth.

Thompson, who entered the business in the early 1980s, has had well-regarded artistic runs on the Wonder Woman comic and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, as well as producing her own series of creatorowned books featuring the charming “Scary Godmother” character.

The graphic novel is presented as a series of beautiful painted panels with accompanying text, and balloons that tell the story of Diana’s childhood and training as a warrior. She is gently guided by her mother (Hippolyta) and her fellow Amazons, to learn the lessons of humility, courage, and perseverance. She faces many challenges to prepare her for a warrior’s life. Thompson portrays Diana with skill, giving the character humanity and compassion, as well as tenacity and a curiosity about life beyond her island home.

Thompson uses a cartoonist’s eye for action, character and motion, combined with a painterly realistic style, that uses colour and a heavy ink line that gives depth to the illustrations. The page layouts are designed with 3-4 large panels to the page, to emphasise the detail in the drawing.

The book doesn’t look too crowded, as many modern comics do. Thompson’s sense of pace allows for some quieter more thoughtful moments.

As a writer Thompson has a nice light touch.

It is less of a superhero story than the story

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

of a warrior’s coming of age. Thompson’s Wonder Woman/Diana realises that being a warrior is not just about strength, but about the forementioned characteristics of courage, humility, and sometimes knowing when not to fight. Perhaps the only drawback is that some of the other characters are less well realised.

Of all the books published with the launch of the movie, this is the one that captures the best and most positive aspects of the character.

Reviewed by Greig Daniels, Tokomairiro High School

NEIL GAIMAN’S LADY JUSTICE // ISBN-13: 978-1629911823 – BY C J HENDERSON, WENDI LEE, ILLUSTRATED BY MICHAEL NETZER File this under ‘one to avoid’.

I can imagine some people being drawn to this by the Gaiman name, but this is a play on Gaiman’s fame, and while he initiated the concept, he was not involved in the execution — an apt word for this bloody series of the comics reprinted here.

In the 90’s BIG Entertainment/Tekno Comix (a sort of computer/intellectual property company) hired Gaiman to think up concepts that they could base comics and movie properties on. He created the bibles (a television term I’ve co-opted here to cover the concept ideas and documents for the series), but the actual comics are written and drawn by others. The rights to these have changed hands over the years since the original company crashed, and the current rights holder is publishing these to cash in on Gaiman’s fame.

Gaiman has a great imagination and some of the concepts are quite cool.

My favourite of these 90’s series was “Mr Hero the Pneumatic Man”. A steam-driven robot from the Victorian era is re-awakened in the modern world, and sets out to find its role in this period. This was raised above the level of the other concepts by wonderful scripting by James Vance and Ted Slampyak.

In the case of Lady Justice, the series was way worse. Lady Justice is an ancient spirit that inhabits women who have been wronged, and forces them to take revenge on their tormentors. It’s a basic revenge fantasy set in a modern urban environment, with a strong nihilistic tone and an emphasis on violence. There is not a great deal of characterisation of the females involved, and the re-occurring adventures seem very formulaic, relying on violent and cathartic endings.

The stories are reasonably well written by crime writer C J Henderson, and have good pace, but the situations are repetitive: a woman is mistreated, is possessed by the spirit, and wreaks (usually bloody) vengeance. The art by Michael Netzer and others is serviceable, if lacking in flair.

Perhaps the only thing that appealed to me was the painted Dan Brereton covers, which have a lurid horror and pulp appeal. It is a shame that the stories didn’t live up to the covers’ promises.

Don’t be misled by Gaiman’s name! Buy a copy of the Graveyard Book — the novel, or its lovely graphic novel adaptation by P Craig Russell, instead!

Reviewed by Greig Daniels, Tokomairiro High School

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THE LONGEST BREAKFAST – BY JENNY BORNHOLDT ILLUSTRATED BY SARAH WILKIN

Book Reviews

Reviewed by Jayne Downes, Kaikorai Valley College

THE ICE SEA PIRATES – BY FRIDA NILSSON

A review copy was provided by Gecko Press.

