There was great excitement in Cathedral Primary on Monday 28th March when Ross MacKenzie, author of ‘The Nowhere Emporium’, visited the school for the official opening of our new library.

The morning began with a special launch event in the hall for Primary 4 – 7 pupils at which Ross read from his brand new book, ‘The Colour of Hope’. Given that the book has yet to be released, pupils and staff were absolutely thrilled when Ross gifted two copies of the book for our new library. The children then had the opportunity to ask Ross some questions to discover more about what it’s like to be an author and then one pupil from each year group became the lucky winner of one of Ross’s books, personally signed by the author.

After the proceedings in the hall, the entire school formed a walkway in the playground for Ross, a life-sized Book Bug and an entourage of pupils to walk through. The procession finished up at the new library where Ross cut the ribbon, accompanied by the cheers of 100+ pupils from Winners Wynd. Ross was the first to enter and explore our fantastic new library and was delighted to encounter a special ‘Ross MacKenzie’ display just inside the door, created by Primary 7 pupils. Pupils then had the opportunity to get their personal copies of Ross’s books signed.

The design of our new library was co-ordinated by our twelve House Captains, in partnership with Caledonian Furniture in Cumbernauld. Scotia Books, Kilsyth, worked with the school to select and supply a wide range of brand new top-quality fiction and non-fiction books for the children to enjoy (of course, all of Ross MacKenzie’s books can be found on the shelves!). The new space includes an infant ‘reading wood’, a dedicated reference section down the centre of the room and comfortable, grown-up seating for older pupils.

The school has invested in an electronic cataloguing system so that books can be scanned in and out. The library is also ready for the introduction of ‘Accelerated Reader’ in August which will allow pupils to complete a quiz on the books they have read and will also provide the facility for each class teacher to monitor and track their pupils’ reading for enjoyment.

The photographs below give a small glimpse of the fantastic new space, housing literally thousands of brand new books, which Cathedral pupils will be able to explore and enjoy for many, many years to come.