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Library News

A warm welcome to you all from the CPS library!

We continue to welcome many students through our doors and it's great to see the library being so well used. This week the mornings ahead of the tutor bell have been well used as it's a calm quiet place for students to begin their day.

This week we have had our second round of Year 7 library lessons in which their Year 7 Book Bingo challenge was set. This is to help support their reading, and guide their choices, alongside being able to reward their reading with achievement points. So to all year 7 students, get cracking on that reading so you can work your way through the card and secure those rewards!

An important note: students from Year 8 – Year 11, you do need to being back overdue books ahead of borrowing this year. There are still too many books that have settled into homes that need to be returned for other students to enjoy, so have a good look around and pop them back to me, either at the desk in the library or the cupboard just outside the door.

Library Opening

We will run with much the same pattern as last year. We have a selection of board games available for you to enjoy such as Chess, Uno and card games on Tuesday – Thursday lunchtimes. We save both Monday and Friday lunchtimes for reading, homework and mindfulness activities to ensure we have enough space for students to enjoy it as a quiet, comfortable space. It is important for the library to offer that haven to you all so that you know you have a place where you can study and read, and enjoy your downtime.

Check out the schedule below to get a clear picture on our opening times. We are here not only at break and lunchtime but also before and after school.

Opening Times:

• Before school from 8.30 am. However, it is often open from 8.20 am
• During breaktime and lunchtime
• After school until 3.30 pm. Longer availability is an option.
• Year 7 and 8 Book Club runs on a Tuesday 3-4pm
• Games Club runs on a Friday until 4.30 pm

The Library is here to be a calm place for students. If students prefer a little louder lunchtime and a place to go, 'Chill and Chat' is held in MFL3 on Mondays and Friday, and you may borrow games from us to take along - don't forget to bring them back!

Board games are available for students on Tuesday - Thursday at lunchtimes only. Sometimes a limit on the amount of tables being used for games will be put into place to ensure there is still space for students wishing to use the library for reading and homework. 

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading, alongside mindfulness activities/ homework & revision. Board games unavailable	Reading, alongside mindfulness activities/ homework & revision and quiet board games	Reading, homework & revision, with mindfulness activities also available and quiet board games	Reading, alongside mindfulness activities/ homework & revision and quiet board games	Reading, alongside mindfulness activities/ homework & revision. Board games unavailable

Book Club

This week our Year 7 and 8 Book Club continued on Tuesday after school. Again, it was great to see some familiar faces from last year, and it's lovely that so many of our new Year 7 are joining in too. As usual we started with a quiz and then we read a extract from the beginning of a new book in the library featuring some werewolves with a difference, so of course we then had to make our own werewolves.  All of you that joined us this week were awarded a house point for your artistic efforts!

 

 

Detective Fiction - Year 7

To support the first English curriculum focus for Year 7, we have a selection of Mystery/ Detective stories on offer for students. Ahead of the summer, a book list was sent out to parents with possible suggestions as all Year 7 students were asked by the English Department to read a crime based book to complement that focus on the Detective genre work in their English lessons. So you still have an opportunity to come along to the library to find the perfect crime book.

            

New Books

We have a wealth of new arrivals to our library so there are plenty of books to peruse that you may not have seen last year. Our ‘New Arrivals’ display right by the door welcomes all students into the library and could well have a story that is perfect for you. Don’t forget to have a chat with either the librarian (me!) or our Student Librarians if you would like some suggestions as to what you could read, and we will have our Suggestion Jar available soon to collect ideas as to further new options.

  

Careers Corner   

This area of the library is always available for students to help and support as they consider what and where they may wish to study in the future, along with possible career ideas.We have various leaflets and prospectuses, not simply for the older students but for all years. In addition, there are a number of books based on careers and developing one’s potential.If students need any guidance or simply a hard copy of online information from the colleges, then they can come along to the Library. We have increased our selection of books geared towards specific types of careers and added them to this section of the library too. Mrs Wayman will direct you here and would also like you to know that these leaflets and prospectuses are available for you to also take home.

 

     

Books of the Week: On Thursday 5th October we mark National Poetry Day. The theme this year is 'Refuge' so both books have been chosen with this in mind. They both feature characters who are refugees, and who both find refuge in swimming as it becomes their calm, safe place to be. And both are Verse Novels which is a narrative told through poetry. This can help make books more accessible and less intimidating as the stories are beautifully told but there is a little less to read. 

 

The Weight of Water

Carrying just a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother are immigrating to England from Poland. Kasienka isn't the happiest girl in the world. At home, her mother is suffering from a broken heart as she searches for Kasienka's father. And at school, Kasienka is having trouble being the new girl and making friends.

The only time she feels comforted is when she's swimming at the pool. But she can't quite shake the feeling that she's sinking. Until a new boy swims into her life, and she learns that there might be more than one way to stay afloat.

This is a touching coming-of-age story that deals with issues of immigration, alienation, and first love. A moving verse novel of a young girl’s determination to find out who she is.