Post-a-read - what we were reading!

Thank you to everyone who told us what they were reading over the summer holidays.  We had postcards from all over the world – from Canada to Croatia and Las Vegas to Amsterdam! Come and have a look at our display, which is on the noticeboard outside the Discovery Library.

National Poetry Day

National Poetry Day is a nationwide celebration of poetry held every year on the first Thursday of October.  It's a chance to celebrate and inspire creativity through poetry.  This year it took place on the 3^rd October and the theme was ‘water water everywhere’. 

The first Young Poet Laureate for London was announced yesterday by Poet Laureate Carol Anne Duffy.  Her name is Warsan Shire, a 24 year old Kenyan-born Somali poet and she was chosen from a shortlist of six young poets.  Ealier this year she won the Brunel University inaugural prize for African Poetry.

To find out about more about poetry and for advice on writing your own visit The Poetry Society and the Young Poets Network.

We are hoping to welcome back Adisa the amazing performance poet www.adisaworld.com to TRS next term so watch this space! 

Man Booker Prize 2013

The Man Booker shortlist 2013

The winner of the Man Booker Prize 2013 for fiction is due to be announced on 15th October.

Previous winners of this award have included Life of Pi by Yann Martel (2002), Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (1993) and Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally (1982).   These books, and other prize winning novels, are available to borrow from the War Memorial Library.



Reading for pleasure and your school libraries

A recent report from the Institute of Education shows that children who read for pleasure made more progress in maths, vocabulary and spelling than those who rarely read.  In particular, reading for pleasure between the ages of 10 and 16 was found to be more important for children’s cognitive development than having a parent with a degree. 

In the libraries we have an excellent collection of fiction and non-fiction, including many of the latest titles.  Whether you like funny, crime, horror or adventure we have the book for you – just ask your librarians! We are open to suggestions too, so if there is a book that we don’t have but you think we should stock let us know.

Look out for more library competitions coming soon.

Horrible Histories: Spies Exhibition

 








Are you are fan of Horrible Histories?  If yes, why not visit the Horrible Histories Spies exhibition which is on at the Imperial War Museum, London until 4^th January 2015?

“Find out which sneaky spies told the biggest lies, how exploding rats were used to sabotage German factories, and what secret agents carried in their suitcases (apart from their socks!). From exploding camel poo to irritating itching powder, this exhibition reveals the terrible tricks, traps and techniques used by spies to make secret war on the enemy – all the gore and more!” 

There is also an opportunity to meet the illustrator of the Horrible Histories series, Martin Brown, on the weekend of 19^th/20^th October.

For more information including how to book tickets visit the Imperial War Museum online.

Don’t forget that we have lots of Horrible Histories in the Discovery Library, along with copies of the Horrible Histories magazine and other ‘Horrible’ series.

Welcome back!

It is the start of a new year and we would like to welcome back all the students and staff and welcome all those who are new to the school and we hope that you enjoy your time here. 
 

We hope you had a great summer - we received some postcards telling us what you were reading and look forward to displaying these.

 

We have a great collection of fiction and non-fiction to browse and borrow in our libraries, with librarians on hand to help with homework and recommend a good read - just ask! Remember that for the KS3 students, the Discovery Library is open before and after school as well as at lunch time for quiet study. For KS4 students, the War Memorial Library is open at lunch time and for Post 16 students, it is available to use throughout the day including morning break.

 

Look out for our library competitions, including our weekly Word of the Week competition, with loads of great prizes to be won. We have changing book displays and displays of new books to encourage reading for pleasure. We are happy to consider buying any books that we do not currently have – just ask! There are suggestion boxes too for any comments or suggestions you may have.

 

We look forward to seeing you in the Discovery and War Memorial Libraries.

 

 

Book Reviews

Hunger by Michael Grant
Reviewed by Edward  KS3

One normal day at Perdido Beach, everyone over the age of fifteen disappears.  Very soon the others run low on food.  However, horror haunts all the vegetable patches – worms mutated by radioactivity are now man-eaters.  Will everyone survive…?

Choose this book if you want a book that catches your eye; one that you can’t stop reading.  Read this if you liked Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or The Kane Chronicles and if you like magic and fantasy.

I would give this book 5 stars.

Golden Goal by Dan Freeman

Reviewed by Harry B KS3

The author of this brilliant book has written various other books, such as Too Easy and Shoot & Score.  If you liked these, then you will certainly like this one!  He is an adventurous, fun-packed writer.

You should read this book because you will laugh, smile and cry: it will blow your socks off. 

 

Brigands M.C. (Cherub Series) by Robert Muchamore

Reviewed by Finn KS3

The three main characters are Dante, whose family was murdered by a motor cycle club, and his friends James and Lauren.  They are sent on a mission by Cherub to avenge the death of Dante’s family.  I would make this book into a film and wouldn’t change a thing.  It’s a great read and has some action, some romance and lots of gripping, thrilling events.  This book is the eleventh in the series and I would give it a rating of 5 stars.

Survival by Chris Ryan

Reviewed by Kian KS3

The story is about five brave but adventurous teens, who are aboard a sailing ship.  Unexpectedly the group gets marooned on a desert island where they have to survive.  They are challenged by deadly sharks, killer komodo dragons and even modern day pirates.  The book also contains Chris Ryan’s top S.A.S survival tips in a tropical area.

I choose this book because it has an intriguing blurb and also because I wanted to read a fairly large book.  At the beginning I didn’t really enjoy it but I eventually began to really enjoy it.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 because it is full of action and is so good that I have read it more than once!

The Night Bus (Horowitz Horror Series) by Anthony Horowitz

Reviewed by Harry E KS3

The Night Bus is another massive achievement by Horowitz.  The book has three stories and none are for the squeamish or faint-hearted.

The first story is called the Night Bus, which is the story of Nick and Jeremy, who were out late partying but ended up stranded and needed to get home.  This was the beginning of their terrible encounter that started when they got on the 227B bus.  The bus looked like a 1950s version and had some very strange passengers, including a biker man with half a head and some very well dressed people with green bloody hands and smoke rising from them.  The second story is about a hitch hiker and a boy called Jacob.  Jacob is on his way back from a wonderful day on the beach when he Dad stops to pick up a hitch hiker.  This gets him into the journey from hell!

I would give this book 3 and a half stars out of 5 and would recommend it to 11 year olds and above.