Category Archives: All

May the books be with you !

Wow, what a lot to fit in to one month.

At Lochend, May is such a busy month. We have lots going on, so sometimes you may think it’s hard to fit reading into your day or you don’t have time. Don’t worry, the library has the answer.  Why don’t you grab one of our Quick Reads?

Quick Reads cover all sorts of different subjects and genres, so there is something to suit everyone.  From wanting a quick story to read before bed, to not enjoying longer books, Quick Reads aren’t restricted to a single group of pupils.  I use some Quick Reads stories to tell to pupils as well, I think they are great.  And many of the books are also on dyslexia friendly paper too – so if you have dyslexia, the background printing of the stories should make them easier to read.  Check them out the next time you are in the library !

Senior Fiction.  Our seniors section has had some new books too, both for non fiction fun and reading for pleasure.  Some are enough to make you hungry. Check out this beautiful book with great, easy to follow instructions.  It might even inspire you to start your own business. However if you do make one of the cakes – save a piece for the librarian !

A local author next – from Glasgow – who has made it big in the international art world and even modelled for Manfred Thierry Mugler.  This senior title is a true story of resilience from Juano Diaz, telling of his upbringing with his mother, who had substance abuse challenges and loses her partner in a terrible accident.  Afterwards, Juano was taken into care in a children’s home and describes the difficulty fitting in, worrying about his mum and wondering what would happen to him next.

Juano was adopted by a Romany Catholic family from Glasgow and the main narrative of the book describes how he recognises his sexuality and how this isn’t something compatible with his adopted family’s beliefs or way of life.  As a young teenager he leaves home, ending up homeless and sharing bedsits / flats with addicts.  However, Juano fights his way away from the lifestyle.  To find out what happens next, you just have to read the book.  So much packed into one novel.  It’s available in the library, but be quick, this is such a great biography it won’t be on the shelves for long.

 

And of course, it’s exam season in all schools just now, so the library is very quiet with everyone studying for their upcoming exams.  Good luck Lochend – we know you can do it !  And remember, taking a break from studying to read a book helps relax your mind and can aid in getting to sleep.  So build reading into that daily routine, and before you know it, you won’t be able to go a day without it 😊

 

April 2024 Roundup – Whitehill Secondary School Library

This month, we’ve uploaded some fun quizzes and activities to our Library Channel in each year group Teams. For Talk Like Shakespeare Day, we shared our ‘Shakespeare Dictionary’ and Shakespeare Phrases’ information sheets for pupils to learn more about the common words the Bard invented that are still in use today.  Our quizzes include National Pet Month, World Art Day, and International Guitar Month. Pupils were encouraged to complete one or all three quizzes for a chance to be entered into our monthly prize draw.

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

Forensic Science by Chris Cooper

Joey Drew Studios: Employee Handbook by Cala Spinner, illust. Paul davies

Johnny Ball: International Football Genius by Matt Oldfield, illust. Tim Wesson

Seven Million Sunflowers by Malcolm Duffy

The Weather Well by Vashti Hardy, illust. Natalie Smillie

Literary and Cultural Celebration Booklists for April: Booklists to tie into various literary and cultural celebrations.

Planet Vs Plastics Book List: The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness of the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Booklist: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our booklist features some nonfiction titles to help young people manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Juniorl, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff book list feature nonfiction and fiction titles.

Trending Booklists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favourite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstones – Books of the Month

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

British Science Fiction Awards – Winners

Branford Boase Award – Shortlist

CWA Daggers Awards – Longlists

Granta Best of Young British Novelists – Winners

Jhalak Prize – Shortlists

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Shortlist

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Young Writers Competition

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

What’s On in May

International Museums Day: Take a virtual tour and explore some artefacts held by some of the world’s famous museums and galleries using our interactive documents available on the Library Channel on Teams.

National Walking Month: National Walking Month is a campaign launched by Living Streets. This year, Living Streets invites people to discover the #MagicOf Walking to celebrate the many health and happiness benefits of walking and wheeling. To celebrate, the School Library has created an interactive guide to local Glasgow Life Community Libraries all within walking distance to Whitehill Secondary School which will be available in the Library Channel on Teams.

Teams Quizzes:

World Goth Day – Poe or Young Adult quiz: World Goth Day is observed annually on May 22nd. We’re hosting a quiz on Teams featuring none other than the father of gothic literature, Edgar Allan Poe. Pupils are invited to guess whether the quotes are from Young Adult Gothic novels or from one of Poe’s works.

Book Lists for May:

Gothic Book List: Featuring Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff gothic fiction to tie in with World Goth Day festivities.

Shelf Help Book List: Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 13th-19th May on the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Our book list features some helpful titles on mental health for Young People that are available in the School Library.

