OLA Reading Festival 26-30 September

During the week of 26-30 September OLA will be hosting a Reading Festival, with a selection of authors and poets coming to the junior and senior school to talk about their work. Here are the highlights for the Senior School.
Monday 26th: David Melling, children’s book illustrator, in the Art Department in the afternoon.
Tuesday 27th: Bernard O'Donohue, Whitbread Poetry Prize winner. Evening event for Sixth formers and adults. 6 pm - Refreshments. 6.30 pm - Poetry reading for about 30 minutes. 7 pm – Book signing. Parents, readers and poetry lovers welcome. All welcome.
Wednesday 28th : Katherine Rundell, young author of The Girl Savage and Oxford University academic. P.3: Year 7; P.5: Year 8. Lunchtime in the Library - available for questions about writing, and studying English at university.
Thursday 29th: Steve Wilson. Journalist and travel writer. P. 4 : Year 9, Non-Fiction writing and his travels across Africa on a motorbike; P7 - PSHE : Yrs 9 upwards, Journalism and P8 Q & A (optional, depends on teacher). Weather permitting Steve will arrive on his classic motorbike which will be in the Mall or outside reception and he will be ready to chat about it during lunch break.
Friday 30th September: Theresa Breslin. Prisoner of the Inquisition was shortlisted for this year’s Carnegie Medal, the prestigious award which she won in 1994 for Whispers in the Graveyard. P 1 & 2 : JS Yrs 3 & 4+ 150 visitors in CMA; P. 3 & 4: Yrs 9-10, Fact into Fiction and Power of Place; P. 6 & 7 Yr 8: Brisk beginnings.
The OLA Reading Festival also sees the construction of OLA's House of Books, which was started on World Book Day earlier this year. This exciting installation is being developed by the Art Department who are involving the whole school and will culminate in a structure made of books. Inspired by the work of prize-winning Canadians Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, who exhibited at Modern Art Oxford in 2009, OLA's construction will be made of old books individually wrapped. Each contributor has labelled their parcel (an old book) with details of their favourite book and a one-word description.

Welcome to a new year of reading

Reading Olympics, the OLA Reading Festival and the Kids' Lit Quiz are some of the highlights happening this term. The holidays saw new shelving fitted in the Library so Fiction books in particular can be better displayed. More information about the Reading Festival, 26 - 30 September coming soon.

Summer Reading

Circus Stars, the national Summer Reading Challenge for children, is running in most UK public libraries throughout the summer holidays, with incentives, activities and events designed to create a real buzz around children's reading. The challenge is simple - to read six or more library books over the summer.

How it works
- Children sign up for the Challenge at their local library where they receive their free starter pack.
- The Challenge invites children to read six library books of their choice throughout the holidays.
- Children collect rewards and receive incentives along the way to encourage them to complete the challenge.

The Circus Stars website is packed with games and activities to keep children engaged and motivated to keep reading, http://www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/, and there are linked activities to encourage families into libraries throughout the summer.

Incoming Year 7 pupils have also been challenged to read over the summer, and can produce their Circus Stars record or their OLA Summer Reading Challenge to gain their a commendation in September. All summer reading will count towards the OLA Reading Olympics - just remember to keep a list of what you read.

Exhibition at Imperial War Museum

Once Upon A Wartime: Classic War Stories is a family-friendly exhibition at the Imperial War Museum which looks at some of the best-loved books written for children about conflict from World War I until the present day. It runs until 30 October 2011.

Once Upon A Wartime brings five stories of war dramatically to life. Adults and children can wander through life-size sets, peer into intricate scale models and explore the stories’ themes of loyalty, separation, excitement, survival and identity.

From the bleak landscape of no man’s land in War Horse to the imposing tower blocks of London’s gang warfare in Little Soldier, this exhibition is an immersive journey through the worlds of the books. Pull up a chair in Hepzibah’s kitchen where the scene is set straight out of Carrie’s War, discover the secret fortress from The Machine Gunners and listen to the footsteps above the cellar where the Balicki children find shelter in The Silver Sword.

