1. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED), in conjunction with the Foundations for Learning Campaign, has declared 2009 to be the Year of Reading. During this year, WCED is celebrating reading and promoting library and information services to support literacy and numeracy development in our schools, and thereby the NCS as a whole.
2. Twenty years after the first education department was established in the Western Cape in 1839 as the Department of Public Education of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, the first education library came into being in Cape Town in 1859. Since that library served departmental officials and teachers at all the schools in the Cape Colony, irrespective of race or type of school, EDULIS is proud to link its origins to these pre-apartheid days, and to celebrate an unbroken record of 150 years of supporting teaching and learning through the provision of library and information services, and the promotion of reading.
3. Schools are therefore encouraged in the course of 2009 to participate in the special occasions linked to reading promotion to be facilitated by the WCED (EDULIS and/or the Curriculum directorates), as well as our partners in the private sector, such as PASA (Publishers' Association of South Africa), SABA (South African Booksellers' Association), the Centre for the Book, Biblionef, READ, the Western Cape Provincial Library Services, and local community and public libraries. These will include:
  • World Book Day (23 April 2009)
  • Cape Town Book Fair (13 - 16 June 2009)
  • International Literacy Day (8 September 2009)
  • International School Library Month (October 2009)
Circular minutes will be sent to schools in due course, providing further details of suggested special reading promotion activities linked to these occasions.

4. In addition, schools with learners aged 10-14 years may register for the GiggleIT Project of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL), which aims for learning outcomes such as literacy, information literacy and use of technology by producing an online eBook written by children from around the world containing children's stories, jokes and poetry. The deadline for entries for the GiggleIT Project will be 1 December 2009. For further details of how classes can participate in the GiggleIT Competition (closing date 31 July 2009) and visit Giggle Town to see the Gigglecritters, go to http://www.iasl-online.org/sla/giggleIT/invite.htm. Teaching and learning packages to motivate and stimulate reading can be downloaded into handouts for your classes, including posters to put up in your classrooms.
5. In support of the Year of Reading 2009, the Directorate: Curriculum GET has produced a DVD to celebrate and acknowledge the value that the WCED 100 Books Project brought to learners and teachers across the province. It shows how the reading of books in the classroom can be used to promote a culture of reading, the literacy half-hour and the literacy lesson. Practical tips and examples of what teachers have done are provided. It is accompanied by a useful facilitation guide. This is resource that can be used to promote literacy discussion and sharing of ideas. It is ideal for staff development meetings and cluster sessions. Schools should contact their district curriculum manager or circuit Foundation Phase curriculum adviser for further information.
6. Districts are also requested to use all of the Literacy and Numeracy ("LitNum") projects, activities, competitions, etc. currently running in the schools, or still to be implemented in the course of this year, as additional ways of promoting and celebrating the Year of Reading 2009.
7. In view of the increasingly essential role played by learning and teaching support material in the improvement of learner performance, schools should also be aware of the availability of library resources for this purpose. As part of the celebration of the Year of Reading 2009 and the provision of library and information services for schools in the WCED, you and your staff are invited to contact the EDULIS Library (tel. 021 957 9618) or your district resource centres in Kuils River (tel. 021 900 5111), Mitchell's Plain (tel. 021 370 2084), Paarl (021 860 1229), George (044 803 8328) and Worcester (tel. 023 348 4657) to arrange a visit to acquire information about services, as well as the availability of specialised library resources such as the following:
  • Inspiring activity-based ideas for lesson plans for literacy, numeracy and reading development (many of which can be photocopied)
  • Videos, DVDs, audiocassettes, CDs, CD ROMs and multimedia formats as further reading stimulation
  • Learner-focussed materials (including picture books and novels for learners of all ages to use during reading periods) which have been specially evaluated and reviewed to help teachers select such materials for their school libraries
Group visits at any time of the year can be arranged to suit principals and staff as part of a school's professional development programme.


SIGNED: SM NAICKER
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2009:04:21