Reading Newsletter

Dear Families of Cotham Gardens,

I am very pleased to present you with the summer edition of our Cotham Gardens Loves Reading newsletter. As you can see, we have shifted the newsletter to the website, as this will allow families to easily translate the text into their home language.

It has been a very busy year on the reading front with author visits galore, a new reading at home initiative as well as the introduction of the Golden Bookshelf. We hope you enjoy the next few pages that aim to celebrate the school’s endeavours.

Happy reading,

Duncan Brett

 

 

After Christmas, we introduced a new reading at home initiative to support all learners to improve their reading fluency (speed) and so become independent and enthusiastic book lovers. While Cotham Gardens has always abounded in bookworms, it was noted that many children, and even those reading fanatics, were not reading at an appropriate speed for their age. This scheme set out to address that issue. It was founded on the purchase of a whole new set of levelled books to which the children were matched based upon a reading fluency assessment. Six months in and the scheme is going very well. Many children have made significant progress, moving up from one fluency band to another and in many cases becoming free readers. The new Golden Bookshelf titles have also been a great boost to this initiative, piquing children’s interest and encouraging much excitable book talk. Thank you to everyone at home who has supported this endeavour. It has been inspiring to see more and more children engaged with, excited by and taking pride in their reading.

 

In our end of term reading assembly at the Cotham Grove site, we celebrated all of the wonderful reading that has been going on at home. Children from year 3 – year 6 have demonstrated fantastic engagement and motivation in bringing their book bags and reading records every week for Mrs George to check. It was a tricky task to choose just one child from each class to receive a certificate for their efforts. The competition was so fierce that in some cases Mrs had to pull names from a hat. Well done to everyone who has been working with Mrs George this year.

The winners were:

Starlings- Riyana

Kingfishers - Ebyan

Eagles - Jack

Kestrels - Celeste

Ash - Nneoma

Maple - Tilly

Birch - Koyan

Oak - Daniel

Pine - Madelyn

 

 

 

In term 6, we were lucky enough to be visited by author Eve Wersocki Morris who was on a national tour to promote her Clem Fatale novels. Children from year 4, 5 and 6 were enthralled by her session, which explored the process and inspirations behind her writing as well as taking an exciting dip into the story itself. Surprisingly for an author, Eve explained that as a child she far preferred watching films to reading books, and it was this cinematic story-telling that influenced her own writing.

The Clem Fatale novels draw upon spy films set in the middle of last century. They are full of shady characters, thrilling heists and nail-biting cliff-hangers. One highlight of Eve’s session was a recreation of the sounds of London in the 1950s. With the skill of Jacob Collier, she orchestrated a three-part choral collage incorporating the sounds of motorcars and buses, the Cockney yells of newspaper vendors mixed in with the clipped politeness of businessmen in bowler-hats. Thankfully, Sargent Ishi (from year 6) was on hand to keep order. Grab yourself a copy of a Clem Fatale novel sharpish – you are sure to be entertained.

 

 

 

For Term 6, we set the children a special reading challenge. In line with our expectations, they were asked to read at least three times each week. Every week they achieved this target, they earned a virtual raffle ticket for our end-of-term prize draw.

The response to this simple competition was fantastic, with a significant increase in reading engagement across the school.

In Week 6, we held two prize draws: one for the Elmgrove site and one for Cotham Gardens. The excitement in the room was palpable as children eagerly waited to hear the results. Using an online spinning wheel to select the winners at random, the draws were made and the following children were announced as our lucky winners:

 

Reception - Elaine

Year 1 - Maxwell

Year 2 - Harriet

Year 3 – Rufus B

Year 4 - Thelma

Year 5 – Asha A

Year 6 – Tom W

Here are the winners from KS2

 

 

 

With the generous and enthusiastic support of the PTAF and the school community as a whole, we launched the Golden Bookshelf at the beginning of the year. The idea was to refresh our book corners with a carefully curated set of titles that represented the best in children’s books and covered a range of genres. We really wanted to inspire all children to love reading! The response to the initiative has been wonderful. Many children up and down the school set themselves the challenge of reading the whole class set and achieved this feat in no time at all. The newly arrived titles also inspired lots of impassioned book talk among the children. For instance, when Maple Class received a copy of Cheat Book by Ramzee, the room became a forest of hands as children pleaded to be the first to read it.

 

To celebrate the Golden Bookshelf, classes were asked to choose their favourite title. The results are below. We hope they inspire lots of summer reading!

 

YEAR 6 - OAK CLASS

Oak Class voted overwhelmingly for The Final Year by Matt

Goodfellow- nearly half the class said that this was their favourite of all those they had read. They described the book as fascinating and realistic and also loved the ending, although we won’t give you any spoilers here! They also really like the links to Skellig, one of our class books that they also enjoyed. 

 

 

 

YEAR 6 - PINE CLASS

This was Pine Class’s most popular book and made its way into the hands of at least half the class! It is hilarious, relatable and uplifting but also tugged on our heartstrings too. The main character, Billy, inspired us with his bravery and confidence at managing his stammer and following his dream of being a comedian. We took great delight in the ending which had readers cheering him on. What a great read! 

