Reading more important than ever in the e-world

The internet has changed the way we gather information and the access we have to information. Now, from a computer in Gilgandra, I can hear from someone in Tehran about what is happening in Iran after the elections, see exhibits in the world’s leading museums, find the information I might need for an assignment, or discuss a complex issue with a community of interested people from around the world. But guess what skills all of this depends on? The ability to read, to understand what I have read, and in turn, to be able to express my own views clearly and unambiguously. Reading and being able to express oneself clearly are skills that are of ever-increasing importance in our world, just as they always have been.

So, what can we do to help children acquire these skills? Children need a language rich environment, right from birth. They need to be read to, sung to, talked to and played with, from the day they are born. This will give them the language building blocks they need to help them learn to read when they get to school. These building blocks are: knowledge of lots of words (vocabulary), familiarity with the idea that letters represent sounds (the alphabet), an ability to identify sounds (phonological awareness), an understanding of the idea that you read a page from left to right, top to bottom, and, most importantly, an understanding that reading is a fun thing to do! By reading to our little ones and showing how much we love reading ourselves, we are giving them that precious gift- literacy.

GREAT Day last Wednesday was a big step in the right direction. It was so much fun for everyone involved, and it was truly inspiring to see so many people of all ages celebrating the joy and importance of reading. Congratulations to the organisers of GREAT day. Thanks to them, Gilgandra is becoming a great place for reading!

What a GREAT Day!

Today, hundreds of children in Gilgandra took part in GREAT Day- Gilgandra Reads Everything Around Town Day. It is always a wonderful day, which celebrates the joy and importance of reading. There is a special emphasis on how vital it is to children’s development to read to them, sing to them, talk to them and play with them, right from birth.

This year, the theme was "The GREAT Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood". There were lots of fun activities at different locations around town, and the day culminated in a fantastic interactive performance of Little Red Riding Hood at the High School Hall. The kids were each allocated to a particular character ie Granny, the Wolf, the Woodcutter and Little Red. Each character would then lead their group of kids in a their theme song or chant at special spots in the performance. It was so much fun, and looked quite spectacular in a hall full of people wearing red (to show how well 'read' they are, of course!) The actors who led the performance were wonderful- you could tell how much fun they were having!

Congratulations to all the organisers of GREAT Day, on a job very well done.

To mark GREAT Day, here is a little collection of quotes about reading.

“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.” Author Unknown

You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.” Paul Sweeney

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.” Oscar Wilde

“People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.” Logan Pearsall Smith, Trivia, 1917

“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Harper Lee

Happy GREAT Day!

National Simultaneous storytime and e-security week

It has been an exciting week at the Library. National Simultaneous Storytime was held on Wednesday 27th May at 11am. About 60 children and their parents and carers came to hear “Pete the Sheep” by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley. Ian McCutcheon was our special guest reader, and we want to thank him for sharing this fun story with the children.

Next week, from 5- 12 June, is National E-security Awareness Week. The aim of this week is to inform everyone about the simple steps they can take to protect themselves, their families and their businesses online. The Australian government website http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ states that there are five key things we can do to improve our e-security. They are: 1.Get a better, stronger password and change it at least twice a year. 2.Get security software, and update and patch it regularly. 3.Stop and think before you click on links or attachments from unknown sources. 4.Information is valuable. Be careful about what you give away about yourself and others online. 5.Log on to http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ for further information and to sign up for the email alert service.