Wymondham High Academy Trust Library
This week the Library was challenged by @AAC_Literacy to complete a photo challenge – 7 days, 7 black and white photos of library life. No humans, no explanations, challenge someone new every day.
This challenge was a pleasure to accept and put us in touch each day with libraries near by and also further afield including with friends in Wyoming USA, @WyoACPL
One of our favourite weeks of the school year is back for more! The Wymondham High School Scavenger Hunt consists of more than 100 items from acts of kindness and charity to dressing up, to drama, to music, to maths, to robotics, to science, to poetry, to navigation, to this year – trying to spot 10 mini Mr Rockey cut outs that have been hidden around the school!
Open to all students and staff THE LIST is sent out at midnight and teams have exactly one week to complete as many challenges as they can. They get points for each one completed with bonus points for the best examples.
Some serious judging follows and the winning team gets £120 in shopping vouchers (well worth the glitter!)
It’s so lovely to work in a school that not only allows this kind of awesome but celebrates the crazy, creativity of our students and I can’t wait to see this year’s submissions!
One of my roles as Librarian is to facilitate our Anti-Bullying and LGBTQ student peer support groups. Often, we don’t realise the impact of what we say on others. We may speak in haste or think it’s a joke, or even set out to hurt. Always remembering to be kind yourself, and trying to get the message over to others, that what you say can have an impact, can be tough. That’s why it was so brilliant to be joined today in school by the Norfolk LGBT Project. They delivered a hard-hitting, moving series of anti-bullying workshops throughout the day that were attended by all of our year 8 students. It was clear that the message got through and with more workshops planned for the future it can only make our school community a stronger, kinder place.
Following months of hard work, some enterprising Wymondham sixth form students, led by Y13s Erin Ketteridge and Nyambura Chege, put together and delivered their own Literary Festival in the town. The event, taking place on Saturday, June 23rd featured children’s author Mitch Johnson giving the first talk at 11am. There followed a creative writing workshop at 11.45am, open to everyone from ages 10 and 11 plus in Wymondham Central Hall.
This was the followed by two masterclasses held by UEA Creative Writing Masters student Ben Morrison in the Central Hall, at 3pm and 4pm, for over 13s.
Rebecca Stott, author of the Costa Prize winning In the Days of Rain about her upbringing in a fundamentalist cult rounded off the day, speaking and signing books at 6pm in Wymondham Library.
This amazing event was a great way of bringing the school out into the community and was an incredible achievement that I hope to be able to support again next year!
We were joined in the library this week by volunteer archivist, Stacey Armes. She is writing a book incorporating images that capture the history of Wymondham and the surrounding area and comparing them to modern equivalents. No book like that could be complete without an entry or two from our school, which will be celebrating its 80th year in 2019. The process of organising and reviewing the school archive turned up some brilliant examples of local and social history and we will be doing more to bring some of these stories to a wider audience in the run up to the anniversary next March. Look out for appeals to former students coming soon.
The library team expanded today with the welcome addition of four new Student Librarians. Will, Annabelle, Ellie and Jasmine will be helping out at break and lunchtimes as well as helping deliver upcoming library events.
All library regulars, these four already know their way around the shelves. They are fantastic at recommending great reads and discussing books of every genre. It may take a week or two to get the hang of our unwieldy library software, but I know they will have it figured out
in no time!
For the last couple of years I have been lucky enough to help facilitate the brilliant Anti-Bullying Ambassador’s programme at Wymondham High. With varied and increasing demands on my attention and the installation of a brilliant Wellbeing Team at the school, it was decided to handover the group to be led by Miss Vlatseas from this new team.
The students do an amazing job befriending and supporting students in need from all year groups. As a parting gift I was able to take delivery of, and pass on their new sweatshirts and I look forward to seeing the, now much more visible, Ambassadors on patrol around the school at lunchtimes and on open evenings. Students can also pop into The Source (student meeting room) at lunch on Mondays and Thursdays to chat, ask questions or just hang out in a safe, welcoming place. Brilliant!
This year’s Carnegie Award shortlist is one that looks filled with personal stories, new perspectives and interesting timeframes. Shadowing is due to begin in the library on Wednesday lunchtimes after the Easter holiday. With the inclusion of several of this library’s favourite authors, there will be a great deal to discuss each week before the Celebration Event in June. Check out our progress reading and reviewing at: carnegiegreenaway.org.uk – scroll through the W’s to get to the Wymondham High Shadowing page.
For the first time in many years, Wymondham High students took part in the Smartlaw Magistrates’ Court Mock Trial Competition, this year. With just a couple of months to prepare, our crack legal team of year 8 and 9 students were able to mount both a successful defence and prosecution in the Norfolk regional heat. Despite beating both other schools that they faced, the team sadly did not gain enough points overall to win the heat. Mrs Sharpe and I were immensely proud of the enthusiasm and hard work that the students brought to this project. Each did a great job in their role and supporting each other. On our return to school, the Principal agreed and the team celebrated their success with a well-earned treat – a Nando’s lunch in the Library. (But please don’t tell any other students or they’ll all want one!)
