Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Competitions Spring 2015

Do you want to be a writer?  Practise by entering these competitions!


1. Stonewall Young Writers:
Write a poem or story

http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/11227.asp

2.Poetry hack competition:
Create a poem about reading

http://www.youngpoetsnetwork.org.uk/2015/03/17/writing-about-reading-the-latest-mini-competition/

3.Commonwealth Essay Competition:
Write a poem, letter, folk tale, script or essay

https://thercs.org/youth/competition

4.Wicked Young Writers Award:
Write a long story.  Details and deadlines below.

http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/


5. Sugarscape Fan Fiction Award:
Write a fan fiction story

http://www.wickedyoungwriters.com/sugarscape_fan_fiction_award.asp

6. Henrietta Branford Award:
Short Story Competition

http://www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk/HBWC/HBWC_current/henriettabranfo1.html



Use these videos to help you with your writing skills!


Friday, March 20, 2015

Dear Book Nerd

Dear Book Nerd..are you an addicted reader? Listen to these great podcasts about reader's dillemmas.

http://bookriot.com/category/dear-book-nerd/




Next solar eclipse 2026!

To find out more about the science behind solar eclipses, have a look at the videos here.

Solar Eclipse explained by Sci-show for kids

The science behind solar eclipses

To find out about further astronomical events check out the Slooh website and calender.

For instructions on watching an eclipse carefully have a look at this BBC iwonder guide.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Year 8 Best Book Reviews February & March so far!

Not sure what to read next? 


During library lessons, our Year 8's are challenged to write a book review on books that they are reading.  The reviews below are some of the best of the crop.  Find all these books and more at Highlands LRC!

"I have just read 'Now is Good' (also published as 'Before I Die') is written by Jenny Downham. Tessa Scott is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. after four long years of depending on chemotherapy, Tessa is fed up of depending on the hospital to survive. Her best friend Zoey and gardening fanatic neighbour Adam help her with a crazy bucket list with things she wants to do to have 'lived'. This is one of my favourite books because it has comedy, drama, adventure and so much more!"



'The Ministry of Pandemonium'
I loved it, it kept me interested and intrigued. My favourite character was Jack, because he had a really caring side to him such as wanting to help a homeless person. To me, it sent out a message that we can all help one less fortunate than us, and that manners don't cost a penny. Jack also had a really mysterious side to him in a way as well.I also loved the setting in London, whenever they were in a place in London it made me think about when I was there. Overall I would rate this book 4 stars as it was really good and kept me reading it. 



'The Maze Runner'


The book that i have recently read is called the Maze Runner. It is the most thrilling and adventurous book that I have come across in the span of time that I have been reading books. The sensational book, was made by the one of a kind - James Dashner. The book is about a teenager called Thomas who has magically appeared in an unfamiliar world, which is called the Glade. But he is not alone, an army of boys welcome him to the the Glade which is in the center of a terribly scary maze. The only thing that can get him out is to go in the maze or die....


'A Witch in Winter' by Ruth Warburton
This romantic novel had an amazing affect on me as soon as I began to read it, so as soon as I finished reading it I immediately went looking for the second book (A Witch In Love) which was also amazing and heartbreaking, But the last book (A Witch Alone) was the most tragic, but it ended happily.


'Goose' by Dawn O' Porter
The second book in an addictive series, "Goose" shows the last year of secondary school for best friends, Renee and Flo. An over achieving, well behaved Flo, is eager to go to university and is willing to do everything she can do to achieve while Renee just wants to earn money and "isn't fussed" about going into further education.

From start to finish, I was hooked by the amazing story line which seemed to show all the highs and lows having a best friend entails and consequently I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading and would tell them to read "Paper Aeroplanes" as well.


'Girl Online' by Zoe Suggs
I was downhearted to finish Girl Online. Throughout the book, there are so many secrets awaiting to be unfolded, so of course you are eager to read on. The book never reveals the whole story until the very end so it leaves you with so many questions. The story prepares you with one thing, and then surprises you with another, which really made this book different and enjoyable. 

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher
I read Yours Truly, which was republished as Ketchup Clouds, by Annabel Pitcher. it is about a young girl, who writes many letters to a prisoner in death row. I really enjoyed reading this book because it was an interesting and different way of writing a book. i also like how as a reader, i became attached to the young girl and always wanted to read more of this book. i would definitely recommend this book, to mainly teenage girls, because i thoroughly enjoyed this book.




Friday, March 6, 2015

World Book Day 2015

Celebrating World Book Day 2015...

Book lists!

Some of you may be familiar with the reaidng website and app Goodreads.  I have recently begun to use the book list creator function on Goodreads to build reading lists for our school library which are easy to share with our students.  I will be frequently adding new lists and titles to existing ones so keep checking our Highlands library Goodreads profile. 



As part of our celebrations marking World Book Day at Highlands this year I interviewed teachers about their reading habits.  An interesting question what was what was your favourite childhood/teenage book and the results were interesting.  Click here to see our teacher's childhood favourites on Good Reads.  Students can look out for our teacher reading interviews which are dotted in various locations around the school.



Zombie Reading..!

We have so much fiction about zombies in the library! We wanted to have a zombie theme during World Book Day and students were invited to come in annd read during lunchtime (Zombie books were optional).  Various cakes were provided.  A list of zombie books at Highlands LRC is available here.