Reviewed by Greig Daniels, Tokomairiro High School A review copy of this book was provided by Gecko Press.

In this fine translation of Swedish Author Frida Nilsson’s epic adventure “The Ice Sea Pirates”, Gecko Press continues its policy of publishing the best from all over the world.

Frida Nilsson was a new author to me, but is well known in the Swedish and European publishing world. Her previous works have all been praised and her work has won awards. Her work has been appearing since 2004 and I intend to seek out other translations of her work.

I enjoyed this dark northern fantasy and recommend it highly. It is told in a nononsense style but has plenty of adventure, heart and humanity.

Siri, her father, and sister Miki live on one of the many islands dotted in the northern sea. Fishing and the sea are the life’s blood of these islands. The family is very close and Siri, Dad and Miki make a small living in Bluebay. Siri’s father (once a fisherman) is now on shore, and her mother has passed away. The islanders are a friendly lot, but the parents guard their children closely.

The reason is the fear of pirates, especially Captain Whitehead and his band. He abducts children — and according to legend, the smaller the better — to work his fabled diamond mines.

In a moment of inattention while exploring a nearby island, Miki is abducted by the pirates. Siri and her dad prepare to follow and rescue her, even against the advice of

their neighbours. Siri, knowing her dad will not cope with the rigours of travel, leaves him behind to travel to Seglen, a pirate meeting place, and there finds out the location of Captain Whitehead’s island.

It is a hard journey. She boards a ship and is befriended by Fredrik, the ship’s cook.

Fredrik travels the northern seas and has his own tragic tale: his sister was abducted

by Whitehead many years ago. Through deceit Siri is put ashore, and even though abandoned, she decides to continue her journey.

The journey is dark and filled with peril.

Many of those Siri meets have shed their humanity. In the harsh environment, she encounters friends, enemies, the mysterious mer-people, and wild wolves.

While Siri has emotional and physical ups and downs, her heroic spirit and resolve shine through, and her humanity helps her to see the good in all those she encounters.

However, that doesn’t mean she’s not fiercely determined to find Whitehead and get Miki back.

After many adventures she comes to Whitehead‘s island and discovers the secret of his “diamond mine” and the fate of the children. Whitehead has lost his humanity in his obsession, but Siri manages to discover the humanity of his helpers and upsets his schemes.

Humanity and courage are at the core of this story. Nilsson’s description of Whitehead and his lack of humanity — “There is a man who treats children as if they were animals.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

And inside that man, in the place where other people have a soul, there is a space as empty and cold as an icy cave” — captures this so well.

It is a terrific adventure that captivates readers and immerses them in this harsh northern world. The characters’ warmth offsets the environment and the adventure keeps us travelling on with Siri.

I would recommend “The Ice Sea Pirates” for readers aged 8–12 years, and those who love fantasy and adventure.

This picture book has a vintage look, with its beautiful illustrations. It tells the story of children waking up in the morning and asking an older brother (Malcolm) to make them different things for breakfast, ranging from pancakes, doughnuts, waffles, and pudding. Even the baby asks for “Toot” and “Bzzz” which everyone thinks means a toy but it turns out he is also making a breakfast request.

I think this would be a good book for preschoolers or new entrants; it could lead on to great discussion about food choices.

SPELLSLINGER – BY SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL Reviewed by Carole Gardiner, Queens’ High School, Dunedin Fantasy lovers need to get their hands on Spellslinger, especially since the second book in the series has recently been released. The striking cover alone will encourage plenty of readers to pick this book up.

Kellen belongs to an established and powerful family of mages. As the book begins, he is about to take part in a magical duel, his first step in becoming a spell caster, but he has a problem. The small amount of magic he has is disappearing. Instead, relying solely on his wits, he is able to defeat his opponent. But all has not gone smoothly, and Kellen has made an enemy of his opponent and his family. Even his friends seem to be deserting him, when a stranger, newly arrived in town and armed only with a pack of cards, offers him a way out.

The characters in this book have attitude to burn, with sarcasm a common form of communication between them. Danger is faced with a minimum of magic and plenty of smarts, and even when times are really tough, there is still a bit of humour to be found.

