Sparx Reader

Are you in Years 7 or 8? We have signed you up to a new exciting scheme called Sparx Reader! This allows you to access an online library, earn points and prizes! You will be signed up during your English lessons. Please speak to Miss Reuben or your English teacher for more information.

Reading Ambassadors - Using our Library

Our new Reading Ambassadors will be in the Library every Monday and Thursday break and lunchtimes for you to borrow books. Have a browse and approach a Reading Ambassador, or they will approach you, and you can borrow our books!

A reminder there is no eating or playing games in the Library or Learning Centre during break and lunch times.

Spring Reading Challenge 2023 Winner

Congratulations to Sofiia Ivannikova in Year 9 who won the Spring Reading Challenge!

Spring Reading Challenge 2023

The Spring Reading Challenge is underway! Go to the Reading Challenges tab, or see Miss Reuben in A9, for more information.

Autumn Reading Challenge 2022 Winner

Congratulations to Chloe Battley in Year 10 who won the Autumn Reading Challenge!

Autumn Reading Challenge 2022

Get ready for the next Reading Challenge! Head over to the Reading Challenges tab for more information. Good luck!

I want to get back into reading, but I don't know where to start?

Head over to the Recommended Reading tab to see what other educators recommend.

How do I get into reading?

Are you unsure where to start when getting into reading? The Scottish Book Trust have released a helpful guide. Happy reading!

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/book-lists/great-books-for-children-starting-secondary-school?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=scottish_book_trust&utm_content=post&fbclid=IwAR0D8KW52K7rLGinRs5netZVOXGbRDm2yhl-39do4pf3WTGnepixwIpk9o8&fs=e&s=cl 

Summer Term 2022

Welcome back after the Easter holidays! The winner of the Spring Reading Challenge will be announced soon, with news on what we are doing next. Keep your eyes peeled!

Spring Reading Challenge 2022

Running from Friday 28th January to Friday 1st April, you are invited to read 5 books this term with the topics on the Reading Challenges page and enter your reads for more chances to win an Easter Hamper!

You have to be in it to win it!

Books to look out for in January 2022

Stuck on where to start your reading journey? Head over to Waterstones and see their book list for January 2022. Let us know what you choose to read!

Literacy Tutor Time for Years 7-9

Currently, our KS3 Literacy tutor sessions are listening to and discussing the audiobook, Ghost Boys. We would love your feedback on this book as you listen with your form, so please contact Miss Reuben with any comments.

A Youtube link to this audiobook is here if you wanted to listen to more at home. Alternatively, you can purchase the book online and support the author, Jewell Parker Rhodes.

These sessions can count towards your 20 minutes of reading a day too!

Happy New Year!

We hope you all had a restful and safe break over the new year. Now we are back, don't forget to log your Winter Reading Challenge reads in the Google Form here. The winner will be announced very soon!

Continue reading for 20 minutes per day; audiobook, digital book (which can be accessed via our own personal online library, ePlatform) or hard copies - reading is reading!

WINTER READING CHALLENGE 2021

Keep your eyes peeled for the Winter Reading Challenge! Starting on the 15th November, you have two months to read a minimum of three books and join our challenge!

Your name will enter a raffle for a chance to win a prize! The more books you read, the higher chance of winning!

Browse this website to see our recommendations and other ways you can read to enter the Winter Reading Challenge. Head over to our Reading Challenges tab for more information.

SEPTEMBER 2021

We at The Colne hope you all had a restful and reading-packed summer!

Now we are back, updated reading lists and recommended reading for subjects can be found on this website, including prizes for the Summer Reading Challenge 2021 winners, the Autumn Reading Challenge, and recommended reading from teachers.

NEWS JULY 2021

Well done to our Spring Reading Challenge winners: Aruna Sher (9), Bobby Lumb (7) and Ava Chapman (7)! Tremendous efforts from each of you and well deserved.

We are now launching the Summer Reading Challenge, starting on Saturday 10th July. This is in conjunction with Brightlingsea Library, our local library, in which you will see some amazing displays our students have been working on. Please pop down to Brightlingsea Library for a browse of these displays and to borrow a book for the reading challenge!

Head over to our Reading Challenges tab for more information.

NEWS MAY 2021

As the ePlatform trial draws to a close, I would like to congratulate the students and staff that have used the ePlatform services. Hold tight, as we are hoping to add many more titles to this wonderful facility!

