The year 2024 started off with an amazing surprise – the arrival of a fresh new stock!
The library assistants were thrilled to take charge of unboxing and ensuring that all titles were accounted for. They were already busy planning the future display.
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In this delivery, some books were requested by pupils and they finally arrived! The joy on their faces when I told them the long-awaited book is finally here!
Here at Lochend we love reading. Library visits happen on a Monday and Friday when Mrs Marshall, our School Librarian, is here. But that means on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we can’t visit the library to take books home. However, we’ve got a brand new system of Book Boxes in January in every English Classroom. This means we can enjoy reading in the classroom on the days Mrs Marshall isn’t here. Here they are, looking great.
Also in the spirit of the New Year, Lochend’s comics and graphic novels section were badly in need of a re-arrangement and a general tidy up. Now they’re looking so much better, with the graphic novels on our right hand bookcase and the comics on the left. This will make choosing our favourite reads so much easier.
And we’ve had such a great start to our new year of reading with some fabulous new deliveries which are in stock in the library now. Just look at this pile of amazing books below ! These and more can be borrowed from the library and if you’re not sure what to pick, Mrs Marshall will be happy to help you. (But I think she’d pick Finding Bear herself !)
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.
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.
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:
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.
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 …
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.
With January comes the opportunity for a clean slate. Whether you’ve made up your New Year’s resolutions or not, it’s a great time to focus on an often-overlooked aspect of our health: mental wellbeing.
To support pupils in looking after their mental health and wellness, the library hosted a workshop collating students’ best advice and tips, alongside some book recommendations from the Shelf Help section.
You can see their wonderful ideas and recommendations on posters across the library!
As we bid farewell to the past year and step into a new one, January heralds a season of fresh starts and new beginnings. While many of us set resolutions related to physical health and personal achievements, it’s crucial not to overlook the significance of mental health and wellbeing in this journey of self-improvement.
January, with its symbolic transition into a new calendar year, serves as a powerful reminder to prioritise our mental health. The pressures of modern life, coupled with the challenges brought on by the global pandemic, have underscored the importance of maintaining a resilient and balanced mind.
Taking care of our mental wellbeing is not just a trend or a passing phase—it’s a lifelong commitment to living a fulfilling and meaningful existence. Whether you’re struggling with a particular mental health concern, or looking for ways to improve your emotional intelligence and adaptability, read on for some recommendations from our Shelf Help section.
Wired Differently by Joe Wells
This illustrated portrait collection honours 30 influential neurodivergent individuals for their recent remarkable achievements. The book’s extraordinary stories emphasise that their accomplishments, creations, and inspiration stem not despite their differences but because of them. Encompassing politicians, activists, journalists, YouTubers, DJs, and poets, it showcases diverse career paths, offering neurodivergent readers a spectrum of exciting possibilities.
How to Say No by Michelle Elman
Empower yourself by saying NO to demanding friends, unwanted parties, phone distractions, and unwelcome hugs. This essential guide, suitable for readers aged 9+, navigates the challenges of growing up with humour and insight. Authored by Michelle Elman, a life coach and activist, it teaches the strength, confidence, and self-worth that come with setting boundaries. From friendships to phones and family, this playful and empowering book offers a one-stop guide to creating your life’s rules and knowing when it’s okay to say NO!
Failosophy for Teens by Elizabeth Day
A guide for navigating life’s challenges, “Failosophy For Teens” by Elizabeth Day uses personal experiences and stories from her podcast, “How to Fail,” to empower teens facing setbacks. Embracing failure becomes the key to happiness, success, and self-acceptance. Learn to openly discuss failure, turn it into success, build resilience, and reframe negative thoughts. Failing better leads to growth, learning, and embracing your awesome self. This inspiring handbook will transform your self-perception and life.
Fighting Invisible Tigers by Earl Hipp
“Fighting Invisible Tigers” provides teens with practical advice on stress management, anxiety reduction, and digital well-being. Stress among adolescents is a growing concern, impacting their daily lives. This updated guide teaches proven techniques for handling stressors like school, friendships, and social media. It offers valuable insights on decision-making, assertiveness, relaxation exercises, time management, and more. Empowering teens to control their stress response promotes healthier relationships, better decisions, and enhanced well-being.
A Better Day by Dr Alex George
Discover a positive approach to mental health with Youth Mental Health Ambassador Dr. Alex George’s empowering handbook, “A Better Day.” Addressing challenges like peer pressure, exam stress, and online trolls, this practical toolkit guides young readers in caring for their mental health. From overcoming stigma to developing resilience, the book provides scaffolding and techniques to stay optimistic. With insights on talking about feelings and shifting mindset, it offers hope for a brighter future despite life’s ups and downs.
As we embrace the spirit of new beginnings this January, let’s not overlook the importance of mental health. By recognising the interconnectedness of mind and body, we can lay the foundation for a year filled with personal growth, resilience, and overall wellbeing. Remember, taking care of your mental health is not just a resolution—it’s a commitment to a healthier, happier you.
We love having visitors to the School Library. In December, we welcomed poet Tawona Sithole who led a creative writing workshop for S1/S2, involving music, games, drama- with some amazing acting skills on show, and writing our own stories. 
Our young writers were very inspired, and supported each other by listening attentively as each group read their story out to the audience. Everyone had a great time, and we hope to see Tawona for another visit sometime soon.
This event was supported by the Scottish Government School Library Improvement Fund.
We continue to enjoy our Writing for Fun lunchtime club. Our new theme for January is poetry and we hope to write some poems about ‘things that make us happy’.