Mental Health websites:

Children’s Mental Health Scotland

Mental Health Foundation

Mind.org

Rethink.org

Scottish Action for Mental Health

See Me

Young Minds

Young Scot

April 2024 Roundup – Shawlands Academy School Library

It’s exam time for our senior phase pupils which means that our school library will be used throughout the exam period. However, the School Librarian has taken this opportunity to reach out to our S1-3 classes to deliver a list of books out on loan. It’s fantastic to see that over 950 books are issued to our BGE pupils alone!

In lieu of the library being closed for exams week beginning 22nd April, we’ve uploaded some fun quizzes and activities to our Library Channel in each year group Teams. For Talk Like Shakespeare Day, we shared our ‘Shakespeare Dictionary’ and Shakespeare Phrases’ information sheets for pupils to learn more about the common words the Bard invented that are still in use today.  Our quizzes include National Pet Month, World Art Day, and International Guitar Month. Pupils were encouraged to complete one or all three quizzes for a chance to be entered into our monthly prize draw.

What’s Trending: Popular and recently borrowed books this month

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli – ‘This is the best book I’ve ever read’.

Book of the Day: Featured pupil recommendations

15th: A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story by Richard O’Neill

18th: Lil’ Muffin Drops the Mic by Romesh Ranganathan, illust. James Lancett

19th: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Author of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 15th: Chris Priestly

WB 22nd: Robin Talley

WB 25th: Jenny McLachlan

Series of the Week: Chosen by pupils

WB 15th: Onyeka by Tola Okogwu

WB 22nd: Summoner Trilogy by Taran Matharu

WB 25th: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han

Recent Arrivals: New Book Highlights

Awful Animals by John Wood, Illust. Jasmine Pointer

Barb and the Shadow Army by Daniel Raj Abdo, illust. Jason Linwood Patterson

The Impossible City: Vol 1 by Jed MacKay, illust. Carlos Villa

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

Pandora Perfect by Roger Langridge, illust. Brett Parson

Literary and Cultural Celebration Book Lists for April: Book lists to tie into various literary and cultural celebrations. Interactive book lists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Planet Vs Plastics Book List: The theme for this year’s Earth Day is Planet vs Plastics to raise awareness of the health and environmental risks of plastics.

Stress Book List: Stress Awareness Month calls for a greater awareness of the negative impact of stress. Our book List features some nonfiction titles to help young people manage their stress.

Autism Book List: World Autism Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) aims to celebrate Autism awareness and acceptance. Our Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff book list feature nonfiction and fiction titles.

Trending Book Lists: Monthly highlights and new releases

Epic Reads – New Releases

The Guardian – Children’s Book Roundup

Love Reading for Kids – Books of the Month

Scholastic – Books of the Month

Scottish Book Trust – Book Lists

Toppsta – Our Favourite New Children’s Books This Month

Waterstones – Books of the Month

Recent Awards: UK book award winners, shortlists, and longlists

British Science Fiction Awards – Winners

Branford Boase Award – Shortlist

CWA Daggers Awards – Longlists

Granta Best of Young British Novelists – Winners

Jhalak Prize – Shortlists

Women’s Prize for Fiction – Shortlist

Competitions: Writing competitions for young people

Foyles Young Poets of the Year Award

Henrietta Branford Writing Competition

Young Writers Competition

Book Buzz: Latest book news from major media outlets and book websites

BBC

Book Riot

Buzzfeed

Epic Reads

The Guardian

Huffpost

The New York Times

 

What’s On in May

Shawlands Academy School Library Quills Prize for Creative Writing Contest: Our final seasonal creative writing contest of the school year in time for National Share a Story Month. Any form of creative writing is permitted, 500 words or less. Deadline May 31st.

International Museums Day: Take a virtual tour and explore some artefacts held by some of the world’s famous museums and galleries using our interactive documents available on the Library Channel on each year group Teams.

National Walking Month: National Walking Month is a campaign launched by Living Streets. This year, Living Streets invites people to discover the #MagicOf Walking to celebrate the many health and happiness benefits of walking and wheeling. To celebrate, the School Library has created an interactive guide to local Glasgow Life Community Libraries all within walking distance to Shawlands Academy which will be available in the Library Channel on each year group Teams.

Teams Quizzes:

World Goth Day – Poe or Young Adult quiz: World Goth Day is observed annually on May 22nd. We’re hosting a quiz on Teams featuring none other than the father of gothic literature, Edgar Allan Poe. Pupils are invited to guess whether the quotes are from Young Adult Gothic novels or from one of Poe’s works.

Book Lists for May: Interactive booklists available on the Library Channel on Teams

Gothic Book List: Featuring Junior, Young Adult, and Senior + Staff gothic fiction to tie in with World Goth Day festivities.

