Author: Y. Manning

Stories are important in neonatal care

Medical care is of-course very important for babies in neonatal care units, however talking, reading and singing to babies will comfort and soothe them, help them to relax and build bonds with their parents.

Listen to the inspirational, Dr Matta, Associate Specialist in Neonatology and Child Development, as she explores the ways that very young babies communicate with us. She also describes the impact that talking, reading and singing to babies in a hospital setting has both on the babies’ wellbeing in the unit and on their longer-term development.

http://scottishbooktrust.com/dr-nashwa-matta-the-impact-of-sharing-stories-songs-and-rhymes-with-babies-in-neonatal-care

Bookbug Picture Book Prize and P1 CLPL

Bookbug

The Bookbug Picture Book Prize will be launched on Thursday 29 August 2018 –  get ready to find out which 3 books will be gifted in the Bookbug P1 Family Bag this year!

Scottish Book Trust are also holding free CLPL sessions on gifting the Bookbug P1 Family Bags. The session will include:

  • Fun and practical bag gifting ideas including why these are important for children and parents and how this can help support attainment
  • Ideas for library or classroom activities based on the 3 books in the bag
  • Ideas to create links between schools and libraries
  • How to take part in the Bookbug Picture Book Prize and Book Week Scotland

The dates for the central belt are as follows:

Location Date Time
Edinburgh Thursday 27 September 4pm-5:30pm
Glasgow Tuesday 9 October 4pm-5.30pm

Please visit scottishbooktrust.com/p1clpl to sign up to attend a session.

For more information, or if you’re having any problems signing up, please contact bookbug@scottishbooktrust.com or phone 0131 541 2342.

 

Interesting update 2 from the last National Literacy Network meeting

Illustration of superhero made of letters

The First Minister’s Reading Challenge (FMRC) supports the Scottish Government’s ambition to tackle the attainment gap. It intends to encourage reading for pleasure and building a reading culture within schools and communities. An independent evaluation of FMRC yielded positive findings and recommendations for developing the Challenge. In September 2018 it will be rolled out to secondary schools after a successful pilot in 6 schools, public libraries and extra-curricular groups will also be able to register to participate in the Challenge.

A National Strategy for School Libraries. The chief executive of the Scottish Library and Information Council gave an update on the progress of a National Strategy for school libraries in Scotland. The school library is seen as a resource at the heart of the school, supporting the curriculum, a gateway to information, crucial to reading for enjoyment and a space for exploration. There are 5 working groups contributing to the Strategy looking at the school librarians’ impact on the curriculum, health & wellbeing, digital literacy, family learning and standards. The National Strategy will be published in August 2018.

UKLA prize winning school, St Anthony’s PS, Renfrewshire, spoke about the progress they have made in creating a reading culture in the school and the benefits which have resulted in pupils becoming enthusiastic readers. You can read more about the great ideas the school implemented here.

Writing Rammy

The Writing Rammy is open to everyone, regardless of age or writing experience – everyone has a story in them!

Taking part is easy:  all you need to do is write a short piece of original fiction or poetry on a theme of your choice and email it in.

About the Writing Rammy

  • Simply send your entries to our dedicated email address, with your contact details to  writingrammy@falkirkcommunitytrust.org
  • Alternatively typed entries can be handed into any library in the Falkirk district by the closing date.
  • Your entry should clearly state your name, age, address, tel. no, and email address or your school and form class.
  • The word limit is 250 words for under 15s, or up to 500 words for 15 and over.
  • The competition is open now and the closing date is Saturday 18th August 2018
  • Please read the terms and conditions for the competition at: http://www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org/libraries/writing-rammy/writing-rammy-rules.aspx , or view them in your local library

Entries will be judged by a panel from the library service and a winner and runner up will be chosen in each of the following categories:

  • 7 and under
  • 8-11
  • 12-14
  • 15-17
  • 18+
  • Best Family Entry

Winners will be announced mid- September and invited to a special winners’ ceremony on 11th October 2018 during National Libraries Week.

