Might you be looking for a book to read over the summer holidays?
Please click on one of the links below :
Since September 2021, we have strived at Alderbrook to encourage a balance of promoting learning and relaxation by creating a new library environment that is both comfortable and practical.
There are four computer stations for online research and homework, as well as twenty desk spaces for study or silent hobbies such as drawing. We also have multiple sofas and armchairs, perfect for curling up in with a book.
The library has been organised to be as effective and easy to use for our students as possible. We have an excellent selection of both fiction and non-fiction which is both colour-coded and clearly labelled by subject and genre.
For our Year 7s, our books are clearly marked with the Accelerated Reader stickers at the top of the spines.
We’ve been working hard to turn our new library into an inclusive and safe space. We have purchased a large number of new books by ethnic minority authors and books promoting diversity and inclusion. We’ve created a space that celebrates reading in all its forms including fanfiction, graphic novels and subtitled anime.
At ABK we strive to help promote reading by encouraging our students to read for pleasure and as an act of mindfulness. We’re proud of our new library space and the students who make regular use of it to relax and do homework.
Student engagement has been phenomenal so far this year and we hope to see it grow even more.
Enjoy some quality time with a good book, surrounded by your fellow students. We will pick a book together monthly and read it together at the club and at home and discuss it as a group. This is a great opportunity for you to make friends and experience a wide variety of books. If you love all things books, this club is for you!
Reading Cloud is the system students can use to check our catalogue and manage their own book loans.
Students should know their logins, but if not, they should come to talk to our librarian.
Once logged in, students can create a personalised profile and list their favourite books and authors. They can create their own blog around books they are currently reading and make reading lists of books they have read or would love to read in the future.
Our librarian has created excellent book lists under the ‘search’ tool which allows students to search by genre, non-fiction topic, AR level or by other curriculum topics such as ‘Dystopian Fiction’ which is studied in English lessons.
When selecting a record of a book we have in the library, students can reserve it, add it to their list, take an AR quiz on it or create a review. Reviews are posted on the home page of Reading Cloud and may be chosen to feature in the School Bulletin.
At ABK we’ve been using Accelerated Reader with our Year 7s to help monitor and improve their reading.
Accelerated Reader is online tool that helps teachers manage and monitor children’s independent reading practice. The student picks a book at their own level and reads it at their own pace. When finished, they take a short quiz on the computer. (Passing the quiz is an indication that the student has understood what was read.) Accelerated Reader gives both children and teachers feedback based on the quiz results, which the teacher then uses to help your child set targets and direct ongoing reading practice.
Link to Parent guide for using Accelerated Reader – Accelerated Reader (homelearning.education)
Pupils develop reading skills most effectively when they read appropriately challenging books – difficult enough to keep them engaged but not so difficult that they become frustrated. This is their ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (ZPD)
Because students receive regular feedback from Accelerated Reader, teachers and librarians are given many opportunities to praise students for their successes and to discuss with them what they have been reading.
In order to encourage healthy competition and continue engagement with reading and literacy, we hold monthly competitions. The tasks vary from month to month, from creating a poster, to writing a poem, to researching.
Our competitions are based on our library’s monthly themes:
September – Self-Discovery
October – Black History Month, Halloween
November – Children’s Book Week
December – Christmas
January – Holocaust Memorial Day & Poetry at Work Day
February – Tell a Fairy-Tale Day
March – World Book Day
April – April Fools, Shakespeare
May – Mental Health Awareness Week, Sherlock Holmes Day
June – Pride Month
July – Paperback book day, End of the Year
On Miss Cameron’s desk there is a sheet where you sign your name, form and the time you arrived. When you are ready to leave, you fill in the time to sign-out
To borrow a book, bring the book of your choice to the desk where Miss Cameron will ask your surname, find you on the system and then scan the barcode inside the book.
Students can borrow books for 2 weeks at a time. You can renew them at any time if you wish to borrow them for longer.
Students can borrow 2 books at any one time.
To return a book, place it in the purple box labelled ‘returns’ on your way into the library. Miss Cameron will then scan them back in at the end of the day.
If your book is overdue, a reminder will be sent to your parents. If not returned, a second reminder will be sent before the book is marked as lost. If the book is not returned, the librarian will phone home. If not returned, you will be issued a 30-minute detention before the record is cleared.
Not during the school day. The computers are for homework and research. If a student is trustworthy, they may be allowed to access some games afterschool during club time.
No. The school rule is that no phones are allowed to be used around the school, including the library. This also includes Sixth Formers. If a phone is seen out in the library, it will be confiscated.
Yes, absolutely. We encourage Sixth Formers to use the library during their free study periods. You simply need to sign in on the form on Miss Cameron’s desk.
