CMIS Evaluation Primary Focus » Competitions

The Roald Dahl Funny Prize

janning — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:44:15 +0000

What a wonderful idea! A new prize has been created in Roald Dahl’s name to honor the best funny books for children.

Founded by the Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen, the Roald Dahl Funny prize honours the funniest children’s authors. Two prizes will be awarded — one for the funniest book for children six and under, and one for the funniest book for children seven to fourteen.

The Roald Dahl Funny Prize aims to boost the profile of humorous books as part of Rosen’s campaign to put the fun back into children’s reading. It hopes to promote laughter and humour in children’s books and encourage families to read together and discover the pleasure of humorous books. This in turn will reinforce the message that reading together promotes family togetherness..

The Roald Dahl Funny Prize also aims to reward those authors and artists who use humour in their stories, poetry and fiction.

A shortlist of six books in each category was announced on 8 September to tie in with the third Roald Dahl Day on 13 September. The winners will be announced in November 2008.

Find out more about the shortlisted books and the award from the official Roald Dahl Funny Prize website or about Roald Dahl from his website.

Society & Environment – Resources Outcome

catherina — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:48:27 +0000

Available through Heinemann, the recently published The global village series is an excellent addition to the Resources strand of Society and the Environment for upper primary and early secondary students. This series of six books investigates and debates the effects of globalisation on the individual, governments, companies and the environment around the issues of natural resources, trade, food and farming, migrations and refugees, aid and development, and travel and tourism. It addresses the loss of traditional skills, cultures and systems, examines the possibility of balance being restored and looks at what action is being taken to address these issues. Each chapter features “Eyewitness”, “Focus on…” and “Have your say” boxes: The former quotes people with direct experience of the issue under discussion; the next focuses on specific questions or events; and the latter suggests topics for reflection, discussion and debate. Each book concludes with a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the issue, and graphs of pertinent facts and figures.

Natural Resources introduces the complexities of the mining, harvesting, use and trade of the world’s natural resources. It explains what natural resources are, where they are found in the world, the mechanism of supply and demand, the concepts of exploitation and sustainability, and the contrasting opinions around this issue.

Food and Farming discusses the concept of, and the arguments for and against globalisation; the fairness of free trade in relation to food; plantation agriculture; multinational companies and their impact; biotechnology and organic farming.

Aid and Development argues that unequal distribution of wealth and exploitation of poorer or less developed peoples and countries have created dysfunction and alienation which governments and non-government agencies attempt to manipulate, or genuinely help, through disaster and humanitarian aid for development and relief. It examines types of aid and development, examples of projects, and consequent positive and negative outcomes.

Migration and Refugees focuses on the reasons for migration, its economic and social effects and issues such as multiculturalism.

Trade first defines the concept of trade and gives a brief history of it, then goes on to discuss issues surrounding global trade such as government subsidies, free trade, consumer power, privatisation, the WTO (World Trading Organisation), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, multinational companies (or transnational corporations), competition and fair trade.

Travel and Tourism examines tourism as an industry and its effects on local communities and culture, economies, working conditions, natural resources and the environment. It also discusses the preservation of significant sites, sustainable tourism and eco-tourism.

2008 Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists

cmiseval — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:03:38 +0000

The City of Subiaco is hosting the annual Shaun Tan Award for Young Artists for Perth’s school-aged students from Pre-primary to Year 12.

Shaun Tan the well-known artist and writer from Perth has won numerous awards for his unusual and thought-provoking illustrated books such as The Red Tree, The Rabbits and The Lost Thing. His most recent book The Arrival, a silent graphic novel about migration has won the the New South Wales and Western Australian Premier’s Award for book of the year, and was the CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2007.

This award which began in 2003 is a great opportunity for Perth’s students to showcase their artistic talents and encourage creativity in the form of two-dimensional art works. The overall winner for each age category will have their artwork framed and finalists’ entries will be exhibited. Entries will be accepted at the Subiaco Library from Thursday 13 March 2008 to Thursday, 20 March 2008.

If you live in or visit Perth take time to drop into the Subiaco Public Library to view Shaun’s amazing murals, one spanning 20 square metres of wall in the children’s section. The Library has on display two impressive murals. The Tea Party features a riotous array of whimsical characters and landscapes, and The 100 Year Picnic which is based on a photograph from the early 1900s found in the archives of the Subiaco Museum. You will not be disappointed!