The next couple of months is a busy time for our committee as we finalise our exciting 2023 calendar which will be coming out before the end of the year. We have a great mix of student and teacher events- some digital- some face to face.

We had some excellent teacher feedback from our Murray Gadd event. Included in this Noteworthy are some examples of student's writing inspired by Murray's ideas and implemented by some pretty onto it teachers.

The Young Authors & Illustrators event was once again a huge success with a large turnout of enthusiastic students.

Summer is a fast approaching and our William Pike event is around the corner with some inspirational messaging to carry us through a busy Term 4. This event is the perfect opportunity to mix, mingle and be entertained.

Hope to see you there!

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the Writing seminar organised by the Waikato Literacy Association. As a beginning teacher, literacy is a curriculum area I have felt most nervous about, especially when trying to build the interest of boys in writing. This seminar not only built my confidence but developed my own teaching philosophy in writing. The immense knowledge, experience and research Murray Gadd presented was truly inspiring. First and foremost, he spoke about understanding our learners and the interests that drive them. He then discussed the cruciality of targeting our teaching to learners' needs. The highlight of this seminar was the way he showed how I could easily manage and format this to ensure all my learners were growing in Writing. I am very appreciative of this opportunity and look forward to future seminars!

Preet Kaur

Written by children in Room 6 at St Joseph's Catholic School in Morrinsville

Extract from Claudia (Year 8) Inspired by the book Keys by Sasha Cotter & Josh Morgan

…I open a door with a tiny key and see a room of books and paradise where I can sit, relax and read whatever I like. I don’t have to worry about the world around me. I close the door…

Celebrating International Literacy Day on September 8 is a chance to annually recognise the importance of growing literacy from a young age. The Waikato Literacy Association has been involved with ‘Books for Babes’ and sharing this initiative with different maternity units throughout our region.

Over the past 5 years we have presented books to Te Awamutu, Hamilton, Huntly, Taumarunui and this year we presented books to newborns and their families to Pohlen Hospital maternity unit in Matamata.

Pohlen Hospital services a wide area - From Paeroa to Putaruru and all areas in between. So it was a wonderful choice to donate these this maternity unit to know they will reach many homes within our Matamata-Piako And South Waikato Districts.

The book selected was ‘Hush a Kiwi Lullaby’ written by the much-loved author Joy Cowley. It is a beautiful book written in Te Reo and English with delightful illustrations. We’ve had the ongoing support from Scholastic with this initiative.

Judith Woodham and Sandie Haddock from the WLA a committee made the special delivery to Matamata. What was even more special was that they were invited to hand the book to a new arrival to the maternity unit - with both mum and dad present who were still on cloud nine after the delivery of their firstborn.

Readers are born in the laps of loved ones.

Sandie Haddock