Monthly Archives: February 2017

Mathematics Speaker in the Library today

Leave a reply

We are very fortunate to have Professor McBride OBE coming into the school today to talk to some of our students.  Professor McBride is an Emeritus Professor of Mathematics from the University of Strathclyde, and since his retirement, he has given numerous talks in schools, ran masterclasses and residential weekends and is the current team lead of the UK Maths Olympiad team.  His interest lies particularly in challenging the most able pupils, and his talks will therefore be for the 30 most able pupils in S1-S4, Higher and Advanced Higher Maths pupils.  He will deliver his sessions in the library at the following times:

S1-S2 9.30-10.30am

S3-S4  11-11.50am

H/AH 12.10-1pm

The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell – Book of the Week

Leave a reply

Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems…

A silver bell will tell you the way.

A candle’s wick will hide you.

And a crooked sixpence will be the first warning:

Time is running out.

Ivy and Seb Sparrow stumble across something uncommon when they see a feather scratch an ominous message on their granma’s kitchen wall. Soon, they are lost in the extraordinary world of Lundinor, where ordinary objects have amazing powers.

But where there is power, evil often lurks, and Ivy and Seb must get to the bottom of a family secret… before it’s too late.

 

New book from Philip Pullman

Leave a reply

 

Philip Pullman has announced that his long-awaited novel set in the His Dark Materials world will be published in October this year. I will definitely be preordering it! The Book of Dust will be the first in a trilogy which is neither a prequel nor a sequel, but will sit alongside the existing stories about Lyra.

Read more here: http://www.philip-pullman.com/newsitem?newsItemID=21

New books in the Library

Leave a reply

Vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled.

That is what my family think of me. They want to keep me in the countryside to improve my mind, but if I stay here I WILL DIE. Oh, I will go to Brighton if it is the last thing I do, and show my sisters what I am capable of. I shall probably come back with a husband. I’d come back with two if I could…

Lydia is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice (my favourite book ever) from wild child Lydia’s point of view.

 

New Library Catalogue

Leave a reply

To go with our fancy new Library system we have a fancy new catalogue as well! It’s much easier to use than the old one, and will always be available on the stand-alone computer in the reading area of the Library. Or you could click on the image, or in the sidebar to go straight to it. Try it out!

If you would like to make your own reservations or renew your books yourself, ask the library team for your barcode and pin.

 

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brian Conaghan – Book of the Week

Leave a reply

Book of the Week this week is a new collaborative novel by two of the most exciting authors writing for teenagers today, Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan. It tells the story of Jess and Nicu.

Nicu is so not Jess’s type. He’s all big eyes and ill-fitting clothes, eager as a puppy, even when they’re picking up litter in the park for community service. Appearances matter to Jess. She has a lot to hide.

Nicu shouldn’t even be looking at Jess. His parents are planning his marriage to a girl he’s never met back home in Romania. But he wants to work hard, do better, stay here.

As they grow closer, their secrets surface like bruises. And as the world around them grows more hostile, the only safe place Jess and Nicu have is with each other.

We Come Apart is a verse novel, told in alternate voices. It’s an eye-opening read.

 

Library Closed Today

Leave a reply

Today the Library will be closed at break and lunch, while we  have our new Library System set up for us. It’s called Symphony, and I am hopeful that it will be very harmonious and melodic.

We will be back to normal after the holidays – enjoy your long weekend.

Celtic Myths by Sam McBratney – review

Leave a reply

I`m rather interested in Celtic mythology, I always have been, and this book contained the most variation of any I had read before. The illustrations (by Stephen Player) were very pretty. The stories were amazing and my personal favourite was Limpet Rock  and The Land of Youth. Little notes and pronunciations of names and words were also present in this book something i thought was a nice touch.

All in all I’d give this book seven selkies out of ten.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Leave a reply

Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Laura Ingalls Wilder who wrote The Little House on the Prairie series (which actually starts with Little House in the Big Woods. We do have these books in the Library, although when I checked they hadn’t been out for quite a while! Why not recycle a story and read an old book – they are on display this week.