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June 2025 Roundup – Whitehill Secondary School

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Monthly Roundup:

We had such a successful year here at Whitehill Secondary School Library. With 6000+ visits and 8600+ books issued, pupils have very much enjoyed engaging with the library service and the collections. Our Little Pride Library for our LGBT+ group and our Advanced Readers book group have been highlights of our year and we very much look forward to establishing more relationships with the school’s departments and clubs over the 25/26 school year. Thank you to the wonderful English Department for all their continued support over the months. The School Library will be closed for essential maintenance work beginning week beginning June 23rd.

Book of the Day:

03.06.25: Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle

05.06.25: The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

09.06.25: Climate Emergency Atlas by Dan Hooke

11.06.25:  Keedie by Elle McNicoll

 Author Spotlight:

02.06.25: Jasbinder Bilan

09.06.25: Dan Freedman

23.06.25: Gill Lewis

 

Series Spotlight:

02.06.25: Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

09.06.25: Five Nights at Freddies by Scott Cawthon

23.06.25: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 

Literary and Cultural Celebrations for April (Book Lists and Displays):

Audiobook Appreciation Month: June is Audiobook Month, a time to celebrate and promote the listening experience of audiobooks. Check out Glasgow Life’s audiobook range on Borrowbox and Libby by Overdrive.

Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller History Month: Through celebration, education and raising awareness, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month helps to tackle prejudice, challenge myths and to amplify the voices of Gypsies, Romas ad Travellers in wider society.

National Crime Reading Month: National Crime Reading Month is an annual initiative spearheaded and developed by the Crime Writer’s Association. It runs throughout June, this year in collaboration with The Reading Agency. National crime Reading Month aims t bring new books to existing readers and new readers to the world’s most popular and best-selling genre.

Pride Month:  Pride Month is an annual celebration dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ history and contributions and coincides with the anniversary if the 1969 Stonewall riots.

World Environment Day (5th June): World Environment Day is the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.

World Oceans Day (8th June): World Oceans Day aims to raise the awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.

Empathy Day (12th June): Empathy Day is a national event in the UK that is part of the wider Empathy Day festival running from June 2nd-12th. The theme for 2025 is “What’s your spark?”. The day aims to inspire children and young people to learn about empathy and experience it through stories and put it into action.

Refugee Week (16th-22nd): Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience pf refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Windrush Day (22nd June): Windrush Day marks the anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush on 22nd June 1948 and to recognise and thank all of those from the Windrush generation and their descendants to their enormous contributions.

International Women in Engineering Day (23rd June): International Women in Engineering Day is an international campaign that aims to raise the profile of women in engineering and encourage more people to consider engineering career. This day highlights the achievements of women engineering and provides a platform to celebrate their work and inspire the next generation of female engineers.

 

 Trending Book Lists

 Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

 Book Awards

Winners:  FCBG Children’s Book Awards | Jhalak Prize | James Tait Black Prizes | Orwell Prizes | Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction | Sports Book Awards | UKLA Book Awards | Women’s Prize | YOTO Carnegies

June 2025 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

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Monthly Roundup:

Rights Respecting Schools: We are pleased to announce that Shawlands Academy has achieved Silver accreditation on our Rights Respecting Schools journey. Pupils can browse our updated human rights collections in our newly named Rights Respecting Reads section.

Paint: We are so excited for our School Library to be painted over the summer. Pupils have submitted their preference for colours so all will be revealed come August!

Book of the Day:

02.06.25: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow

09.06.25: Climate Action: The Future is In Our Hands by Georgina Stevens and Katie Rewse

11.06.25: The Pavee and the Buffer Girl by Siobhan Dowd

13.06.25: Ocean by DK

16.06.25: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed, Iman Geddy

18.06.25: Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

20.06.25: The Fights that Makes Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt

23.06.25: Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah

25.06.25: Rebel Girls STEM Stars: 25 Tales of Women in Science by Rebel Girls

 

Author Spotlight:

02.06.25: Ele Fontaine

09.06.25: Yaba Badoe

23.06.25: Christopher Edge

 

Series Spotlight:

02.06.25: Little Badman by Humza Arshad and Henry White

09.06.25: Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

23.06.25: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

 

Literary and Cultural Celebrations for April (Book Lists and Displays):

Audiobook Appreciation Month: June is Audiobook Month, a time to celebrate and promote the listening experience of audiobooks. Check out Glasgow Life’s audiobook range on Borrowbox and Libby by Overdrive.

Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller History Month: Through celebration, education and raising awareness, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month helps to tackle prejudice, challenge myths and to amplify the voices of Gypsies, Romas ad Travellers in wider society.

National Crime Reading Month: National Crime Reading Month is an annual initiative spearheaded and developed by the Crime Writer’s Association. It runs throughout June, this year in collaboration with The Reading Agency. National crime Reading Month aims t bring new books to existing readers and new readers to the world’s most popular and best-selling genre.

Pride Month:  Pride Month is an annual celebration dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ history and contributions and coincides with the anniversary if the 1969 Stonewall riots.

World Environment Day (5th June): World Environment Day is the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment.

World Oceans Day (8th June): World Oceans Day aims to raise the awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.

Empathy Day (12th June): Empathy Day is a national event in the UK that is part of the wider Empathy Day festival running from June 2nd-12th. The theme for 2025 is “What’s your spark?”. The day aims to inspire children and young people to learn about empathy and experience it through stories and put it into action.

Refugee Week (16th-22nd): Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience pf refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Windrush Day (22nd June): Windrush Day marks the anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush on 22nd June 1948 and to recognise and thank all of those from the Windrush generation and their descendants to their enormous contributions.

International Women in Engineering Day (23rd June): International Women in Engineering Day is an international campaign that aims to raise the profile of women in engineering and encourage more people to consider engineering career. This day highlights the achievements of women engineering and provides a platform to celebrate their work and inspire the next generation of female engineers.

  Trending Book Lists

 Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

  Book Awards

Winners:  FCBG Children’s Book Awards | Jhalak Prize | James Tait Black Prizes | Orwell Prizes | Sir Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction | Sports Book Awards | UKLA Book Awards | Women’s Prize | YOTO Carnegies

St Roch’s Reads: June

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Empathy Day 12th June

Empathy Day is a day dedicated to celebrating and promoting empathy, particularly through the power of stories. It encourages individuals of all ages to develop their empathy skills by understanding and sharing the feelings and experiences of others.

Books and storytelling are central to Empathy Day, as reading can help individuals develop empathy by helping us to experience different perspectives. Empathy Lab Uk provided lots of free activities and resources for taking part in your school. In St Roch’s, we created an ’empathy bookshelf’, full of titles recommended in the read for empathy guide. Pupils shared author quotes on the tannoy, explaining what empathy is and the power of reading for empathy. We also had some fun class activities, creating colourful Emotion Maps to explore all the feelings that crop up in a day. 

Titles from the Read for Empathy collections are available free to download on the digital library. You can browse a selection on our library Padlet here. 

Reading Schools: Waterstones visit

As part of our Reading Schools journey, this month the leadership team went on trip to Waterstones to give pupils a chance to choose their own library stock. Pupils were given a budget and tasked with choosing new books they thought their peers would like to read. They put a lot of thought into choosing, asking classmates in advance for requests and putting their booktok knowledge to good use. It was a fantastic day out, Waterstones is a beautiful book shop with a great stock selection and very helpful staff. The reading leadership group had a great time and did a wonderful job, the books have been super popular.

Library Assistant Awards

We had our library team end of year party this month, and what a celebration it was. Pupils worked hard for months to complete tasks on their bingo sheets and I was very impressed with how many boxes were ticked! We had a prize raffle for pupils who completed a line or ten boxes and special prizes for the Bingo Champions. Congratulations to Iman and Roya for being the absolute best Bingo-ers, completing every box on the sheet.

Some pupil volunteers also received Library Assistant Awards. The awards acknowledge pupils’ commitment, responsibility and dedication to their library assistant role.  To achieve the awards they have given their time to work on reading projects, create displays, act as mentors and care for library areas. Pupils received a certificate, goody bag and a pin to reflect their bronze, silver or gold awards. Congratulations to all our award winners (particularly to Ore for silver and Iman for gold), who have now been promoted to senior assistants. You should be very proud of yourselves!

