Tag Archives: Book Week Scotland

Book Week Scotland and More at Knightswood!

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November was a great month in the library!

For the entire month, the library had a display up of nonfiction books to celebrate Nonfiction November. I love Nonfiction November – it’s such a good excuse to pick up a book and learn something new. Check out our brilliant display!

 

In addition to highlighting nonfiction, November is also the month of Book Week Scotland! We had a busy week! We hosted two classes from Bankhead Primary School for library visits. During the visits, the P6s and P7s were read to by two of my brilliant senior library assistants, Summer and Jude, and then they asked questions about high school and had the chance to explore the library. It was an absolute delight meeting all of them!

   

Maybe the most fun of all though was the return of the much-loved book swap! This gives pupils and staff the chance to browse new-to-them books and to take them home to keep, absolutely free. It’s always a huge hit!

Volunteering at Holyrood Library, December Update 

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Our Library Volunteers have been working hard on some great projects to brighten these dark, Winter months. 

Reader of the Month notice board

Rand and Tafsirr created a Reader of the Month noticeboard, to recognise enjoyment and effort in reading.

This month’s award winners – Balint (S2), Egbert (S1) & Melissa (S3), will each receive a book of their choice from the book vending machine.  

 

Book Swap here!

Thanks to Filza, Gia and Izza who created this beautiful giant sign for our Book Swap table during Book Week Scotland. They used the lighthouse logo to represent ‘Hope’ and added their own style and flourish. The Book Swap was a great success. 

 

 

Book swapping at interval

Enjoying books together at the Coffee morning

Our Staff Coffee Morning was a hoot (thanks to Ms Ford for bringing Hedwig along), and S3 Volunteers helped serve refreshments, and gave out copies of ‘Hope’ kindly gifted by the Scottish Book Trust. There was plenty of great chat between staff and young people, who love sharing book recommendations together .

 

S4 Volunteer Lucy, working at the issue desk

Our 14 Volunteers, ranging from S3 – S6 have a lot of fun, but there’s also a goal to achieve, which is completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award at either Bronze or Silver level; or for S6 – their Caritas or Leadership Award.

 

 

 

Like all school librarians, I’m always proud to support our young people with their volunteering, and see this is a key aspect of our School Library Service, offering  “a wide range of interesting and fun volunteering experiences that help others develop new skills and make new friends”. A Vision for Glasgow Life Libraries, April 2023

Our October Volunteers’ Survey asked –  What is your favourite thing about volunteering?

“Meeting new people and becoming friends. The Library is a really inviting space and the people I’ve met are all amazing.” (S3 Volunteer)

“I really enjoyed the creative tasks like wrapping a gift and putting up the posters. But also the less creative tasks like taking record of newly ordered books so all in all I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything!” (S6 Volunteer)

In the survey, our young people agreed that they had achieved some, or all of the following outcomes through volunteering :

1. Of benefit to the school community 2. Teamwork 3. Helping other people 4. Learning new skills 5. Good for my mental health 6. Good for my confidence

 We’ll have more projects and book recommendations to share in 2025. Happy Reading!

November books and more at Lochend

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In November, we celebrated Book Week Scotland at Lochend.  The timing of a delivery of new books from our supplier was ideal, and the pupils were able to choose their books for Book Week Scotland from this amazing array of new titles on display. 

A particular pupil favourite this month has been The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow,   Told in verse form, it follows the main character, Nate, as he starts Secondary School, has difficulties with his friends and is devastated when his younger brother becomes seriously ill.  If you want to find out how Nate deals with all these, grab a copy at your school or public library.  Matt Goodfellow does it again, and our pupils (and their librarian !) are loving his book. 

 

If that lovely book selection wasn’t good enough, there is such a choice of reading material at Lochend.  The shelves of fiction titles seem to go on for miles, and with them being split into different genres, it makes choosing a book so much easier.  Just look for the genre (style of book) that you like and the books are right next to the genre signs.  Here’s the impressive shelves – they go on for ever !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, there are loads more new books still to come at the end of November !  Just look at the boxes waiting to be processed and fly onto the shelves !  A new display will perhaps be coming for festive reads, but meanwhile just imagine what brilliant reading will be added to the stock. Come to the school library and see what you can pick up, there are books to suit everyone.

