Library

The MPPS library is fully computerised, and is situated in an air-conditioned purpose-built classroom, with stepped seating forming an amphitheatre for story-telling, and chairs and tables for co-operative group work.  There is an extensive range of high-quality picture story books, junior fiction and non-fiction titles.  The library also holds the Reading Counts collection of 'Lexiled' books, which are used to match readers with texts to suit their reading ability and their interests. 

As part of the strong emphasis on teaching literacy, MPPS has a full time teacher-librarian, teaching traditional and contemporary literature and information literacy activities, as well as aspects of the Thinking Curriculum.  Activities being integrated with library lessons include De Bono's DATT Thinking Tools, the Six Thinking Hats, Buzan's Mind Mapping and students also learn to sort and categorise their ideas using a variety of graphic organisers.  

Using computers and iPads for research is an integral part of the program. Year 5 & 6 students also complete units from the Digital Demons Cyber Safety program including learning

• to search the internet safely and effectively
• to respect copyright when accessing ideas and information from the internet and
• to identify high quality sites for research. 

Students also Kidspiration and Inspiration software for

• concept mapping, and
• literature based activities

A Prep/Year 3 & 4 'buddy' reading program also supports cross-age friendships and helps to make little ones feel safe and secure at school.

Mrs Gill, the librarian, loves books and reading and Story Time is her favourite thing to do.  She spends a lot of time in bookshops choosing lovely books for our library and she often reviews children’s books for publishers as well.  She hasn’t read every single book in the library yet but it is her ambition to read all of them so that she can help each child find exactly the right book to make them happy.

Mossgiel Park celebrates Book Week each year (usually in August) so watch out for information about the fun in the school newsletter.  Students are also encouraged to participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge each year, with prize raffle draws for students who complete the challenge as well as the certificate from the premier.

Early bird monitors help Mrs Gill to open the library for borrowing before school every day from 8.45 am.  It is also open at lunchtimes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  To borrow, all students must have a waterproof library bag (available for purchase from the school uniform shop) and they will be issued with a barcode tag for scanning.  Preps may borrow one book at a time while they establish regular borrowing habits, and all other students may borrow two (unless they are ‘restricted borrowers’ with a history of overdue loans).  Loans are for two weeks with an option to renew for a further two weeks if it’s a long book.  

Mossgiel Park takes pride in its high-quality collection and so if library books are lost or damaged we ask parents to make a donation towards the replacement of the book.  Some special books that were very expensive to buy are ‘restricted’ and may only be borrowed by students with a good borrowing record.  These books carry special labels and a red R tag advising parents that the full cost of replacing the book is required if lost or damaged.

Mossgiel Park Graduating Students Library Fund

Are you saying goodbye to Mossie Park this year? If this is your child’s last year of primary school, you may be trying to think of a way to thank the school that has given your child a great education over the years.   Have you considered donating a book to the library in your child’s name?  We can arrange for the purchase of a quality book, inscribed with your child’s name, as a lasting memento.  Books are available from $15 for a paperback children’s novel and about $30 for a quality picture story book, so see Miss Hill if you would like to participate in this program.

Library stocktake

The library closes at the end of each November for stocktake so the last day for returning books each year is always 30th November at the very latest. 

Recycled library bags

If your child is leaving Mossgiel Park, please consider recycling his or her library bag.  We pay $2.00 for bags returned in good, clean condition.  See Miss Hill in the library.

The most important thing you can do to prepare your child for success in school is to develop the habit of daily reading. 

The best way to do this is to make reading a pleasure - not a chore - so that the child looks forward to reading each day and is happy to chat about books with you.  For this reason it is important that books for reading at home should not be too hard to read. (They will read more challenging books at instructional level at school).

We recommend that you encourage your child to:

• read books in the appropriate Lexile reading range (from 50 Lexiles above to 100 Lexiles below the measure indicated on the SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory).
• select books on different topics, fiction and nonfiction.
• read for enjoyment and to find information.
• practise reading strategies such as
• asking why or what caused an event to happen,
• using what you know to understand something the book doesn't tell you, and
• predicting what will happen next in the book.
• ask your child to tell you what the book is about and to share ideas about it.  Questions you could ask are
• Was there anything you liked about this book?
• Was there anything you disliked?
• Was there anything that puzzled you?
• Was there anything that you’d never found in a book before?
•   Were there any patterns – any connections – that you noticed? [1]
• Senior students should read at least 25 books a year, as well as a selection of newspapers and magazines.

Encourage your child to read for at least 30 minutes a day and discuss the books your child reads.

Your involvement is critical to your child's success[2].

Happy reading!