This week, YK Pao Secondary School is hosting its first ever Book Week! We have many exciting activities planned. Throughout the week, students can enjoy hunting around the library to find all the answers to our library scavenger hunt. There are two separate hunts organized to challenge students in both English and Chinese. They will be asked a wide range of questions about where resources are located in the library, identifying quotes from famous authors, and more.
This Monday morning, our entire school participated in an activity called Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.). Students, teachers, administrators, ayi’s, maintenance workers, and bus drivers all joined together to read silently. D.E.A.R. is practiced at schools and libraries all over the world. We hope to encourage students to enjoy reading and to see what others are reading. This can open up opportunities for interaction and get students excited about reading different types of books that they may not have thought to try out before.
On Tuesday, students and staff were encouraged to dress as their favorite author or character from a book. Students had to guess what staff were dressed up as for the chance to win a prize! Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest, Katniss from The Hunger Games, Sherlock Holmes, Curley’s Wife from Of Mice and Men and even the Pearl Princess from Chinese drama My Fair Princess could be found wandering around campus!
Our Y6, Y7 and Y8 students were invited to watch a special show this past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Teachers and staff members were interviewed about some of their favorite books. These shows titled Take 5, Take 6 and Take 7 featured a host who posed thought provoking questions to staff about the books they chose to chat about. Many laughs were shared and even a few tears.
During after school hours, students can enjoy watching a special drama called Bookworm in our beautiful Black Box Theater. Additionally, students can enjoy attending a Book to Film Event. This event featured a host from the English Department who presented the students with an introduction to the film as well as discussion afterwards. The films, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bridge to Terabithia, The Life of Pi andMy Family and Other Animals were played.
The library also hosted its first ever Book Fair, thanks to Obido books. Chinese and English titles were available for all ages. In addition to the large variety of books, educational toys and games were on sale as well.
All students had the chance to create their own flag, which was decorated to feature their favorite book. Flags were strung together to create bunting outside of the library. This generated a lot of discussion among students as they talked about all the books their friends had chosen.
Across the school, departments were also incorporating Book Week-related activities in their classes. The Math department is reading quotes from famous mathematicians and authors of maths publications to start off their lessons. The Art department’s Y9 students have created beautiful book cover artwork, using a variety of media to create a piece based on a favorite work of literature.
(From Kendra Perkins, Head Librarian, Secondary Division)
