What’s happening this month..

World Autism Acceptance Week: 2-8th April

Autism Acceptance Week is a yearly event planned around Autism Acceptance Day. It aims to help more people understand autism and the experience of autism. It also highlights and celebrates the achievements of autistic people past and present.

Reading books is a brilliant way to develop understanding and share life experiences from many perspectives. Along with information books, there’s a great range of fiction books written by or about people with autism, available in the school library. You can get the full list on our library Padlet page. Here’s a bit more about a few of our top picks from the list:

A kind of spark by Elle McNicoll

Kind of Spark tells the story of 11-year-old Addie as she campaigns for a memorial in memory of the witch trials that took place in her Scottish hometown. Addie knows there’s more to the story of these ‘witches’, just like there is more to hers.

Can Addie challenge how the people in her town see her, and make her voice heard?

Finding my voice by Aoife Dooley

Frankie is different, and so is her best-friend, Sam. So when they both start secondary school, it’s tough.

When she gets the chance to compete in a Battle of the Bands contest Frankie couldn’t be more excited. Except, to have a band, you need to have band members. And to have band members, you need to be good at making friends… Can Frankie learn to find her voice and stand out?

Ways to be me by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott

Tally had high hopes for Year 6.Being in the top class at school means a whole host of privileges, and even better than that is the school production But at home, things aren’t going so well. Mum and Dad have been making Tally feel pressured and upset. Sometimes she feels so misunderstood and frustrated, she could explode! Then Tally’s mum and dad tell her about something she’s never heard about before. Something called autism. And everything changes.

Exam Season

Image by Freepik

It’s a busy and stressful time for our senior pupils, as they begin their exams this month. It’s extra important to look after yourself and your mental health during these kinds of stressful times.

There are lots of books and ebooks available from the school library to help with managing stress, anxiety and finding a wee bit of calm in the chaos! Browse our ebook collection, ‘Young Minds – Mental Health and Wellbeing’, in the Teen section of Overdrive and Libby.

You can also download digital practice papers in lots of exam subjects. Browse the collection on Overdrive here or search for ‘SQA’ in Libby.

Good luck to everyone starting exams next week!

New books

Finally we’ve got lots of lovely new books in this month! There’s a great variety of genres so plenty to choose from. Here’s a few of the highlights we think will be first off the shelves.