St Ignatius students come top in book reading contest

(CNS): Student teams from St Ignatius School came out on top of a literary contest at the George Town Public Library last Saturday. Teams from the school won both age-groups of the Lera Parchment Battle of the Books with the Neurotic Nerds wining the fifth- to sixth- grade competition while the Cadbury Craniums finished at the top of the seventh- to eighth- grade category against Cayman International School. Working in groups of between four and eight students they answered questions drawn from a list of 20 books they had been given three months to read. In total 55 students competed in the book challenge.

The contest was organised by the Cayman Islands Information Professionals (CIIP), in partnership with the library and it is based on an American reading incentive programme. The organisers said they are seeking the funding to make it a recurring feature on the library calendar and plan to invite Government schools to take part in 2015.

Praising the young participants’ level of interest, CIIP Programme Officer and CIS School Library Media Specialist, Ashley Welch said: “It was a great success!  Students read and studied formonths in preparation, and this dedication paid off in their battles on Saturday.  It is always a joy to see young people get excited about reading.”

CIIP Chair Paul Robinson, who is also Deputy Director of the Public Library System, says the Battle of Books demonstrates the continuing relevance of libraries. “It was a fantastic competition which shows that, even in a world of e-books, online sources and today’s economic challenges, libraries remain at the heart of free community learning and information”.

For more information email:paul.robinson@gov.ky.