Learning Hub

St Patrick’s has a well-equipped and dynamic library that aims to develop a love of lifelong learning.

We have a wide range of books from which all students may borrow each week. We do ask that all students bring a library bag to protect their books. Our library has a large world map covering one wall to spark an interest in the world and we have recently acquired a wide range of STEM materials such as Lego, wooden blocks, connector straws, tangrams and magnetic shapes. We also have a wide range of materials to promote imaginative thinking such as puppets, a puppet theatre, animal figurines, board games and loose parts.

We have a computer lab attached to our Library with 30 new computers and we have an additional 30 laptops and 30 iPads. We have access to Beebots and Spheros to enable students to develop their coding skills. We subscribe to sites such as World Book Online to enable students to engage in quality research.

Ashton Scholastic Book Club operates within the school, providing families with the opportunity to purchase books and to encourage reading at home.

We host a book fair each year in Book Week and this allows students, parents and friends the chance to purchase quality books at very reasonable prices. Commission earned through the sale of the books enables us to acquire valuable resources for the school.

Students participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge each year, encouraging them to read a wide variety of books. If students meet the targets of the challenge, they receive a special certificate from the NSW Premier.

Each class has one Library lesson a week where students focus on Inquiry skills, as well as developing an appreciation of literature. Students engage in visual literacy lessons and often work on research tasks that tie in with content being studied with their class teacher. In addition to this, some classes visit the Library at other times with their own class teacher.

In August each year, we celebrate Book Week where students enjoy a special book week parade that is always lots of fun! We have also been very lucky to have many visiting authors speak with us at St Patrick’s, including such notable authors as Jackie French, Deborah Abela, Yvette Poshoglian and Cameron Stelzer. We have established great links with the local Cessnock Library and we are privileged to be able to have visits from them sometimes.

St Patrick’s Learning Hub is a great place to be!