Post-a-read

Why not send us a postcard of what you are reading over the summer? It doesn’t matter where the post card is from, Bromley or Borneo, Luton or Las Vegas, as long as you tell us what you are reading.  All entrants will have their postcard displayed and will be entered into a free prize draw! 

Library Displays

Come and browse our display of recommended reads in the Discovery Library, which have been suggested by the TRS students.  A colourful bookmark tells you who has recommended each book and provides a link to the blog for the full review.  If you have a book that you would like to recommend or a review for our blog, just speak to one of your librarians.

Our Children’s Laureate display contains books by much loved authors and Laureates past and present.  These include Malorie Blackman, Jacqueline Wilson, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo and Michael Rosen.  We also have suggested books for you to read over the summer holidays.

 

In the War Memorial Library we have a display of ‘Quick Reads’ for you to browse and borrow, as well as our ‘new books’.

 

Summer Reading

Looking for ideas of what to read over the long summer holidays?  Below are some excellent websites which are full of great book recommendations as well as interviews and information on your favourite authors.  You can personalise your search and create your very own reading lists.  Just click on the links below and browse.   

http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/genre/s13/Summer-Reading-2013.html

 

www.lovereading4schools.co.uk

 

www.everyonesreading.org.uk/booklist.php

 

www.readkiddoread.com/great-advanced-reads

 

www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site?amp;?CMP=NECNETTXT766

 

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/children/

Also, look out for the books that have been recommended by TRS students.  They have colourful bookmarks giving a link to our blog for the full book review.  The Librarians' recommendations are:

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

'Wonder' is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman.  Born with a terrible facial abnormality, this shy, bright ten-year-old has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the stares and cruelty of the outside world.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Set during WWII, two young women become unlikely best friends during WWII, until one is captured by the Gestapo.  When a vital mission goes wrong, one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in Verity's own words, as she writes her account for her captors. Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they've ever believed in is put to the test... (extracted from the Lovereading4kids website)

Summer's Dream by Cathy Cassidy  

The third story is the Chocolate Box Girls series.  Summer has always dreamed of dancing, and when a place at ballet school comes up, she wants it so badly it hurts. Middle school ends and the holidays begin, but unlike her sisters, Summer has no time for lazy days and sunny beach parties. The audition becomes her obsession, and things start spiralling out of control. The more Summer tries to find perfection, the more lost she becomes.

Don’t forget to visit your local library – it is free to join!

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.

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.

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

Author Visit to TRS

On Wednesday, 15^th 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 15^th 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 15^th 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.