Our Library / Te Rapunga

More Than A Library!

Te Rapunga is the place:

  • where you can inquire, explore, search, read, study, discover and reflect.
  • which facilitates your active learning with quality resources and information to share, including books to borrow and return, current references to browse, as well as e-resources such as databases and useful web links
  • for all of our school community;  students, staff and their respective families.

Read Our Latest Te Rapunga News

General Information About Te Rapunga

  • Check our calendar below to see who is using Te Rapunga today and what special events are on.
  • All books can be borrowed for FREE and taken home, except Reference Books and Magazines.
  • Subject to availability, the computers can be used at any time with permission from a teacher.
  • If you lose a book, talk to us. We would much rather help you look for it and have the book back, than issue a fine to replace it.
  • You can usually borrow a book for three weeks.
  • To log on to see your “My Library” details, your user name is your student enrolment number – talk to us about your password. “My Library” allows you to reserve books, write book reviews and shows you what books you have out now and what you’ve got out in the past.
  • Opening hours – from 9am until 3pm every school day, except Mondays.
  • Teachers can open and use Te Rapunga anytime – a key is kept at the school office. Students are welcome to use Te Rapunga anytime, with permission from their teacher and any teacher who is booked in already. Sometimes we need to close for special events or staff meetings; refer to our calendar.
  • Explore and gather Gateway and Careers Information: visit the Gateway Coordinator in the office insideTe Rapunga

You can also use our library to:

  • Use computers with teacher permission
  • Photocopy or scan using our brand new machine
  • Browse a hard copy of the 2015 World Book Encyclopedia or use a suite of databases for research through EPIC
  • Play board games
  • View school and community notices
  • Read the latest Chronicle, and
  • Be inspired by wonderful displays, especially those by our own students.

What is EPIC?

“Electronic Purchasing in Collaboration (EPIC) is a consortium of libraries that license packages of electronic resources to be used in New Zealand libraries,… [as per the list below].

EPIC supports the teaching and learning in New Zealand primary and secondary schools. It is intended for use by principals and teachers, library staff, and students.

Teachers, students, and library staff may also access EPIC from home using their school’s password and username login. Please note that the school’s username and password are kept confidential to our school community and all users must abide by the terms and conditions of use. [Everyone else has to pay a large sum of money to subscribe to all these databases.]

For EPIC Training & Marketing Resources for schools click here. “

The extracts are from http://www.tki.org.nz/epic2 (accessed 19 March 2015). The databases available to Raglan Area School through EPIC are:

 

Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre MasterFILE Complete
Britannica School [Encyclopedia Britannica] Britannica School Primary [Encyclopedia Britannica]
World Data Analyst Oxford Art Online
Oxford English Dictionary Online Oxford Music Online
Academic OneFile Biography In Context
Books & Authors Discovering Collection
Educator’s Reference Complete General OneFile
Global Issues In Context GREENR: Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources
Health and Wellness Resource Centre Literature Resource Centre
LitFinder Opposing Viewpoints In Context
Science In Context Shakespeare Collection Online
Student Resources In Context Virtual Reference Library
World History In Context

New Books

The ‘New Books” are on the display shelves as you walk into the Fiction wing of Te Rapunga. You cannot get these brand new books out until they have been on display for one week. This is so everyone knows what new books have been purchased. After one week, the new books are still on display, but on the other side of the same shelf and you can get them out!

How many books can I borrow at once?

  • Class sets for Teachers – unlimited, subject to the needs of other teachers!
  • Years 0-1 – none:  your teacher will issue your books as a class, when you come in or you can ask a whānau member to get the book under their name for you.
  • Years 2-4 – 1 book.
  • Years 5-7 –   2 books.
  • Years 9-13 – 3 books.
  • Other Adults – 5 books for 3 weeks.
  • Students – if you really like reading, ask us about joining the book club and borrow 5 books at once!

Student Librarians

All students from Year 7 onwards can be trained to be a Student Librarian. When your training is completed, Student Librarians can operate the issues/returns desk at interval and lunchtime in pairs, and explore the library skills that interest them.

For those students who want to see if being a Student Librarian interests them, ask your class teacher about being appointed as an Ambassador or  Māngai for your class for the term. Māngai liaise between their class and Te Rapunga, when their class comes in.

What does Te Rapunga mean in English?

Te Rapunga does not easily translate into English. It’s a Māori expression that suggests a journey of exploration and inquiry. We want to support students in that life long journey and be much more than just a house of books and computers.

What Events Are Happening In Our Library

If you’d like to book the library for your event please contact us.