Category Archives: All

January/February 2023 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

We’ve been rushed off our feet issuing 2000+ books to our pupils visits throughout January and February after a long hiatus to accommodate prelim exams. In amongst it all, we still managed to squeeze in some excellent programmes for our pupils – it’s good to be back!

LGBT+ History Month – Heartstopper Party: We threw a huge Heartstopper soiree to coincide with LGBT+ History Month and Valentine’s/Palentine’s days. Pupils enjoyed a Heartstopper themed quiz created and delivered by one of our amazing Pupil Library Committee members. Every attendee got a chance to win three prizes: A package of skittles, a Heartstopper bookmark, and a Heartstopper colouring book.

Author Visit with Carrie Marshall: We were so fortunate to have musician, author and BBC tech journalist Carrie Marshall visit us to discuss her new book and what it is like to become an author.

Participatory Selection Sessions:  Hosting participatory selection sessions ensure our school library stock remains relevant and useful to our readers. Participatory Budgeting enable the library to represent the reading needs and interests of the school community. This term, we’ve focused on books for struggling and reluctant readers. Non-fiction is a big hit with some of our S1/2 participants, reflecting a recent study conducted by the National Literacy Trust as part of National Non-Fiction November. Key findings of the report are on the National Literacy Trust’s website).

Pathways to the Profession: Our first Pathways to the Profession talk was a success! We invited a Community Librarian from Glasgow Libraries, a Membership Officer from the Chartered Institute of Library and  Information Professionals Scotland (CILIPS), and a Library Assistant from Glasgow Caledonian University Library to chat with members of Pupil Library Committee and other pupils interested in a LIS career. The speakers chatted about their backgrounds and experiences, what their current roles involve, and answered several questions from the audience. A big thank you to CILIPS, Glasgow Libraries, and Glasgow Caledonian University Library for presenting!

Creative Writing Workshop: To coincide with World Book Day, we invited author Victoria Williamson to deliver a lunchtime workshop to members of our creative writing club. Victoria shared some helpful advice and techniques that will be very useful in our White Water Writers project in June, funded by the Scottish Government and administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC). The group will work with the White Water Writers team to write and publish a novel collectively within a week. We’re really looking forward to this amazing opportunity.

Creative Writing competition: We’ve extending the deadline on our World Book Day creative writing competition. This year’s theme is Big Dreams.

Trending: March Booklists

Best New Children’s Books – Topptsa

Bookbug’s Book of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading For Kids

Books of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Books Roundup – Guardian

New Releases – Epic Reads

 

Literary and Cultural Events – March

9th – 12th StAnza Poetry Festival – Scotland’s International Poetry Festival (St Andrews, Scotland)

15th – 2nd April Glasgow International Film Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

15th – 19th Govan Music Festival (Glasgow, Scotland)

 

Book Buzz

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Evening Standard

The Globe and Mail

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

The Scotsman

The Telegraph

The Times

Times of India

 

 

 

Reading Highlights at Holyrood

Leave a reply

We hope you enjoy our reading highlights from December/ January. Huge thank you to our visitors, and also to the wonderful Library Helpers and young people for taking part!

Miss Brown’s S2 enjoyed a drawing workshop with Neil Slorance. We were inspired to hear about Neil’s early comics, love of drawing, travelogues and astronomy, and the brilliant graphic novels ‘Dungeon Fun’, and Doctor Who. We learned how to draw  faces, adding features to create expressions, and even had a shot at drawing our own comic strips, collaboratively with classmates.

This event was funded by the School Library Improvement Fund.

   

Also in January, we welcomed author Manjeet Mann, Clare from Refuweegee, and Fraser, Thomas and Clara from the Scottish Book Trust. This event was part of a Scottish Friendly Book Tour. This workshop was amazing! We heard about Manjeet’s journey as a writer, enjoyed readings from her verse novels ‘Run Rebel’, and ‘The Crossing’, tried some free-writing exercises, shared our work to the audience, had a Q. & A. So much great feedback :

“I loved the part when we had activities to do with a famous author. It inspired me to be more imaginative and to write more”   Haya (S2)

“S2  are currently looking at equality and empowerment, and this event helped to bring what we had been talking about in class to life. The pupil interaction (writing task) was brilliant. All round super event!” Mrs Ford, PT Pupil Voice

Also impressive was the care and effort  put in by all young people and staff to provide a warm welcome. An outstanding day, happy memories were made, and pupils left inspired!

In December, we had visits from Ailbhe and Martha, from Glasgow Zine Library. We loved making our own zines at these fun workshops.  GZL is an amazing local resource, and we are very grateful to Ailbhe for setting up links with us and working with our wonderful Equalities Alliance and Anti-Racist groups.

 

Also in December, over 200 S1 pupils completed the Glasgow Libraries Christmas Reading Challenge and received these lovely certificates. Well done everyone.

Our pupil helpers have been busy creating displays. Here is a selection:

World Hijab Day

Holocaust Memorial Day

Burns Day Poetry

The Reading Schools Committee is back in action. We enjoyed a Christmas party, put together a list of favourite books to read for Christmas and we’re now getting to grips with the YAldi shortlist. YAldi – Glasgow School Libraries’ Book Award – is a new event in the reading calendar, organised by Ms DeLeavey and Ms Sferrazzo 😊. We are looking forward to interviewing Ann Sei Lin via e-mail (what an amazing opportunity)! and voting for our favourite book in April.

Ann Sei Lin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Reviews Ending on a high note, our keen readers are always happy to share their book reviews. We hope that these will help you find a book that you will love. Happy Reading !