Themes of perseverance, honour, identity, risk-taking, and being an outsider are woven throughout the novel, as we race through danger with Kel and his unlikely allies.

This is highly recommended for readers who enjoy clever characters, humour, and fast paced action and would be a great addition for intermediate and secondary school libraries.

What follows is a mad mixture of magic and the Wild West, as Kel tries frantically to hold on to the only way of life he has ever known.

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A SEMI-DEFINITIVE LIST OF WORST NIGHTMARES – BY KRYSTAL SUTHERLAND Reviewed by Carole Gardiner, Queens’ High School, Dunedin Australian author Krystal Sutherland’s first novel Our Chemical Hearts has been very popular with teenage readers, so her latest book will be greeted with excitement, and rightly so.

Once again, she has successfully combined romance and characters with mental health difficulties to create a young adult novel that will have readers desperate to keep turning the pages. Esther’s family have more than their fair share of problems. Her father hasn’t left the basement in years, her mother keeps a rooster in the kitchen for good luck, and her twin brother is terrified of the dark.

Esther believes their family has been cursed ever since her grandfather met Death during the Vietnam war. In an effort to avoid succumbing to a phobia of her own, Esther has created a list of all the things she is scared of as a way of avoiding her

fears. But Esther hadn’t counted on Jonah, a boy she was friends with years ago, who steals her phone, her money and her list of fears during a chance encounter. When their paths cross again, Jonah refuses to let Esther avoid him and instead suggests helping Esther to confront the fears on her list. And so their quest to outsmart Death begins.

Overall, the book remains hopeful, positive and uplifting and will appeal to teenage readers, particularly fans of Jennifer Niven, John Green, Emory Lord and Rainbow Rowell. Highly recommended for secondary school libraries.

Sutherland has created a truly quirky and loveable character in Esther. She dresses in costumes, sells baking to sugar-deprived fellow students and cares deeply for her family. She is not beautiful or popular, and reminded me a bit of Eleanor from Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park.

In spite of the very serious topics in the novel (suicide, depression, and domestic abuse all feature), the author successfully uses humour in the right places, and never trivialises the inner suffering that Esther and her family are struggling with.

UNEARTHED – BY AMIE KAUFMAN AND MEGAN SPOONER Reviewed by Bridget Schaumann, King’s High School, Dunedin Expected publication: January 9th 2018

SODA POP – BY BARBRO LINDGREN Reviewed by Otis Waters Review copy supplied by Gecko Press When Soda Pop arrived for review I was really excited. I thought it looked like a gorgeous book, it looked like lots of fun and I knew exactly the reader to review it.

I passed it along to Otis who is 8, he is a very avid reader and his tastes usually run to books like Wimpy Kid and the 13-Storey Treehouse. I thought Soda Pop was the kind of book I would want him to have a go at.

I think it can be difficult to move children along to try new things when they get caught up in a Wimpy Kid kind of groove.

Below is Otis’s review.

“The characters in the story — Soda Pop and his son Mazarin as well as his Dad, Dartanyong and Dartanyong’s Grandad — go on a whole lot of mini-adventures together. Dartanyong is very sick and each day he wakes up as a different character.

One day he might be a famous trapeze artist, or a dog or maybe even a painter…you get what I mean.

Some of the mini adventures are: looking for scorpion barrels, meeting a robber in prison, trading tigers for hot dogs, and looking for the remains of people’s beds that the giraffe has eaten. This is the giraffe who sleeps on a rubbish heap with his head in a tin can.

Overall, I really like this story. It’s unique because I personally haven’t seen another book like this in the library — the cover really stands out. The story is funny in a silly way, like you wouldn’t see a car full of tigers driving down the road, or a bird wearing a top hat and a tie, or a golden toilet, or some owls in your letterbox, everyday! So, a lot of the things that happen in the story are unlikely to ever happen in real life.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

I like it better with the pictures, which are really cool and they are all done in pastel crayons. The pictures make the story better because they make the story more interesting and funny. For example, the picture of Dartanyong as a famous trapeze artist and Soda Pop as a dog (when he gets distemper and Scarlet Fever) are really well done and silly”.

