Category Archives: All

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to another fabulous year at Hyndland Secondary.

We start off with the fantastic news that Hyndland Secondary has been recognised by the Scottish Book Trust as a Reading School.  Well done to all involved on achieving this award!

We are starting the year off with a bang as our trusty Library Assistants from S2 have made this video to remind their fellow students to return their library books.

 

 

We have also had a big sort out over the summer of the non-fiction section which is now clearly labelled and marked with brand new categories and lots more space for front facing book. Hopefully this helps makes finding the books you enjoy a bit easier!

 

We are off to a fantastic start at Hyndland Secondary School Library – we are all looking forward to an exciting year ahead!

 

New term, new books!

Its the start of a new school year and we’re delighted to welcome everyone back to the library. We can’t believe it’s autumn already!  

Even though school is just back, we’ve already got lots of lovely new reads on offer. Our library assistants have been excitedly rifling through the new books. Here they share their top picks and the reasons they’re excited to read them. 

A tale of two knights : An Arthurian love story / ill. by L S Biehler 

When Merlin goes missing and Camelot falls under attack, King Arthur sends his estranged half-sister, Morgan le Fay, and esteemed Knights of the Round Table, Tristan and Lancelot, to find him. In this reimagining of an Arthurian legend, Knights of the Round Table Lancelot and Tristan set out on a quest to find the missing magician Merlin but instead discover an unexpected romance. 

Pupils say: This looks like a very good slow-burn love story 

If my words had wings / by Danielle Jawando 

When fifteen-year-old Tyrell Forrester gets caught up in a high-profile armed robbery, he’s sentenced to eighteen months in a young offenders’ prison.  Inspired by a visiting poet while inside, Ty discovers a whole new world through spoken word and is finally finding his voice. But will society ever see him as anything other than a criminal? A life affirming story of rehabilitation and hope after prison. 

Pupils say: The book cover is really eye catching and the title sounds engaging. 

The hunt for Star-Lord / Illustrated by Cam Kendell 

Rocket and Groot are living their best lives touring the galaxy for the very best deep-dish pizza in the universe. Just as Rocket is about to bite down on a gooey slice of pizza with extra trash, an alert pops up on his bounty tracker: Star-Lord has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom! 

Pupils say: I like Marvel in general, especially Star-Lord 

Deadly deep / be Jennifer Kilick 

It’s summer term and time for a school trip with a difference! Year 8 are on a boat off the coast of France, learning about ocean life. But things are about to get WEIRD . . . 

Who is the creepy man on board the ship? And what IS the vast, shadowy creature seen lurking at the bottom of the ocean? A perfect story for fans of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps and Stranger Things! 

Pupils say: The cover tells me it’s a very good read and the blurb sounds amazing. 

Black Hole Cinema Club / by Christopher Edge  

When Lucas meets his friends at the local cinema – nicknamed ‘The Black Hole’ – they’re excited about the movie marathon ahead. Non-stop action, blockbuster special effects and all the snacks they can eat. But as the lights go down, Lucas, Ash, Maya, Caitlin and Finn watch in disbelief as a jet-black tidal wave comes crashing out of the cinema screen and the five friends find themselves swept into an epic adventure. 

Pupils say: The cover and the back look interesting, it sounds like a very good read. 

Dead lock / by Simon Fox 

Archie Blake thought his policeman father teaching him how to pick locks and open safes was just a bit of fun. But when a diamond necklace is stolen and his dad is arrested, Archie realises the only way to prove Dad’s innocence is to go on the run and use everything he’s learned to uncover the truth. But Archie soon finds himself deeply tangled in the criminal underworld, where it’s hard to know who to trust and even harder to see what’s right or wrong. 

Perfect for fans of Alex Rider and Artemis Fowl. 

Pupils Say: The art of the cover makes this look like a really cool book.  

 Skandar and the unicorn thief / by A. F. Steadman 

Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has only ever wanted to be a unicorn rider. To be one of the lucky few selected to hatch a unicorn. To bond with it for life; to train together and race for glory; to be a hero. But just as Skandar’s dream is about to come true, things start to take a more dangerous turn than he could ever have imagined. A dark and twisted enemy has stolen the Island’s most powerful unicorn – and as the threat grows ever closer, Skandar discovers a secret that could blow apart his world forever . . . 

The first book in the award-winning, international hit fantasy adventure series. Perfect for fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Eragon and Fireborn  

Pupils say: The cover has a fantasy vibe and it kind of looks like the Percy Jackson series, which I really like.  

Dune / by Frank Herbert 

Melange, or ‘spice’, is the most valuable – and rarest – element in the universe. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world Arrakis. Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe. When stewardship of Arrakis is transferred to his house, Paul Atreides must travel to the planet’s dangerous surface to ensure the future of his family and his people. But as malevolent forces explode into conflict around him, Paul is thrust into a great destiny beyond his understanding.

Librarian’s pick: I really loved the Dune movies, the story is so exciting and mysterious. I grabbed this new edition arrived, I wanted to read it and find out more about the characters. Plus, this way I don’t need to wait for the next movie to find out what happens next!

