Summer term was very different from usual, with pupils and staff doing fantastic work in lockdown. Many pupils have been using Glasgow Life e-resources such as BorrowBox , for e-books and audio-books, and Freegal for music streaming. However, nothing can quite replace the fun of real author coming to visit you, so we decided to get help from the best of the best : Emily Ilett, award winning local author, in a remote LiveLit event supported by the Scottish Book Trust!

Emily had already been out to visit Holyrood pupils, and gave a brilliant talk to Miss Sutherland’s S1 class back in March for World Book Day

We learned about one of Emily’s favourite subjects – ‘Sea animals’, and how she used her love of animals and conservation as inspiration for her book ‘The Girl Who Lost Her Shadow’.

The challenge for our remote event in June was, with the school building closed, and no physical contact – how could we get Emily to the pupils, so we could have fun, hear all of her great tips for writing, and do a pupil Q & A? The answer was …..an author video, made especially for Holyrood pupils. In it Emily reads a wonderful short story ‘Hello Neighbour’ which she wrote for lockdown (it’s very funny, especially the bit about the wasps’ nest….you’ll have to listen and I bet it will make you laugh!). She also answered terrific questions from Zoya, Nga and Augustina; and set a competition for us. The competition is now closed for the summer, but we might open it again next term – so you could have a wee practice if you’re bored during the holidays!

You can watch Emily’s video here. Just scan the QR code with your I-pad. (Big thanks to Mrs. Gunn for explaining to me how to do this). See – everyone is learning new skills here – pupils/ teachers/ librarian. You never stop learning, and it’s exciting!

There was a tight deadline to get competition entries in by the end of term, many of you rose to the challenge with magnificent entries. Winners were : Ella S1, Laraib and Eseosa (S2), and Augustina (S3). Emily was highly impressed by the entries. Great work from everyone who entered. We may try to make the winning entries into a short story collection for you to read. In the meantime, you can read ‘Hello Neighbour’, and more short stories and poems in this fantastic anthology by Cranachan publishing:

Read ‘Stay at Home’ here

Great fun for pupils, and includes resources for teachers!

See how many authors you already recognise, and you will also discover new favourite authors to enjoy. We will (hopefully) have many new books in the Library by the time you return to school.