“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body ...

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison ... So today marks the end of an interesting half term. The instructions ... Home Blog “Readingistothemindwhatexerciseistothebody.”–JosephAddison “Readingistothemindwhatexerciseistothebody.”–JosephAddison 12February2021 Sotodaymarkstheendofaninterestinghalfterm. Theinstructionstotheboysare;unlesstheyarestillfinishingwork,theyshouldtakeabreakfromtheirschoolroutineandengageinsomeotheractivities,withaparticularencouragementtoread.    Whilstmanyboyswillbereadinginthetraditionalformat,ourdigitallibraryhasreallytakenoff,asboysusedevicestoaccessawiderangeofreadingmaterials. OurLiteracycoordinator,MrMerlo,hasinformedmethatover3308bookshavebeenborrowedfromtheschooldigitallibrarythislastyear. WithJanuary2021beingourbusiestmonthwith787eBooksand370audiobooksbeingread.   Goodhabitsandroutinesarekey,soitisencouragingtonotethatcurrentlytheboysusingthelibraryareaveraging67minutesperdayreading. Thathasbeenontopoftheirregularschoolwork,sothescopeforsomewiderreadingisarealopportunityforsome,andforthoseboysthathavenotreadasmuchastheyshould-thishalftermistheidealopportunitytoidentifysomethingtoread.  Withachoiceof3009titlesfrom9368copiestochoosefrom,ourlibraryhassomethingtointeresteveryone,infact36titleshavebeenaddedtoday,withtopicsrangingfrom‘Anxietyreliefforteens’,classicliteraturefromRudyardKiplingtobooksgivingtipsonplayingthegameFortnite. OurDigitalLibraryislinkedhere   Manythankstothefamilieswhorespondedtooursurveyonblendedlearning. Thevolumeofreplieswasmostimpressive,andreallyhashelpedusinidentifyinghowwecanimprovefurther. Wewillbesharingtheresultswhenwereturn.   Thestaffhavealsobeendirectedtotakeabreaknextweek. Thecommitmenttheyallhavemadetocareforourboys,neverceasestoimpressme. Havingtoadaptinthewaywehave,hasbeensomechallenge,buttheinterestsofourboyshasbeenattheheartofthedecisionswemakeandthedrivingmotivationforusall. Itwasgoodtoheartheappreciationfromfamiliesforsuchdedicationinthesurveyresponses.   Itisalsogoodtogetmessagesfromparentsabouttheboysthathaveleftus. Irecentlyreceivedanappreciativeemailfromthefatherofaboywholeftusoveradecadeago. Hewasrecentlyappointedpost-doctoralresearcherattheworldfamousJohnHopkinsUniversityHospitalinBaltimoreUSA. Theparentswantedtoacknowledgethosewhohelpedhimalongtheway,notonlyintermsofacademicprogress,butalso“theadditionallifeskillswhichhavehelpedhimachieve.”  Wereceivemanysimilarmessagesanditcanbeapowerfulreminderofwhywedowhatwedo.   TheparentendswithaquotefromHenryAdams,andIwillfinishwithitalsoasarecognitiontoallourstaff,whodowhattheydo.   “Ateacheraffectseternity.Sheneverknowswhereherinfluencestops”   MrOwens PostedbyMrOwens Category:Headteacher'sLogBook Tags: DigitalLibrary Headteacher previous next share tweet LatestNews 7September2022 WestHillSchoolopensnewlibrary Tweetsbywesthillschool