As part of our Summer Reading Challenge, Brightlingsea Library have kindly offered students at The Colne Community School an opportunity to showcase their wonderful art skills and create a display focusing on Wild World Heroes. Students are encouraged to complete any piece of art and send them to Mrs Welham - the three best pieces will receive a prize! Please contact Mrs Welham or go to your year group's Google Classroom for more information.

Finally, don't forget that the Spring Reading Challenge is still on until the 31st May! Submit your responses via the Reading Challenges tab. The winner will receive a prize - can you beat the previous winner of both the Winter 2020 and Summer 2020 reading challenges?

NEWS APRIL 2021

We are so excited for our students to begin their online reading journey with us. Within two weeks, we have had a fantastic turnout of students and staff who have logged in to uses the ePlatform services. Both e- and audiobooks have been loaned, sharing with us what our students like to read at their leisure.

eLibrary using ePlatform

We are excited to launch a month-long trial of an eLibrary that can be accessed on most phones, tablets and devices available from 12th April until 12th May 2021. To access this, either download the free app by searching 'ePlatform' on your app store, or by going to our tailored website: https://colne.eplatform.co/ 

Sign in with your usual Colne login details and explore the 2000+ eBook and audiobook titles currently available during our free trial. For students with difficulties reading, once you 'borrow' an eBook there are options to change the font, size, background colour, and spacing of letters, words and lines to suit your needs. For further information, a brief Slides document is available on

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HAsrihaswUTo1opiPmxZPM1jB3LUuHQLkzouFHQUt24/edit?usp=sharing  

This is a very exciting opportunity and I would love your feedback on this eLibrary trial once you have explored it via the form link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXCrZ3iISImWuGlrVgnOfRe5FFjor-ExFfJyjakLml_fU4rA/viewform 

Staff Audiobook

We have exciting news to bring you!

The amazing staff here at Colne Community School has come together to record an audiobook for our students. They will be posted on the year group Google Classrooms and the Literacy at The Colne page each week, starting the 23rd February. Can you guess who is speaking each week...?

Staff will be reading The Boy Who Flew by Fleur Hitchcock. A synopsis of the book is below via Goodreads: 

"Athan Wilde dreams of flight. When his friend, Mr Chen, is murdered, Athan must rescue the flying machine they were building together and stop it falling into the wrong hands. But keeping the machine safe puts his family in terrible danger. What will Athan choose – flight or family?

From the acclaimed author of Murder In Midwinter, Fleur Hitchcock’s The Boy Who Flew is a thrilling murder-mystery set among the steep rooftops and slippery characters of Athan’s intricately imagined world. Perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Peter Bunzl and Philip Reeve."

Looking forward to your feedback. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did recording this audiobook!

Miss Reuben

Spring Reading Challenge 2021

The Colne's Spring Reading Challenge 2021 is live! Focusing on diversifying your reading, please head on over to the Reading Challenges page for more information and who to contact.

Looking forward to seeing what you read and the book reports you produce!

Miss Reuben

How can I read at home when I don't have any books?

A few students have been asking how they can read at home even though they don't or can't have access to paper books. There are plenty of websites and smartphone apps that allow you to access reading online, for example:

Websites:

https://manybooks.net/ Sign in using your school email address via Google to access FREE e-books.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/free-ebooks/nook-books/teens-ya/teen-fiction/_/N-ry0Z8qaZ19zn?limit=20&offset=3  Create a free account to access free books online. You may have to enter card details, however this is because it is a website where you can also purchase books. This is an American website.

https://www.librariesni.org.uk/browse-read/ebooks-and-audiobooks/  Create a free membership to access free e-books and audiobooks. If you are under 16 you will need a parent or guardian to sign the form.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/ This website is mainly aimed at children aged or with a reading age of 3-11.

https://library.thenational.academy/ This website is mainly aimed at children aged or with a reading age of 3-11.

https://openlibrary.org/ Sign in using your school email address via Google to access free e-books.

Apps:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp The free Kindle App has free e-books and books that can be purchased.

https://www.borrowbox.com/ Join your local library through this app to access free books.

https://www.apple.com/uk/apple-books/   Access free books if you have an iPhone through the Apple Books app.

For any questions regarding reading at home, please email [email protected] and direct your enquiries to Miss Reuben.

BOOKBUZZ 2020

In November our Year 7s were delivered their Bookbuzz books! Please see the newsletter for more information.

NEWS NOVEMBER 2020

Well done to Keira Browne in year 9 who won our Echo Dot for her efforts during the Summer Reading Challenge. Our Winter Reading Challenge has now also been launched, so make sure you are getting involved with that too! The more books you have read, the higher chance you get of winning the prize!

