Hello Club Members,

Thank you to all Club Members who have been posting their Rules of Engagement suggestions for fair and fun engagement with the SRC! The comments posted definitely reflect a great culture of team spirit and camaraderie (which means friendship!).

It’s amazing to think that the end of the summer is now in sight!  This year is moving quickly and soon you will be returning to school.

With a new school year, the opportunities to try new things and try-out for new teams and activities present themselves.

In many places and for many people, a new year also is a time for thinking about goals we’d like to achieve. It is often said that a goal not written down is a wish. To accomplish our goals we need to have a plan in place. Once we have a plan, we should share it with others so they can help us stick to our goals, and hold us accountable. And then… we have to DO IT!

In the spirit of new year resolutions, and feeling inspired by the energy of the SRC characters this year (they look so active and engaged), I decided to increase my fitness.

A friend and I decided to join the gym… and go to it! I’m not very sporty at all, so to commit to this activity, is a big thing for me!

We started last week. Here’s a quick overview of how it went:

Day 1: My first session, I made it halfway through the circuit course and then felt like I was going to be sick… but after a break, a breather and some water, I managed to complete the first session.

Day 2: I was feeling a little sore, but excited to go back to the gym. This time, I completed the circuit and did not feel like I was going to be sick!

Day 3: my body was sore. I discovered I had activated muscles that I hadn’t used for a long time, and my walking looked more like a waddle–I felt like a duck out of water!

Day 4 and 5: I was feeling supercharged and ready for the next sessions. (I even awoke early on Friday to get to the gym before work… and I am not an early morning riser!)

Today we start the week again, and I am excited to see the continued outcomes from choosing to swing into action and tackle my fitness goals.

And although I started feeling sick and a bit sore, I recalled the words of a song by Daft Punk, “Harder, Faster, Stronger, Better”

Work it, make it
Do it, makes us
Harder, better
Faster, stronger
More than, hour
Hour, never
Ever, after
Work is, over
Work it, make it
Do it, makes us
Harder, better
Faster, stronger

So, the more I keep at my goal, to be fitter, by staying focused and working at it little by little, the better, faster and stronger I am becoming.

Which got me to thinking…

I wondered what activities you have chosen to set out to become good at?

Was it learning to read or play an instrument; striving for better grades in school or perhaps mastering another language?  Maybe it was learning a new sport, or figuring out how to crack the next level in a game? It could even be something like learning new dance steps or swimming strokes or baking cookies. We are all constantly trying new things or coming across activities and interests we want to do better at.

Challenge

This week, share your GAME ON spirit by:

• Posting an activity you learned to do or are practicing to become better at.

• What tips you use to keep you focused on your goal

• How you measure success / your accomplishments

• What will “being good at it” look like.

We look forward to your comments!

The SRC Team

Happy New Year SRC Club Members!

Over the past few weeks, the SRC Team have been following the discussions happening here on the SRC website, and we want to tell you that what we are seeing and reading is awesome!

It is great to see Club Members commenting and encouraging one another in a positive and uplifting way. We would say that you are following the “rules of engagement” for participation in the SRC to a tee!

So what are “Rules of Engagement?”

They are the principles, guidelines or instructions that state the way things are or should be done, and tell you what you are allowed and not allowed to do. This enables people who may not know each other, to interact and participate safely, and achieve common goals.

There are rules for almost everything we do. Some are known, and some are just learned through our interaction with others.

Rules also help us to develop skills, as we learn new things. Think of the rules in your classroom at school–these are in place to help everyone learn in a safe way.

And if you play a team or individual sport, you will know that the rules make sure the object of game is accomplished, that all decisions made are fair, and that your interactions with other team members are appropriate and safe.

Rules are everywhere, and when it comes to games and game play–following them is what helps us to reach the end goal.

On New Year’s Day, my family had a full day planned for some outdoor, GAME ON, fun.

From Nerf gun wars, to slip n sliding, a water fight (with over 500 water balloons) and lots of pool time, we had to makes sure that with over 25 children (aged from 2 to 16) in attendance that how we engaged or played with one another, was going to be safe and fun.

So my brother-in-law and my neice created some rules for our outdoor game play. Check-out the signs in the picture above!

These rules, along with a handful of adults overseeing the day, helped to ensure that everyone remained safe. As we followed them, it made it easier to have a great time, which we did–especially me!

