Book Week 2019
Book Week will be from the 4th to 8th March. The theme will be 'Our Heritage, Our Home' and we will be celebrating books written by British and Singaporean authors.
On book character dress up day (8th March), students might want to stick to this theme or come as another character. Students are asked to bring a donation of $2 can be made and this will go to support the go to support these two important charities.
You'll find some great ideas for costumes in the following websites:
See below an overview of all the exciting things which are happening during that week.
Book Week Parent & Staff Competition
Each year we try to come up with an interesting way to involve parents and staff in our Book Week celebrations across the College. When I came across the fun being had on the Snide Octopus Instagram and Facebook pages, I knew this was the focus for us this year.
Authors spend a lot of time coming up with titles for their texts, but Snide Octopus is spending a lot of time messing them up by captioning photos of books with subtitles. These short and witty subtitles usually cut to the core of the book and brilliantly summarize it or provide an alternative title that would either insult and engage its author or make him/her laugh.
Let's face it, sometimes life would be better with subtitles! So please do get involved with this competition, take a look at what's on your bookshelves at home or wander into a library or bookshop near you and give your imagination free rein.
Author Visits
Maureen Yeo - after media-related stints in Los Angeles, London and Singapore, Maureen Yeo now teaches Literature following Roald Dahl’s great principle: “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” When not working, she seeks out adventures abroad, some of which have been documented as travel articles for TODAY.
Maureen's talk to our Year 7 & 8s focused on how a story send its readers into peals of laughter? She showed the students different ways authors use in fiction, identifying the following braod categories:
- Tackle a taboo topic
- Play on words
- Keep it real - relatable
- Incorporate absurdism
As both a teacher and author of The Great Singapore Poo Sale and Other Beastly Business, Maureen effectively taught our students ways they can incorporate these techniques into their own writing and they had a lot laughs while they were learning.
Coffee and Conversations - Karien van Ditzhuijzen
Of course, we have to have an author during Book Week for our Coffee and Conversation series and have tied it to the theme 'Our Heritage, Our Home'
Karien van Ditzhuijzen has become a leading voice and for migrant domestic workers through her work at HOME (Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics). Whether volunteering at HOME’s or establishing a blog for helpers that’s evolved into a beautiful book, has worked tirelessly to empower helpers and improve their situation since she arrived in Singapore in 2012.
Her recent novel A Yellow takes a deep and engaging look at the plight of migrant domestic workers in Singapore.
Our Heritage, Our Home - Book Week Culmination Celebration - Parents Welcome - Friday, 8 March 2:40pm in the PAC Theatre
We have linked our Book Week celebrations to this year's College theme - Our Heritage, Our Home. Thanks to the generosity of Dulwich Parents Andrea and Conrad Lim and Rita we are very excited to be hosting Peranakan Sayang, a performance group which has been entertaining audiences here in Singapore and around the world since 2009 with their unique brand of music that brings a fresh update to local Peranakan folk songs and pop classics.
Their performances are all about celebrating the rich Peranakan cultural heritage through their specially arranged songs, sung with lots of energy, fun by these lively, larger-than-life singers. The team will be presenting Peranakan culture in the Singaporean context next Friday afternoon - including aspects of history, architecture, clothes, traditions and more. The singers will also engage the students with songs and also interactive dance.
What a great way to end Book Week and to learn about the culture of the country in which we live! Please come along and enjoy this celebration with us if you can.
World Book Day - Thursday 7 March - First Thursday of March every year: Celebrating books and reading.
World Book Day is the first Thursday of March every year. We choose the week which contains World Book Day to Book Week here at DCSG as it is a day to celebrate the joys of books and reading. Click here for further details about World Book Day.
Book Week Book Fair
of Books will be running a 3 day Book Fair with a wide range of wonderful books to choose from. Students may bring in money to buy books at the fair. It will be open from Wednesday 6th to Friday 9th from until and parents may buy directly from the fair. On Thursday evening they will remain open until to coordinate with DUCKS parents evening. This will be held in the DUCKS foyer for Wednesday and Thursday and PAC foyer on Friday. Have a look at the brochure below to see some of the tiles on offer.
Readathon Launch
This year we are having a Readathon to raise money for local literary charity Spright Academy and our UWS school in Cambodia. Download the Readathon booklet below for full details.
Book Week provides with an opportunity to give back
On the Book Character Dress Up Day on Friday, 8 March the students can bring an optional donation of $2. Our readathon will be also be launched in Book Week and we are hoping that lots of students will be motivated to take part in this initiative. They can ask family or friends to sponsor them to complete a reading challenge over an eight week period. The two charities we will be supporting will be the Spright Academy in Singapore and our UWS Cambodia partner school, Ngang Som Toch.