| OUR KOOL SCHOOL |
| The Library Here are some questions put to our Librarian, Val Brooks, on our fantastic school library: How many books are in our library? At the moment we have about 5,441 but we are getting new books all the time. And of course we are a Duffy School which means both the children at the school and the Library are getting new books on a regular basis. What are some of our libraries special features? We have a very well set up library with lots of colourful artwork done by the students and some neat posters about books. We also have games available for children to play at lunch time - this includes some great games on the computers and children can book a time to play these. Of course we have access to the Internet but we are very careful how children are able to access this and it is always supervised. Do you have student librarians? Yes! We have three librarians on at lunch time every day which means 15 different children per week are able to issue books and help out other children during lunchtimes. These children get two terms each in these positions. What are Duffy Books? Owairaka is very lucky to be a 'Duffy School'. What this means is that every child in the school gets to make four choices of books they would like. Of those four books they are given two to keep and take home for themselves! This is a fantastic opportunity to encourage children to read and to help them build their own libraries at home. Of course the Duffy Books on offer are always displayed in the library so the children can look at them closely before they make their choice. So, just who is Mrs Brooks? Mrs Brooks is our very wonderful librarian who has spent over 6 years working as a teacher aide and an accounts person for the school. She looks after all our books and helps with issuing, returns, finding books, Duffy choices, displays, computers, librarians etc, etc! She is a very busy and very important part of our school! When did the Owairaka School Library open? Only about 20 years ago - but you wouldn't know that it was such a short length of time with all the wonderful books and resources we have today! How many new books do we get each year? The school library gets about 250 books a year and a library committee helps select the books to be part of our school. So, what else does the library offer? Mrs Brooks helps with some ICT training - this is where the children are not only exposed to computers, printers, scanners and the internet; but also faxes, email and telephone. All essential skills to learn. |
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