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it for this term, have a great summer everyone. Happy reading!

CHS Rights Respecting Book-of-the-Month: May

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Castlemilk High School: a Rights Respecting School

The Rights Respecting Schools Award recognises a school’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond.  Each month this year, the school library has featured a book, recommended by Unicef. These books highlight different articles from the UNCRC, helping to raise our pupils’ awareness of their rights. The final book of the year is the graphic novel When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. This incredible true story links to several of articles including:  

28: Right to an education
27: Adequate standard of living
19: Protection from violence, abuse and neglect 

Eleven-year-old Omar lives with his little brother Hassan in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. They’ve been there for seven years now, waiting for the civil war in Somalia to end so that they can go home to the family farm and try to find their parents.

Life in the camp is hard: Omar has to look after Hassan, queue for water, queue for food. Dadaab feels like a giant waiting room, but Omar looks for hope around every corner. He plays football with his friends, entertains Hassan, and when he starts going to school, begins to reframe his future: if he can get an education, perhaps he can become a UN social worker and help other children like him.

An intimate picture of a very real boy and what life in a refugee camp is really like, When Stars Are Scattered is available now to borrow from the school library.

 

April 2025 Roundup – Whitehill Secondary School Library

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Monthly Roundup:

New Book Highlights:

This Summer’s Secrets by Emily Barr

Clouds Over California by Karyn Parsons

Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green

 

Book of the Day:

01.04.25: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

03.04.25: What is Mental Health? Where Does It Come From? And Other Big Questions by Dr. Lucy Maddox

22.04.25: The Mysteries of the Universe by Will Gater

24.04.25: The Shocking Truth About Energy and How it Shapes Our World by Mike Goldsmith

29.04.25: Eyewitness Universe by DK

 

Author Spotlight:

01.04.25: Kwame Mbalia

22.04.25: Aisha Saeed

29.04.25: Phil Earle

 

Series Spotlight:

01.04.25: Planet Omar by Zanib Mian

22.04.25: Frostheart by Jamie Littler

29.04.25: Divergent by Veronica Roth

 

Literary and Cultural Celebrations for April (Book Lists and Displays):

 World Autism awareness Month: World Autism Awareness Month is an opportunity for everyone to come together and raise awareness, foster acceptance, and create a society where autistic people are supported, understood, and empowered. Visit the National Autistic Society’s website for more information.

 Stress Awareness Month: Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and management strategies for stress. We’ve highlighted some books available in your School Library and signposted some websites with more information about management: Aye Feel, mentalhealth.org.uk, SAMH.org.uk

 National Pet Month: National Pet Month celebrates and raises awareness of responsible pet ownership.

 International Children’s Book Day (2nd April): Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, 2 April, International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books. Find out what made the BBC’s Top 100 Children’s Books of All Time.

International Romani Day (8th April): The International Romani Day (8 April) is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people. Visit the Romani Arts website to learn more.

Passover (12th -20th April): Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It begins before sundown on Saturday April 12, 2025, and ends after nightfall on April 20, 2025. Happy Passover to those celebrating.

 Easter: Easter also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday is a Christian festival and cultural holiday. Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians. Happy Easter to those celebrating.

International Dark Sky Week (21st-28th April): International Dark Sky Week is a global celebration of the night. From the darkness needed for a restful night’s sleep to the activities we enjoy beneath the stars, the night plays a crucial role in protecting healthy wildlife ecosystems, advancing science and exploration, preserving cultural knowledge, and much more.

Earth Day (22nd April): The theme for Earth Day 2025 is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, inviting everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.

National Gardening Week (28th April – 4th May): National Gardening Week is a time for people to learn about gardening, connect with other gardening enthusiasts, and get inspired. Find some gardening tips on the Royal Horticultural Society’s website.