What will your next read be?

Eastbank goes book bonkers

Welcome back to school Eastbank !  It has been a lonely library without you all.  Can you believe our library actually looks this big?  Isn’t it weird looking at it without any pupils in?

New Feature – Click the link.  In our blog posts now, if you click on any underlined text, you’ll be taken to some exciting new internet content.  This could be a book review or even an author’s page.  So there’s lots more for you to explore in the blog this year.

S1 Induction Time   It’s great to see all the new S1 pupils come into the library for the first time this month.  Everyone has now been given their library cards and can borrow books for the first time.  Remember, the library is free and you can borrow books for 2 weeks, or longer if you need more time to read the books you have.  But remember to bring them back !!  Stuck for an idea what to read?  Why not check out our display of new books?  This table is where you find a selection of new books covering all subjects.

Creation Corner

Don’t forget about the other activities you can do in the library.  Our creation corner has been very popular this month, with a gratitude rainbow, a brilliant Mickey Mouse drawing and a good few filled in word searches, I’ve been blown away with what you’re doing.  You could see your work here if you hand it in to Mrs Marshall !

New books to borrow 

On the new releases table, you can find the following books.  As a sneak peak, click on the links and you will be able to read all about them !  If you want a book, just ask the librarian who will be happy to reserve one for you.

Echostar is Always Listening  Definitely the creepiest of the new books, and a great read to set you up for Halloween in October !  It’s not ghosts and ghouls, it’s even scarier than that.  Ruby and her best friend have discovered a new AI tool which helps them get great grades at school.  But is that just too good to be true?  Read this Super Short story and find out….

EchoStar: Is Always Listening

The Final Year 

Matt Goodfellow has done it again with this book, he simply gets better and better.  Nathan is struggling at school, and trying his best to keep the few friends he has. The Final Year But what if your best friend starts doing things they shouldn’t really be doing?  And it’s serious.  Combined with trouble at home, the Final Year is a great read and one you can identify with concerning your first year at a new school.

 

 

 Unfamiliar  Unfamiliar What an amazing reader request has just come in to Eastbank.  The graphic novel of Unfamiliar and it’s follow up have arrived.  An adorable wee witch – Planchette – moves into a haunted house together with her familiar Marlow.  Not a problem for a witch you’d think !  But a bargain haunted house throws up some funny problems for the young witch and her familiar.  A cosy read about insiders, outsiders and all those in-between, there’s not much you can’t love about Unfamiliar.  Ask Mrs Marshall to reserve both copies if you want double the fun.

Author of the Month – Tom Palmer 

Our first author of the month for this term is Tom Palmer.  Tom writes amazing books on football, the Second World War and many other things.  His books are in our Super Shorts section, which means they are a great read with not so many pages.  Also they have yellow pages which means pupils with dyslexia challenges can read the words with more ease.  But everyone can borrow these books and they are amazing reads

 

New school year at Lochend CHS

What’s in the box?

We’ve had an exciting time at Lochend.  First of all, we’ve had lots of new books come into the library.  I wonder what could be in that box???  Been a bit of a reading drought in the summer?  Come in to the library and see what new books are here.  it’s always great to see a delivery of books on the library table !

 

New Feature – Click for the link

In our blog posts now, if you click on any underlined text, you’ll be taken to some exciting new internet content.  This could be for a book review or even an author’s page.  So there’s lots more for you to find out in the blog this year.

S1 Induction Time

It’s great to see all the new S1 pupils come into the library for the first time this month.  Everyone has now been given their library cards and can borrow books for the first time.  Remember, the library is free and you can borrow books for 2 weeks, or longer if you need more time to read the books you have.  Stuck for an idea what to read?  Why not check out our display of new books?  This table is where you find a selection of new books covering all subjects.

 

 

New books to borrow

On the new releases table, you can find the following books.  As a sneak peak, click on the links and you will be able to read all about them !  If you want a book, just ask the librarian who will be happy to reserve one for you.

Spectacular Scottish Women

A brilliant celebration of all the amazing women to come out of Scotland.  You’ll find women from history, Olympians, footballers and so many more great figures to surprise and inspire you to be the best version of yourself.

Spectacular Scottish Women: Celebrating Inspiring Lives from Scotland

Echostar is Always Listening

Definitely the creepiest of the new books, and a great read to set you up for Halloween in October !  It’s not ghosts and ghouls, it’s even scarier than that.  Ruby and her best friend have discovered a new AI tool which helps them get great grades at school.  But is that just too good to be true?  Read this Super Short story and find out….

EchoStar: Is Always Listening

The Final Year

Matt Goodfellow has done it again with this book, he simply gets better and better.  Nathan is struggling at school, and trying his best to keep the few friends he has. The Final Year But what if your best friend starts doing things they shouldn’t really be doing?  And it’s serious.  Combined with trouble at home, the Final Year is a great read and one you can identify with concerning your first year at a new school.

