Having read both of Kathryn Evans' novels 'More of Me' and 'Beauty Sleep', to say I was somewhat excited to meet the author is an understatement, as my Year 9 class can attest to! Sorry if I embarrassed you all!
Her presentation was imaginative, engaging and, more importantly, very relevant to our students. I was chatting with them about it afterwards and they said how much they enjoyed listening to her, so much so, the queue to purchase her novel afterwards was trailing out of the library door! It wasn't the typical promotion of a novel from an author; it was more like a P4C lesson which dealt with some of the sensitive key issues young people are faced with today. Her most recent novel handles topics like homelessness, loss, the influence of technology and self-image, the last of which was her focus outlining fashion trends all the way from the Elizabethan era to today. She had students asking themselves hard-hitting questions about how they are influenced to look a certain way by what advertising and social media standards dictate to us and she encouraged them to 'rebel' against them and be themselves! Bring on the revolution! In an age where people are obsessed with their phones and gadgets, it was so refreshing to see the impact an author can have on reading good book and why it's so important - we learn key lessons about ourselves. I have no doubt that her talk will have furthered the enthusiasm for reading many of our students already have and fostered a keen interest in those normally a bit more reluctant to pick up a book and read for enjoyment. A heartfelt thanks to our librarian staff (in particular Mrs Regan who made the visit possible) - our students are extremely lucky to have such a wonderful team at school. And not forgetting the fantastic Kathryn Evans for delivering a memorable talk which I hope students will always remember about their time at Luffa. Mrs Machado Our thanks to the Portsmouth Schools Library Service, Hayling Island Bookshop and, of course, Kathryn herself for making this special event possible. - The Library
1 Comment
Author Kathryn Evans will be visiting Bishop Luffa School and will be speaking to Y8 & Y9 pupils. At lunchtime Kathryn will be signing copies of her new book Beauty Sleep. You can purchase a copy in advance through parentmail no later than Friday 29th March or you can buy one on the day for £7 each. There will be limited copies available. Laura can't remember who she is. But the rest of the world knows. Because Laura is famous - a dying girl who was frozen until she could be cured. A real-life Sleeping Beauty. But what happens when you wake up one day and the world has moved on forty years? Could you build a new life - while solving the mystery of what happened to the old one? A darkly twisted thriller plunging a pre-tech girl into a futuristic world.
The Library now have 6 micro:bit kits available for you to borrow!
What is micro:bit? It is a pocket-sized computer 70 times smaller and 18 times faster than the original BBC Micro computers used in schools. It has 25 red LED lights that can flash messages and be used to create games. There are two programmable buttons that can be used to control games or pause and skip songs on a playlist. It has an accelerometer so it can detect motion and knows when you're on the move. The built-in compass knows which direction you're heading in and it can use a low energy Bluetooth connection to interact with other devices and the Internet. You can find more information on the hardware in the microbit guide. Thursday 7th March was World Book Day and to celebrate the Library organised a week of activities and events designed to celebrate reading across the school. Many pupils took part in recycling old books into beautiful bookmarks, book title treasure hunts around the Library and a booky Bake-Off. Staff got involved in a Who? And Where? Competition, wearing badges for pupils to find with either a character or a place on, so pupils could match up the fictional people and where they come from. For World Book Day itself pupils and staff transformed classroom and office doors into book covers or designs inspired by stories, with prizes going to 7ST for their enticing entrance to a Secret Garden, 9L2/En for their re-creation of the Extinction Trials cover, and 10Wi for their fantastic, double-sided Hobbit cover.
Of course, an important part of World Book Day is giving pupils the opportunity to choose their own books by giving them a £1 book token to exchange for a specially published World Book Day book, or putting it towards the cost of another book of their choice. This year there’s a fantastic selection of £1 books for pupils to choose from so if you or your child has a voucher, please encourage them to spend it before the 31st March. Mrs Stallard's 7WI class won the book themed decorated door competiton. Thank you to everyone who participated.
We've already had a few entries for our World Book Day Decorated Door Competition. Judging will take place tomorrow morning and we will be looking forward to seeing what each tutor group has come up with!
Photos of the door can be seen below and will be added as they are completed. World Book Day is just around the corner and we have a week of events planned for you!
We are asking every tutor group to decorate their doors with a book theme. We will be sending around judges to choose the best decorated door. We also have a Book Cake Competition. Bring in a cake decorated with a book theme to the Library on Thursday 7th March. The cakes will be judged and a winner chosen, then cakes will be cut and sold at lunch time to raise money for charity. We look forward to seeing you next week! Harry Potter Book Night On Wednesday 6th February the Library team transformed the Library for one night only into our very own Hogwarts as part of the international Harry Potter Book Night celebrations. Almost 60 Year 7 and 8 pupils came to take part in Potions, Care of Magical Creatures and Defence Against the Dark Arts, plus a very lively Quidditch practice over-seen by Dumbledore himself. Pupils could also relax in the Owlery and shop at Honeydukes for magical treats like pumpkin pasties, exploding bonbons, and of course Every-Flavour Beans. The young witches and wizards were sorted into Hogwarts houses and for each activity had the chance to earn points for their house, including for a particularly fiendish quiz prepared by Bloomsbury, the publisher of the Harry Potter books. At the end of the night Gryffindor were victorious and each Gryffindor pupil received a small prize. Prizes were also presented to Guy Drew 8Ot and Charlotte Hatton 7Wi for the best costumes, and Katie Mason 8Sh for top marks on her Quibbler. The Hogwarts pupils voted the Head, as Dumbledore, best dressed member of staff. “Harry Potter Night is on the surface about bringing pupils together to have some fun,” said Mrs Regan, Librarian. “But it’s also about nurturing a love of stories and literature in our pupils that will last their whole lives, and it’s obvious when you look at some of our guests tonight just how magical and life-changing that can be.” |
The Main School
Mon-Thu 8.05am - 4pm Fri 8.05am - 3.30pm Archives
October 2022
|