The huge tomes of “Illuminae” and its sequel “Genesis” by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have been doing great business in our library, so I was really excited that Amie Kaufman was writing a new series with Megan Spooner (author of “These Broken Stars” et al), also set in space. I was excited when my request to read it was approved by Netgalley.

I completely loved this book. Nicely played Kaufman and Spooner! Science fiction and archaeology combined in an actionpacked thriller set on a faraway planet where aliens have left clues for the human race. Planet Earth has huge problems with its environment and is gradually being destroyed, to the point where people will have to either find a way of fixing it fast, or move to another planet. The race is on to be the person who will find the technology on another planet to bring back to Earth to save us all.

Deciphering the clues in massive temples provides vast challenges though, as they are puzzles with death as the outcome if you get them wrong. Amelia is a scavenger, raiding ancient sites on far off planets to sell for

cash so she can pay her sister’s captors back on Earth. She runs into Jules, who is the son of a disgraced historian, someone who said too much and who is now in jail. Jules has travelled to this planet to try and solve the biggest mystery ever, to prove that his father was right, and clear his name, but also for the personal satisfaction of being the guy who solved a massive mystery. Jules has studied the messages sent back to Earth by the inhabitants, deciphered the codes, and is on a mission to find out what the clues in the messages mean for humanity.

Jules is not great at survival skills but has a brain almost as big as the planet. Amelia has all the survival skills needed, but is used to working alone and is suspicious and antsy about teaming up with Jules. As they work together, their relationship grows and changes, and together they are a force to be reckoned with.

This is going to be hugely popular! It has an awesome and androgynous cover on it.

The fraught relationship between the two protagonists is great. The way that total mistrust leads to complete trust is so nicely done. I love the protagonists’ alternating chapters.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Secondary school libraries are going to want to buy lots of copies of this as it is just the beginning of a series, one I will be following avidly. It isn’t out until the beginning of next year but if your students are reading Illuminae, like sci-fi, and are fans of Blade Runner etc, they are going to really enjoy this book.

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Region News

SPARROW – BY SCOT GARDNER Reviewed by Bridget Schaumann, King’s High School, Dunedin If you have boys in your school, then like me, you might be struggling to buy anything at all for them to read in the fiction sections of the stores. There is just so little out there for boys at the moment which has a male protagonist, isn’t angsty or mental healthrelated. Some boys just want a story. A story they can relate to and which is engaging.

Buy them this book. It is seriously one of the best books I’ve read this year! Scot Gardner is one of my favourite authors, he gets teenagers, and he writes them well. This one is particularly good.

This is the story of a boy called Sparrow and it takes place in dual time settings.

It begins on an uninhabited island where he has washed up after the boat he is on (with a bunch of other wild kids on juvenile detention) sinks. This island is far from idyllic. It is up in the Northern Territories of Australia. There are terrible creatures everywhere, all of which want to hurt (or even eat) him. We also meet Sparrow before this happens, when he is living on the street, helping out in cafés to try and

get free food to keep himself from starving.

He is mute, traumatised. We begin to find out how he ended up in this situation and there is nothing good about his past life.

He has been abused, mistreated, lied to and abandoned. Despite all this, Sparrow is loveable and kind to others. He is looked after during daylight hours by a kindly older man who teaches him to swim, a skill that will come in very handy later on.

Sparrow’s journey from abandoned urchin to imprisoned youth is gripping. I fell in love with him from the very first sentence and I cried at some of the appalling things that happened to him. Sparrow’s relationship with the café people is wonderfully written, very realistic, full of pathos and at times raw and edgy. It is also a great book for those who like a great survival story, one which shows — not tells — and which anybody can relate to.

If you are looking for books for teenage boys, just head out and buy all of Gardner’s books for them. They are properly real

and beautifully constructed, but their real beauty is in the characters of real boys who deal with the crap life throws at them, in amazing ways. A real contender for my YA book of the year, and one I’m going to encourage our English teachers to read with a view to it being a good text for Year 10 or 11.