 

 

Book week Scotland @St Mungo’s Academy

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Celebrating Book Week Scotland in Our School Library

Last week, our school library was alive with excitement as we celebrated Book Week Scotland with a variety of engaging activities. From themed library visits to creative projects and lunchtime events, students had plenty of opportunities to explore the theme of hope in inspiring and imaginative ways.

Exploring Hope Through Stories

During their library visits, S1 and S2 students how the concept of hope is portrayed in stories. They reflected on these themes and wrote down their own hopes and wishes for the future—whether for themselves, their families, or the planet. The students also read three texts from the Book Week Scotland collection, chose their favorite, and brought their creativity to life by designing imaginative book covers for their selected stories.

Members of the “Storytelling for Wellbeing” club took Book Week Scotland beyond the library walls, roaming the school to interview readers about their reading habits. They captured insightful and inspiring responses, which I compiled into a final video showcasing the diverse ways reading enriches lives. This initiative highlighted the importance of storytelling in fostering connection and wellbeing.

A Lighthouse of Hopes

Our library assistant created a stunning Book Week Scotland display, complete with a lighthouse as a central feature. Students’ “stars of hope filled with their written wishes, were added to the lighthouse’s beams of light, symbolizing hope shining brightly for all to see.

The Jar of Hopes

The “Reading Buddies” group also contributed to the celebrations by writing heartfelt messages of hope, which were placed into the library’s “Jar of Hopes.” This simple yet meaningful activity added a personal touch to the week’s events, reminding everyone of the power of hope to inspire and connect us.

Lunchtime Fun: Quizzes and Lanterns

Lunchtimes were buzzing with activity as students participated in a fun quiz and got hands-on with lantern-making. These creative moments allowed students to engage with the theme of hope in a relaxed and enjoyable setting, while fostering a sense of community.

A Week to Remember

Book Week Scotland in our school library was a wonderful celebration of storytelling, creativity, and hope. The activities not only encouraged students to think deeply about the theme but also provided them with opportunities to express their thoughts and dreams in imaginative ways. A big thank you everyone who participated and helped make this week so memorable!

We can’t wait to see what next year’s Book Week Scotland brings! 🌟

End of term fun, Holyrood Library

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The holidays are coming – time to celebrate the work of our amazing Library volunteers before we head off for a well-earned rest.  They’ve worked tirelessly to promote reading and make the library a friendly and welcoming place. Whatever you need, the library helpers will be there for you!

Senior helper evaluating books to keep

R. in S5 has used her I.T skills to master the library management system (Spark) and now adds in new stock, can search the catalogue, identifies old books to be weeded and comes up with excellent ideas inspired by her love of reading.

Surrounded by books

S6 pupil book recommendations

C. in S6 shares book recommendations, is always up to date with new releases, and is a life-long lover of books. She balances this with a busy S6 schedule, often studying in the library after school.

Our Duke of Edinburgh S3 Volunteers bring fun to our lunchtimes. S1 loved their  design a Christmas Tree, & Elf Hat activities. It’s been a privilege to see a special bond grow between S1 and S3. So far 120 pupils in S1 have completed the Christmas Reading Challenge, run in collaboration with Community Libraries.

Lunchtime competition for S1

S1 Helpers at work

S1 Helpers also do a great job, running the issue desk at intervals and lunchtimes, coming up with games & colouring in, and encouraging everyone to borrow books.

 

 

S1 pupils enjoyed our special writing competition for Book Week Scotland. This competition was pupil led and inspired by award winning author Lindsay Littleson’s book EuroSpies. The mission was: “Write a job application to become a Spy” Some great entries. Lindsay thought they would definitely get the  job!

A last thought as we’re doing our Christmas shopping – good to consider how important books are not only for enjoyment but also for wellbeing and achievement. Research  by the Scottish Book Trust explains that “access to books at a young age allows children to flourish” and “Reading for pleasure is the biggest indicator of a child’s future success”  https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/articles/the-importance-of-book-ownership

Here’s a lovely personal memory shared by one of our sixth year pupils, about the importance of books.

 

Well done everyone and Happy Christmas !

Storytelling for Mental Health project/Book Week Scotland 2022

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November was a very busy month in the library. Not only did we have Book Week Scotland, but we also had a trip to the Mitchell library and our Storytelling Group have also been busy!

