Monthly Archives: September 2023

September 2023 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

S1 Library inductions: We delivered in-house Library inductions to our ten S1 classes. The pupils learn about the library offer, including all the activities and programmes we have planned throughout the year as well as an introduction to our collection with a library treasure hunt. Pupils were given a map of the Library along with five questions to help them locate books and familiarise themselves with each section of the Library.

SfL Book Group: The Library is working closely with the Support for Learning department to host another book group for our SfL pupils following the success of last year’s group. The pupils have chosen to read Horowitz Horrors by Anthony Horowitz, a collection of short horror stories to see us through the spooky season.

Pupil Library Committee: Our Pupil Library Committee are back on the scene, helping out in the Library, planning future activities, and creating monthly displays that tie in with cultural and literary events. Our display for September included East and South East Asian Heritage Month, Zero Waste Week, Read a New Book Month, and Maths Week Scotland.

Summer Writing Competition Winners: Congratulations to our four pupils who won our Summer Creative Writing Competition.

Swatch: Our Autumn issue of Swatch, the Glasgow School Libraries eMagazine is now available. Here are some links to our previous issues: Summer 23, Spring 23, Winter 22, Autumn 22, Summer 22Spring 22, Winter 21, Autumn 21, Summer 21, Spring 21, Winter 20, Autumn 20  

Trending Booklists:

Best New Children’s Books – Topptsa

Bookbug’s Book of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading For Kids

Books of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Books Roundup – Guardian

New Releases – Epic Reads

 

Upcoming Literary and Cultural Events – October:

1st – 2nd: The Words of War Book festival (Perth, Scotland)

7th – 8th: Libraries Week (Nationwide)

7th – 8th: Bookmark Book Festival (Blairgowrie, Scotland)

13th – 29th: Scottish International Storytelling Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland)

21st – 22nd: Boswell Book Festival (Dumfries, Scotland)

27th – 28th:  Tobermory Book Festival (Tobermoray, Scotland)

26th – 29th: Orkney Storytelling Festival (Stornoway, Scotland)

Awards:

Booker Prize – Shortlist

Diverse Book Awards – Winner

Klaus Flugge Prize – Winners

 

Book Buzz:

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

All change at Eastbank – library refurbishment

Come and see our transformation in the Eastbank Academy Library !

Through the summer, Mrs Marshall and her many helpers (thank you librarians and janitorial staff !) worked to transform the library space at Eastbank Academy.   The whole project involved recycling unwanted bookcases from other libraries with little or no money spent.  Some bookcases work so well in a different space and our library has a new lease of life.  At the start of the project, when you decide to change a library space, you have to move lots – and lots, and lots – of books !

   

And when the books are off the shelves, then the shelves are the next thing to dismantle.  What a job that was!  It involved lots of helpers to take down the bookshelves which had been at Eastbank for several years.  Being a green school, we saved some of these shelves for other projects.  Here’s how the shelves looked all piled up after taking the bookcases apart.

One by one we built the new bookcases and got the new spinner book cases into place.   The library definitely was looking quite different now.   The light colours of the bookcases definitely looked brighter and gave us more room to relax while choosing books.

 

In addition, the library was provided with 2 brand new small bookcases which will become home to special collections in the library, such as our Shelf Help selection of books.

 

Finally, this week, the last bookcase arrived to complete our transformation !  It’s looking great and certainly makes the non-fiction more attractive and easier to see.

Overall, the pupils’ feedback has all been very positive, and they enjoy coming into the new space to choose their books. The library now is far more attractive, but also far easier to use.  With a new layout instead of just rows of books and new signage, book borrowing is a better experience.  The library itself is a lovely space to be in.  We are all looking forward to the rest of the school year in our the new library space.

 

 

 

Lochend new non fiction

We’ve had some amazing new non fiction arrive last week at Lochend.  Why don’t you prepare for Halloween at the end of October by reading some gruesome and scary new books?

Do No Harm and Cursebreaker 

Nothing is scarier than real life, and in Do No Harm there’s lots of real life medical stories from the past to the present day.  This book shows how we’ve come from cutting off limbs with saws right up to date – making progress in the fight against cancer and other diseases.  A great read, with short sections and fantastic graphics

 

Cursebreaker   

Want to be scared?  This book, with it’s creepy adventures, gives you the choice to play a game where you can escape from prison – then fight your way to freedom via a fantasy world.  Great fun.

New Non Fiction

There’s lots to love in our new non fiction selection. Whether you want to find the confidence to speak up and be heard, or select a new film to watch there’s something for everyone.  Even a new Vegan cook book to get you cooking new recipies !