Shelf Help Book List: Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 13th-19th May on the theme of “Movement: Moving more for our mental health”. Our book list features some helpful titles on mental health for Young People that are available in the School Library.

Mental Health websites:

Children’s Mental Health Scotland

Mental Health Foundation

Mind.org

Rethink.org

Scottish Action for Mental Health

See Me

Young Minds

Young Scot

Spring is in the Air at Hyndland Library

Spring has truly sprung at Hyndland Library, the flowers are starting to come out, the bees are buzzing and the romance novels are more popular than ever.

Our S1 Library Assistants have put together a fabulous display for spring readers with some sunshine and blue skies in the hope the sun starts to come out soon! They chose a selection of books around the theme including lots of pretty spring covers. Here they are putting the new display together.

 

Some books featured in the display include the titles below. Click on the image for a link to the ebook which can be borrowed through the Libby App using your library card!

Hyndland Secondary is also looking to better reflect the diversity within the school by creating and Equality and Diversity steering group lead by the parent council. As the council meets in the Library we thought it would be great to showcase some of the fantastic authors available on our shelves. 

 

Try some of the amazing books by clicking on the books below to get a copy of the ebook through the library using the Libby app.

 

 

The Smithycroft News 👩‍🏫

April was a pretty exciting month in Smithycroft! As we share the library with the Careers Advisor, we had a chat and decided to team up and make a “Careers shelf” with the Careers’ own University prospects on one side and the library’s Work & Exams Advice books on the other side. It is a small section for us but we will tackle it with more books getting ordered soon!

A lovely group of library regulars was excited about the books that they borrowed. Here is a  top 3 of recommendations by Ashfa, Lucia and Alaa who love kpop, manga and play in the school band.

SPY×FAMILY by Tatsuya Endo: The story follows a spy who has to “build a family” to execute a mission, not realizing that his adopted daughter is a telepath, and the woman he agrees to marry is a skilled assassin.

Movie Mondays in JPA Library

After our most recent Bookworms meeting, our pupil committee decided to bring back our film club in the form of Movie Mondays, where we can gather to watch the film adaptations of amazing books.

Here’s a quick list of some great YA book adaptations that are worth a read and a watch!

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place.
Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games.
There is only one rule: kill or be killed.
When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence.
But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he’s not alone.
He’s surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade – a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they came to be there – or what’s happened to the world outside.
All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything – even the Grievers, half-machine, half-animal horror that patrol its corridors, to try and find out …

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

In the world of Divergent, society is divided into five factions – Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity and Erudite. Every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice Prior, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is. Her choice shocks everyone, including herself.

The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare

Available to watch as both a movie and TV series!

Love.  Blood.  Betrayal.  Demons.   Irresistibly drawn towards a group of demon hunters, Clary encounters the dark side of New York City and the dangers of forbidden love.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, by Rick Riordan

  

Available to watch as both a movie and TV series!

Percy Jackson is having a bad week. His life has gone from totally normal to monsters-from-Greek-mythology-randomly-appearing kind of strange. Worse still, the king of the gods thinks Percy has stolen his all-powerful lightning bolt – and it seems making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to catch the true lightning thief and stop all-out war from erupting on Mount Olympus. . .
What could possibly go wrong?

Heartstopper, by Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love.

Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they’ve never met … until one day when they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance.
But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised.

Nimona, by ND Stevenson

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc.
Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, by Jenny Han

Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. One for every boy she’s ever loved.
When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only.
Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control!

Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Orphaned and expendable, Alina Starkov is a soldier who knows she may not survive her first trek across the Shadow Fold – a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. But when her regiment is attacked, Alina unleashes dormant magic not even she knew she possessed.

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here – one of whom was his own grandfather – were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

It is 1939. In Nazi Germany, the country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier – and will become busier still.
By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed forever when she picks up a single object, abandoned in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, and this is her first act of book thievery. So begins Liesel’s love affair with books and words, and soon she is stealing from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library . . . wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times, and when Liesel’s foster family hides a Jew in their basement, nothing will ever be the same again.

Our Movie Mondays are kicking off with a classic, a favourite, and one of the few films I believe is better than the book: The Princess Bride!

Graeme Armstrong at Knightswood

Last week we were thrilled to welcome Graeme Armstrong to Knightswood Secondary for the last author session of the Library Young Team SLIF project, which has been so important in engaging young people. This project was supported by the Scottish Government School Library Improvement Fund.

Graeme has been on the circuit for a while now, and even mentioned that Knightswood was his 100th session over the last year or so. His book, The Young Team, has been optioned for film and Graeme also wrote and presented a three-part documentary series, Street Gangs, which aired on the BBC last October.