So here’s a thought…

If you were to think of 3 guidelines for participating in the SRC–what would you recommend to your friends and family?

Challenge

As you craft your SRC Rules of Engagement, think of:

• WHY you should participate

• HOW you should participate

• WHERE you can participate

• And WHAT participating in the SRC looks like

Remember–on this week’s post, you can only post 3 guidelines–so think carefully.

The SRC Team looks forward to your comments!

Merry Christmas SRC Club Members!

It’s hard to believe after all that waiting, this magical holiday has arrived, and with it probably lots of new things to play with.

Did you know that the dictionary says that to play is “to engage in an activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.”

Based on this definition, choosing to participate in the SRC for fun and enjoyment, or reading a book because you want to, not because you have to finish a school assignment or because the teacher told you to, is actually a type of playing!

I always look forward to the holidays, where I can read for fun. Have you checked out this year’s Great Reads? (Preschool | Primary | Secondary) If you have not, I highly recommend them. They are great starting points for possible Game On reading adventures this summer.

Here are just a few from the lists to look for in your library:

• Hide and Seek by Anthony Browne
• I Spy by Edward Gibbs
• Into Tordon by Z.F. Kingbolt

This summer, as part of the Game On theme, we are exploring what it means to play. Which got me to thinking—just like the four different houses of Hogwarts, and our four SRC Champions, there are so many ways that we can play during the holidays.

Here’s a list I started, but I am sure you can come up with more:

• Board games—Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly
• Card games – Uno, snap
• Video games – Wii, Playstation
• Building with Lego, blocks, cardboard boxes
• Puzzles and Mazes
• Outdoor play – sprinklers, pool games, hide and seek
• Pretend play/dress ups –I used to love to play “schools” with my little sister in the holidays. I’d be the teacher and give her homework to do. Isn’t that funny! (I actually ended up becoming a teacher at one point too.) We also played a lot of doctors and nurses, where someone would be the patient (and which also tended to be my little sister!)
• Cooking
• Drawing
• Crafting
• Sports

So this week, when tell your folks you are going to “play” outside, remember, that grabbing your favourite book and reading for fun counts!

Be sure to also see What’s On at your library too! Librarians across the country are keen to help you “play on” all summer long.

That’s it from us, so until next week…

Have fun playing, and keep on Reading!

The SRC Team

Challenge

Share with us:

• the kinds of things do you enjoy doing for fun.

• other types of play, you would add to our list.

• your favourite board game.

• the name of your local library.

Hello SRC Club Members!

Welcome to the Game On in Libraries blog. A space for you to make connections with other SRC Club Members by sharing the adventures you are having in libraries and at home this summer.

The SRC team have been waiting for all year for the SRC program to begin again, and we are excited to discover that at only a few weeks since the official launch of this summer’s program, 1500 SRC Club members have registered online and begun posting their fantastic comments, short stories, book raves and artwork to the SRC website.

The theme of Game On is all about celebrating sports, games, technology and team spirit… There are so many great books to read that will help you to supercharge your summer’s as you play, solve, participate and read!

This year we have four fun SRC characters championing our theme. Have you met them all?

The SRC Team thought it would be fun to match our SRC Champions up to the houses at Hogwarts. It’s fun to be a part of a team or house!

• The Rhino = Gryffindor
• The Fox = Slytherin
• The Tiger = Ravenclaw
• The Wombat = Hufflepuff

We then took the UK Guardian’s Sorting Hat Quiz, to find out which house we would be sorted into.  I was the Tiger or sorted into Ravenclaw.

We wonder, what house or team will you be sorted into?

There is a whole summer ahead of us. We look forward to sharing what is happening in libraries across the country, and hearing from you, what you are discovering at your local spaces. Stay tuned for more SRC fun. Until the next post…

Keep on reading!

The SRC Team.

Challenge:

• Take the sorting hat quiz to find out which team or house you are a part of this summer.

• Post your result in the comments below.

• And if you have some ideas for names for these characters – add that in your comments as well. 

This summer it’s Game On!

Both here online and in libraries across the country a celebration of sports, games, technology and team spirit is taking place.

Come back on the 4th December to discover how you and your fellow SRC Club Members are supercharging your summers, both in and out of the library!