NEWS NOVEMBER 2020

We are delighted to launch the Winter Reading Challenge 2020 at The Colne.

Starting on the 1st December and ending on the 15th January, the aim is to read as many books as you can in this 6 week span. We recommend choosing 3 books; why not make them Christmas themed?

Use the link below to log your books as you participate in this challenge.

I look forward to seeing what you read!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjn2y1g5MCddf4bEnTZ4SAQ1f6jL1AVn5gqO2NMaIMxboY5Q/viewform 

NEWS OCTOBER 2020

All of our year 7 BookBuzz orders have been placed and we will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of these books! Please expect them after half term.

In the meantime, please head on over to our Linked Reading and Recommended Reading pages to see what our teachers recommend for wider knowledge reading, as well as what you could be reading for pleasure.

Miss Reuben

news september 2020:

As the new year begins, our booklists have been updated too. Please head on over to Recommended Reading to browse our 2020-2021 reading recommendations.

Don't forget to submit your Summer Reading Challenge reads! We are eager to see what you and your family have been reading during the summer break. Please speak to Miss Reuben (Literacy and Reading Coordinator) for any more information regarding reading for pleasure, or the Summer Reading Challenge.

Miss Reuben

NEWS july 2020:

We are delighted to introduce our Summer Reading Challenge for all students at The Colne school.

Research shows that reading for pleasure has a significant impact on academic progress and attainment across the curriculum, and reading during the summer can aid this progress further. Reading is also great for developing empathy, boosting confidence, and enhancing creativity.

The Summer Reading Challenge is an initiative we are offering to all Colne students. The goal is to read 6 books that relate to 6 different topics. Each book can only be counted towards one topic, even if it fits into multiple. Once a student has read a book, they can give the book a star rating on the ticket provided (please see the attached file) and fill in the Summer Reading Challenge Log on Google Forms to let us know their thoughts and opinions. Upon our return to school, students will receive 25 ARK points per book read, or 200 if all 6 books have been read. Names will also enter a raffle to receive a reward for their efforts; the more books read, the more their name is entered in the raffle. We will draw raffle tickets in late September and these students will be a part of a prize event to reward their achievements. 

Audiobooks can also count for the challenge. Please see that one of the topics is 'a book your parent/carer has read', so you have the opportunity to reread a favourite of yours with your child!

If you have any questions, please direct them to Miss Reuben (Literacy and Reading Coordinator).

Why read?

Reading for pleasure is possibly the single-most important activity your child can do to improve achievement in school. Research has shown that reading helps cognitive development; a recent IoE study revealed that students who read at home do ‘significantly better’ across the curriculum – including 9.9% better in maths – than students who don’t read. Linked to this is the fact that reading is the best way to improve vocabulary, essential for success in every subject.

Reading also has social and emotional benefits. It increases self-esteem and studies show that students who read are more empathetic. Growing up is tough - reading can help young people explore complex problems from the safe fictional world of a book.

• More important indicator of success than socio-economic/educational status of parents (OECD/PISA 2009)

• Aids with cognitive development and impacts across the curriculum – likely to do ‘significantly better’, with a 9.9% advantage in Maths by age 16! (IoE, London, 2013).

• Science achievement: Researchers found that the strongest factor affecting pupils’ science scores is reading comprehension (EEF, September 2017)

• Reading improves teenagers’ vocabulary by 26% regardless of background (Centre for Longitudinal Studies, November 2017) 

• Develops confidence and self-esteem – can be incredibly empowering for young people 

• Helps young people to deal with complex issues from the safe fictional environment of the book

• Increases empathy

Do you have a reluctant reader? Please see our tips for parents to engage their children.

Recommended and Linked Reading

Our Recommended Reading lists comprise of a variety of topics and for a variety of ages. We want to push a love of reading for all of our students as research shows that reading for 20 minutes per day can improve a range of skills and knowledge.

Our Linked Reading lists comprise of recommended books from our departments to enhance knowledge and skills in each topic area. They have been split for KS3 and KS4 as a guide as some books may contain information that are challenging for younger readers. Please use the websites on these pages to research reviews and ratings of these books.

We recommend one linked reading book per half term, meaning a minimum of 6 books read over the academic year. This can be from any topic or subject and, of course, if your child wanted to read more this is highly encouraged! Linked reading is shown to improve understanding of the topics taught, expose children to higher vocabulary, and enhance empathy and literacy skills within the classroom. 

For an overview of the importance of reading, please view the infographics below. We will regularly update the Recommended Reading and Linked Reading pages for an updated list of books for your children to read.