Author Archives: Ms Barron

St Roch’s Reads: June

What’s happening in St Roch’s library as we reach the end of another school year

Empathy Day

Taking place in June every year, Empathy Day celebrates and grows empathy’s power to create a better world. It shines a light on books’ role in raising an empathy-educated generation. through stories, and to put empathy into action!

This year we marked empathy day with an Empathy Bookshelf display and Empathy Reads noticeboard. The library volunteers did a wonderful job on their corridor display.

Ms Wood’s S2 class also joined in an Empathy Day activity session. We listened to ‘The piano at the station’ a story by Helen Rutter from the empathy shorts collection. We then spoke in groups about the story, using conversation prompts then helped us think about the experience and emotions of characters. Afterwards we broke out the art supplies and created colourful emotion maps, describing our own feelings from the day or imagining what the characters were feeling in the story. There are lots of great activities and samples in the annual Empathy Day resource pack and on their website including a great selection of short stories from fantastic authors.

Storytelling group

: ‘Annoyed’

: ‘Energetic’

: ‘Jealous’

We also had our final story group of the year! Our groups in S1 and S2 take part in creative activities focused on storytelling which can help pupils to recognize their emotions and express themselves.

For our last sessions pupils picked an emotion off the feelings wheel, imagined that emotion as a character and then wrote a descriptive poem. Afterwards we used modelling clay or lego to build our poem character. This session was based on poetry prompts shared by Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2023 Joseph Coelho.

Library Volunteers

As term finished, we celebrated a year of hard work from our volunteer team with a pizza party and movie screening. Everyone was a great help in the library over the year but a few pupils went above and beyond and earned their first Library Assistant Award. Well done to Raya, Ore, Rose, Ava, Roya and Msgana. And a big thank you to our HT Mr Herron for providing the pizza and snacks, which went down very well! What a great end to the school year.

We were very grateful to the Scottish Poetry Library this month for funding a poetry session for pupils with Julie McNeill. Julie is a poet and non-fiction writer living in Glasgow. She has published two poetry collections: Something Small and Ragged Rainbows, she also co-wrote Mission Dyslexia, a non-fiction book for children and young people with dyslexia.

Julie is the Poet-in-residence for St Mirren FC charitable trust and a huge football fan.

In the session with our S2 pupils she used football to explore emotion and self-expression. Pupils used a memory as a jumping off point to write their own poem. We were really impressed with the poems that were created, and well done to the pupils who willing to share their wonderful work.

Huge thanks to Julie for visiting and for donating us a signed copy of We are Scottish football. You can borrow this and Mission dyslexia from the school library now.

St Roch’s Reads: April

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Autism Acceptance Week, Easter, Eid, exams – April is one busy month! Here’s what’s been happening in St Roch’s School Library.

Pupil Reads: Steady for this by Nathanael Lessore

This month some of our pupils have been reading through the Yoto Carnegie shortlist titles and sharing mini-reviews. Here are Roya’s thoughts on Steady for this by Nathanael Lessore. Find out about the other shortlist books available in the school library here.

Q: Tell me about the book, but don’t give away the ending!

The book is about a boy who wants to be a rapper and then a big twist happens. It is a book about racism and lifestyle. At first you might not like it but at the end it’s a nice and smooth going book.

Q: Tell me about your favourite part of the book

When he meets a new friend who doesn’t know about his embarrassment and sticks with him till the end.

Q: I recommend this book to anyone who likes..

A nice, easy going, romantic comedy.

Q: What would you like to ask the author?

What would you do if your mum exposed your dirty laundry to the world, live? ?

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 what autism is and how it can affect life for people. It also highlights and celebrate 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.

Eid

Earlier this month Muslim people around the world celebrated Eid, marking the end of Ramadan and 30 days of fasting. It is one of the biggest festivals in the Islamic calendar, celebrated with family, friends, food and prayer. We put together a collection of books by Muslim authors to mark Ramadan and Eid, which you can find on our Padlet page.

You can borrow any of these from the school library, just ask at the desk.