 

Book Week Scotland/Metaphrog trip

Our theme for Book Week Scotland was ‘Scotland’s Stories’ so we decided the best thing to celebrate Scottish stories was to set up a literary map of Scotland! From the Borders to Shetland,  the Western Isles to Edinburgh, we displayed a wide range of stories set in Scotland.

 

 

 

 

We also took the opportunity to take some of our S1s to the Mitchell for a talk and exhibition by Glasgow-based comic artists Metaphrog. Everyone had a great morning and hopefully some budding comic book artists took some inspiration!

 

Storytelling Group

We also continued our weekly storytelling group this month. Over the last few weeks we had been working with Lego and some other crafty materials to create our own characters. Once we had done this, we then gave them a back story, including a habitat, likes/dislikes and even thought about any quests or antics they would get up to. There were some excellent creations with one of out pupils even drawing out a whole map of their characters’ world!

Holyrood Secondary Library, Book Week Scotland

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Book Week Scotland, 16th -22nd November

Pupil review

Here is our first pupil recommendation from Fatima S3, who does superb work helping out in the Library setting up book displays, and helping with crafts for the younger pupils. She is almost half way through this book by wonderful Scottish author Lindsay Littleson.

           

“I recommend ‘The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean’. I really enjoyed reading it. It talks about summer, family and friends”.

We’ve also been using books to find out about Millport, which is the setting for part of this really exciting story.

 

We hope that other pupils will read this book, and also the next book by Lindsay Littleson, called ‘The Awkward Autumn of Lily McLean’

Here at Holyrood, Book Week Scotland is one of the highlights of our year ! We can’t wait to get started with celebrating books and reading, and join in the fun with authors, book lovers and the reading community all over Scotland!

We hope to be joining in with some of the online events listed here:

Book Week Scotland programme of events

In addition, we will be reading, sharing books, and holding our own celebration events all week:

  • How many Scottish authors and books set in Scotland can we read?  There may also be some pupil book reviews!

  • Competition for S1 – design your own mini-book on a Scottish theme Collect an instruction sheet from the Library…. easy and fun! All entries will be displayed in the Library and you could win a prize.
  • Senior pupils will be reading stories from this anthology of writing about the ‘Future’. You can collect your free copy from the Library. Happy reading!

 

  • We will be sharing some of our work in pictures and writing all through the week, and hope that as many pupils and staff as possible will join us to celebrate Book Week Scotland

Holyrood School Library, Spring update (1)

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While we’re on an early spring break, it’s time to remember some of the fun things we’ve achieved this session. In November, during Book Week Scotland, we enjoyed a feast of activities including:

  • Ms Longo’s  ‘Scavenger Hunt’ round the Library
  • a very well attended Lunchtime Book Quiz,
  • Visit from poet and Creative Writing Group leader – John Munro, who inspired pupils with great advice for getting started with writing.

John led 2 writing sessions, one for some lucky S1 classes in the Library. The other was for the whole S2 Year group! We had to take over the Fuel Zone, and John got everyone started with the topic ‘What would you put on your CV to get the job of a ninja warrior’. Much enthusiastic and very creative writing took place!

Throughout the week, Library helpers promoted our Prize Draw, which was enjoyed by everyone who borrowed, returned or renewed a book in the Library during Book Week Scotland.

We also highlighted some exciting pupil recommended titles including:

Robert Muchamore CHERUB series, and Taran Matharu ‘The Summoner’ series.

 

We look forward to Book Week Scotland in November 2020.

Useful websites :

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com

https://literacytrust.org.uk/

https://www.voluntaryarts.org/introducing-the-gorbals-writing-group

Book Week Scotland @ St. Andrew’s

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As Book Week Scotland comes to a close, my first as a school librarian, I can safely say that the week has been a great success and a lot of fun. All week we have been running a book swap station where staff and pupils have been encouraged to bring in old books in return for new ones. We also had a BWS Manga Club Special with the young people designing their own Manga book covers.

However, the highlight was definitely the Reading Lunch on Thursday, run along with our PT of Literacy. The turnout was excellent and it was great to see so many young people and staff come along with their books, ready to discuss them over a spot of lunch.