Pupil Entries

If pupils would like to participate, their class teacher can email in several entries at once, but please make sure each entry clearly states the pupil’s name, age and form class.

 

 

Creating a Reading Culture – Inspiring Classrooms

Bring reading to life in the classroom

Inspiring Classrooms is a project created by the First Minister’s Reading Challenge to help schools build and sustain a reading culture.

Schools can apply to Inspiring Classrooms to receive a small grant for a project of their choice which includes an author visit and books for Primary 1 – 7 children taking part in the First Minister’s Reading Challenge.

The 2nd round of funding is now open for applications:

  • 16 February 2018 – Application deadline
  • 9 March 2018 – Notification of outcome
  • March 2018 – Funding distributed
  • March – June 2018 – Events held
  • June 2018 – Evaluation feedback deadline

Find out more about Inspiring Classrooms here.

Can you write a story in just 50 words?

The Scottish Book Trust runs a writing competition every month inviting you to write a story in 50 words! They provide a prompt for a story to get you started.

The competition includes the following categories:

  • Young Writers 5-11
  • Young Writer 12-18.

The entries will be judged by a panel and the winning stories will be published on the Scottish Book Trust’s website two weeks after the closing date.

Prizes are awarded to a writer in each category:

  • Young Writers 5-11: A fun selection of books.
  • Young Writers 12-18: A great selection of books

Find out more here

 

RED Book Award

RED Book Award

The RED Book Award is Falkirk Council’s Book Award in which each secondary school in the authority participate. RED stands for Read, Enjoy, Debate and is all about reading for enjoyment and stimulating lively debate about books. https://twitter.com/readenjoydebate?lang=en

The award is now in its 12th year. This year’s shortlist is:

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird

Boy X by Dan Smith

Hell and High Water by Tanya Landman

13 and 14-year-olds from English classes in Bo’ness Academy, Braes High, Denny High, Falkirk High, Graeme High, Grangemouth High, Larbert High and St. Mungo’s High as well as reading groups in Polmont Young Offenders Institute and from a variety of countries take part. The young people read the 4 shortlisted titles, vote for their favourite book and produce a creative interpretation of one of the books for the award ceremony.

The Books

The shortlist of books is decided after lengthy debate by school and public librarians, young people feed in their opinions to the debate too. The criteria include books must be available in paperback, the author is available to attend the award ceremony and the books must have the wow factor.

The young people decide the winning book through a secret vote a few weeks before the award ceremony. The winner is revealed by opening the red envelope at the close of the big day!

Key Dates

April – August: A longlist of books is read from which the shortlist is agreed.

September – April: Young people read, enjoy and debate the books.

April: Pupils vote for their favourite book.

May: The RED Book Award ceremony held at the Falkirk Town Hall FTH

The RED Book Award Ceremony

Around 250 young people and invited guests pack into the Falkirk Town Hall to participate in the RED Book Award ceremony. Participants are encouraged to wear a red accessory and there are prizes (sponsored by Bright Red Books, www.brightredpublishing.co.uk) throughout the event for winners of the book review competition (sponsored by Palimpsest, www.palimpsest-bp.co.uk), a book cover design competition and best red accessory. The day is full of energy and fun and packed with a host of activities – from book signings and chatting with the authors to creative interpretations of the books and live entertainment by the young people.

The ceremony culminates in the opening of the red envelope to reveal the winning book.

Follow the RED on twitter.

