Friday 28 June 2013

Adisa the Verbaliser, Performance Poet visits TRS

Adisa the Verbaliser, performance poet, visited our school on Friday, 24th May 2013.  In his own words, he believes that “poetry should be read, sung, and rapped from every corner of the globe, and performed on every stage that can sustain the weight of the spoken word”.

The day was split into two.  In the morning he performed a selection of his poems including Lady onyx, Just 10 and Phat Buck in the War Memorial Library for Year 9 students.  Full of energy, humour and a passion for poetry, he made the students feel at ease.  He also laid himself open to answering any question they wanted to ask him, either about the poetry or about himself.  He encouraged them to talk about what they thought his poems were about and to ask him questions about anything they wanted.  The performance was very interactive with the students encouraged to join in and even try to anticipate the words of Adisa's poems.

In the afternoon he held poetry workshops, working one to one with the students.  He helped them create their own poems, which were personal to them, using a variety of clever techniques. The students said that “Adisa was a great performance poet”, “he moved around the class really well to work with everyone” and that “he gave us confidence with our poetry writing”.

At the beginning of the day the children were in awe of Adisa, who is over six foot tall, but by the end they were laughing with him and wanting to shake his hand. Copies of Adisa's book, Lip Hopping With the Fundi-Fu, are available to borrow from the Discovery Library.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Winner of the CILIP Carnegie Children's Book Award Announced

 

SALLY GARDNER WINS THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL WITH MAGGOT MOON
 
Dyslexic author Sally Gardner - once branded 'unteachable' at school - won this year's prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal with Maggot Moon. Her original and acclaimed dystopian tale also won this year's Costa Children's Book Award.
 
A tale of triumph over terror, Gardner's Maggot Moon sees the unlikely young hero Standish who, like his creator, is dyslexic, stand up to a sinister dictatorship whilst friends and family around him 'disappear'. A first-time winner of the coveted golden medal, Gardner will receive £500 worth of books to donate to her local library.

At today's ceremony, Gardner, who perceives her dyslexia as a gift, spoke up for children for whom reading and writing does not come easily and the librarians and teachers that help them. She also criticized Michael Gove's new curriculum.
Maggot Moon and other titles from the shortlist are available to borrow from the War Memorial and Discovery Libraries.






Tuesday 18 June 2013

Recent Words of the Week

DISCOVERY LIBRARY:

Agnostic
Noun: A person who believes that it is impossible to know whether God is real.
chosen by Brandon 8 HB

Inquisitive
Adjective: Eager for knowledge or understanding
chosen by Rhesa 9 MD

Hyperventilate
Verb: To breathe rapidly at rest
chosen by Remell  7 RN

Tincture
Noun: A medicine that consists of a small amount of drug in alcohol
chosen by Gabriella 7 TN

Unequivocal
Adjective: There is no doubt; clear and unambiguous
chosen by Henry 7 LC

Reclusive
Adjective: Shut away from the world, seeking to live alone
chosen by Frankie 9 MP

Mysterious
Adjective: Something that is strange, difficult to understand
chosen by Paulina Flis (Yr 7 SA)

Isallobar
Noun: A line on a map connecting places with equal pressure change
chosen by Kamyar 8 HB

Crave
Verb: To have a strong or urgent desire/to hunger for a certain thing
chosen by Leyla 7 BC

Anxious
Adjective: Worried or nervous
chosen by Angel 7 CB

Exquisite
Adjective: Extremely beautiful
chosen by Ivan 7 LC
            
WAR MEMORIAL LIBRARY:

Ambiguous
Adjective: When something has more than one meaning
chosen by Ewan Greenwood 10 SU

Musicology
Noun: The study of music
chosen by Ms Roberts (Librarian)
 
Yammer
(Informal) Verb: To whine in a complaining manner
chosen by Ben 12 DH

Famishing
Verb: To be very hungry
chosen by Harry Smith (Yr10 WH)

Fragmentation
Noun: In chemistry, the process in which a positive ion is split into pieces during mass spectrometry
chosen by Joshua 12 SR

Incarnadine
Adjective or noun: 1) Flesh-coloured; pale pink 2) Blood-red; crimson (adjective) or an incarnadine colour (noun)
chosen by Jake 13 MB

Taciturn
Adjective: Not talkative or communicative
chosen by Jonah 13 MO

Element
Noun: One of the components making up a whole.  Any known substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means
chosen by Anthony 10 MC

Benzenecarbaldehyde
Noun: A yellow volatile oily liquid, C6H5CHO.  The compound occurs in almond kernels and has an almond-like smell. (From the Oxford Concise Science Dictionary)
chosen by Harry 10 WH

Geezer
Noun (informal): A guy, a bloke or what you might call someone in general
chosen by Alex 13 RF

Quadric
Adjective: In mathematics, relating to the power of two
chosen by Daniel 10 CE

Friday 7 June 2013

Author Visit to TRS

On Wednesday, 15th May, award winning author Chris Bradford visited The Ravensbourne School and gave two performances to the Year 7s and 8s.