 

Trending Book Lists

 Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

 Book Awards

Winners: Peters Book Awards

Shortlists: The British Book Awards | Branford Boase Awards | Jhalak Prize

 Longlists: Women’s Prize | Crime Writer’s Association

 

 

April 2025 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

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Monthly Roundup:

 Pop-Up Library: This month saw exams taking place in the library, so we’re crossing our fingers for our Seniors. Best of luck everyone! Our Pop-Up Library will take place lunchtimes in an English classroom where there will be activities and a small selection of books to choose from.

Creative Writing Contest winners announced: Congratulations to N (S1) for their fantastic short story which won our World Book Day creative writing contest, selected by our Pupil Library Committee judges.

Bookmark Design Competition: We’ve received eight beautiful designs as part of our annual School Library Bookmark design competition. Voting has commenced on the School Library Channel of Teams.

BGE Class Visits: It’s that time of year! We’ll be visiting each S1-S3 English classes with a list of books out on loan. Library Return Boxes are located within each classroom to make it as easy as possible to return items. And there is no pressure to return books if you’re still reading them, just get in touch to renew!

 

New Book Highlights:

The Usborne Creative Writing Book by Louise Stowell

Graphic Novel Builder: The Illustrated Guide to Making Your Own Comics by Edward Ross

Play Like Your Football Heroes: Pro Tips for Becoming a Top Player by Matt Oldfield, Seth Burkett, Tom Jennings

 

Book of the Day:

02.04.25: Finding My Voice by Aoife Dooley

04.04.25: Be Resilient: How to Build A Strong Teenage Mind For Tough Times by Nicola Morgan

23.04.25: Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter

25.04.25: A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story by Richard O’Neill

28.04.25: Astronomy for Curious Kids: An Illustrated Introduction to the Solar System, our Galaxy, Space-Travel – and More! By Giles Sparrow and Nik Neves

30.04.25: This Book Will Save the Planet: A Climate-Justice primer for Activists and Changemakers by Dany Sigwalt and Aurelia Durand

 

Author Spotlight:

23.04.25: Krystal Sutherland

28.04.25: Camryn Garrett

 

Series Spotlight:

23.04.25: Laura Marlin Mysteries by Lauren St John

28.04.25: Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby

 

Literary and Cultural Celebrations for April (Book Lists and Displays):

 World Autism awareness Month: World Autism Awareness Month is an opportunity for everyone to come together and raise awareness, foster acceptance, and create a society where autistic people are supported, understood, and empowered. Visit the National Autistic Society’s website for more information.

 Stress Awareness Month: Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and management strategies for stress. We’ve highlighted some books available in your School Library and signposted some websites with more information about management: Aye Feel, mentalhealth.org.uk, SAMH.org.uk

 National Pet Month: National Pet Month celebrates and raises awareness of responsible pet ownership.

 International Children’s Book Day (2nd April): Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, 2 April, International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books. Find out what made the BBC’s Top 100 Children’s Books of All Time.

International Romani Day (8th April): International Romani Day (8 April) is a day to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Romani people. Visit the Romani Arts website to learn more.

Passover (12th -20th April): Passover, also called Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It begins before sundown on Saturday April 12, 2025, and ends after nightfall on April 20, 2025. Happy Passover to those celebrating.

 Easter: Easter also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday is a Christian festival and cultural holiday. Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians. Happy Easter to those celebrating.

International Dark Sky Week (21st-28th April): International Dark Sky Week is a global celebration of the night. From the darkness needed for a restful night’s sleep to the activities we enjoy beneath the stars, the night plays a crucial role in protecting healthy wildlife ecosystems, advancing science and exploration, preserving cultural knowledge, and much more.

Earth Day (22nd April): The theme for Earth Day 2025 is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET, inviting everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy, and to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.

National Gardening Week (28th April – 4th May): National Gardening Week is a time for people to learn about gardening, connect with other gardening enthusiasts, and get inspired. Find some gardening tips on the Royal Horticultural Society’s website.