Previous winners and shortlists:

RED 11 (2016-2017 award): 13 Hours by Narinder Dhami

Nominated:

  • The Apple Tart of Hope Sarah M Fitzgerald
  • The Year of the Rat Clare Furniss
  • Devil You Know Cathy MacPhail

RED 10 (2015-2016 award): Mind Blind by Lari Don

Nominated:

  • Beneath Gill Arbuthnot
  • Salvage Keren David
  • Inflicted Ria Frances

RED 9 (2014-2015 award): Raining Fire by Alan Gibbons

Nominated:

  • Rat Runners Oisin McGann
  • Mosi’s War Cathy MacPhail
  • Soul Shadows Alex Woolf

RED 8 (2013-2014 award): Slated byTeri Terry

Nominated:

  • Mortal Chaos Matt Dickinson
  • Torn David Massey
  • Mr Creecher Chris Priestly

RED 7 (2012-2013 award): An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons

Nominated:

  • My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece Annabel Pitcher
  • Gladiator Simon Scarrow
  • Blood Red Road Moira Young

RED 6 (2011-12 award): Wasted by Nicola Morgan

Nominated:

  • Ausländer Paul Dowswell
  • Koh Tabu Ann Kelley
  • Black Out Sam Mills
  • Timeriders Alex Scarrow

RED 5 (2010-11 award): Grass by Cathy MacPhail

Nominated:

  • Wolfcry Julia Golding
  • Colony J A Henderson
  • Chalkline Jane Mitchell
  • Deathwatch Nicola Morgan

RED 4 (2009-10 award): Divided City by Theresa Breslin

Nominated:

  • Don’t Tell Sandra Glover
  • Beast Ally Kennan
  • Forged in the Fire Ann Turnbull

RED 3 (2008-09 award): Worse Than Boys by Cathy MacPhail

Nominated:

  • Message from Mia Sandra Glover
  • Bunker 10 J A Henderson Fearless Tim Lott
  • Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea Michael Morpurgo

RED 2 (2007-08 award): Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie

Nominated:

  • The Ice Cream Con Jimmy Docherty
  • Ostrich Boys Keith Gray
  • Strangled Silence Oisin McGann
  • Spider Linda Strachan

RED 1 (2006-07 award): Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

Nominated:

  • The Star of Kazan Eva Ibbotson
  • Airborn Kenneth Oppel
  • Tamar Mal Peet
  • Montmorency Eleanor Updale

Read Write Count

Read, Write, Count is a new campaign to improve the literacy and numeracy skills of Scotland’s children by providing advice and support for the families of children in Primary 1, 2 and 3. It is a key part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to raise attainment for all and close the attainment gap.

Read, Write, Count aims to build on the success of the Play Talk Read and Bookbug programmes in the early years and encourage parents and families to include easy and fun reading, writing and counting activities in their everyday lives. For many years, Through the Read, Write, Count campaign, all P1 to P3 children will receive a free bag with books, counting games and writing materials in the autumn of this year.

Research tells us that parental involvement in children’s learning is one of the best ways to improve educational outcomes for all children. Read, Write, Count is about giving parents the confidence to get involved and provides resources to support learning at home.

http://scottishbooktrust.com/learning/read-write-count/

Contact Yvonne Manning, yvonne.manning@falkirk.gov.uk 01324 501990 for more information.

First Minister’s Reading Challenge


Scottish Book Trust, on behalf of the Scottish Government, is delivering an exciting new reading initiative for children in Primary 4 – 7.

Reading has the power to change lives, and developing a love of reading in childhood can have a huge impact on educational attainment and future wellbeing. The First Minister wants to make sure every child in Scotland has an equal opportunity to experience the huge benefits that reading for pleasure brings.

The First Minister’s Reading Challenge aims to build on the work already taking place in schools across the country to encourage children to read widely, explore a range of books and develop a love of reading. The main focus of the Challenge is to encourage reading for pleasure and support schools, libraries and communities to build reading cultures.

Children in P4-P7 in every school in Scotland are invited to take part in the Challenge. Once schools have registered, they can order Reading Passports that pupils can use to log their reading journeys. They can also register classes to take part in the challenges and find book suggestions, learning resources and ideas to encourage young people to develop a love of reading.

There will be a range of prizes awarded in June 2017 for schools and pupils to celebrate their reading journeys. The Challenge will also give the opportunity for every child’s personal achievements to be recognised by their teachers and librarians.

https://www.readingchallenge.scot/