Author of the Month – Tom Palmer

Our first author of the month for this term is Tom Palmer.  Tom writes amazing books on football, the Second World War and many other things.  His books are in our Super Shorts section, which means they are a great read with not so many pages.  Also they have yellow pages which means pupils with dyslexia challenges can read the words with more ease.  But everyone can borrow these books and they are amazing reads

 

Welcome back to school!

The new term has finally started and, while we are waiting to deliver the library induction for the S1s, some of them have already popped in for a visit and to borrow a book.

For everyone else though, here is a list of eBooks available to borrow from the Libby app featuring school stories and experiences!

Middle School Mayhem by Rachel Renee Russell

The Secret School Invasion by Pamela Butchart

Murder on a School Night (audio) by Kate Weston

The School for Good and Evil 1 & 2 by Soman Chainani

Yes You Can–Ace School Without Losing Your Mind by Natasha Devon

Making Friends, Volume 1 by Kristen Gudsnuk

Awkward Autumn of Lily Mclean by Lindsay Littleson

ADHD Is Our Superpower by Adriana Camargo & Soli Lazarus

The Autistic Guide to Adventure by Allie Mason

Do You Know Dewey? Exploring the Dewey Decimal System by Brian P. Cleary

The Worst Class in the World by Joanna Nadin

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

 

Summer fun @St Mungo

This summer, your librarian has been busy preparing for the new school year with a lot of exciting activities. I attended some fantastic training sessions to discover new and unique ways to create stories. One of the highlights was a workshop organized by Markie, my fantastic colleague from Shawlands! She demonstrated how to use tarot cards as a creative tool, helping us explore new ways to inspire and develop fresh narrative ideas. I’m thrilled to bring these innovative techniques into our library programs and make creative writing even more engaging for everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also been working on some exciting new projects, like planning future author visits. Stay tuned—you’ll be hearing more about that soon!

And of course, I’ve been getting the library all set for the new year by weeding out old books and cataloguing new ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the library!

 

 

Library Update: Genrefication

Hi and welcome back, everyone!

While everyone else was away over the summer, the library has had a bit of a makeover! This month, we’re going to take a quick look at our new genre system, to make sure you know where to find your next favourite read.

So what does “genrefication” mean? Essentially, our Fiction section is now divided into five genre categories: General, Imaginative, Dynamic, Romantic, and Intriguing. The books have all been reshelved so that they’re physically grouped together into these five broad areas. Each book has also been outfitted with a brand-new coloured sticker on its spine, which corresponds to the section it came from, as follows:

Furthermore, every section is clearly labelled, with signage explaining what sort of books you can find there, as well as giving examples:

But not everything has changed! The books within each section are arranged in the familiar author-surname order, allowing you to find your favourite writer more quickly than ever.

Hopefully you’ll find the new arrangement more intuitive to use — and it’ll lead to some great discoveries, too!

Summer Reading at Holyrood

Reading Challenge

The S2 Library Helpers were so keen to encourage reading over the holidays, that they made up a Holyrood Reading Challenge. They chatted about this over a few lunchtimes and came up with a giant whiteboard of ideas. We then wrote the challenges on post-it notes that went into a lucky dip jar for participants to choose from. Here are some of the challenges:

  • Read in bed for 10 mins. every night for a week
  • Read in your garden or in a park
  • Read a page out loud to your pet
  • Read while you’re waiting for your toast to pop up
  • Listen to an eBook on the Libby app

It was a lot of fun, and we all enjoyed choosing a challenge and receiving a bookmark and merit for taking part. I’m now looking forward to hearing how everyone got on, and also what ideas the Helpers will have for our new term.

S2 Helpers came up with ideas

 

 

Seniors enjoyed the Challenge too!

While school’s out, school librarians continue to carry out essential work, joining up hundreds of new members arriving into S1, re-organising and improving collections, ordering new books, creating resources and planning projects and activities for the coming year.

I’ve been reviewing some of the pupil feedback from throughout the year, and noticed how much S1 enjoy their lunchtimes in the library. And also that some readers would like a little more help in choosing books. So I’ve ordered new board games for lunchtimes (chess, snakes & ladders, Connect4, Uno, Boggle and others), and re-organised a book display stand at the entrance to highlight new genres, including : Afrofuturism, Eco-stories, Sci-fi & Dystopian, Animal stories, Scottish authors, and Re-told fairy tales. There’s also a space for – Recommended by You, as pupil recommendations are one of the best ways to find a good book. Hopefully our keen readers will like the new display and make suggestions for anything else they would like to see included.

 

I’ve also enjoyed some time off to go on trips and celebrations including:

  • Edinburgh Castle, to watch ‘Harry Potter’ on giant screen, with live film music performed by the RSNO
  • the ‘Discovering Degas’ exhibition at the wonderful Burrell Collection.
  • my daughter’s graduation from Glasgow Caledonian University. (nice to think that some of our own Holyrooders are also studying there, I’m sure I saw a few familiar faces at the ceremony).

Hope everyone’s had a lovely holiday, look forward to seeing you back next week !

Miss Kindness