Scotch College

Supporting a reading culture at Scotch

Literature Circles

2004 has seen the return of Literature Circles Parents. Once a term, a group of parents come armed with a good book, a cup of coffee and a desire to share their passion for reading.

The evening commences with a light supper and a warm welcome from the Head of Library, Suzette Boyd. Then the group come together to hear from a guest speaker. In term 1 our Guest Speaker was Anne Montieth. Anne is not only a recently published author of Mornington Peninsula: Sea Breeze and Sand, but is also a parent of Ed (10 Gilray).

She spoke with great authority about the challenges of getting published and shared many amusing anecdotes about the characters she encountered while researching her book. In term 2 we welcomed Deborah Forster as our guest. Deborah has written a regular column in The Sunday Age and is currently working on a novel. Deborah is also a parent of Chris (10 Bond).

After hearing from our guest speaker the group gets down to business and forms 'circles' of approximately eight people to talk about books they have read and enjoyed. Even where time has not allowed for a lot of reading recently people were able to talk about memorable books they'd read in the past.

The next 'Literature Circles for Parents' will be held on Wednesday 11 August. If you are a reader, or if you're looking for reading recommendations, you are invited to join us at our next gathering. For further enquiries, please contact Jan Goldsmith, Head of the together, Library Auxiliary on 9818 8535 or Rachel Kerr in the Senior Library on 9810 4245.

Literature Club

When the bell rings at 12:35 on Fridays the members of the Literature Club grab their lunches and head straight to the library. Here, approximately 30 boys from years 7-11 meet to share their love of reading and writing (and talking!). 2004 has seen many new members join our ranks.

They have been able to participate in activities such as visits by a storyteller and an illustrator, literary quizzes,'reading rings' and more. Term 1 also saw the debut of the Literature Club newsletter SLAM! Editors James Purcell and Dev Darvall and their team have worked tirelessly to put together a fabulous and informative publication for the group to share.

The highlight of the Term 1 program was a visit by much loved author and illustrator, Terry Denton. Terry's session was extremely 'hands on' with him demonstrating his talents to the group before handing the pens and paper over to his audience.

Term 2's highlights have been workshops from award winning author Michael Hyde, a bookbuying excursion to Borders Bookstore in Chadstone andthe annual Literature Club movie night.