Book Week May 2024
What a fantastic week we had here in school celebrating our much loved Book Week. Special thanks to Mrs Parkinson who worked so hard organising the many visits from authors to the school. book quizzes, 'bring in your favourite book day', design a book mark activity and dress up as your favourite character day to name but a few. It really was a 'page turner' of a week for sure!!
What an amazing week we've had here in school to mark and celebrate Book Week and our love of reading. Thanks to Mrs Parkinson's hard work and dedication and the wonderful assistance of her 6th Class girls, the week was a massive success. From the very first day right to the end of the week, the atmosphere around the school was magical with classes enjoying remote visits of authors, illustrators and librarians , DEAR Time (Drop Everything and Read) Book Quizzes, Dress Up as favourite Character Day, Cake and Book Displays and lots more besides. We loved every minute of it and hope you can savour some of the magic we all experienced from the slideshow here below..
Book Week 2021
Book Week 2020
from the comfort of our homes !!
A huge thanks to Mrs Parkinson for organising such a great Book Week for us all this year. Thanks to all her hard work and wonderful timetable of activities and suggestions, there was so much to choose from in celebrating the great gift of books and reading, as evident from the slide shows here below.......
Book Week 2019
Sadly, our Book Week came to an end but what a fantastic week it was for the pupils, parents and staff of Our Lady of Mercy School. Mrs McGovern has so much to be proud of with all the time, effort and commitment she gave to organising the week's events and activities and ensuring every element of it ran so smoothly.
Beginning with the Readathon, everyone was on board and really did get 'stuck in' their reading and their books. The visits to the libraries and book shops were such a success and the many authors who visited classes complimented everyone on their interest and knowledge of books and obvious love of reading. The standard of the photography competition was excellent giving the judges a very difficult task in choosing the winners. The Pop Up Book Club was a truly memorable evening for parents and staff in getting to meet the very talented, Anne Griffin, author of 'When all is said' and spend time in the company of Marie Heaney, wife of the late Seamus Heaney who thrilled us all by reading some of Seamus's well known poems and sharing some of her own treasured memories with us. We finished the week with our special assembly and prize-giving ceremony allowing us all to reflect on the fun and enjoyment we had and acknowledge our gratitude to Mrs McGovern. Special thanks also to the Library Committee and the Parents Association for all their help and support with Mrs McGovern in coordinating such a great week. See here below for more details.......
.As you are aware, we are celebrating our annual Book Week from Monday May 20th Friday 24th of May. We are in the process of organizing author visits, library trips, write a book project and many other book related activities. In Our Lady of Mercy we place huge emphasis on the whole area of reading and we try and encourage the girls in whatever way we can to become interested in and to foster a love of reading. We have an active library committee in the school and the members of that committee agreed that we should do something extra to promote reading in the weeks leading up to Book Week. Every child in the school will go home with her Readathon Reading Sheet. We have three weeks leading up to Book Week and during these weeks we are asking the girls to set reading challenges for themselves. We need you to come on board with this project, to engage with your daughters and to motivate them to achieve their targets. We expect the older girls to set their own goals but the younger girls will need your help. The sheet should be signed by you on each Thursday night and the teacher will follow by signing on every Friday. The teachers will explain to the girls in school tomorrow what is expected of them. Their goals should not include the reading that is set for them as part of their homework but should be in addition to that. With the younger girls it can be "Shared Reading". With the older girls it can be any type of reading material. All those who work hard at achieving their targets will be included in a raffle for a Book Token - one per class. In addition, those classes where all the girls work towards achieving their stated goals will get a night off homework during the week following Book Week. Happy reading everyone!
Our Photography Competition
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For all you enthusiastic photographers - don't forget our annual Book week photography competition. This year our theme is "Get Caught Reading1 Get Stuck in a Book" You can be as creative as you like. Entries should be no more than A4 in size and your daughters name and class should be on the back. Entries must be submitted as hard copies and should be in by Wednesday 15th May. so get snapping!!
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Pop Up Book Club for parents, friends and staff.