Lucky Dip

St Roch’s pupils have a great reading culture, with library visits and personal reading time built into English classes. Pupils regularly visit us regularly for new reading material, but sometimes they can find it hard to choose something. Our library assistant Ava had a great idea to help pupils who just can’t decide- a Lucky Dip book box!

How does it work?

We chose a range of different books we thought pupils would enjoy, non fiction, quick reads, comics and all types of fiction genres. Then Ava made up tickets with the book title and 3 word descriptions. Now pupils who are stuck can take a ticket from the box and bring it to the desk to get there lucky dip surprise read. It’s worked really well with our regular class visits. Well done Ava for a great idea!

Keep calm and carry on-through-exams

It’s exam time for our senior pupils! This time of year can be very stressful few weeks, so it’s extra important to take care of yourself and your mental health. There are lots of books that can help you manage stress/anxiety and find a little bit of calm. Check out some of these books on the Stress Less book display, available now in the school library. Well done to the library assistant team for putting this together.

April @ Castlemilk Highschool

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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.

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

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.

Romance

Boy like me / by Simon James Green

Cuts both ways / by Candice Brathwaite

A British girl’s guide to hurricanes and heartbreak / by Laura Taylor Namey

Fantasy

Tyger / by S. F. Said & Dave McKean

The kingdom over the sea / by Zohra Nabi & Tom Clohosy Cole

The ivory key / by Akshaya Raman

Spooky

Most haunted theatres / by Yvette Fielding & Hannah Shaw

Jodie / by Hilary McKay & Keith Robinson

Wise creatures / by Deirdre Sullivan

St Roch’s Reads: March

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Word book day

March means World Book Day time! The library has handed out lots of tokens and they’re available until the end of the month. WBD token can be used to claim a free book in bookshops an participating shops until 31st March. You can find out about the books and shops here.

To mark the day, this year pupils competed in quizzes and joined in some bookish games of Tumbling Towers. Every block had a question or action and we had some delightful reading dares as forfeits. Big thanks to all the pupil library assistants who helped out as activity leaders.

Yoto shortlist

On 13th March the Yoto Carnegie award shortlist was announced and the pupil assistants have jumped right in. We’re reading Away with words , The door of no return and Steady for this at the moment, you can find out more about these titles below. Stay tuned for next month’s blog to see what we thought.

Away with words by Sophie Cameron

Gala and her dad, Jordi, have just moved from home in Cataluña to a town in Scotland, to live with Jordi’s boyfriend Ryan. Gala doesn’t speak much English, and feels lost, lonely and unable to be her usual funny self. Until she befriends Natalie, a girl with selective mutism. Set in a world where words appear physically when people speak, AWAY WITH WORDS explores the importance of communication and being there for those we love

The door of no return / Kwame Alexander

Eleven-year-old Kofi Offin loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father’s father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. But when the unthinkable occurs during a festival between rival villages, Kofi ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.

Steady for this by Nathanael Lessore

Shaun (aka MC Growls) is ready to drop his best bars and smash the competition at Raptology. That way, he’s convinced Tanisha, his crush, will finally give him a chance.
But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, Growls’s dirty laundry is literally exposed. He’s finally achieved his dreams of going viral – not in the good way.
Now Tanisha won’t look at him, he’s the joke of the school and there’s no way he can show his face at the competition. Will he ever catch a break?

Happy Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, taking place in March and April this year. It is a holy month which Muslims observe by giving, fasting, worship, studying the Quran, spiritual reflection, prayer and helping others. The end of Ramadan will be celebrated in April with Eid al-Fitr – the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast. Remember to be considerate of your Muslim friends during Ramadan, as they may be fasting during the day.

Many St Roch’s pupils are observing Ramadan this month, including some of our library volunteers. They put together a lovely library display to share information about Islamic culture and promote Muslim authors. Well done to Rose & co for their work.

The holidays will soon be upon us, we hope you all enjoy a well earned break. Time to rest and recharge before getting ready for exam season!

Ramadan Mubarak & Happy Easter to everyone celebrating.

