Merchants’ Academy Celebrates World Book Day
Categories: School News
World Book Day is an annual event which celebrates books and reading, and aims especially to encourage young people to start reading for pleasure. To support this event, the Academy has taken part in a week-long programme of activities spear-headed by the English Department, including competitions, quizzes and special presentations.
Earlier this week, staff gave assemblies about the importance of reading, and several talked about their favourite book and why it was important to them. Academy Principal Stephen Kings spoke about Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth, BTEC Curriculum Leader Ann Cavacuti talked about To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Collins, and Advanced Skills Teacher in PE Paul Reed explained why he had enjoyed the biography of professional cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Special book trailers have also been available to download on the Academy Library website to encourage more students to take books home, as one of several promotions running in the Sherwood Centre.
Elise Falla, Advanced Skills Teacher in English, said: “I am thrilled that the Academy has been so enthusiastic about taking part in World Book Day activities. It’s such a worthwhile event, as reading for pleasure is a key way to improve literacy, which is fundamental to learning across the board.
“Here at the Academy we want to make reading fun, hence all the quizzes and competitions. We are also trying to encourage students to engage with all types of written word, like newspapers, online articles and journals, as well as your traditional paperback.”
Tomorrow, staff will be reading aloud to their tutor groups and challenging them to take part in the ‘Book Trail’ competition, where they have to identify which members of staff are reading which books. The English Department will also be running a quiz based on the ‘At the Moment I am Reading’ posters that staff have been keeping outside their offices since the beginning of the year.
The activities will culminate with a special non-uniform day, where students and staff are encouraged to dress up as a character from their favourite book. Expect to see Harry Potter, Cleopatra, ‘Bottom’, from A Midsummer Nights Dream, and ‘McMurphy’ from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – and that’s just the staff!
See photos from the day here!
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