Monthly Archives: May 2016

The Mitsubshi Pump it Up Challenge

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heatpump-howBefore the Easter holidays, the S3s were put in groups and were tasked with creating an object using a heat pump. All the groups came up with fantastic ideas and on Monday last week, the groups who wanted a chance to get to the final presented their final ideas. The three groups came up with the brilliant ideas and the group “Kitchen Appliances” got through to the final with their idea of an oven. The final will be held at Howden Park Centre in Livingston on 13th June. I wish the team good luck and enjoy yourselves!

Heat pump diagram from Energy Saving Trust

 

Book of the Week – These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

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These Shallow GravesYou wait a while for Jennifer Donnelly’s books, but it is always worth the wait. These Shallow Graves is no exception: historically accurate and detailed, with main characters who leap off the page and a story that draws you into the world of New York in the 1890s, this is a really good read.

The blurb says…

Josephine Montford is one of the city’s most eligible heiresses, and as such, she understands the importance of doing what is expected. She knows that a suitable marriage and comfortable life is what she should dream of – but her heart can’t help yearning for more.

But then Jo’s father dies, and suddenly her charmed life is shattered. His death appears to have been a tragic mistake, but Jo quickly discovers that the details of his death don’t quite add up. If her father’s death wasn’t accidental, could it really have been suicide? Or worse… murder?

Sponsored Walk

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sponsored walkGet your trainers on!

The last Friday of our Health and Well-being Week is always marked by the school sponsored walk, when most of the staff and students spend all morning taking part in a gentle stroll through the surrounding area. There will be two loops to the walk this year: one around the Murieston area and one around Polbeth. Hopefully the weather will stay dry and everyone will have a great walk.

S1 Tree of Knowledge

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treeof_logoTree of Knowledge are working with the first year in the library all day today. They are doing a programme called Successville which is all about working together and learning successfully.

The Tree of Knowledge website says this about the course:

SUCCESSVILLE is a fun, educational experience. This course focuses on recognising and celebrating both individual and team achievements, and highlights the importance of good working relationships and effective team work. Pupils will learn just how effective their contribution is in their school and the impact it has on their community. This course will give them a sense of personal achievement and satisfaction helping them to build resilience and confidence whilst leaving them feeling motivated to learn.

Health and Well-Being Week 2016

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three_red_applesThis week is our Health and Well-Being Week, where all sorts of exciting things are happening in the school. The S1s will be taking part in lots of activities run by different departments and will have the chance to take part in zumba, craft workshops and other fun things. S1 will also have Tree of Knowledge workshops on Wednesday when they will work on their achievements and relationships. Thursday is RAPID trip day, and most of the S1 to S3 students will be heading out to M&Ds, Ten Pin Bowling and the Time Capsule, and on Friday the whole school will take part in the annual sponsored walk.

Have a great week!

New Books in the Library – Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens

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Arsenic for teaSchoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy’s home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy’s glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for her birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn’t about Daisy at all. (Naturally Daisy is furious.)

Then one of their guests falls seriously, mysteriously, fatally ill – and everything points to poison.

Suddenly Fallingford feels like a very dangerous place to be. And when somone close to Daisy looks suspicious, the girls must reveal the truth… no matter the consequences.

Arsenic for Tea is the second book in the Wells and Wong series by Robin Stevens – we have the first three books in the library.

Room by Emma Donoghue

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Jroomack lives with his Ma in Room, a secured single-room outbuilding containing a small kitchen, a bathtub, a wardrobe, a bed, and a TV set. Because it is all he has ever known, Jack believes that only Room and the things it contains  are “real.” Room is an outstanding novel by Emma Donoghue that is now also a major motion picture.

New Books in the Library – Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

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Murder Most UnladylikeWhen Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up a secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they can’t find a truly exciting mystery to investigate. (Unless you count The Case of Lavinia’s Missing Tie. Which they don’t.)

Then Hazel discovers the body of the Science Mistress, Miss Bell – but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls have to solve a murder, and prove a murder happened in the first place, before the killer strikes again (and before the police get there first, naturally).

But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?

Murder Most Ladylike is the first in the Wells and Wong series by Robin Stevens – we have the first three books in the library.

Book of the Week – Zom-B Goddess by Darren Shan

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Zom-B GoddessBook of the week this week is the eagerly-awaited last episode in the Zom-B series – Zom-B Goddess.

  • Where can you turn when you’ve run out of options?
  • What card can you play when the decks are stacked against you?
  • Is there any hope in a world of the lost?
  • B Smith has reached the end.
  • Double-crossed again, B is confused, enraged and broken. But the battle isn’t over. The end is nigh, but there are plenty of horrors to come. And who will survive? The zombies? The humans? Or worse…?

Zom-B Goddess is not on the library display because it has already been requested, but we have all the other eleven Zom-B books by Darren Shan in the library.