World Book Week 2015 - Rita Antoinette Borġ

 

Children's author Rita Antoinette Borġ visited San Anton for a story-telling session with the Grade 3 students.

After a brief introduction, featuring Pepito the Parrot from the Amazon, Ms Borġ dove right into the story of Meg, the tiny chick that didn't feel like hatching at all. It turns out that little Meg's reluctance to leave her cosy egg is rather fortuitous because her decision allows her to save the day.

The Grade 3 students were rather curious about Ms Borġ and after the story-telling session they inundated her with questions. They simply loved her story and they wanted to know as much as they could about the author!

 

World Book Week 2013 - Author Visits

 

As has now become customary, a number of local authors visited San Anton School during World Book Week. First in line was Clare Azzopardi, one of the best Maltese authors, who last November launched her very first YA (Young Adult) novel, Frejp. As the title states, the story revolves around two girls who steal their former friend's mobile phone and use it to hack into her Facebook account, with devastating consequences. It is a book that speaks volumes about the value of friendship and how hard, but ultimately rewarding, it is to build a true and honest rapport with someone.

Rita Antoinette Borġ also brought her latest book with her even though her audience was much younger. Meg is the titular hero of Meg the Egg, a book that tells the tale of a little chick who finds the outside world overwhelming and doesn't want to hatch. However, when the nefarious Howl steals mother hen, Meg has no choice but to become the hero that she truly is.

Brian Abela, the author of Ponds of Wonder, entertained his audience, the Grade 5s, with numerous anecdotes about how he became an author. You could hear a pin drop as he recalled the short story he had to write for a class credit and which got his teacher's praise and eventually encouraged Mr Abela to put finger to keyboard.

Finally, Rachel Balzan Demajo came over to meet the Grade 7s and to present to them her very first literary endeavor. The book, called The Golden Lizard,  tells the tale of Billie who finds herself stranded on a mesmerising island in Moorea. The children were dazzled by Ms Balzan Demajo's delivery, peppered with the genial interventions of her friend the lizard.

It was a great week, with lots of exciting activities and guest authors. As always, the students enjoyed every minute of it and they can't wait for next year's World Book Week!

World Book Week 2012

A number of guest speakers visited San Anton School to celebrate World Book Week, a five-day long book bonanza that has become a staple in the school's calendar.

The week kicked off with Rita Antoinette Borġ, an award-winning author who is always a hit with the young students. Ms Borġ introduced the Grade 4s to her colourful puppet parrot that hails from Australia, which in turn sparked off a lively discussion about different animals endemic to different continents. Immediately afterwards, Fuxa made her appearance. The hero of Ms Borġ's book is an enterprising hedgehog who decides to cross a very busy street, giving everyone a huge fright. Thankfully, everything turns out for the best, and Fuxa and her friends put an end to the adventure by indulging in a scrumptious picnic.

Professor Joe Friġġieri certainly needs no introduction. He is one of the leading scholars and authors on the island, and who currently has two of his poems included in the Matsec syllabus. He was kind enough to visit the school and talk to the Grade 11 students about his poetry and the rest of his impressive oevre, which includes short stories, plays, academic essays, research and and even song lyrics. It was a stimulating talk, peppered with a lot of Professor Friġġieri's erudite anecdotes about characters and events that influenced his work and piqued his intellectual curiosity.

Clare Azzopardi is unarguably one of the most loved children's authors. Her series of books featuring the meanders of sweet Jake Cassar, and the two books about the nefarious machinations of the notorious Saver DeMolizz, have helped not a little to encourage children to read. Ms Azzopardi visited the school to talk to the students about the second instalment in the DeMolizz saga, U llum jispiċċa l-każ tal-aħwa DeMolizz, which was launched late last year during the Malta National Book Fair. A lot of the Grade 8s were excited about the talk because they had already read the first book and were really curious about the second volume.

Trevor Żahra visited the Grade 9s who are currently using one of his books as a reader. Fuklar Qadim u Bnadar Imċarrta is a class text and the students were really looking forward to meeting the author of one of their favourite books. Mr Żahra delivered an engrossing presentation on Fuklar, replete with intriguing anecdotes and several words for thought about aspects of the book that might well pass under the radar on a first reading. The session ended with an animated Q & A session that spilled over to creative writing, how one can harness the imagination and book publishing in general.