 

YEAR 6 - BIRCH CLASS

Birch Class thoroughly enjoyed the graphic novel Rune, particularly its exciting adventure, fast-paced plot and engaging characters. The story kept the children hooked as they followed Chiri and Dai's journey, filled with mystery, challenges and moments of bravery. The illustrations helped bring the story to life and supported pupils' understanding of the plot and character development. As a graphic novel, it also provided a welcome variety to the reading materials used in our lessons, encouraging enthusiasm for reading and prompting rich class discussions. Rune was a popular choice that captured the imagination of many children and fostered a genuine enjoyment of reading. 

 

YEAR 5 - ASH CLASS

Can You Get Rainbows In Space is a firm favourite in Ash class due to its catchy title that makes the reader think. With its detailed text and visually stunning illustrations, this fact book soon had a queue to read it!  

 

 

YEAR 5 - MAPLE CLASS

Fairy Vs Boy was a big hit in Maple Class. With its mix of humour, silliness and magic, the book charmed everyone who read it. When we worked together to write this review, there was a veritable clamour as fans of the book eagerly explained what made the story so enjoyable. This book would appeal to anyone who loves to laugh. 

 

 

YEAR 4 - EAGLES CLASS

Stitch Head quickly became a class favourite. The children were drawn into Stitch Head's adventurous journey as he tried to protect the monsters hidden in Castle Grotteskew while searching for a place where he truly belonged. They particularly enjoyed the exciting plot, the twists and turns throughout the story, and getting to know the main character, Stitch Head. This book would appeal to anyone who enjoys adventurous, humorous stories with unusual characters and a touch of mystery.  

 

YEAR 4 - KESTELS CLASS

El Deafo has quickly become one of our absolute class favourites! This fantastic graphic novel is a funny and heartwarming autobiography about the author, Cece Bell, who loses her hearing at a young age. To help her hear, she has to wear a massive, bulky hearing aid strapped to her chest called the Phonic Ear. While it makes her feel different at first, Cece soon realises the device gives her a spectacular superpower: she can hear her teacher everywhere in the school, even in the staffroom! Renaming herself "El Deafo," Cece goes on a quest to find true friendship and embrace her inner superhero. 

Our class absolutely loved the fact that this inspiring story is based on a real person. The brilliant comic-strip illustrations kept everyone hooked and the 

book delivers a deeply important message about empathy, kindness, and celebrating our differences, all wrapped up in a wonderfully humorous way. 

Our Rating: 5/5 stars! We highly recommend it to anyone looking for a funny, uplifting read. 

 

 

YEAR 3 - KINGFISHER CLASS

Kingfishers favourite book was The Bridges by Tom Percival. They loved reading this book because it reminded them about the power of books and how they can transport you to new places and change a boring day into a really exciting one. For many the book reminded them of their own reading journey. They also thought the illustrations were simply brilliant! 

We gave this 5/6 stars! 

 

 

YEAR 3 - STARLINGS CLASS

We loved this book because it’s actually really interesting and fun to read. It has a cool meter to rate the facts on.” 

 

 

 

 

YEAR 2 - HEDGEHOGS CLASS

Hedgehogs loved reading ‘Marv and the dino attack.’ It was interesting and exciting because we just didn’t know what would happen next! The plot was a rollercoaster and always kept us on the edge. It was funny because Marv was riding a Skelton dinosaur and it was funny to imagine this as we read. 

 

 

 

YEAR 2 - RABBITS CLASS

The class love this story. They love the different personalities of the crayons. It’s a little silly and mischievous. Each page makes us giggle and we love to giggle at the end of a hard days learning.  

Rabbits thoughts on the book: 

“It’s funny because they all have different experiences. “ 

“The crayons either like being used and some never get 

used. “ 

“It’s cool because the drawings are funny.” 

 

 

YEAR 1 - FOXES CLASS

We have loved reading ‘Little brown nut’ by Mary Auld!  

As a class we could follow the life cycle of a little brown Brazil nut as it falls to the ground and grows into its very own Brazil nut tree. We loved finding links between the story and our science topic of plants. 

 

 

YEAR RECEPTION - LADYBIRDS CLASS

Don’t Think of Tigers by Alex Latimer is a funny and interactive picture book in which the illustrator asks readers to think of anything they like—except tigers. However, the more the reader tries not to think about tigers, the more they appear on every page in silly and unusual ways.  The Ladybirds chose Don’t Think of Tigers because it made them laugh a lot.  The silly tiger drawings kept them interested and excited throughout the story! 

 

 

YEAR RECEPTION - HONEYBEES CLASS

 Here is why Oi Frog is one of the Honeybee’s favourite Golden Bookshelf books: 

“I like it when the cat says dogs sit on frogs.” 

“I like how he gets splinters on his bottom.” 

“I like it because it is funny.” 

“I like the frog sitting on the log.” 

“I have this book at home too!” 

“I like when the lion sits on an iron.” 

“I like how the frog’s feet look like chicken feet.”