Please click into the individual blog post, as the links are currently not visible on the library page, (formatting issue being investigated).
Congratulations to the following students who have been awarded an achievement point for being the top three school Library book borrowers in their year group for the first half of the summer term.
Yr7 - Omar, Aman and Debarun Yr8 - Oscar, Ben and Raunak Yr9 - William H, Haider and Boaz
Will it be YOU awarded an achievement point for the second half of the summer term? Make sure you know how to reserve a Library book on the SGS Reading Cloud catalogue. Here's a reminder how - once you have found the next book you wish to read on the catalogue, click the green Reserve button. There are also buttons to add a title to your reading list or to write a book review.
Library Book Borrowing during Activities Week
Library books may be borrowed during Activities Week. Please reserve the book you wish to borrow online in the usual way. Books may be picked up the following day from the Library AT THE END OF YOUR ACTIVITIES! Library books may be returned at any time Monday to Thursday to the quarantine boxes in the Library lobby.
For those of you who haven't tried the 'Click and Collect' service for the school library out yet, here is the link to our library catalogue. Key in SUT, to search for our school. If you don't see a book you are searching for listed, please let us know and we will consider adding it to our wishlist. Sora will continue to be available in parallel for those of you who prefer ebooks or audiobooks, plus it may offer a wider choice of titles to those on our shelves here.
And please may we remind you to return books to the Library lobby as soon as possible. There are still about 175 overdue books.
This week is School Diversity Week celebrating LGBT+ equality in education. Here are their reading recommendations for KS3 and KS4 and I have highlighted below which are available in the school library or via Sora or LLC. I have also saved a copy of both reading lists along with the media lists mentioned last week on the P drive in the P:\LIBRARY\School_Diversity_Week folder.
KS3 The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg George by Alex Gino (LLC) Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (book 2 is on Sora and LLC) Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman Lumberjanes by Watters, Ellis, Allen and Stevenson (LLC) The Pants Project by Cat Clarke (podcast on Sora) Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (SGS / Sora / LLC)
KS4 The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta What's the T? by Juno Dawson From Prejudice to Pride by Amy Lamé Fun Home by Alison Bechdel They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (LLC) Every Day by David Levithan (SGS) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Sora / LLC)
There is an interesting article here about queer literature over the last 50 years, including the classic book The Color Purple by Alice Walker which won the Pulitzer Prize back in 1983. This is an emotive read also encompassing themes of sexual abuse and racism. We have a copy of this in the school library which sixth form may enjoy.
Book Spotlight!
Earlier this week on Monday, we celebrated Windrush Day to recognise the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants in modern day Britain, it being the anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948. So I've chosen Black and British by David Olusoga for this week's book spotlight. We have copies of both this and the original more extensive edition in the school library. They are also both available to borrow online from Sora.
There are a vast number of videos on this topic online, so I've chosen to highlight this YouTube where David Olusoga presents a talk and discussion of black history in Britain and the recent Windrush immigration scandal.
You may see more book recommendations for Windrush Day here. Page down to find age appropriate titles.
The shortlists have been announced for the 2022 Lollies (Laugh Out Loud Book Awards) this week. Plus I have been selected to be an ambassador for these awards, so we will be receiving a free copy of each title in the 9-13 age category along with a Lollies goody bag. Reading, reviewing and voting for our favourite of these titles will be part of activities at book club next term.
This week's book club session was focussed on reviews and discussing future plans.
More award news from the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction which has been won by The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel. This is the final novel in her Thomas Cromwell trilogy and upper school may enjoy reading this. The first title Wolf Hall also won the inaugural Walter Scott Prize back in 2010. We do have a copy of Wolf Hall in the school library.
Wednesday was National Writing Day and here is a very short story written by Mr Shergold as his entry to the flash fiction competition that I mentioned in last week's blog post.
Journey’s End
I walk alone, the final steps of a journey that has lasted her lifetime. Precious faces along the way blur into a collage of hope, grief, anger and relief. The door opens, my daughter’s face radiant amidst a safe haven. We are home, ready to walk together again.
This year's national writing challenge is to #FilltheBox on a post-it note size piece of paper with a piece of creative writing – a poem, a letter, a story – based on the theme of connection.
So have a go at the #FilltheBox challenge and either hand in your creative writing at the school library or email it to us by 30 June. Don't forget to include your name and form. We will award one house point to our favourites. And we are happy to accept any size entries, so don't worry about it being post-it size, but if you would prefer a template, I've created one and saved it as National_Writing_Day_Challenge_2021_template on the P Drive in the P:\LIBRARY folder.
On the theme of writing, Toppsta are running a weekly book review competition throughout the summer with prizes for you, your class and the school. However it is limited to reviews of books featured in their pack, so I have mentioned below those which are available in the school library or via Sora or LLC. Final closing date is 27 August.
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (SGS / Sora / LLC) Malamander by Thomas Taylor (SGS / Sora / LLC) Gargantis by Thomas Taylor (Sora / LLC) The Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher (Sora / LLC) After The War by Tom Palmer (Sora) Future Friend by David Baddiel (LLC)
Scoop Magazine have a competition for you to create a 9 square comic strip on the theme of ‘Medicine’. Closes 9 July. Email your entry to hello@scoopthemag.co.uk
June is audiobook month, so how about borrowing an audiobook from Sora. There are plenty of times when an audiobook is more suitable than a printed book, for instance if you are out running. I frequently listen to audiobooks rather than the radio when I am in the car. This week I've been listening to the audio version of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne from Sora. An emotive read set in the Holocaust, which I certainly recommend. What have you read recently? How about posting a review of your latest book on Reading Cloud.
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It is the Barnes Children's Literature Festival this weekend and it is going ahead in person. Most of it is aimed at primary age, but you may enjoy sessions with Philip Reeve, Natasha Farrant, Hilary McKay, Phil Earle, and Elle McNicholl. Tickets cost £7.50
This week is National Insect Week, so I have created a wordsearch full of insects, avoiding other small creatures like spiders, centipedes, worms and woodlice which are sometimes mistakenly referred to as insects.
Wordsearch created at puzzle-maker.com