Behind the scenes of the stories, see what inspired the authors to write their books, and find out about the historical context of each story through objects, photographs and films.

Information above taken from http://wartime.iwm.org.uk/

Regional Book Awards

Recent regional book award results, where the winners have been chosen by school pupils who vote after reading the shortlisted books:
OXFORDSHIRE BOOK AWARD 2011
Primary Picture Book - Zog by Julia Donaldson & Axel Sheffler
Primary Book - Shadow by Michael Morpurgo
Secondary Book - Boy's Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman
HAMPSHIRE BOOK AWARD
Timeriders by Alex Scarrow, with Halo by Zizou Corder a close second.
GRAMPIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD
Joint Winners - Cathy MacPhail (for Grass)and Charlie Higson (for The Enemy)
REDBRIDGE CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD
Children's category - Cherry Crush by Cathy Cassidy
Teenage category - Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman.

Branford Boase Award 2011

Out Of Shadows by Jason Wallace has won this year's Branford Boase Award, which is given each year to the most outstanding work of fiction for children by a first time novelist. Previous winning writers include Marcus Sedgwick, Meg Rosoff, Kevin Brooks and Mal Peet.
The other books on the 2011 shortlist were:
I Am The Blade by J.P. Buxton
When I Was Joe by Keren David
Tall Story by Candy Gourlay
Unhooking The Moon by Gregory Hughes
The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh.
Out of Shadows also won this year's Costa Children's Book Award and was voted winner by the Carnegie shadowers at our joint schools' Abingdon Carnegie Forum.

Abingdon Carnegie Forum

The joint schools' Abingdon Carnegie Forum took place at Abingdon Guildhall. Over eighty students attended, from the six secondary schools. They have been avidly reading the six books nominated for the prestigious children's book award, the Carnegie Medal. This event was the culmination of 10 weeks of reading and reviewing.

All over the country students have been shadowing the Carnegie Medal: reading the shortlist and posting their reviews on a special website. Fifteen students from OLA's Year 7 & 8 met other keen readers to discuss the shortlisted titles and, in nine mixed school groups, present a review of their favourite book in front of a panel of judges.

The judges had to decide which presentation would convince them to read that book, and also decided on the best book reviews. Prizes were given: book tokens, books and some edible prizes too. The students also voted for the Abingdon Carnegie winning book and shared a Carnegie cake.

OLA Book Review prizewinners:
Best Book Review for Out of Shadows - Anastasya
Highly Commended Book Review - Olivia

At the end of the Forum the chair of the judges, who were from the worlds of publishing, bookselling and education, spoke about how much they had enjoyed the day. They were impressed by the good understanding of the books shown in the reviews, the presentation of the shadower's own responses, whether positive or negative, and use of similes to express their opinions. Noting that all this reading and reviewing was conducted in their own free time the judges applauded the reviewers' good work and their often witty personal styles. The judges were persuaded by these reviews that they wanted to read Out of Shadows first.

OLA Best Contributor in Group winners:
These nominations were made by the group leaders for group work during the course of the day.
Best Contributor in Group - Isobel
Best Contributor in Group - Phoebe

Group presentations, lasting no longer than three minutes, took a variety of forms from advertisements to news reports and key scenes to a game show. The judges said what a high standard these were: witty, exciting, interesting to watch, involving all the students in each group, who took part enthusiastically. Hard though it was choose the judges decided that the Best Group Presentation should go to 'The Beggars' who convinced them that Prisoner of the Inquisition was the book to read.

Which book was voted by the shadowers as the Abingdon Carnegie Winner? It was Out of Shadows, with Prisoner of the Inquisition a close second. The official winner of the Carnegie Medal announced on 23 June - Monsters of Men.

Finally, a couple of comments from the Judges:
"I was startled by the excellence of the children's responses."
Fantastically organised and a really enjoyable day. The quality of reviews and presentations was amazing."