The Thistle - An E-Newsletter of Scotch College, Perth, Western Australia

Junior School Resource Centre

The boys have settled beautifully into the new school year and are enjoying the wide variety of new books purchased over the summer months. Most are remembering to bring their library bags each fortnight which is fabulous. If your son has misplaced his library bag he can bring any waterproof bag to protect the books. I also emphasise to the boys that they do not need to wait until their library lesson to borrow and return books. This can also be done before and after school and at lunchtime. The library is open each day from 7:40 am to 4:00 pm. Parents are also welcome to come and borrow.

The Library in the Junior School has a key role to play in the education of your sons.  First and foremost is to promote a love of reading with emphasis on the importance of exploring new subjects and genres. For this reason, in each library lesson the boys are encouraged to borrow, as a minimum, a non-fiction title of interest as well as a picture book or fiction chapter book. If they have an overdue book they are able to save books until the next day. The Library also supports inquiry in the classroom by providing an up-to-date collection of resources to classroom teachers to support each unit. At lunchtimes, the Library offers an alternative to the busy playground. Boys can use Lego, play board games or read.

The physical collection is supported by a 24/7 virtual library of eBooks, audiobooks and the online encyclopedias; World Book and Britannica. This can be found at home.SCOTCH and search Library.

I would also like to direct parents to this wonderful article on the benefits of reading to their children through the primary years: https://www.education.wa.edu.au/neverstopreading

I am available from Wednesday to Friday to discuss with parents their son's reading journey. Alternatively, my email is kathryn.salt@scotch.wa.edu.au

Mrs Kathryn Salt
Junior School Teacher-Librarian