Please click into the individual blog post, as the links are currently missing on the library page, (formatting issue being investigated). The website providers are also still looking into the reason of why only the latest 3 library blog posts are displayed. However if you wish to look at earlier blog posts including those from last term, there are copies saved on the P drive in the P:\LIBRARY\SGS_Library_Blogs folder.
Here is a reminder of how to access our Sora library app. There is a link to the Sora app on the pupil page of the school website or at the top of the sidebar here on the library page. Download the Sora app or explore in browser https://soraapp.com Enter the setup code uksecondary if asked, and sign in with your school Google login and email password. And in the meantime, here is a Getting Started video guide or there is a PDF version on the P drive in the P:\LIBRARY\Sora folder.
Following a student's feedback regarding most of the books that he wanted to read already being out on loan, this week's top tip for Sora is to advise you to place holds on these books. You are permitted up to 5 holds, along with up to 5 loans at any time. Sora will buy additional copies of titles that they perceive to be popular, based on number of holds. Plus don't forget to log back into Sora to check for your holds becoming available, as unfortunately there are no email notifications.
This month is Black History Month, so it is rather timely to see Johny Pitts' Afropean winning the Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing. And earlier this year, Afropean also won the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour. Next year, Jhalak will be introducing an additional award next year for Children’s & YA books by UK BAME writers. Jhalak seeks to support and celebrate writers of colour in Britain.
On 7 October at 7pm, you may wish to join historian David Olusoga in conversation live online for his personal perspective on how we memorialise, teach and write about racism, and why Black British History matters. A new edition of his Black and British book aimed at young people was published yesterday.
We will be back with more titles for Black History Month next week.
~~~~
As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, yesterday was National Poetry Day. There is a collection of about 40 poetry titles available on Sora, a mixture of classics and contemporary writing. From Sora, I'm going to suggest Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, a novel written in verse which is both an UKLA winner and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It is certainly on my list of books to read.
There is a good poetry booklist on the Reading Zone website. And they also have a competition for your nature based poems. However the school is only permitted to submit up to 5 entries, so if you wish to participate, please email us your entry and we will forward on 5. Also the Young Poets Network has collated a comprehensive list of poetry opportunities for young writers.
Did you manage to watch any of the Reading is Magic Festival events this week? If not, they will remain freely available online until the end of this year, but from 2021 onwards a small donation will be required to access each event.
The Cheltenham Literature Festival has gone online with events taking place from today until 11 October, although they too will remain available to view until the end of this year. You may choose to filter the full list of events down by "Secondary Schools" theme. It features plenty of great events including authors we have highlighted in previous blog posts like Anthony McGowan and Liz Hyder.
The Big Draw Festival takes place every October to promote visual literacy and the universal language of drawing as a tool for learning, expression and invention. The Festival is made up of a collection of thousands of creative events, activities and workshops across the globe, including two free collaborative community events here in Sutton. This year's theme is A Climate of Change. Or we could even register a school entry with the chance of winning a £500 award.
Now for a quick round-up of a few other ideas and resources.
Today (2 October) at 6pm, join Dara Ó Briain for a virtual Space Camp, a live broadcast about space, the stars and life beyond earth with cosmic quizzes, alien drawing and intergalactic fun. This is to celebrate the launch of Dara's new book, Is There Anybody Out There?
This weekend is Fun Palaces weekend which aims to support local people to co-create their own cultural and community events, across the UK and worldwide, sharing and celebrating the genius in everyone. Most of the events this year are online, so you don't even need to search nearby. How about joining in with Surrey Libraries online for a football story with author Tom Palmer or a session on writing poetry.
Would you be interested in creating a short news report raising awareness of climate change and communicating your idea to #GoZero? If so, then let us know and we can register for you. (software required)
As I've previously mentioned, there are always plenty of giveaways on the Book Trust website. Today I am going to highlight this one to win a copy of We Are Not Yet Equal by Carol Anderson, a powerful, essential anti-racist title for teens.
I have received a free copy of the Activism edition of Scoop magazine, which I have saved on the P drive in the P:\LIBRARY folder for KS3 pupils to enjoy.
Don't forget that we will happily accept all book-related contributions from students and staff to our blog. And please email us your suggestions for what you would like to see on our blog.
Finally now for a bit of fun, we have a poetry crossword to share with you, to link in with National Poetry Day. I created this crossword at puzzle-maker.com myself and you may wish to try making your own word searches or crosswords there.
(For easier printing, open the image in a new tab. The way you do this will vary according to the browser you are using).