 

 Trending Book Lists

 Epic Reads New Releases | The Guardian Children’s Book Roundup | LoveReading4Kids Books of the Month | Scholastic Books of the Month | Scottish Book Trust Book Lists |Toppsta Monthly Highlights | Waterstones Books of the Month

 

 Book Awards

Winners: Peters Book Awards

Shortlists: The British Book Awards | Branford Boase Awards | Jhalak Prize

 Longlists: Women’s Prize | Crime Writer’s Association

St Roch’s Reads: May

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St Roch’s reading leadership group has been working hard this year towards gaining a Reading School accreditation.  One of the group aims was to think of new ways to encourage pupils to discuss and share books they’ve enjoyed. Inspired by a Literacy Trust idea, we decided to make a Recommendation Tree.

The tree is on a noticeboard in the English corridor so pupils can easily see it was they move about school. The leadership group put lots of work in making the tree, cutting out templates and making colourful collection boxes for classrooms.  Teachers have been encouraging pupils to add a recommended read as part of their library visits and class reading time. It’s lovely to see the tree growing new leaves this term! If you’re curious about what our pupils are reading or are looking for a new book, here’s a few favourites that have been shared this month. Well done to all the pupil helpers who made and maintain the tree particularly Iman, Amany, Roya, Millie & Jodie. Great work folks!

 

Glasgow 850: celebrating our city in our school library

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This year, Glasgow is celebrating an incredible milestone: its 850th anniversary! Across the city, people are reflecting on Glasgow’s long and fascinating history, and we wanted to make sure our students had the chance to take part in the celebrations too. At our school libraries, my colleague Markie Deleavey and I put together some special activities to help pupils learn more about the city they live in: its culture, landmarks, and stories.

Markie created a brilliant activity booklet that students have really enjoyed. It’s full of puzzles, including crosswords, famous Glaswegians and landmarks, and even a section on Glasgow slang. The booklet was designed to make learning about our city fun and interactive and it’s certainly worked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To go alongside the booklet, I added an activity based on the comic Beats of War by Etienne Kubwabo. The story follows a superhero who arrives on Earth in search of a way to save his home planet from robot invaders and while here, he discovers the power of music. The comic is set right here in Glasgow, and it features several recognisable city landmarks. Students were encouraged to read the story and see if they could spot places they knew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At St Mungo’s, pupils also created a colourful display showing all of Glasgow’s subway stations, with the nearest libraries and bookshops marked at each stop. They helped choose books set in or about Glasgow, adding them to Markie’s fantastic visual booklist for everyone to explore. Creating this display wasn’t just creative, it also helped pupils build their research and literacy skills while learning more about their own city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last couple of weeks, our S1 and S2 classes have been coming into the library to take part in a quiz and challenges that test their knowledge of Glasgow. It’s been wonderful to see how engaged and enthusiastic they’ve been asking questions, sharing what they know, and having fun in the process.

 

 

 

 

 

These activities have been a great way to celebrate Glasgow’s 850th birthday and remind us all how school libraries can bring learning to life. We’re proud to help our students connect with their local heritage, build new skills, and find joy in reading and discovery.

Youth for Equity: session 2

Stories that matter: exploring homelessness and racist prejudice
The second session of the Youth for Equity project took place at Hillhead High School on March 26th, focusing on two key social issues: homelessness and racism.
We began the day with a powerful workshop led by a representative from Simon Community Scotland. He spoke about the realities of homelessness in Glasgow, the charity’s work, and the impact they’re making in local communities. Students responded with enthusiasm—asking insightful questions about how to help, raise awareness, and ensure the safety of those working on the front lines.

 

 

After a short break, we welcomed Etienne Kubwabo, a Glasgow-based comic book creator and filmmaker. Etienne is the author of Beats of War, a comic set in Glasgow and featuring Scotland’s first Black superhero. He shared how his personal journey, including his experiences with racism, has shaped his creative work. He emphasized how art and storytelling can be powerful forces for social change, encouraging students to use creativity as a way to challenge injustice and express identity. Students were encouraged to reflect on representation and identity by designing their own superhero characters. From this superhero gallery, Etienne will select the top three entries and feature one of them in his next comic.
Want to hear more from Etienne? Check out the interview he did with some of our students!
Looking ahead, our third session promises to be just as inspiring, with The Black Curriculum joining us for a workshop this May to teach accessible and engaging Black histories, encouraging social cohesion and knowledge development in young people.