This week, Fiona Haddow from the Mitchell Library visited us to lead a Focus Group. We looked through a selection of books she had brought, and chatted about which authors we would most like to meet. Our young people felt very honoured to have this chance, as Fiona will use these opinions to help shape the programme for the ‘Wee Write’ Book Festival. This is a brilliant celebration of reading, where Glasgow Libraries brings authors directly into schools, and also holds events, including Family days, at the Mitchell Library.
Well done to our S2/S3 Focus Group. We really enjoyed speaking to Fiona, hearing about Wee Write, and everyone loved their thank you gifts of books.
Just because it will never look this immaculate again – luckily so, as the librarian is looking forward to seeing the expressions of joy and surprise on the faces of our keen manga readers as they borrow all these newly-arrived books! These here are just some of our most requested titles, but there is plenty more to explore in the library: Naruto, One Piece, Komi Can’t Communicate and many many more!
Manga club in Bannerman is always in full swing and we keep coming up with new activities and games. Here are some of them:
Finally, many new books have arrived to the school library in Smithycroft! The most recent order was aimed at fleshing out our 🤣 Comedy 😂 and 🐴 Animals=Pals 🐶 sections, however there were also a few new releases and pupils’ requests which are mostly pictured in the selection below.
Happy reading!!
Hello! I’m Miss DeLeavey, the new School Librarian for Whitehill Secondary School. In this blog, I will post monthly roundups of the events and activities that took place in the School Library.
Some plans for this year include:
February: We will recruit a Pupil Library Committee with the help of the library volunteers to ensure the service is led by and for young people. We will also circulate a BGE survey to inform our stock selection and plan the activities that our pupils will engage in. We will also share booklists for LGBT History Month and Children’s Mental Health Week (5th-11th).
March: We will organize some fun activities as part of World Book Day week (4th-8th), including a quiz and a 5-word Book Review competition. As part of Shakespeare Week (18th-24th) we’ll post an interactive choice board linked to information about Shakespeare and his works. We’ll also host a lunchtime Shakespeare or YA quiz where participants will guess whether the quote is from one of Shakespeare’s works or a popular YA novel. We will also share booklists for International Women’s Day (8th), Ramadan (starting 10th), British Science Week (8th-17th), Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18th-24th), Anti-Racism Day (21st) and International Transgender Visibility Day (31st).
April: For World Book Night (23rd), we will host a special ‘Biblio Bistro’ during lunchtime where pupils can ‘sample’ a variety of books from our book menu. We will host a 50-word short story competition to tie in with National Tell a Story Day (27th) and a fun activity to celebrate Talk Like Shakespeare Day (23rd). We will also share booklists for Stress Awareness Month, World Autism Day (2nd), and Earth Day (22nd).
May: We will host a quiet reading hour during lunch as part of Mental Health Awareness Week (13th-19th) and Keep the Heid and Read, a celebration of reading across libraries in Scotland to take the pledge to read for just 6 minutes. We will also host a Star Wars-themed quiz as part of Star Wars Day (4th) and an Edgar Allan Poe or YA quiz for World Goth Day (22nd). We will also share booklists for International YA Literature Month, and World Goth Day.
June: We will show some livestream author events as part of the annual Empathy Day (6th) celebrations. The library will host a Reading Picnic as part of National Picnic Week (17th-25th). We will also share booklists for Audiobook Month, National Crime Reading Month, Pride Month, Refugee Week (17th-25th),
We’ve curated several themed booklists that have been uploaded to our Library Channel in Teams for pupils looking for reading recommendations. We will add new ones throughout the year to tie in with various literacy and cultural events, with input from our young people. The lists have a wide range of titles for Junior, Young Adult, and Senior and Adult fiction and nonfiction. Access the booklists on the Glasgow School Libraries Book Lists article on our blog.
We have some exciting events and activities lined up this year at Shawlands Academy.
February: A special drop-in surgery from our newly elected MSYP from LGBT Youth Scotland during LGBT+ History Month. We will announce the winning design from our School Library Mascot Design competition voted by pupils. We will also share booklists for LGBT History Month and Children’s Mental Health Week (5th-11th).
March: We will organize some fun activities as part of World Book Day week (4th-8th), including a quiz, a 5-word Book Review competition, and a Bookmark Design Competition. The winning design will be the official School Library bookmark for 2024. As part of Shakespeare Week (18th-24th) we’ll post an interactive choice board linked to information about Shakespeare and his works. We’ll also host a lunchtime Shakespeare or YA quiz where participants will guess whether the quote is from one of Shakespeare’s works or a popular YA novel. We will also share booklists for International Women’s Day (8th), Ramadan (starting 10th), British Science Week (8th-17th), Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18th-24th), Anti-Racism Day (21st) and International Transgender Visibility Day (31st).
April: For World Book Night (23rd), we will host a special ‘Biblio Bistro’ during lunchtime where pupils can ‘sample’ a variety of books from our book menu. We will host a 50-word short story competition to tie in with National Tell a Story Day (27th) and a fun activity to celebrate Talk Like Shakespeare Day (23rd). We will also share booklists for Stress Awareness Month, World Autism Day (2nd), and Earth Day (22nd).
May: During the exam period, the School Librarian will visit all S1-3 classes to give pupils a list of books on loan as part of a major drive to return stock. We will also host a an Edgar Allan Poe or YA quiz for World Goth Day (22nd) and an accompanying booklist.
June: We will show some livestream author events as part of the annual Empathy Day (6th) celebrations. The library will host a Reading Picnic as part of National Picnic Week (17th-25th). We will also share booklists for Audiobook Month, National Crime Reading Month, Pride Month, Refugee Week (17th-25th), Windrush Day (22nd), and South Asian Heritage Month (17th July – 17th August).
