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Back to school news

Library website and google classroom

https://sites.google.com/ab-ed.org/bodalibrary/home   This is our new  website and it will serve as our virtual library. Pupils and staff will find information on books (including book lists), on-line resources, shelf help, information literacy etc.  Pupils can now also request  and reserve books via the website

We will also continue to use the library google classroom (cviklhw) and will be uploading new reading challenges there along with some fun activities.

Browsing

At present we cannot let pupils browse the shelves as normal so we have reconfigured  the library and set up lots of  displays with face on books.  Pupils can  pick a book from these displays if they do not have a particular book in mind to borrow. We also have book lists available  which the pupils can look at for ideas.

 

Library Club and Book Group

Unfortunately we cannot run Library Club or Book Group at the moment but we will restart just as soon as we are able.

 

 

 

 

 

The Library during the Covid-19 pandemic

During school closure the Library has been supporting pupils via our new google classroom (code cviklhw). There is information there  on reading for pleasure, how to access e-books  and virtual book events, online learning resources  and fun activities to do from home

Reading Challenge : How far can we travel?

As nobody can travel any distance at the moment, we are going to see how far we can travel in reading miles. 5 pages = 1 mile travelled and if we choose to fly 5 pages = 10  air miles.  Pupils send us the number of pages they have read each week. Our first destination was Dundee which we made easily. London was the next target and after that we will cross the channel. Who knows where we will reach by the summer holidays. The world is our oyster!

Corona Diary

Why not keep a diary or some kind of record documenting  the extraordinary times we are living through. Inspiration can be found here.

https://www.ourcoronadiary.com/teens-to-young-adults

 

 

Book Week Scotland

 

Author visit : We started our Book Week Scotland celebrations by inviting author Barbara Henderson into school. Barbara was here to talk to four S1 classes about her eco-thriller Wilderness Wars. The novel asks the question: what if nature fights back? and is a fast-paced adventure story which explores our relationship with nature.… Pupils found the talk really entertaining. Feedback was extremely positive

                  

 

Throughout the week the following events took place:

  • I am currently reading……….. posters appeared  on classroom doors so pupils could  find out what their teachers were reading.
  •   DEAR Library (Drop Everything And Read)  took place in the library during Library club on  Wednesday 13th November at lunchtime
  • Most Despicable Character from a Book Competition. Pupils had to decide upon a character and give their reasons. We had a good response – Voldemort seemed to be the favourite!
  •  The annual Big Book House Quiz was held on the 20th November. Team Mo Bamba won with Dumbledore’s Army a close runner up.

Linda Strachan visit

                       

The author, Linda Strachan visited the school for a session with three of the S1 classes. Linda writes for all ages (she is responsible for the Hamish McHaggis series) but it was her gritty teen titles – Spider, Dead boy talking and Don’t judge me –  that she  was here to talk about. She told us how she got inspiration, how she researched her ideas and also read extracts from her books which had us all intrigued. It was obvious that the pupils enjoyed  the visit. Quite a few purchased one of her books on the day and library copies are still in great demand. Here is some of the feedback we received:

“Interesting – especially finding out about how an author gets inspiration or research. I also liked that the books had a “message” behind the story eg Don’t Judge Me is about trust and judging someone from what you see and know”

“Linda was very inspirational for all the pupils here. Her books look so detailed, fun and lots more”

“I really enjoyed Linda’s talk because it really made me understand what she does to get an idea of what the characters go through and what they feel”

“I think she was awesome. I loved how she said every word with emotion”

“I think it was very interesting and having the privilege of having an author here is cool”

“I thought Linda’s talk was very interesting and I loved getting to know the research that goes into her books”

“I thought it was wonderful! I loved listening to the author talk about her books”

“I loved it and the books are awesome! Helped me with my writing”

“It was very interesting and nice meeting and finding out about Linda Strachan and her books. It would be nice to do this more often”

“She has made me start reading again”

Shelf Help

 

Feeling anxious? Worried about exam pressures or friendships? Come and have a browse in our new and expanded Shelf Help section in the Library. Here you will find books, leaflets and sources of information that offer help and advice on all sorts of stresses and problems.

 

 

Empathy Day

On the 12th of June we celebrated Empathy Day. We encouraged pupils and staff to #read for empathy by compiling a book list and a display of books that encourage empathy in the reader. We also ran a competition where pupils recommended a book that had helped them understand someone else and a sentence describing why.  All entries were displayed on an Empathy Wall with pupils with the best entries receiving a prize.

A visit from author Christina Banach

I enjoyed the author’s visit, it was interesting to hear the inspiration for the novel and how her book was published”

“It was a great book and I loved it being read to us”

“It was amazing, I really liked it”

“I really enjoyed the chapter she read. It got me really into the book and made me want to buy it

 

This is some of the feedback we received following Christina Banach’s visit to the school on the Tuesday before the Easter holidays. Christina is the author of Minty, a contemporary ghost story set in Fife, which concerns fourteen year old twins Minty and Jess. All S1 classes attended the talk where Christina told us about her writing, her inspiration and how her book was published. She also read us a particularly dramatic part of the book where we discovered what had become of Minty after she attempted to rescue her dog from the sea. A real twist in the tale! She rounded off her visit by talking about teen fiction in general and finished with a signing when pupils had the chance to purchase a copy of the book. It was an extremely entertaining session and the pupils seemed to get a lot out of it. Minty is now in great demand in the Library – our two copies have a long waiting list.

World Book Day – Staff Picks

This year we decided to ask teachers and support staff to choose their all-time favourite book. We had a good response. The results ranged from classics such as One Hundred Years of Solitude and The Handmaid’s Tale to titles from childhood such as The Secret Garden and The Magic Faraway Tree. All are on display in the Library – come and see what your teacher picked

 

                                            

 

 

 

Book Quiz

The postponed Book Week Scotland quiz was held on the last week of term. Eight teams battled to become champions, answering questions on a range of book related topics including a special Harry Potter round. It was a closely fought contest but The Forbinators team just beat the rest. Well done to Kirsty, Jess, Carly, Katie and Molly!