 

 

 

Book of the Month for October – Artificial Intelligence by Tom Jackson

This tiny book is a colourful explosion of  great information, with 4 chapters taking us from the early days of AI decades ago right up to today.   It’s a great read, giving clear information and you can dip into topics without having to read the full book.

Genrefying the Library

At Bannerman High, the fiction section has been divided by genre rather than alphabetical order. This was done in hopes of supporting our readers in finding a book they might enjoy by following the kind of plot they prefer the most, as well as to invite them to read across different genres. The genres are: history in stories; animals are pals; action; fantasy and magical stories; comedy; slice of life; crime-horror-mystery.

There will also be a monthly “theme” display where the pupils will have the opportunity to highlight a specific collection in the library.

St Roch’s Reads: September

Our pupil library assistants have been busy this month! They’ve been working on displays, helping this year’s S1 pupils learn to use the library and getting ready for a new batch of volunteers starting in October. They’ve also been going through lots of lovely new books and choosing their favourites to spotlight. Read on for some new book recommendations and to find out what we’re all reading this month in St Roch’s School Library. 

New books top picks  by Rose and Jorjo

Click the covers to find out more!

Image of book cover for Sahazm Thundercrack by Yehudi Mercado

Image of book cover for Ravencave by Marcus Sedgwick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image of book cover for 'finding my voice' by Aoife Dooley

Image of book cover for 'Looshkin oof! Right in the the puddings!' Illustrated by Jamie Smart

This month the library team are reading…  

The maze ruImage of book cover for 'Maze runner' by James Dashnernner / James Dashner   

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he’s not alone. He’s surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade – a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they came to be there – or what’s happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything – even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horror that patrol its corridors, to try and find out. 

 

The witchery / S. IsabelleImage of book cover for 'The witchery' by S. Isabelle 

 Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins at Mesmortes Coven Academy, and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two local boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection.

But as they become involved with the witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait. 

 

Heartstopper : volume 1 / By Alice Oseman Image of book cover for 'Heartstopper' by Alice Oseman

Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they’ve never met … until one day when they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised. 

The Raven boys / Maggie Stiefvater Image of book cover for 'Raven boys' by Maggie Stiefvater

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve… 

Either you’re his true love… or you killed him.” 

Part of a clairvoyant family, Blue has spent sixteen years being told that if she kisses her true love, he will die. So when she meets Gansey’s spirit on the corpse road, Blue knows that either he is her true love – or she has killed him. 

The boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and he is a student at Aglionby, a wealthy local private school. With three other mysterious and privileged boys, he is on a quest to find the grave of Glendower – a Welsh king buried somewhere on a Virginia ley line. Whoever finds him will be granted a supernatural favour. 

Never before has Blue felt such magic around her. But is Gansey really her true love – the one she is destined to kill? 

Death note 1  / Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata Image of book cover for 'Deathnote' by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Noteto rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal…or his life? 

Last but not least Miss Barron is reading Wool / Hugh Howey.  If you are a fan of sci-fi or dysoptian-end-of-the-world settings, you’ll love it.  

Image of book cover for 'The wool trilogy' by Hugh HoweyIn a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo.
Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies.
To live, you must follow the rules. But some don’t. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism.
Their punishment is simple and deadly. They are allowed outside.
Jules is one of these people. She may well be the last. 

Lots of Newness in Bellahouston

New School Year, New S1s, New Library Layout, New Librarian, New Books!

A huge welcome to our new S1s. S1 inductions are ongoing and our library class visit timetable is up and running. We’ve been super busy at interval and lunchtimes as well.

Check out the new books that have arrived this month, including some amazing books in different languages to add to our growing collection.

 

 

Welcome back to all our pupils at John Paul Academy!  Get back into the mood for school with these great school-themed books:

         

           

           

         

         

Holyrood Library, September Update

What I’m Reading ….

Before the Coffee Gets Cold 

our students are reading ….

Bright by Jessica Jung

Both titles are part of our September theme : East and South East Asian Heritage Month, #ESEAHM celebrating the writing and culture of China, Japan, Korea and other countries in this geographical area.

The book display was created by our S3 Duke of Edinburgh volunteers.

Our Writing for Fun lunchtime club is new this month. Inspired by our White Water Writers project last session, our original group of young writers are now mentoring S1 pupils to enjoy creative writing. They chose fun writing prompts including “Pretend you’re a toothbrush”.

We had a brilliant time. The mentors are busy making plans for next month, including a new theme, and a Competition.

Well done everyone. Some of our S1 and S2 pupils’ creative writing, and illustrations :

Try something new

Thanks to Adam for bringing in a favourite book for me to try. As I’m not usually a fan of Sci-fi/ Fantasy, I’m really enjoying reading a new genre. Happy reading everyone.

Children of Time