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Like many people all over the country, pupils at Highgate have been celebrating World Book Day this year with great enthusiasm!

We embraced the remote conditions and found alternative ways to share our love of books and reading both from Highgate@Home and in School. From dressing up in character costumes, to Zoom author talks, Tweet-length book reviews, sampling audio books, getting ‘book fit’ and remote games and quizzes, – the day was full of fun and engagement. Grace Hampson, Year 3 Teacher, said: ‘There was such a lovely atmosphere today in our sessions, I’m so glad we were able to make the day feel just as special as if we were in school.’ Pupils and staff in Years 3-6 dressed up for the occasion as their favourite book-themed characters.

Fancy Dress Reveal

Our Highgate@home collective embraced the conditions of connecting via screen by adding an extra level of intrigue – pupils were asked to provide three cryptic clues about who they were dressed as, encouraging their classmates to guess before they turned on their cameras for the big reveal!

Visiting Authors

A special feature of the day was the guest author talks via Zoom. Year 5 and 6 were visited by Lisa Thompson, author of some wonderful, thought provoking books such as The Goldfish Boy and The Graveyard Riddle. Year 3 and 4 were visited by Lou Kuenzler, author of the hilarious Bella Broomstick and The Incredible Shrinking Girl series. Year 5 Form Tutor, Divya Jani, said: “The Author Talk by Lisa Thompson has inspired lots of us to read Goldfish Boy and sparked some thoughtful discussion about the word ‘normal.'”

Emoji Pictionary, Books That Make You ‘LOL’ and Ten Second Book Reviews!

Games throughout the day included World Book Day Kahoot, Book Emoji Pictionary and ‘The Masked Reader’, which allowed pupils to learn about their teachers’ favourite childhood books. As part of the national World Book Day competition ‘Show Your Shares’, pupils were asked to capture the essence of ‘Books that Make you LOL’, by sharing amusing stories in a silly way or an unusual location.

Podcasts, Reviews and Book Worm Inspiration for our Tweens and Teens

Pupils in Year 7 and 8 were tasked with writing ‘Tweet book reviews’ – a 10 second summary of a book they’d read and enjoyed.

Senior school students were encouraged to listen to author talks and podcasts about the power of reading. As part of our award-winning careers programme, next week will see an “Industry Insight” careers talk from OC Natasha Knight, an experienced radio producer who is also Head Book Worm for Magic FM’s Book Club, orchestrating the station’s monthly picks and interviews with authors.

It was wonderful to see the energy and enthusiasm that pupils brought to the event, providing a joyous conclusion to our home-schooling period.