Rita Antoinette Borġ and Marisa Attard visit San Anton

As part of World Book Week activities, an award-winning author and illustrator visited San Anton School.

Rita Antoinette Borġ, the author of Taqsamx it-Triq, Fuxa and Rebecca's Choice, amongst other titles, accepted our invitation for the second year running.

She started off by introducing her parrot friend Pepito, a lively puppet that hails all the way from South America. The Grade 4s were keen to mention other animals that live in the same region as Pepito's, such as the caiman, the anaconda, the cougar and the macaw.

Ms Borġ then read her story about Fuxa, a timid hedgehog who tries to cross the road amidst the busy traffic of rush hour. After much trepidation and concern, the tiny animal finally makes it to the other side, to the relief of all her friends and family.

Finally, Ms Borġ read an excerpt from one of her favourite books by one of her favourite authors: The Tale of Desperaux by Kate Di Camillo.

It was a great way to spend a morning and the children enjoyed Ms Borġ's visit tremendously.

The Grade 5s were in for a surprise because Marisa Attard, one of the best local illustrators, came over and treated them to an art workshop.

Ms Attard's portfolio is vast and includes such titles as Bongi Wongi u versi oħra għat-tfal and Ir-Razzett tan-Nannu Turu. She brought a sample of her work to show around and the children were amazed to see that Ms Attard is the person behind some of their favourite illustrations.

Ms Attard introduced herself by drawing a self-portrait. She then proceeded to sketch some characters displaying a particular emotion, and the children had to follow suit. It was wondrous to see with what glee the students took to this task, and everyone was keen to add his or her particular touches to the characters.

What followed was a drawing-by-request session. The Grade 5s were asking Ms Attard to draw something for them, which she did, and then they had to copy what she did or do their own version. So the library was full of drawings of dogs, lions, cats and people doing fun things.

It was a great session and one that the children will surely treasure.

RITA ANTOINETTE BORĠ WEBSITE

MARISA ATTARD WEBSITE

World Book Week 2010 - Rita Antoinette Borġ

Local author and story-teller Rita Antoinette Borġ visited the school and had a session with the Grade 4s and 5s. Ms Borġ started off by introducing Pepito, a cheerful and colourful parrot who lives in South America, and who loves to share his knowledge of geography and animals with children.

Next came a story session, during which Ms Borġ read one of her stories, Taqsamx it-Triq Fuxa! The children were engrossed as Ms Borġ narrated the adventures of little Fuxa who discovered that crossing a busy road is far from easy! The students loved the particular format of the flip-over books, where the same story is told in both Maltese and in English.

Ms Borġ also spoke to the students about the importance of reading. Besides it being a great past time, it also helps with getting ideas for stories and learning new words.

Click HERE to visit Ms Borġ's website.

World Book Week 2009 - Trevor Zahra & Mikiel

World Book Week kicked off with a very special guest.  Local author Trevor Zahra met the Grade 9 students to talk about his books.  At the moment they have Fuklar Qadim u Bnadar Imcarrta as a class reader and therefore they were very excited at the idea of meeting the author.  In conjunction with the librarian, they also prepared a small Powerpoint presentation about one of the chapters in the book.

Seeing that this year's theme is A Picture and a Thousand Words, Mr Zahra placed special emphasis on the illustration of his books, which he does himself.  He brought with him some samples of work he'd done and explained the various intricacies that such work entails.

At the end of his talk Mr Zahra was kind enough to sign books (and t-shirts sporting a logo in Maltese) for the students.

The younger students of the Junior Sector where on the other hand treated to story-telling sessions courtesy of Rita Antoinette Borg and Mikiel, the lovable mascot of Agenda Kids Club.  The children were enthralled during the whole time and absorbed every single word.  They simply loved looking at the big books and participating in the story as it unfolded.  And after each session, they simply had to go and hug Mikiel and Ms Borg!