March @ Castlemilk Highschool Library

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What’s been happening this month

World Book Day 2024

World Book Day is all about celebrating the magic of storytelling and the joy of reading. It’s a chance for book lovers of all ages come together to share their favourite stories, discover new adventures, and explore the wonderful world of books. Every year during March, you can claim a FREE book from book shops and participating retailers. All you need is a World Book Day token- and there’s lots of available in school. You can collect tokens from your English teacher or the school library until March 31st. Check out what books are available to choose from here.

Equality & Pride @ CHS

The CHS Equalities group provides a welcome space for all LGBTQ+ pupils and allies to meet every Wednesday at lunchtime. The group has been meeting in the library recently, where
they’ve made a new LGBT+ book display, bringing a lovely bit of colour to the shelves. This month everyone has been reading Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. The latest book in the series is in high demand, so if you have to wait, you can try one of Alice Oseman’s other books like Loveless, Solitaire or Radio Silence.

Heartstopper/ 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.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is held annually on 8th March. The aim of IWD is to raise awareness for gender equality and challenge stereotypes. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women across the world, both from the past and the present day. These can range from female leaders to pioneers in technology to the women in our everyday lives, like female friends, mothers and grandmothers.

We have two spotlight lists for IWD this month. Our ‘heroines’ list features stories with inspirational women and girls, chosen here for their bravery, conviction,and smarts. Our HERstory list features books about real women who have done amazing things throughout history in science, art, politics and society.

You can view both lists on our School Library Padlet.

New Books

There are loads of new books to choose form this month, particularly if you like a murder or a lol in your stories! Here’s some that we’re most excited to read this month.

The black queen / Jumata Emill

A dark and twisty murder mystery – Ace of Spades meets Riverdale

Catch your death / Ravena Guron

Trapped in a mansion with a murderer and a family of liars – how would you survive? A mind-blowing thriller from the author of THIS BOOK KILLS, perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Karen McManus.

Deadly little scandals / Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Shocking twists, family secrets, a fish-out-of water protagonist and a page-turning mystery combine in Little White Lies and Deadly Little Scandals (The Debutantes Duology) – perfect for fans coming from THE INHERITANCE GAMES series looking for their next addictive read from the Master of YA Mysteries, Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

Loki : a bad god’s guide to ruling the world / Louie Stowell

Loki’s third doodle-packed diary in the number one best-selling series.

Worst week ever! : Monday / Emma Amores & Matt Cosgrove

The first book in the hilarious new seven-part highly-illustrated series for fans of Tom Gates, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the Treehouse series.

The totally disastrous school-trip of Lottie Brooks / Katie Kirby

Lottie Brooks continues to navigate the many perils of growing up in this fantastically funny illustrated series, filled with friendship, embarrassing moments and plenty of lols.

Happy reading!

St Roch’s Reads: February

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Our library assistants out done themselves with book displays and promotions this month. Well done everyone who pitched in! Morire and Ava made our Dark reads for Dark nights display, full of thrillers and chillers. Along with a love-themed book display, Iman and Amani decided to conduct some pupil research, asking library visitors to vote For or Against Valentine’s day. The votes were counted and ( drum roll)… turns out it’s an even split, so the love stories can stay.

Everyone helped decorate for International Mother Languages Day. We’ve got colourful signs up to represent lots of the languages spoken in school. Did you know that in the library you can find books in languages from all around the world too? Including old favourites like Harry Potter, Dork diaries and Diary of a wimpy kid.

New Books

This month we had a delivery of new senior stock, hurray! Our senior collection includes fiction and non fiction for S4+ upwards. These new books were recommended by teachers, pupils and librarians. There’s lots of different genres, from contemporary to classic sci-fi, so there’s plenty to choose from if you’re ready to branch out from teen fiction. here.

Ready player one / Ernest Cline
Ready player one is a thrilling science fiction novel by Ernest Cline that follows teenager Wade Watts as he navigates a virtual reality world in search of a hidden Easter egg that holds the key to a massive fortune. Packed with 80s pop culture references, high-stakes challenges, and a race against time, this book is a must-read for gamers and nostalgia enthusiasts alike.