TE TAI TOKERAU

WAIKATO/BAY OF PLENTY

Following on from our June AGM in Term 2, Marama Keyte (Kamo Primary and Hurupaki School) shared the presentation that she was to show at conference the following month: Taking the Shhh out of the Library and Getting the Kids In! Marama is an enthusiastic, passionate and creative librarian, with an array of fresh ideas to make the library a fun place where students want to hang out, and to develop lifelong readers. It was a stimulating, lively presentation and we all got plenty of ideas to reinvigorate our libraries.

It has been a busy term for us all as we have taken the learning from conference into our own libraries. This term we had our annual C3 meeting — café, collections and conversations. This year we met at McLeod’s Booksellers in Rotorua, a proudly independent bookshop that has a stunning collection of great books, which is very handy if you have budget left! A group of about 15 of us gathered to learn about new books, chat about old ones, and chew the fat on all things library. We then went to the most excellently named “Be Rude Not To” café to indulge in great coffee and even better conversations.

Librarians are interesting observational fodder for onlookers and before we knew it we had people coming to us from all over the bookshop wanting our input from weeding books, teaching reading, and needing help to select a niece a book — fun turned to work!

Thanks to the generosity of Book Protection Products and the SLANZA National Executive we were able to assist six members to attend this year’s SLANZA conference in Auckland during the July school holidays. Three conference registrations were awarded to Marama Keyte (Kamo Primary), Jeannie Skinner (National Library) and Lynne Petty (Maunu Primary). In addition, Marli Walker (Whangarei Primary) and Lynne Petty (Maunu Primary) were allocated money for expenses, while Dee Brooker (Whangarei Boys High) and Julia Smith (Kerikeri High) each received petrol money.

The Term 3 event was a feedback and discussion session on conference. We gathered at Whangarei Primary, and sponsored members shared their conference experiences and highlights with other members from our region. It was the first SLANZA conference for Lynne Petty, who showed marvelous initiative and advocacy by sharing the conference experience with her staff:

“The SLANZA conference was the first library conference I have attended. I feel privileged to have been given the chance to go and inhale the atmosphere and the information shared there. It inspired me to create my first slide show called Things I Learnt at my First Library Conference which I presented to the staff at the school where I work. They were impressed and appreciative of the concepts I brought back with me and it also raised the profile and awareness of the library’s potential within the school.”

Our next event is on November 17th when we gather to do another annual beauty — The Tour. This year we are touring four schools in the northern area of Hamilton. It is always awesome to observe how other schools do things.

We are mulling on 2018 and are excited about what we have ahead.

First up will be our ‘What makes a library come alive” PD day in early March.

Waikato/Bay of Plenty have also agreed to host the 2019 regional SLANZA conference and we are very excited about some of the ideas we have come up with so far. What we can tell you now is that it will be in Cambridge in September 2019, with a working title of “River of Words”.

Glenys Bichan Waikato/Bay of Plenty Region Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

This was followed by Julia Smith’s repeat presention of her somewhat controversial conference session, Shaking Dewey Down: Creating a Student-Centered School Library by Re-organising and Reclassifying Nonfiction. The whole aim of reorganising non-fiction is to empower students, whether they are browsers or searchers, so they can more easily locate the awesome nonfiction books in our collections.

Julia Smith Te Tai Tokerau Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

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WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN SLANZA The benefits of membership include:

OTAGO

SOUTHLAND

SLANZA Otago has so far had an excellent year in 2017. In the second half of the year we have welcomed new members and said farewell to other members. There has been a lot of turnover in Otago school library staff over the last two years. Otago offers mentors to those who are new to our schools, contacting them and offering help and support if required. Our mentors have been busy this year.

On the 25th July a van load of our SLANZA members travelled to Dunedin to hear Rachel Van Riel talk on “Changing Libraries — New ways of Working”. This was especially beneficial for those of us who weren’t able to attend conference. We certainly came away from her session buzzing and challenged about how we could change our practices for the benefit of our students in our own particular libraries. As part of the day trip, there was a book buying visit to the University Book Shop, then a session with Judy Fisher from the University of Otago who detailed what we could be doing to prepare our senior students for tertiary study.

