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Supporting Mental Health Awareness Week in Rosshall

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This week (beginning Monday May 9th) is Mental Health Awareness Week at Rosshall!

What is Mental Health? 

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

MentalHealth.gov

On display there are some books which promote positivity and self-esteem, which can normally be found in the Shelf Help section.

Also, use the Keep The Heid And Read link below to pledge 6 minutes of your time to reading on Wednesday, May 11th for Scotland’s Reading Moment! 

https://www.keeptheheid.scot/ 

  

Some other useful websites you might wish to explore: 

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week 

https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week/ 

https://www.samh.org.uk/ 

https://www.place2be.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/child-mental-health-support-scotland/ 

 

JPA April Update

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Even though most of the month was taken up with the Easter Break, April has still been a very fun and busy time here in the library!  Here’s everything we got up to in just two weeks!

New Club – Storycraft Club

We have started a brand new lunch club in the library – the Storycraft Club!  For those of you keeping track, yes, that is now a library club every single lunchtime of the week!  In this club, we will take part in reading, writing, arts, crafts, games, building and all sorts of creative enterprises revolving around storytelling!  The focus of our club is on mental health and wellbeing and diverse stories.  I’m looking forward to telling you about the exciting projects this club will be getting up to.  This project is supported by the Scottish Government School Library Improvement Fund.

Comic Club

We have been working on our own comic strips since returning from the Easter break – hopefully we can share some finished comics with you in the May update.

EAL Book Club

Cinderella stories are still being written!  The group has all agreed to write their own individual stories and when they are finished, we’ll take the best elements of the stories to create one as a group – possibly as a play!

RPG Club

Our pupils have continued their campaign in A Battle of Bookwyrms!  After meeting their mysterious host, Oskar Tremorspear, a librarian for Dragonsport Library, the characters have been sent on a quest to retrieve a very rare and powerful spellbook that was borrowed and not returned.  (Is this story fuelled by this librarian’s frustrations about overdue books?  You can be the judge of that.)  The characters set out on the trail north of town to the home of Rairdon Grimm, the Mage who borrowed the book.  Not long after entering the Briar Rose Woods, they come across a Blink Dog, who despite an unfortunate incident with a Firebolt, has been persuaded to join the group.  The new party member has been named MJ, short for Michael Jackson.  When the party found the Mage’s hut, it appeared to be empty, but upon investigation the group was attacked by a Vine Blight hiding inside!  Check back again next month to find out how the group faired…

Volunteers Club

Our volunteers have been working hard since our return after the Easter Break to make the library better for everyone.  They have started work on a mew project to label all the fiction books with their genre and keywords, making it easier for everyone to find the right book for them.  Obviously this is a massive project, but with the effort of our volunteers it could hopefully be completed before the summer!

Wee Write Author Visit – S.M. Wilson

Our S1 pupils were treated to an author visit from YA author S.M. Wilson as part of the Wee Write Festival – Glasgow’s Book Festival for Children and Young People.  Susan came and spoke to the children about her love of space and dinosaurs and her writing process – amazing stuff!  The pupils were riveted all period and had a great time.

S2 Authors

Speaking of authors, the library hosted a wonderful event for an S2 English class!  The pupils had written their own novels, and were invited to a ‘book launch’ event in the library.  They pitched their novels to the different ‘publishers’ present (consisting of the wonderful teachers and SLT here at JPA, as well as myself) and then enjoyed some drinks and nibbles while negotiating their book deals!  The pupils were all so enthusiastic about their books, with talk of series potential and movie deals!  I was thrilled to host this event in the library and hope we have have similar events in here again!

Phew!  That’s everything from April.  If you want to see what’s coming up in May, then check out the latest edition of our newsletter, Bookmarked, at this link.

Happy Reading, 

Miss West (Librarian)

Wee Write events with Ely Percy and Metaphrog

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S3 pupils got to meet new literary star Ely Percy – their coming of age novel Duck Feet is just about to sell out of the third print run! Ely read from their book and answered questions about writing and publishing. Our very talented pupil Murron, who interviewed Ely for library eMagazine (coming out soon!) got her own copy of Duck Feet with a special dedication from Ely.

Young artists from S1 and S2 had an inspiring session with Metaphrog – the award-winning graphic novelists Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers. Pupils learned about the process of making a comic book, the history of graphic novels and got some useful tips on creating their own characters.

Wee Write event with Tamsin Winter

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Wee Write festival is an annual festival full of literary events for young people organized by Glasgow Life.

This year, our S1 and S2 pupils got to meet Tamsin Winter, the award-winning author of Being Miss Nobody, Jemima Small Versus the Universe and Girl (In Real Life). Tamsin spoke about her books, social media, body image and mental health. Tamsin even stayed a little longer to answer pupils’ questions (there were many!) and all pupils got a gorgeous signed bookmark.

April 2022 Roundup – St Margaret Mary’s Secondary School Library

Pop-Up Library

The Pop-Up Library stall is back in lieu of the library space being used throughout the exam period. Here, pupils can browse handpicked goodies selected by the Librarian, request specific titles, or return their books. Our Pupil Library Committee members will be helping at the stall too, we couldn’t run it without them.