Anne Griffin's novel "When All is Said" reached the number one Best seller list in February. It has been described as "a spectacular first novel", "a subtly beautiful story that celebrates life, loss, and most significantly, love". Anne is a past pupil of Our lady of Mercy and she will host a "Pop Up Book Club" on Wednesday May 22nd at 8pm. She will read from her book and have a question and answer session.. She is very happy to sign copies of her book. Refreshments will be served afterwards. It promises to be a very special evening.
And so the excitement begins!
The photographs are up and the posters are announcing the beginning of Book Week 2019! Well done to all who participated in the photography competition and thank you to Therese who has displayed them so creatively. It will be very hard to pick the winners..............................we will have to wait and see!
Friday May 17th 2019
Book Week got off to a flying start!
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Book Week 2019 got off to a flying start when the two first classes went to Dubray's Book Shop in Blackrock and met with author Shane Hegarty. Shane's new book "Boot" is a real hit with the girls and they really enjoyed his entertaining talk. They also got time to sit and relax with a book.
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Monday May 20th 2019
Third and Fourth classes meet author extraordinaire Rob Maguire!
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Despite being allergic to animals Rob Maguire has written this witty and entertaining book "Dr. Hibernica Finch's Compelling Compendium of Irish Animals". With zoologically accurate illustrations and a style that is lighthearted and witty, it certainly is a compelling read!. The girls really enjoyed Rob's presentation!
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A visit from author and illustrator Tatyana Feeney!
The younger classes were so excited about meeting Tatyana Feeney. They loved all her books and she was impressed that they were so familiar with the stories. She read from some of her books and she then showed them how she goes about illustrating. They all had a go on the lovely worksheets which she provided.
Tatyana's Books - Which one do you like?
Story reading for Book Week 2019
During Book week our volunteer parents are reading to the girls from Junior Infants, Senior Infants and First class. It is a wonderful treat and we really appreciate those who give their time to do so!
Our Second Classes visit Blackrock Library!
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Thank you to Bríd in Blackrock Library who showed the girls around, answered all their questions and then let them pick a book to realx with and read. It was, by all accounts a very enjoyable trip!
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Tuesday May 21st 2019
Brian Gallagher's workshop with Fifth and Sixth classes
Aisling Donnelly, senior librarian in Blackrock captured the Junior Infants attention!
Aisling told the girls all about the types of books they can get in the library. She explained to them how a library card works and that you can use it in any library in Ireland. She read a story which the girls loved. They entertained her then when they sang The Library Song for her. She was very impressed! Aisling wants all the girls to get involved in the Summer Stars Reading Programme which will be launched in Blackrock Library on Saturday June 15th - mor information to follow!
Alan Nolan - A Big Hit!!
On Tuesday Alan Nolan came in and talked to 2nd, 3rd and 4th Classes. He told us a bit about his books and how he used people in real life to inspire him when creating his characters! He told some very funny stories about how his sister used to torment him and the mischief they got up to! At the end, everyone got to create their own characters using his latest invention, a brain swap 3,000 machine. The girls had to pick two animals and join them together, then draw their new character. The results were very funny. We loved having Alan Nolan in to speak to us.
Carla Glynn's workshop with fifth and Sixth Classes
Wednesday 22nd May:
Fun at the Lexicon!
Both First Classes had a fantastic trip today to the Lexicon Library in
Dun Laoghaire. They learned all about the library and how it works. Everybody of all ages can join the library and use their library card in any library in Ireland for free.
They got a chance to tour the library and listen to a story. Then they each chose a book and were able to sit back and enjoy reading with a view over Dun Laoghaire harbour!
Wednesday May 22nd
'POP UP BOOK CLUB'
Our first ever ‘Pop Up Book Club’ was a huge success! The school hall was transformed into a warm cosy sitting room so it felt like a real book club for our parents, friends and staff for the night.
Our own past pupil author Anne Griffin delighted us
by reading from her Irish number one best seller
book ‘When All is Said’. She also shared her story of how she became a writer and then we got the chance to ask her questions about her book and journey to how she became an author.
Then we had a surprise guest, Marie Heaney, wife of the late Seamus Heaney. She delighted us further by reading some of Seamus’s poems and sharing personal notes to each one read. It was such a fantastic event, thoroughly enjoyed by all. A huge thank you to Bríd McGovern for coming up with this clever idea and for all her hard work bringing it to fruition with the help of the dedicated Library Committee and Parents Association.
