READING NEWSLETTER
Issue No. 4 Autumn
Welcome to our first St Cuthbert’s Reading Newsletter of the 2023-2024 Academic Year. In this issue, we continue to reflect and update you on how we have promoted and celebrated reading this half term and hear from book-loving pupils, students and staff. As the cold, dark, nights draw in why not curl up and get cosy with one of our Gothic recommended reads?
St Cuthbert’s is reading! Our library is now in full operation. Every Key Stage 3 class now has a timetabled, fortnightly library lesson, where pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 have started to explore a vast array of text types and genres. The most recent library activity has been book “speed-dating” where pupils circled the library to explore different genres of books. From Gothic and Sci-Fi to Drama and Fantasy, pupils enthusiastically engaged with the number of books available to them. Pupils were tasked with picking a favourite book based on title, blurb and opening page. Pupils have begun to work towards the Accelerated Reader programme, which encourages pupils to engage with the book they are currently reading for pleasure in form time Drop Everything and Read. Key Stage 4 pupils have also begun to be introduced to the library so that they too are able to participate in form time Drop Everything and Read. So far, over 1500 books have been taken out of the library!
Book Fai r We are excited to announce that from 1st-8th November, we will have the Scholastic Book Fair in the library. This is a fantastic opportunity for pupils to develop their love of reading by purchasing books that interest them at discounted rates. Prices start from £2.99.
NATIONAL POETRY DAY For National Poetry Day, we challenged Year 7 to learn and recite a poem, with the opportunity to win a prize. From poetry by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Maya Angelou, Christina Rossetti and Lewis Carroll (to name a few poets), pupils certainly rose to the challenge! Ethan Austria, in 7B2, impressively recited perfectly the first part of Coleridge’s technically complex ‘Kubla Khan’. Well done, Ethan!
l Literature An interview with Kaj Sorensen Year 13 A Leve student, on his reading experiences. different themes, ideas I particularly enjoy exploring I have always loved reading. I am enjoying A texts. It is for this reason that and ks boo of ns atio ret erp and int every subject because it ding in general has helped in Level English Literature. Rea and concepts. wledge about different ideas has expended my range of kno and films. re relaxing than watching TV mo ch mu it d fin I x rela to g I enjoy readin read in peace, because it is a time where I can bed to go I ore bef d rea ally usu I without distraction. my favourite book bit by J. R. R. Tolkien, though Currently, I’m reading The Hob ion. s because I enjoy Dystopian fict of all tme is The Hunger Game
An interview with Miss Ch arlton, Teacher of Geograp hy. What is your favourite book and why? ‘The Girl on the Train’ by Paula Haw kins. This is one of many favourit es as the book was very unpredicta ble and fast paced. There are multiple twists and turns - a real page turn er! . When and where do you most like to read? I like to read on an evening as it help s me to relax.
I enjoy reading as it allows me to
Why do you enjoy reading? escape the reality of everyday life and past.
reignite the childlike imagination of the
What are you currently reading? I am currently reading ‘The Future of Geography’ by Tim Marshall.
How can you support your son's reading at home? Watch a film version and then read the book. Ask questions about the book your son has taken out of the library. Use the words of the week around the home.
Allocate at least 20 minutes each evening to reading (maybe just before bed). Read aloud with/to your son. Listen to audiobooks with your son.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS YEAR 7 The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes Aveline loves reading ghost stories, so a dreary halfterm becomes much more exciting when she discovers a spooky old book. Not only are the stories spinetingling, but it belonged to a girl called Primrose Penberthy, who vanished mysteriously, never to be seen again. Intrigued, Aveline decides to investigate Primrose's disappearance, with some help from her new friend, Harold.
Defenders by Tom Palmer Everyone is freaked out when circles of scorched earth start appearing in Halifax - on the moors, the parks and even the football pitches. Seth is most disturbed of all - he sees the shadows of the past. But when he looks into a Viking's murderous eyes and smells the stink of burning flesh, Seth knows he must stop this cycle of supernatural suffering. With his friend Nadiya, can he discover the dark history behind the forces attacking their town?
Now someone...or something, is stirring. And it is looking for Aveline
YEAR 8 Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Justin knows that something is wrong with his best friend. Zee went missing for a year. And when he came back, he was . . . different. Nobody knows what happened to him. At Zee's welcome home party, Justin and the neighborhood crew play Hide and Seek. But it goes wrong. Very wrong. One by one, everyone who plays the game disappears, pulled into a world of nightmares come to life. Justin and his friends realize this horrible place is where Zee had been trapped. All they can do now is hide from the Seeker.
When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive. Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait. But can they make it there - alive?
YEAR9 Say Her Name by Juno Dawson Roberta 'Bobbie' Rowe is not the kind of person who believes in ghosts. So, she agrees to a Halloween dare. They are ordered to summon the legendary ghost of Bloody Mary: say her name five times in front of a candlelit mirror, and she shall appear... But, surprise surprise, nothing happens. Or does it? Next morning, Bobbie finds a message on her bathroom mirror – “five days” -. Things get increasingly weird and more terrifying for Bobbie, until it becomes all too clear that Bloody Mary was indeed called from the afterlife that night, and she is definitely not a friendly ghost. Bobbie is now in a race against time before her five days are up and Mary comes for her, as she has come for countless others before…
Keeper by Mal Peet Introducing the legendary sports journalist Paul Faustino and the haunting tale of the world's greatest goalkeeper: the man they call El Gato,"the Cat". As Paul interviews El Gato, the World Cup stands on the table between them. In the hours that follow, El Gato tells his incredible story – how he, a poor logger's son, learns to become a World Cup-winning goalkeeper so good he is almost unbeatable. And the most remarkable part of this story is the man who teaches him: the mysterious Keeper, who haunts a football pitch at the heart of the claustrophobic rainforest...
KS4 Suddenly A Murder by Lauren Munoz Agatha Christie meets Karen McManus… Everyone has a secret. Everyone has a motive. But only one of them brought a knife to the party... To celebrate the end of high school, Izzy Morales joins her best friend Kassidy and five friends on a luxury 1920sthemed getaway at the glamorous Ashwood Manor. There, Izzy and her friends party in vintage dresses and expensive diamonds - until Kassidy's boyfriend turns up dead. And when a raging storm traps them on the island with two detectives, the sparkling young socialites become the prime suspects in his murder...
Channel Fear by Lisa Richardson YouTube ghost hunting stars, Zach and Lucas, disappeared at an undisclosed location several months ago. Iris - who heads up her own unsuccessful channel with co-hosts Byron and his girlfriend Molly - is obsessed with the duo, and has been searching for the location ever since. Then, she stumbles across long-abandoned Thornhanger House. The trio set aside their toxic love triangle when they find Zach and Lucas's abandoned equipment inside... complete with their last day of filming. As they watch the footage, a horrifying truth emerges: whatever came for Zach and Lucas is coming for them too... .
Not reading at the expected level puts children at an increased risk of experiencing unemployment and poor health as adults. (The Literacy Trust, 2018).