Some of the Year 7 pupils wrote about their experiences.  Below is a selection of their views:
Krichelle Year 7
On 15th May 2013, Chris visited our school and talked to us about his new book ‘The Bodyguard’ and his series ‘Young Samurai’.  It was an interactive experience for all of us.  Some pupils even got to act out scenes from the book; they were awarded with a sticker and a poster of his new book ‘The Bodyguard’.
I personally enjoyed every second of it!  We were well entertained.  There were even water guns!  It was truly a great time!  We were shown videos related to his new books.  We had a wonderful time.
Becky Year 7
Today seemed like just an ordinary day at school but GUESS WHAT!  In period 3 and 4 Chris Bradford came into my school to explain his life being an author and a trained bodyguard.  I walked into the sports hall and I saw Chris standing there setting up his equipment.  I felt so lucky because I got to meet him.
All of a sudden Chris Bradford turned on the slide show and BANG! ... He showed us how to protect someone from a bullet.  I jumped out of my skin with the loud and breath taking sound. 
At the end of this event we got to go up and buy a book, otherwise you could get a poster and he signed it with your name.  Thank you Chris Bradford for a great 100 minutes and for coming to my school to share your skills with us.
Peppe Year 7
When everyone had entered the hall a Librarian was reading from a sheet of paper telling us about Chris Bradford when suddenly gun shots went off.  The Librarian was rushed out by Chris.  He then introduced himself and asked for two volunteers to help him act out a scene from his book.  He pulled out a plastic gun, and then revealed that it was a water pistol by squirting water over everyone.  He then showed us some video clips and carried out a demonstration (in which I was a volunteer).
Overall I think he was very energetic and devoted.  I enjoyed it and thought it was amazing.
Louise Year 7
Chris Bradford was very energetic and lively.  He taught us how to be a bodyguard and also what it would be like if our school was a samurai school.   I enjoyed that part because he didn’t just tell us what the book was about; he made us feel like we were in the book.
Jada Year 7
At the event Chris Bradford talked to us about his latest book and showed us how to be a bodyguard.  He also showed us videos and websites.  He engaged with the audience by using volunteers to create scenes and role-play parts of his book.  He wasn’t boring because he connected with our age group and made the language understandable.
I think he was constructive with his ideas and made us feel like bodyguards and therefore like the character.  I personally enjoyed it and got a book signed at the end.  I am looking forward to reading ‘The Bodyguard’ and finding more of his books.
Ronnie Year 7
Chris Bradford likes to experience what he writes about in his books to make them more effective; also this gives him inspiration for his writing.  When writing his book “The Bodyguard”, he trained to be a bodyguard, and this is what he talked to us about.
At the start of the event, a Librarian introduced Chris.  The thing that was outstanding was that no one expected him to grab the Librarian when the sound of bullets came on in the background!  He looked so serious because he screamed and ran with the Librarian outside the hall.  Chris Bradford enacted scenes from the book with volunteers from the audience.  Near the end he revealed something that we didn’t realize.  He had been secretly filming us with a camera inside a fake coke can [he showed us he had deleted the film].  He ended the performance by letting students buy or reserve books which he would sign or sign a poster of his books.
I personally enjoyed the first part when he ran out of the hall and surprised everyone.  He did something that we did not expect.
James Year 7
On the 15th May 2013 Chris Bradford came into our school, he is the author of the Young Samurai and Bodyguard series.  When we saw him he talked about his books and what inspired him to write them.  He said that he writes the types of books he’d want to read, books filled with relentless action, believable characters and plots that twist and turn through the pages.  Chris’s books are really inspirational for people who are adventurous.
I enjoyed the first part of his performance when he was acting all serious with his shades and when he ran out of the hall with the Librarian and also the gun shots were really cool.

Jake Year 7

Chris Bradford is a very engaging man with lots of humour.  Hopefully Chris can come back to this school again!

Jessica Year 7

Wow! What a wonderful writer.  I enjoyed everything about the presentation.  Chris left me and most of us in giggles. 

Malorie Blackman announced as new Children’s Laureate

Malorie Blackman, acclaimed and award winning author of teenage fiction including Noughts and Crosses, has been announced as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate for 2013-2015.
The role is awarded every two years to celebrate an exceptional author or illustrator of children’s books and to recognise their importance in creating the new readers.  Malorie Blackman is the eighth Children’s Laureate to be appointed.
To find out more, visit the Children’s Laureate website.
We have lots of Malorie Blackmore’s books in both the Discovery Library and WML so come and browse and borrow.

Monday 3 June 2013

Match the Teacher to the Book competition

Congratulations to all those who correctly identified the teacher with the book in our ‘Match the Teacher to the Book’ competition. The correct answers were:
 

Prizes have been awarded to the ten correct entrants.  Our winners were:

Veronica (Year 7), Gabriella (Year 7), Tate (Year 7), Amber (Year 7), Phebe (Year 7)  Joe J (Year 8), Joe W (Year 8),  Kamyar (Year 8), Katie D (Year 9) and Chloe H (Year 9)

Well done to everyone who entered - those who did not win have been awarded VIVO points for taking part.