Wednesday 22nd May 2019
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On Wednesday all classes went to the hall for DEAR time. .It was a special half an hour where we all the girls had the opportunity to read and enjoy the books written by others. We have some budding authors and illustrators in our midst!
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Thursday 23rd May 2019
On Thursday we had our special Book Week assembly. The results of the photography competition were announced. Fiona Treacy and Therese said it was a difficult task to choose four winners as the standard was so high. We also awarded three girls out of each class a Book Week award for enthusiastic participation in Book Week. See the home page for photos!
The Book Quiz
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We ended Book Week on a high with our Book Week Quiz. This time for the first time ever first class got to go. They were delighted. There was a great buzz in the hall and a competitive feel to the whole event. Thank you to all who helped out!
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Memories from Book Week 2018
Eileen Casey -Writer and Poet
Shared Reading and DEAR time
in the hall.
Meeting Jackie Burke!
Book Week Award Winners
Winners of "Get Hooked on a Book!
Our Book Quiz Teams
Our Book Week Coffee Morning - the end of a great week! Thank you to all who helped make it such a wonderful success!
Memories of Book Week 2017
Junior Infants were treated to story time in the sensory room and library, two lovely spaces in our school for listening. Fifth class girls too off on the dart to Dún laoghaire where they visited the Lexicon for the launch of "The Silent Books Exhibition". Sarah Spain, Eva's mum, read from two books written by Eva's great granny Máirín Creggan. Máire Lambertini, who is also a grandaughter of Máire Creggan, shared the reading. The visit was made more special as Séamus, Maire Greggan's son attended. His wife Roberta, a news journalist, also shared her expertise. The first book "Old John" was translated into Gaeilge and published as a school text in the 1930s. This book was read and discussed with second and third classes .Her second book "Rathina"was translated into seven other languages and won the Downy children's book of the year prize in America. Sixth class was treated to excerpts from the book and were very interested in the history behind the book. Go raibh míle maith agaibh to Sarah, Máire, Séamus agus Roberta!
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First and second classes were delighted with the visit of author Joe O'Brien. They have thoroughly enjoyed reading some of his Alfie books. Joe read excerpts from some of his books, answered lots of questions and signed bookmarks for everyone. He was great fun!
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Alma Jordan
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On Wednesday the Junior and Senior Infants were treated to a visit from Alma Jordan. She is the author of "The Tree Swing" and "The Brown Bull" and brought these tales from "riverside Farm to life. Who better to tell the story than the author herself? The children thoroughly enjoyed the stories and learned all about farm safety in the process. They are really looking forward to "The Red tractor" which is the next book in the series.
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DEAR time in the hall!
What an achievement! Every girl in the school produced a book for Book Week and my goodness, the standard was very high! Thank you to all the teachers and parents who helped and encouraged the girls in their efforts. It was wonderful to see the excitement and pleasure the books gave to all. We all wanted to stay longer in the hall reading and reading.....................
Niall de Búrca - Storyteller
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On Thursday we were all entertained by storyteller Niall de Búrca. My goodness, what a fuuny fellow! He had us all in stitches!!
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Benji Bennet, author of the Adam books visited on Friday.
The girls really enjoyed Benji's visit. He read from "Adam's Amazing Space Adventure and entertained us with his singing. Thank you Benji for donating some of your beautiful books to the school library. We all love reading them and the illustrations are so beautiful!
Book Week Award Winners
Coffee Morning in the Library
Thank you to those who joined us for our coffee morning in our beautifully refurbished library. It was a wonderful opportunity to see our fantastic stock of new books while enjoying a cuppa and a nice slice of cake!
A great end to Book Week - Our annual Book Quiz!
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There was great teamwork at our book quiz which was a fitting end to what has been a very successful celebration of all that Book Week. Thank you to all our volunteers who gave of their time and expertise to help make Book Week 2017 an exciting event.
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A special word of thanks to Ms McGovern for organising a terrific Book Week for us here in the school. A huge amount of time and effort went into organising and planning the week's events with visits from authors, story tellers, trips out to the Lexicon Library in Dunlaoghaire, Coffee Morning in the Library, the Table Quiz and the final day dress up event. The girls went go to great lengths to dress up as their favourite characters and really add to the atmosphere and success of the whole week