Challenges and Contests

We’ll also continue to promote our range of challenges and contests, including Bookopoly and Ask Me What I’m Reading. Pupils are also encouraged to submit a completed book review to be entered into the monthly School Library prize draw.

April/May Booklists

May 22 Booklists – Book Trust

Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta

Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading 4 Kids

April Roundup – Love Reading

Book of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Book Roundup – Guardian

 

Upcoming Events (May)

National Share a Story Month

International Young Adult Literature Month

Local and Community History Month

1st – 7th: The FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity) (Brampton, ON, Canada)

2nd – 8th: Children’s Book Week

3rd – 8th: Stratford Literary Festival (Stratford-upon-Avon, England)

4th: Star Wars Day

6th – 8th: Ullapool Book Festival (Ullapool, Scotland)

6th – 8th: Cromarty Crime and Thrillers Weekend (Cromarty, Scotland)

6th – 22nd: Aye Write (Glasgow, Scotland)

7th – 8th: Bay Area Book Festival (Berkeley, CA, USA)

10th – 22nd: The Chalfont St Giles and Jordans Literary Festival (Chalfont Saint Giles, England)

11th-14th: PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature (New York, NY, USA)

12th: National Limerick Day

13th-15th: Boswell Book Festival (Cumnock, Scotland)

13th – 15th: Franschhoek Literary Festival (Franschhoek, South Africa)

13th– 29th: Norfolk and Norwich Festival (Norwich, England)

16th – 22nd: Sydney Writers’ Festival (Sydney, Australia)

17th: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

20th– 28th: Derby Book Festival (Derby, England)

21st: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

21st: Neurodiversity Celebration Week

21st – TBC: San Antonio Book Festival (San Antonio, TX, USA)

21st – 22nd: The Northern YA Literary Festival (Preston, England)

26th: Dracula Day

26th – Jun 5th: Hay Festival (Hay-on-Wye, Wales)

27th – 29th: Calabash International Literary Festival (Treasure Beach, Jamacia)

TBC: Open the Door Festival at the Women’s Library (Glasgow, Scotland)

 

Literary Awards & Prizes

Winners

 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Children’s Book of the Year

Shortlists

Branford Boase Award

English Association 4-11 Picture Book Award

Jhalak Prize

Women’s Prize

Longlists

SLA Information Book Awards

 

Literature & Culture news:

 Press & websites

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

Interesting articles   

Charlotte Brontë early Book of Rhymes sold for £1m – BBC

A Gallery of Fantastical Alchemical Drawings – Open Culture

The Library of Esoterica: Taschen’s Visual History of Tarot, Astrology & Witchcraft – Open Culture

The Literary Film and TV you need to steam in May – Literary Hub

The New York Public Library provides free online access to banned books – Open Culture

April 2022 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

Pop-Up Library

The Pop-Up Library stall is back in lieu of the library space being used throughout the exam period. Here, pupils can browse handpicked goodies selected by the Librarian, request specific titles, or return their books. Our Pupil Library Committee members will be helping at the stall too, we couldn’t run it without them.

Challenges and Contests

We’ll also continue to promote our range of challenges and contests, including Bookopoly, Ask Me What I’m Reading, and our Heartstopper colouring contest to celebrate the series release on Netflix.

The deadline for the Heartstopper colouring contest is Friday, May 20th. One submission per pupil and each submission will be included into the prize draw where there are three Heartstopper prizes up for grabs. All submissions will also be included into the monthly School Library prize draw. There are even more ways to be included into the monthly prize draw, including returning a completed book review or Shelf Shouter, completing a genre on the Bookopoly board, or submitting a completed Ask me What I’m Reading sheet.

 

April/May Booklists

May 22 Booklists – Book Trust

Best new Children’s Books – Toppsta

Bookbug’s Books of the Month – Scottish Book Trust

Books of the Month – Love Reading 4 Kids

April Roundup – Love Reading

Book of the Month – Scholastic

Books of the Month – Waterstones

Children’s Book Roundup – Guardian

 

Upcoming Events (May)

National Share a Story Month

International Young Adult Literature Month

Local and Community History Month

1st – 7th: The FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity) (Brampton, ON, Canada)

2nd – 8th: Children’s Book Week

3rd – 8th: Stratford Literary Festival (Stratford-upon-Avon, England)

4th: Star Wars Day

6th – 8th: Ullapool Book Festival (Ullapool, Scotland)

6th – 8th: Cromarty Crime and Thrillers Weekend (Cromarty, Scotland)

6th – 22nd: Aye Write (Glasgow, Scotland)

7th – 8th: Bay Area Book Festival (Berkeley, CA, USA)

10th – 22nd: The Chalfont St Giles and Jordans Literary Festival (Chalfont Saint Giles, England)

11th-14th: PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature (New York, NY, USA)

12th: National Limerick Day

13th-15th: Boswell Book Festival (Cumnock, Scotland)

