Read me!

Read me, a magazine by four Year 7 Reading Club members, assisted by VI Form leaders, is out this week, and includes a quiz, crossword, word search and book review. All Year 7 will receive a copy in their last Library session of this term.

2009 Orange women's fiction prize longlist

To reach this longlist of 20 books this year's judges have read 130 novels in about three months. Of the 20 writers named on the Orange women's fiction prize longlist five are British. Nine are American writers, and include Toni Morrison for her 17th century slave trade novel A Mercy. Six of the books are first novels. The judging panel chaired by broadcaster Fi Glover, includes entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, journalist and academic Sarah Churchwell, writer Bidisha and the Guardian women's editor, Kira Cochrane. They will announce a shortlist of six next month, and the £30,000 winner will be announced in June. Full list

Monday 23rd - Mini Kids' Lit Quiz

On Monday 23rd March, at 4.15 pm there will be a mini Kids' Lit Quiz in the school hall. Everyone is invited to participate in or watch this lively and enjoyable event.

This is a fun team quiz which will finish by 4.50, the end of 'coach study'.

Teams of up to 5 from Year 7, teams of 4 from Year 8, and teams of 3 from the rest of the school, including staff. To celebrate the final week of Reading Buddies, buddy pairs will team up with another buddy pair to play in a foursome.

Don't be afraid you won't know the answers - you WILL know the answers to many of the questions! It's a team effort, and answers are written down - no-one is put on the spot!

There will be 5 rounds of 5 questions on: fairy tales, animals, classics, war and recent fiction, so even if you are not a great reader you should be able to answer most questions in a team.

There will be MANY PRIZES! Prizes for the team with the best score from each year group, a Buddy’s team prize and Staff team prize too.

Please join us!

National Science and Engineering Week:

As part of a celebration of science, engineering and technology taking place around the country, one of the events in school is the House Science Quiz taking place in the Library on Wednesday 11 March at 1.10 p.m. Teams of 4 from each House in Years 7, 8 and 9 will be able to use their library and research skills to answer some challenging questions set by the Science Department. Points scored for this win and for other events will be added to see which House will win the House Science Cup.

Blue Peter Book Award Winners

The Blue Peter 2009 Book Award have been announced.
2009 Overall Winner and Book I Couldn't Put Down
Shadow Forest by Matt Haig is the winner of the Blue Peter Book Awards 2009! And it also won the 'Book I Couldn't Put Down' category.
Book with Facts Winner
Planet in Peril by Anita Ganeri.
Most Fun Story with Pictures Winner
Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton.
Find out about all the books and category runners up here.

World Book Day

Celebrate World Book day today!
Come and dip in the Library from 1.30 pm for short readings (each only 2-5 minutes). Students and staff will delight you with extracts of some of their favourite reads. One treat will be to hear a story about Eeyore!
Tear yourself away from working on your entry for the Decorate-a-door-as-a-book competition, as this will not be judged until Monday lunch time.

The Joshua Files by MG Harris

Just published - and available from the Library, personally dedicated by the author too - Ice Shock, the second adventure in the thrilling Joshua Files series by Oxford based author MG Harris.
You'll instantly recognise these books as they have bright plastic sleeves: Invisible City, the first book has a day-glo orange sleeve, whilst Ice Shock's cover is fluorescent yellow.
In the first adventure, Invisible City, Joshua's father is reported dead in an air crash in Mexico. Was it simply a tragic accident? Why was his plane miles off course? Were there really UFOs in the sky at the time of the crash? Josh needs to find out the truth, and it's a dangerous path when an international hitman is on his trail in the depths of the Mexican jungle.
Visit thejoshuafiles.com and themgharris.com to find out more.

Alongside the launch of the second book, there is also an online alternate reality game The Descendant where characters and organisations from the world of the Joshua Files have their own blogs and websites. In this game Josh's godfather has been killed. Who did it, and why? During March 2009 clues, hints and tips will be revealed, and there will even be four live events with the characters. Watch the story unfold and try and solve the mystery. If you play in March you might expect to spend 10-15 minutes per day discovering and deciphering clues. At the end of the game you can post your answer, and a winner will be drawn. After March you can play the game at your own speed.

Red House Children's Book Award

Books have been nominated by children across the country, and these are the top ten books published in 2008, chosen by them!

The Older Reader category features two OLA visitors, Sophie McKenzie and Chris Bradford. The titles are:
Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie
Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine.
Copies of these books are in the Library. Voting to select the top book in this section closes 11 May. You need to have read all 3 books to vote 1, 2, 3.

The Younger Readers shortlist:
CIA - The Wild West Moo-nster by Steve Cole
Daisy and the Trouble with Zoos by Kes Gray
The Cat Who Liked Rain by Henning Mankell.

The Younger Children shortlist:
The Pencil by Allan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman
Beware of the Frog by William Bee
A Lark in the Ark by Peter Bently and Lynne Chapman
The Three Horrid Pigs and the Big Friendly Wolf by Liz Pichon.

More information and how to vote.