The Night Circus by Erin Morgensten “I really loved this book. It’s the definition of a fantasy book. It’s so magical and really transports you to another world. Definitely my favourite book.” Isha, S4

 

 

 

 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell “Beautifully written and full of historical detail. Deeply moving; I would recommend this book” Ms Blackburn

January in the JPA Library

Leave a reply

Here’s everything we’ve been up to in the library over the last month:

YA Book Club reads YAldi shortlist

Our YA Book Club has joined other Glasgow Schools in reading and reviewing books for YAldi: The Glasgow School Libraries Book Award!  There’s a great range of books in the shortlist, and pupils in the club and across the school are reading and will be voting for their favourite.  Anyone interested in taking part can come check out the display in the library!

Visions and Conquests in the Story Craft Club

Our Story Craft Club is using the fun of games to explore storytelling this term!  We’ve created dark and twisted stories with The Hollow Woods card game, conquered land, roads and kingdoms in Carcasonne, and deciphered visions of murder from the mysterious ghost in Mysterium.  The games have proved to be a hit, with pupils coming in to school early to play before they start their day!

Language of the Month – Polish!

Our EAL club finally completed Project Cinderella, finishing up with an incredible mini-movie (and a hilarious blooper reel) right before the Christmas holidays.  This term, we have decided to expand on our multilingual skills by picking up key phrases in different languages!  Our first language of the month is Polish – Polski!

We’re off to see the wizard…

With the Christmas holidays behind us, our team of adventurers in the Dungeons & Dragons Club have launched into their new campaign, The Wizard of Orris!  Hired by the elf queen to rescue her daughter, our adventurers have began their journey up the yellow dirt road into the Munchwoods.  They weren’t able to get far before meeting a band of goblins, ready to rob them all and stop their quest just as it’s getting started!  The adventurers are putting up a good fight, but taking heavy damage.  Will they all survive long enough to save the princess?  It all comes down to the luck of the dice!

Film Fridays

Our new club to unwind before the weekend has continued this month.  This film was chosen by our pupils via poll – Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children!  Pupils get to come to our mini library cinema and watch part of the movie with their lunch and relax at the end of the week.

Reading Nooks

We’ve had some great comfy chairs delivered to the library this month, which has helped to create some comfy reading nooks!  Pupils have been able to curl up with a good book throughout the day, getting to enjoy the peace and calm of the library.

Volunteers

The team of library volunteers has been hard at work since our return to school, creating new displays, helping with borrowing services, and recommending books to their fellow pupils.  Their recommendations have proved popular, with many of their shelf-recommended books borrowed within hours!

It’s definitely been a busy month in the library!  Looking forward to seeing what February brings.

Don’t forget you can keep up to date with everything going on in the library on our twitter page:  @JPaulLibrary

Holocaust Memorial Day 2023 in Bannerman and Smithycroft

Leave a reply

Holocaust Memorial Day is on January 27th. This date marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, in 1945. 

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2023, a display has been made in both schools with plenty of factual information, as well as stories, in order to remember the 6 million innocent Jewish people who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. We also remember those who survived to live with these horrible memories – and bravely share them.

Some pupils in Bannerman were keen to keep working on Holocaust Education.

Please read real-life testimony from the people who lived those times. Here are some recommendations:

  • If This is a Man by Primo Levi;
  • Lily’s Promise by Lily Ebert and Dov Forman (you can borrow the audiobook on Libby – ask your librarian for help with login);
  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frenkl (you can borrow this as an eBook on Libby);
  • The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank;
  • Questions I Am Asked About the Holocaust by Hédi Fried (you can borrow this as an eBook on Libby);
  • After the War by Tom Palmer (heavily informed by real stories);
  • Maus by Art Spiegelman.

On the Libby app you can find reading lists of eBooks and audiobooks you can borrow for free with your Glasgow Libraries membership. Here they are:

Holocaust Memorial Day at Notre Dame High School

Leave a reply

27 January marks Holocaust Memorial Day, commemorating the six million Jews — and millions of other marginalised people, whether LGBTQ+, disabled, Romani, or otherwise considered “lesser”  — killed by the Nazis in the course of the Holocaust. Holocaust Memorial Day also serves to highlight the victims of more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, reminding us that the lessons of the past are no guarantee of future safety.

If you would like to learn more about the Holocaust, the Library now has a display with various fiction and non-fiction books covering the topic. This will remain in place until Monday, 6 February. S1/2 pupils will also be called to an assembly on the afternoon of 27 January, to attend a service of remembrance for victims of the Holocaust.

Photo of a library display featuring non-fiction books about the Holocaust.

Additionally, you can access a number of resources & activities online:

LGBT Youth Scotland Silver Award

Leave a reply

Great news – we were successful in gaining our LGBT Youth Scotland Silver award!

It’s been a real pleasure to be part of the LGBT Champions Group and to work with our wonderful LGBT Pupil Group. We still have lots of work to do in the library but some highlights so far have been:

Participatory Budgeting sessions – lots of new LGBTQI+ books added to our growing collection

Lunchtime library meetings with the LGBT pupil group

Author event with Michael Lee Richardson – and creating a beautiful Pride poem

Creating displays to celebrate various LGBTQI+ events and decorating the library with relevant posters

LGBT Pupil group deciding on how to present the collection

 

Ongoing:

Creating an LGBTQI+ directory, packed full of information and booklists

A full audit of our LGBTQI+ collection including information on representation

 

 

Tuesday Chill Out

Leave a reply

The Tuesday Chill Out Club is back. A quiet space at lunchtime for reading (with beanbags and cushions!), mindfulness colouring, playing chess, studying, chilling out and winding down.

It will now be co-run by my S6 helpers; Amber, Amanda and Reagan.

We’ve decided to open it up to all year groups so that seniors have a quiet space to study in the run up to exams.