In Term 3 we had a successful event where members who had attended conference reported back on sessions they had attended. We reflected on the things we had learned, to inspire those who were not lucky enough to attend conference. We felt that this year’s conference was among the best we had ever attended. At this meeting, the committee members organised a celebration for the award of Life Membership to Bridget Schaumann. She was very grateful and humbled by the speeches and treats — beautiful flowers, and cake.

Later in the term we had a coffee meeting at Ombrello’s which was fun. A chance for everyone to chat in a relaxed manner, talk school libraries, and discuss and ask questions of one another. These gatherings are always well attended and a lot of fun.

Along with the regular SLANZA meetings, the Committee have been meeting regularly and having lots of email discussions while we set about organising the Otago Regional Conference 2018. Some speakers are already confirmed, and we are on the way to having a venue. We hope that SLANZA members will enjoy the programme we are planning. It will be a smaller scale of conference than the regular bi-annual national SLANZA conference, but we hope that our experience organising Weekend Schools in the past will stand us in good stead for the Regional Conference.

Then in August we met at Southland Boys’ High School where the members who had attended conference shared their highlights and gave us an overview of the keynotes and various discussions they were part of. This was a very informative and stimulating meeting indeed.

Upcoming events for term four include the Year 9 and Year 10 Reading Cup Inter-School Tournament which Kirsty has organised. At this stage we have seven schools entered and we are hoping that this will become an annual event for our Southland secondary schools.

In the second-to-last week of the term we are to host Bob Docherty, who will visit some of our secondary schools and enthuse our students with a love of books and reading. This ties in with, and will support perfectly our “Great Escape Summer Reading” event that we are launching in partnership with the Southland, Gore, and Invercargill public libraries. Kirsty and Lisa at James Hargest College are hosting it this year and have some exciting plans for a fun evening.

The search is on for a new Otago Region Rep to join the National Executive. If you are in the Otago region, interested in being part of a fantastic team of people working for school librarians in New Zealand, and would like more information, please contact me. It really is the best professional development available and you will meet amazing people.

Our thanks must go to Book Protection Products for their ongoing support which has enabled us to subsidise Bob Docherty’s travel and accommodation.

Bridget Schaumann Otago Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

Jay Shaw Southland Representative to the SLANZA National Executive

Connection and networking with other school library staff locally SLANZA is committed to providing quality professional development opportunities to its members, and we are very grateful for the ongoing sponsorship of professional development provided by Book Protection Products. This sponsorship is invaluable and greatly appreciated by the National Executive as it significantly broadens options for regional committees. The funding provided by Warick Ashton and his team goes to the regional committees so they can organise professional development sessions that will fulfill your personal learning needs. Please continue to support Book Protection Products as they are SLANZA’s major sponsor, and if you have an idea or topic for professional development in your area, let your committee know!

Discounted conference and professional development registrations Support for school libraries at a national level Opportunities to gain skills and professional development from people who do what you do Opportunity to apply for the SLANZA awards Opportunity to apply for study grant assistance with library–related studies Permission to use the cover images of publications of major publishing houses Access to the LIANZA professional registration scheme Access to our collection of Professional Development eBooks Fee-free study opportunities with the Open Polytechnic

BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP Business members support the work of SLANZA. Current members are: Premier Professional Development sponsor – Book Protection Products Top Shelf Members – Hydestor Manufacturing Ltd, Kowhai Media (NZ Geographic and Mana), 2020 Communications Trust, Softlink Pacific, Syba Signs, Accessit

NEWS + CONTACT If you’re not sure who does what or who can help you, check out our Contact page on our website. It links to all region representatives.

Follow our blog for up to date information Like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter

Circulator Members – Library Plus Echelon Productions Reserved Member – Cengage Periodical Members – Antac Open Source Solutions E–Learning for Business and Education

So it will be a very busy second half of the year for our region, but exciting at the same time.

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz

Collected Magazine // www.slanza.org.nz