13th – 15th: Franschhoek Literary Festival (Franschhoek, South Africa)

13th– 29th: Norfolk and Norwich Festival (Norwich, England)

16th – 22nd: Sydney Writers’ Festival (Sydney, Australia)

17th: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

20th– 28th: Derby Book Festival (Derby, England)

21st: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

21st: Neurodiversity Celebration Week

21st – TBC: San Antonio Book Festival (San Antonio, TX, USA)

21st – 22nd: The Northern YA Literary Festival (Preston, England)

26th: Dracula Day

26th – Jun 5th: Hay Festival (Hay-on-Wye, Wales)

27th – 29th: Calabash International Literary Festival (Treasure Beach, Jamacia)

TBC: Open the Door Festival at the Women’s Library (Glasgow, Scotland)

 

Literary Awards & Prizes

Winners

 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Children’s Book of the Year

Shortlists

Branford Boase Award

English Association 4-11 Picture Book Award

Jhalak Prize

Women’s Prize

Longlists

SLA Information Book Awards

 

Literature & Culture News:

 Press & websites

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

 

Interesting articles   

Charlotte Brontë early Book of Rhymes sold for £1m – BBC

A Gallery of Fantastical Alchemical Drawings – Open Culture

The Library of Esoterica: Taschen’s Visual History of Tarot, Astrology & Witchcraft – Open Culture

The Literary Film and TV you need to steam in May – Literary Hub

The New York Public Library provides free online access to banned books – Open Culture

Langfaulds Primary 7 visit

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The S2 Drumchapel High School Library Captains had their first meeting with the Langfaulds Primary 7 class on Thursday 28th April.  They introduced them to Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant series and read an extract from the first book.  Before they left they gave every pupil a box set of the first three books, courtesy of Harper Collins.

Poetry Workshop With Charles Lang

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In March we had a visit from the Belfast-based Glaswegian poet Charles Lang. The S1 and S2 classes who took part in the workshops  with Charles had a great time composing their own poems based on the theme of ‘home’.  See below for Kaspian’s fantastic effort.

Fireplace Encouragement  

by Kaspian Mazerski S1 All Saints Secondary  

Sitting by the fireplace 

So warm and so very bright. 

Every time it crackles, 

It gives me a fright. 

My dog sleeping near in a curled position,  

Watching my brother run along the carpet,  

Making fiction. 

 

“I love my family” I say, 

Eating bread 

I should get ahead, and be early to bed,  

Fall asleep quick…laying in bed 

Hearing a tick, 

The clock going off, 

The day is over. 

No need to scoff, 

There is always tomorrow 

Go get that book you wanted to borrow, 

Go, do the thing you wanted to do. 

Don’t imagine. 

It’s all up to you. 

 

April in St Roch’s

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Spring is in full swing this month and Glasgow schools have been busy bees. We started a new term, said goodbye to some senior pupils and this week we kicked off exam season. Well done to everyone for all the studying and best of luck!  

There was also lots of  things happening in the UK and beyond for St Roch’s library to join in. 

World Autism Acceptance Week: 28 March – 3 April 2022 

April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day, but did you know the whole of April is World Autism Month?

Books are a great way to raise awareness and help us to understand each other-so we’ve listed some books about or by people with autism that are available from the school library.

You’ll find some on display in school and on the Libby by Overdrive app.

World Book Night: 23 April

Work Book Night is run by The Reading Agency and brings people from all backgrounds together for one reason – to inspire others to read more. You can do anything you want related to books: read alone, read with or to someone, or even call a friend to chat about books and share recommendations.  

There are lots of great book suggestions listed this year with previous lists also available  on their website. We collected some of the recommended books for a display in the library, to help students choose something new to read. 

Keep the heid and read! 

To celebrate the power of reading, libraries and good mental health, people are being asked to pledge SIX minutes on Wednesday 11th May 2022 and devote it to reading. 

Why? Because taking some time for yourself to relax and do things you enjoy like reading is important to help look after your mental health and wellbeing. 

Students in St Roch’s have signed up this month with their English class and will visit the library to join in the 6-minute-read on May 11th. We’re really looking forward to it!  

It’s simple to pledge on the Keep the Heid website, and you can enter a prize draw for £100 book token. Young Scot card holders can also earn reward points for pledging! Take the pledge now and see how many minutes people all over Scotland will be reading for on 11th May 2022. 

Wee Write Festival: Metaphrog 

Lastly, the Wee Write book festival for children and young people runs this year from 25th –30th April. This year’s  Wee Write Family Day is on Saturday 30 April and is jam-packed with exciting authors, illustrators and much more. Visit the Glasgow Life website to see what’s on. 

As part of the Wee Write programme for schools, award-winning graphic novelists Metaphrog will be visiting St Roch’s this month. Their latest graphic novels are fairy tale adaptations including The Red Shoes and Other Tales, The Little Mermaid and Bluebeard: A Feminist Fairy Tale, all published by Papercutz.  Sandra and John will be sharing their creative process and the secrets of making comics in what promises to be a very fun session- we can’t wait!!