10 May, 19
A great Network meeting today with inspiring speakers. Local author Yvonne Mes talked about her journey to becoming a published author and the style of presentations she does with children. Yvonne is involved in many different pusuits that are all generally involved with children, books and art. It was a very enlightening session.
This was followed by Michelle Witheyman-Crump showcasing the Writers and Illustrators Lounge that she runs on Fridays from 12 - 12.55 at Bethany Lutheran Pirmary School. Staff were invited to pitch to students a fun acitivity children could choose to attend for a term. She was surprised at the high number that chose to write and illustrate and how much they all look forward to Fridays and how committed they are to the task.
The final speaker was Karen Pinnell from Hatton Vale State School. Here the whole staff have personal copies of two books which guide thier program to encourage chidlren to read more and improve their reading skills. They use 'The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy indepencence in primary years' and 'The Cafe Book: Engaging all students in daily literacy assmessment and instruction'. Both books are by Gail Boushey and Jaon Moser published 2015. The aim is to help children find what is a good fit for them when selecting boosk to read. Each child keeps a book box containing thier selection and reads from that during sustained silent reading.