Klara and the sun / Kazuo Ishiguro
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change for ever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.

In Klara and The Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?

The night circus / Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus is a fantastical and enchanting tale of a mysterious, travelling circus that only opens at night. Within its black-and-white striped tents, two young magicians engage in a magical competition that could have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. With its vivid imagery and intricate storytelling, this novel will transport readers to a world where the line between reality and illusion is blurred.

The goldfinch / Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch is a gripping novel that follows the life of Theo Decker after a terrorist attack changes his world forever. As he navigates loss, love, and the pursuit of a stolen painting, Theo’s story is a heartbreaking and captivating exploration of fate and redemption.

LGBT history month

LGBT+ History Month is celebrated every February across the UK and was founded in 2004 by Schools OUT UK. It started as a way to claim the past, celebrate the present and create the future for LGBT+ people.

You’ll find a great mix of fiction and non-fiction books on display in the library to mark the month. If you prefer to use Libby, there’s plenty of ebooks and audiobooks available too.

Check out our LGBT+ fiction and non-fiction book lists on Padlet to see what’s available.

February @ Castlemilk High School Library

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Children’s Mental Health Week takes place from 5–11 February 2024. This year’s theme is ‘My Voice Matters’, which is all about empowering children and young people to express themselves.

To mark the week, this month in school we’re highlighting books from our ‘shelf help’ collection. School libraries have a great range of mental health and well being books available for pupils. These titles are chosen to support young people in building resilience and self-esteem, as well as managing anxiety and overall mental health.

You have the power : find your strength and believe you can/ Leah Williamson

Join Lioness Leah Williamson, Arsenal and England women’s football player, as she shows girls that they can be a leader at any age, and that huge things can happen when they believe in themselves!

Dare to be you / Matthew Sayid

What would you dare to try if you stopped worrying about fitting in?
When you stop doubting yourself, embrace change and let your kindness loose, you become your own action hero. This groundbreaking, practical and positive book will help kids develop the inner confidence to grow into happy adults who know – and, more importantly, LIKE – themselves.

Banish your self-esteem thief : a cognitive behavioural therapy workbook/ Kate Collins-Donnelly

Packed with activities and real-life stories, this imaginative workbook will show you what self-esteem is, how it develops, the impact it can have and how all this applies to your own self-esteem

Yes you can : ace school without losing your mind / Natasha Devon

Secondary school can seem overwhelming – but it doesn’t have to be. Natasha Devon uses her expertise to show you how to navigate school and stay calm in the face of exams. Learn how your brain works, what kind of learner you are, and how to deal with exam days with the help of mindfulness.

A better day : your positive mental health handbook/ Alex George

A positive, accessible and practical toolkit guiding young readers in how they can care for their mental health with confidence.From peer pressure and exam stress to online trolls and anxiety, life is full of ups and downs. But there are ways we can stay on top of our mental health – including overcoming stigma, talking about our feelings, developing resilience and switching our mindset.

Fighting invisible tigers : stress management for teens/ Earl Hipp

This book offers proven techniques that teens can use to deal with stressful situations in school, at home, and among friends. They’ll find current information on how stress affects health and decision making and learn stress-management skills to handle stress in positive ways—including assertiveness, positive self-talk, time management, relaxation exercises, and much more. Filled with interesting facts, student quotes, and fun activities, this book is a great resource for any teen who’s said, “I’m stressed out!”

The mental health and wellbeing workout for teens

Informed by the experiences of teens themselves, this friendly guide gives practical tips and strategies on how to overcome everyday stresses and ditch negative thinking ‘frenemies’ before they develop into more serious issues. Teens will be better equipped to recognise negative thoughts and emotions, monitor their mood and behaviour, and flex their positive thinking muscles in order to combat the mental health blips we all face sometimes.

You can browse for more books in the ‘mental health and well being’ section of our school library book lists.

