Last Tuesday’s Speech Competition offered wonderful opportunities for reflection and discussion. While all topics were incredibly interesting and well presented, two topics in particular caught my attention: one about the necessity for printed books and libraries, and another about the relevance of comics. 

Aditya’s plea to turn to electronic books has merits and, personally, I am very happy to use devices, especially when luggage space needs consideration. However, the sensory experience linked to handling books and its contribution to children’s cognitive development cannot be underestimated. On the other hand, the impact of book production on natural resources cannot be denied. That is why using library resources can limit that, as well as providing a social, safe, freely accessible space. 

Our library is well-used, and its books are enjoyed and circulated amongst many readers. To ensure that this continues successfully, it is important that books are signed out correctly and cared for while on loan. At the moment, that is not always the case, and we invite all pupils to help us: signing out books, looking after them and returning them promptly will help us to stop buying replacements. This will help to reduce carbon footprint. The forthcoming half-term break offers a great opportunity to search at home for long-lost library books, which will be gratefully welcomed back. 

One of the library books that was lost some time ago was the one Harry K mentioned in his speech, Art Spiegelman’s Maus – one of the resources for our scholars. Maus is the retelling of the Second World Word in graphic novel format. I agree with Harry that comics have a bad press. Yet, decoding images and inferring messages through pictures and words is an essential skill. The artistic vale of this genre cannot be underestimated: Maus won the Pulitzer Prize; the Pompadour Museum in Paris exhibits Tin Tin, for example. 

We will continue to increase the provision of graphic novels, and we are considering the introduction of comics too. Looking after those resources so they are not lost or damaged means reducing waste and ensuring that they can be enjoyed by as many pupils as possible. 

Happy reading! 
Mrs Brill 

Book Club Reminder 

The new titles for the Summer Book Club Cake Break have been announced to pupils and detailed in the Newsletter dated 28 April.  

Hopefully many Junior School pupils will enjoy reading The Boy Who Saved the Bear by N Farook and Senior School pupils will find time in between revision spells to explore All the Things That Could Go Wrong by Stewart Foster. 

The Cake breaks will take place during the week starting Monday 19 June.