There are a series of exciting events planned during our best ever Book Week!
Monday 1st October: Marcus Sedgwick will open Book Week by the magic of skype! He is a real Renaissance man: a writer, illustrator and musician. He has published graphic novels, as well as prize-winning young adult fiction like the 2014 Michael L. Printz Award for his novel ‘Midwinterblood’. Marcus has also received two Printz Honours, for ‘Revolver’ in 2011 and ‘The Ghosts of Heaven’ in 2016. He has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie medal seven times. Other notable award winning books include ‘Floodland’, Marcus’ first novel, which won the Branford-Boase Award in 2001, a prize for the best debut novel for children published in the UK each year; ‘My Swordhand is Singing’, which won the Booktrust Teenage Prize for 2007, and ‘Lunatics and Luck’, part of The Raven Mysteries series, which won a Blue Peter Book Award in 2011. Marcus Sedgwick will lead a whole school assembly and then talk to the Years 7 and 8 during lesson 1. We also have his wonderful books in our school library waiting to be borrowed. Find out more about this exciting author here: https://marcussedgwick.com/
Tuesday 2nd October: Year 7 Shakespeare workshops. We are delighted that each of our Year 7 groups will have a 1½ hour workshop with a fabulous theatre company: http://www.shakespeareinitaly.eu/index.php . This will be based on their autumn term Shakespeare text.
Wednesday 3rd October: Year 8 ‘Twelfth Night’ Workshop 10.30am-12.30pm
Year 10 ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ workshop 1.45pm-3.45pm. These energetic and engaging workshops will be led by the brilliant Box Clever theatre company.
Year 11: cinema event: Room 604 ‘Much Ado’ starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate 5pm–7.30pm
Thursday 4th October: All year groups: House Book Quiz in Assembly
All year groups: Lunchtime Book Auction – raising funds for Afghan Connection.
Friday 5th October: Dressing up as your favourite character from a book! There is a one pound fee for this and all funds go to the school’s twinned school in Afghanistan.
Our Book Week celebrations are just a part of our commitment to get your daughter reading. It is well documented that regular reading improves academic performance across the curriculum. Not only does it improve those English skills of spelling, punctuation and paragraphing but it widens vocabulary and improves the ability to organise ideas. Sustained reading also improves focus and concentration – vital when these often take a hammering in our screen-dominated world. Reading also, of course, encourages empathy and understanding. Studies have also shown that reading is a great way of de-stressing. Everyone should read
The money we raise during Book Week will be sent to Afghan Connection http://afghanconnection.org/ . Last year our Book Week donation of £377 was doubled by a mystery benefactor as part of their BIG GIVE CAMPAIGN. This means BHHS was responsible for a massive £754 worth of help – kitting out school sports teams, as well as training teachers and building and resourcing schools in war-torn Afghanistan. Brighton & Hove School was twinned to Roghano Girls in Ningrahar province, and is now twinned to a new school Hisarakmazina. Over the years Brighton & Hove have raised enough money to provide Roghano with school equipment and recently Year 7 girls have produced a wall hanging which showed an image of life at Brighton & Hove – sun, sand and ice-cream – to decorate their new twin school. They have exchanged letters and the girls at Hisarakmazina have sent beautiful drawings, embroideries and beadwork.
“I was amazed by all the things we helped you achieve with the money we raised, and I hope in the future we will be able to provide you with even more. Your courage, determination, care for others and your community spirit amazes me, and I hope we can learn from you.” From Pupil at BHHS.”
Thank you to all staff, parents and students whose generosity and enthusiasm every Book Week is so explosive and fun and which will allow this important event and wonderful fundraising to continue this year.
