Earth Day was the perfect time to look at how we can become more environmentally friendly in the library, and also to celebrate books and reading.
Earth Day book display
S1 volunteers created an excellent book display, selecting their favourite books on climate change, sustainability, plastic pollution, and oceans. They were keen to include books with beautiful illustrations, as we feel these are a powerful way to make people care more about the environment.
We had great discussion about what everyone can do to help the Planet, such as reducing use of plastic and energy consumption. We ended our session with some wonderful artwork and an acrostic poem. Well done and thanks to Niamh, Zaynab, Freya, Matilda, Eliza, Julia, Kaneez, Mya and Alfie for this
Creative writing Our lunchtime group wrote ‘A Thank You letter to Planet Earth’.
Throughout the year, we’ve been thinking of ways to cut down on waste and be more sustainable, very much inspired by our fantastic PT Learning for Sustainability, and pupil Eco-Team. Here’s our Holyrood 3 step #GreenLibraries action plan:
Making our own posters for events
- Print less and make our own posters, recycling scrap paper and magazines where possible. When printing is necessary, print double sided, or in booklet form.
- We make our own bookmarks by recycling old books, cardboard, and packaging. These are very popular!
Recycled bookmarks
- All pupils and staff have access to the Libby reading app. The free magazines are especially popular. In a recent Staff survey – all agreed that one of the benefits of Libby is that it’s kind to the environment (no more magazines going into the bin). You can get help with Libby here in the Library, and also from both the English dept., and Support for Learning. Join up in about 20 seconds – great for the holidays!
Download the free Libby app
What I’m Reading
‘When I First Held You’
‘When I First Held You’ by Anstey Harris begins in a Repair shop. Judy, the owner, has experienced loss and tragedy in the past. Can she find a way to mend the damage? Will her story end like those of her customers, who get to see their broken objects restored?
Our Book Group loved the cover of this book, and think the golden thread shows how beauty and value is added when an object is repaired. With a bit of research, we found the Japanese word for exactly this ‘kintsugi’ – mending broken pottery with gold.
In Western culture, we sometimes tend to value things that are new, and often over-buy, without considering what items we already have. I’ve also enjoyed books by both Marie Kondo, and Helen Sanderson. Both books tackle the modern day problem of having too many possessions and how we can live more sustainably and find joy with less.
Fabia & Hunnah in S3 are keen readers of new and trending fiction and popped in after school to chat about books.
“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is such a thrilling book! It’s about a high school girl named Pip who decides to investigate a murder case for a school project. As she delves deeper, she uncovers secrets and twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. The book is full of suspense and unexpected turns. It’s a real page-turner! If you enjoy mysteries, you’ll love this one! Fabia, S3
“The Inheritance Games” 
For World Book Day, I recommend ‘A Song of Wraith and Ruin’ by Roseanne A. Brown. I rated this book five stars. It is a fast paced, action-packed story about two people who experience love, loss, betrayal and it is very bingeable! It honestly felt almost like watching a movie (I even bought my own copy after reading it).
I loved that this book doesn’t portray black people as the negative stereotype seen in films, but instead portrays us as exactly what we are. Human. Chantelle, S6
This quirky title is an unusual mix of manga and traditional novel styles, with cartoons then followed by a chapter of writing. The story itself is great too. It’s about Julian who meets a rabbit called Chie-san who leads him to the Tokyo Ghost Cafe. There Mama-san welcomes them to this strange and unusual place, and tells them that she has found a young boy called Akira-San who has wondered into the cafe and told her that he is lost and needs to go home. Mama-san asks them to guide Akira-San home. However, this isn’t straightforward as Akira-san doesn’t quite know where home is and no-one really knows who he is. As each trip progresses, Akira-san seems to remember more and more about home along the way. However the group are met by set backs such as tigers, temples, crocodiles and snow blizzards – which stop them in their tracks. You’ll love this action packed adventure – with the unusual styles and Japanese words to learn thrown in – you won’t be able to put it down… Lochend loves it !
