Tag Archives: Black History Month

October @ Holyrood Library

We’ve had a busy month so far, with plenty to celebrate in the Library.

October is Black History Month, so our S3 Duke of Edinburgh Volunteers -Tafsirr, Rand and Lauren created this fantastic book display.

They wanted to highlight books that were joyful and celebratory, so included biographies of famous actors, sportspeople, scientists, musicians and World leaders. And some history books, celebrating art and culture, but also remembering the sad and unjust parts of Black history in a respectful way.

In Holyrood, we feel that it’s very important to provide diverse and anti-racist books. So in a survey, when asked what they would like to see in the library, our Senior pupils made these suggestions :

A section focused on highlighting ethic minorities like biographies or books on cooking
More books in different languages, and also books to encourage people to learn more about other cultures
Scottish brown and black boys/girls everyday experiences
Maybe more history books on Scotland’s involvement in the slave trade.

Some of the books purchased so far:

Higher ESOL requests

Our readers are passionate about seeing voices of all different nationalities and cultures represented on the library shelves. Mrs Cooper’s Higher ESOL class asked for a selection of books by black authors for the classroom. Here are some of the authors they are currently enjoying: Malorie Blackman, Jumata Emill, Sharon Flake, Danielle Jawando, Shade Lapite, Jason Reynolds, Efua Traore, Alex Wheatle.

And we often like to discuss favourite authors and poets in our library Teams chat. We thought these words were very inspiring: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive: and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style”. Maya Angelou

At the start of October, we also celebrated Dyslexia Awareness Week with a pupil-led outreach library in the Fuel zone.

This showcased the books we have available in a dyslexia friendly format; and Mr. Lang provided a Quiz about famous people. We also had a Design Your Own Superpower competition, to show that all skills and talents are valued, such as super strength, invisibility, telekinesis, talking to animals, being kind, helping one another, and putting your rubbish in the bin. So many skills – what a talented bunch!

Well done everyone

Miss Kindness

St Roch’s Library assistants have put together some great displays this month. October is Black History Month, an important occasion to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to British society. Pupils chose books by Black authors to highlight for the month, including fiction by Angie Thomas , Malorie Blackman and Sharna Jackson. There’s also a great junior edition of ‘Black and British‘ by David Olusoga available.

If you are a fan of star signs, we’ve got a new monthly Bookoscope display. Pupils have researched the different star signs to help them find books to match each one. Every month library assistants will choose new books for the current star sign. This month features Libra and Virgo. Don’t worry Scorpios- you’re up next!

And of course, we’ve got our Spooky Reads to celebrate spooky season. Pupils have filled our display with horror, spooks, ghouls and (most frightening of all) glitter galore. Happy Halloween!

White scary ghost isolated illustration

Holyrood Anti-Racism Library

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S6 pupils at Holyrood Secondary organised an Anti-Racism outreach library in the fuel zone. This event promoted anti-racist, diverse books, in a friendly setting – many young people and staff stopped to browse, chat and borrow during their lunch hour. The books were selected from the school library and included biographies, travel and culture, and fiction by authors of all different nationalities and cultures. Huge thank you to our S6 Anti-Racism Leadership Group for organising and making this such a fun lunchtime! Well done to our S1 helpers too, for taking over during BGE lunchtime.

October is Black History Month. Well done to Miss Porch’s S1 class, who took great pride in choosing books about black scientists, sports people, politicians and celebrities for our BHM book display.

Our Holyrood Family is made up of young people from 44 different countries, speaking 62 languages (and counting!). We enjoy celebrating our many different cultures, with books and events in the library. Our library stock is developing to better reflect the diversity of our school community. New ideas on how we can do this, are always welcome.

October Book Recommendations

Librarian’s choice:

The Happiest Man on Earth: Author, Eddie Jaku survived terrible cruelty in the Nazi death camps. This is an incredible book about hope, courage and friendship that helped him survive.

Student’s Choice

Planet Omar, by Zanib Mian: Good for fans of ‘Wimpy Kid’, Omar with have you roaring with laughter.

Happy Reading!

Black History Month 2023 – Smithycroft Secondary School

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a display of non fiction books relating to black history October marks Black History Month in the UK, which gives us many opportunities to celebrate the rich contributions and achievements of Black individuals throughout history.

The roots of Black History Month can be traced back to the USA in 1915, when historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson set up a Society to study the achievements of American Black people . Such achievements had been, until then, undocumented: therefore, this groundbreaking Society earned Dr Woodson the title of “Father of Black History.”

Black History Month wasn’t adopted in the UK until 1987, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean. It was launched in London by Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, a refugee from Ghana.

This year, the theme for Black History Month is “Celebrating Our Sisters“. The school library is excited to participate by showcasing a collection of books which also highlight the impact that women of African and Caribbean heritage have had on society, culture, sports and science. Black women’s’ accomplishments were overlooked for far too long, so I encourage everyone to explore these books and be inspired by their lives.

Within Smithycroft’s school community, we take pride in fostering inclusivity and promoting anti-racism. One notable example is the Anti-Racist Club, co-led by principal teachers Gemma Walters and Rebeca Long, which provides a safe space for students to engage in important discussions surrounding racial equality. This club is also an important source of education for school staff on how to decolonize the school curriculum. Recently, students from the Anti-Racist Club were present at the launch of Glasgow City Council’s Anti-Racism Charter at the City Chambers, so the library is proud to promote anti-racism and a more inclusive history while surrounded by such smart young people.

September @ St. Andrew’s

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We’re back for another school year and have lots of things to update everyone on!

Library move/refurb

After our move to English 4, we have moved again! This time to a much larger space. We are currently awaiting a full refurb of the library but once this is done, we look forward to bringing back our full programme of clubs and events – no less the Manga Club! Watch this space for updates.

S1 Inductions

September was a month for meeting and getting to know our new S1s. It was great having them down for their library inductions and there were a lot of keen readers amongst them.

ProQuest/GALE sessions

We are already underway with our research skills workshops as Advanced Higher Drama got their first ProQuest/GALE/Oxford DNB session of the year. We are hoping to continue this with both Social Subjects and English classes next month.

Next Month

October will see us continue with our class borrowing periods for all S1 to S3 pupils and work with S6 paired readers. As the new S1s get their iPads, we are looking to begin Libby/Borrowbox sessions to promote our online resources. October also marks Black History Month (UK) and we will have a pupil-curated display in the library to mark this.