January in Castlemilk H.S. Library

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New year-and new librarian

Happy 2024! My name is Ms Barron and I’m the new librarian in Castlemilk High School. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of new pupils getting to know everyone this year. I will be in school on Wednesdays and Fridays this term. You can visit the library during breaks and after school.

Exams

January is prelim time and the library has been very busy with senior pupils doing exams. Good luck everyone! Did you know you can borrow SQA practice papers on your ipad? Search ‘SQA’ on the libby app to see what subjects are available. While the exams are on, there will be a mini mobile library visiting classrooms for pupils to borrow from. Visits will be back to normal in February.

Burns Night

January 25th is Burns Night, celebrating Robert Burns and Scottish traditions with haggis, neeps, tatties and poetry. Why not join in the celebration of Scotland’s creativity and read a Scottish author in January? Check out this month’s burns Night collection, available now from Glasgow Libraries, for ideas.

Not sure what to pick? You could try ‘A night out with Burns: ‘, a collection of Burn’s greatest poems that brings his timeless work to life.

If you a prefer a story to poetry, there’s also a nice selection of teen fiction on the list. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan

Dylan Mint has Tourette’s. Being sixteen is hard enough, but Dylan’s life is a constant battle to keep the bad stuff in – the swearing, the tics, the howling dog that seems to escape whenever he gets stressed… But a routine visit to the hospital changes everything. Overhearing a hushed conversation between the doctor and his mother, Dylan discovers that he’s going to die next March. So he grants himself three parting wishes or ‘Cool Things To Do Before I Cack It’. But as Dylan sets out to make his wishes come true, he discovers that nothing – and no-one – is quite as he had previously supposed.

The Gifted, the Talented and Me by William Sutcliffe

Fifteen-year-old Sam is not a famous vlogger, he’s never gone viral, and he doesn’t want to be the Next Big Thing. In fact he’s ordinary and proud of it.
None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam’s off to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where everyone’s busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands. Sam knows he’ll never belong, even if he wanted to. And that’s before he ends up on stage wearing nothing but a fur onesie …

Beyond the Wall by Tanya Landman & Tom Sanderson

The story of a runaway slave girl and her dangerous journey through the murky underworld of Roman Britain, by Carnegie Medal-winning author Tanya Landman.

Cassia does not fear to die, but for her – for a slave who has maimed her master – there are worse things than death. Yet the mighty Roman Empire has its limits. Beyond her master’s estate, beyond the river, far to the north stands Hadrian’s Wall. And beyond the wall? Freedom. With dogs on her trail and a bounty on her head the journey seems impossible. But then Cassia meets Marcus – slick, slippery, silver-tongued – a true and perfect son of Rome. And her only hope.

All of these titles are available as eBooks on the Libby by Overdrive app. Click the book covers to find out more about each one. You can use your library card and PIN to add them to your account.

Remember if you have any trouble using eBooks or other eResources you can visit your school library for help.

St Roch’s Reads: January

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New year, new books

Happy 2024 everyone! We’re back for a new term- and lot of lovely new books.

The boxes were barely open before library assistants dove in to see what’s on offer. Here are some of their top picks to read first.

You could be so pretty by Holly Bourne

Uglies meets The Handmaid’s Tale for the new YA generation in this mind-blowing novel from bestselling queen of YA Holly Bourne.

Pupils say: “This book looks interesting because of the title, it looks like a thriller. When it says ‘beauty comes a price’ it makes you want to pick it up.”

Wise Creatures by Deirdre Sullivan

I always thought that hauntings began with houses. They don’t, of course. It’s people, isn’t it? They begin with people. ..

Pupils say: “This looks like a psychological horror that might have a shocking ending…”

How to find a missing girl by Victoria Wlosok

For fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Veronica Mars, this whip-smart thriller follows a teen detective seeking the truth behind a growing trail of missing girls in small-town Louisiana.

Pupils say: “This book looks really interesting, it reminds me of ‘A good girls guide to murder’.”

Fir by Sharon Gosling / Savage Island by Bryony Pearce / Charlotte Says by Alex Bell