His time with our pupils was powerful and deeply impactful, and several copies of his book have now been checked out from the School Library. Speaking from personal experience, Graeme took pupils through a chronology of his spiral into gang culture and drug addiction, and how he found the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. It was a brilliant session, with several pupils commenting after that it had changed their perspective on certain aspects of their lives.

 

The Library Young Team with Graeme Armstrong in Bannerman

Bannerman High School is among 10 secondary schools across Glasgow City Council and Renfrewshire to take part in a project co-run with Renfrewshire School Libraries. The project is called “The Library Young Team” and it is supported by the Scottish Government School Library Improvement Fund.

For our third, and final, author visit for this project we welcomed acclaimed author Graeme Armstrong who delivered a thought-provoking and inspiring talk to all our S3 pupils, who left the workshop theater buzzing!

Graeme Armstrong spoke about his experiences of youth gangs when he was our pupils’ age, and how bleak life was during that time – as he recalls in his novel “The Young Team“. He thankfully climbed out of that downward spiral and now is using his life experience as an instrument to raise awareness of gang culture’s dangers, and to improve young people’s lives. Thank you Graeme!

This Project is supported by the Scottish Government School Library Improvement Fund.

Libraries LYT up lives: Graeme Armstrong @St Mungos

The “Libraries LYT up lives” program concluded with a remarkable visit from writer Graeme Armstrong to our school library on April 22nd. Armstrong shared powerful firsthand stories about overcoming gang culture, highlighting the transformative power of literature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the presentation, students had the opportunity to engage directly with the writer and even borrow his book. Such was the demand that all copies of his books available in the library were swiftly taken, necessitating the creation of a waiting list. This clear demonstration of interest underscores the profound impact of his session on our S3 pupils.

They were captivated throughout, rating the event a resounding 10/10!

The Young Team Novel to Be Adapted By Synchronicity Films

 

St Roch’s Reads: April

Autism Acceptance Week, Easter, Eid, exams – April is one busy month! Here’s what’s been happening in St Roch’s School Library. 

Pupil Reads: Steady for this by Nathanael Lessore 

This month some of our pupils have been reading through the Yoto Carnegie shortlist titles and sharing mini-reviews.  Here are Roya’s thoughts on Steady for this by Nathanael Lessore. Find out about the other shortlist books available in the school library here.

Q: Tell me about the book, but don’t give away the ending! 

The book is about a boy who wants to be a rapper and then a big twist happens. It is a book about racism and lifestyle. At first you might not like it but at the end it’s a nice and smooth going book.

Q: Tell me about your favourite part of the book 

When he meets a new friend who doesn’t know about his embarrassment and sticks with him till the end. 

Q: I recommend this book to anyone who likes.. 

A nice, easy going, romantic comedy. 

Q: What would you like to ask the author? 

What would you do if your mum exposed your dirty laundry to the world, live? ?

World Autism Acceptance Week 2-8th April 

Autism Acceptance Week is a yearly event planned around Autism Acceptance Day

It aims to help more people understand what autism is and how it can affect life for people. It also highlights and celebrate the achievements of autistic people past and present.  

Reading books is a brilliant way to develop understanding and share life experiences from many perspectives. Along with information books, there’s a great range of fiction books written by or about people with autism, available in the school library. You can get the full list on our library Padlet page here. 

Eid 

Earlier this month Muslim people around the world celebrated Eid, marking the end of Ramadan and 30 days of fasting. It is one of the biggest festivals in the Islamic calendar, celebrated with family, friends, food and prayer. We put together a collection of books by Muslim authors to mark Ramadan and Eid, which you can find on our Padlet page.

You can borrow any of these from the school library, just ask at the desk.  

Lucky Dip  

St Roch’s pupils have a great reading culture, with library visits and personal reading time built into English classes. Pupils regularly visit us regularly for new reading material, but sometimes they can find it hard to choose something. Our library assistant Ava had a great idea to help pupils who just can’t decide- a Lucky Dip book box!

How does it work?

We chose a range of different books we thought pupils would enjoy, non fiction, quick reads, comics and all types of fiction genres. Then Ava made up tickets with the book title and 3 word descriptions. Now pupils who are stuck can take a ticket from the box and bring it to the desk to get there lucky dip surprise read. It’s worked really well with our regular class visits. Well done Ava for a great idea! 

Keep calm and carry on-through-exams 

It’s exam time for our senior pupils! This time of year can be very stressful few weeks, so it’s extra important to take care of yourself and your mental health. There are lots of books that can help you manage stress/anxiety and find a little bit of calm. Check out some of these books on the Stress Less book display, available now in the school library. Well done to the library assistant team for putting this together.