Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Carnegie Winners Announced
The winner of the Carnegie Medal 2011 is Patrick Ness for Monsters of Men - a book we didn't rate at all!
The winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal is Graham Barek-Smith for Farther, which was also not liked by our group, but it is a beautiful book.
To see the judges comments click here.
The winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal is Graham Barek-Smith for Farther, which was also not liked by our group, but it is a beautiful book.
To see the judges comments click here.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Carnegie Medal Shadowing
Yesterday afternoon we had a small tea party in the Library for the Carnegie Medal judges while we decide which books should make it to the top of your reading barometer. Mrs Bax provided homemade cakes and tea and we went through the shortlist discussing each title one by one. In order of preference we came up with:
- White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
- Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace
- Prisoner of the Inquisition by Theresa Breslin
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Funny books
As the same time I spotted Don Calame's Top Ten Funny Teen Boy Books.
Again I do have some of them, if you are interested.
A very subversive list.
Again I do have some of them, if you are interested.
A very subversive list.
Unsuitable books for teens
Patrick Ness, author of The knife of never letting go, has produced a list for The Guardian of his Top Ten Unsuitable Books for Teens
Have a look at the list and see what you think.
As they are unsuitable I only have a few in the Library!
Have a look at the list and see what you think.
As they are unsuitable I only have a few in the Library!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Readers' Cup Final
Friday 10th June saw 4 keen pupils travel to Auchinleck Academy with Ms Borthwick and Mrs Bax and their supporters to compete in the East Ayrshire Readers' Cup Final. The team of Halle Fitzsimmons, John Anderson, Katie Burrell and Keiran Madden tried very hard but were let down by their lack of Knowledge in the Battle of the Books round. The winners were St Joseph's Academy with a fantastic 42.5 points out of 50.
The audience had fun answering the questions for little prizes in between rounds.
Better luck next year!
Monday, June 06, 2011
Friday, June 03, 2011
Reader of the Month
Reader of the Month for May is Rory Parker from S1. He has a fantastic record of 22 passes out of 22 Accelerated Reader quizzes over the last year and he has read 368.000 words.
Well done Rory!
Well done Rory!
May Book
The staff book for May was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. We all really enjoyed a change from our normal reading fare. The mixture of popular science and social history was fascinating and we felt it followed on very well fron The Help by Kathry Stockett which we had read recently.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Kate Greenaway Medal Storytime
Taylor, Robert and Aaron reading from Ernest.
Marina and Terry-Ann reading Heart in a bottle.
Iain and John reading Jim, a Cautionary Tale.
Kalvin and Brandon reading Me and YOu.
Marina and Terry-Ann reading Heart in a bottle to another group.Some S2 pupils looked at the Kate Greenaway shortlist and picked 5 titles which they felt were suitable for reading to Primary 1 and 2. After practising their presentations they invited the P1/2 class from Dalmellington Primary School to visit the Library and hear the stories. The pupils came and listened to all the stories very carefully and Ernest was the winner by a clear margin from Jim.
The winning team with Mrs Gormanley and some P1/2s.
The winning team being presented with their prizes by Mrs Gormanley.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Reading Week 2
S1 reading in Maths
S1 caught reading in Maths.
S2 reading in Maths.May 16th - 20th was our second Reading Week where the whoile school spent 20 minutes first thing in the morning reading quietly. It is very popular with pupils and staff alike.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Carnegie Medal Videos
If you want to see video interviews of the authors on the Shortlist, click on the names below.
Theresa Breslin
Meg Rosoff
Marcus Sedgwick
Geraldine McCaughrean
Patrick Ness
Jason Wallace
The most popular titles so far seem to be White Crow and The Bride's Farewell.
I enjoyed The Bride's Farewell, it was a really good story with lots of things happening during the book.
I had already read The Death-Defying Pepper Roux before the shortlist came out and I loved the way it played around with the truth and how the loose ends tied themselves up nicely in the end, but other people who have read it didn't like it.
I liked Marcus Sedgwick's other books so I was looking forward to White Crow. Gothic supernatural isn't really my thing, so it was still a good read.
Prisoner of the Inquisition is a terrific historical yarn and we made a video of the beginning last year with some of the then S2.
I am about half way through Out of Shadows and really enjoying it so far, and lastly I still have to tackle Monsters of Men. It seems a bit unfair to put the last part of such a fat trilogy on the list!
Theresa Breslin
Meg Rosoff
Marcus Sedgwick
Geraldine McCaughrean
Patrick Ness
Jason Wallace
The most popular titles so far seem to be White Crow and The Bride's Farewell.
I enjoyed The Bride's Farewell, it was a really good story with lots of things happening during the book.
I had already read The Death-Defying Pepper Roux before the shortlist came out and I loved the way it played around with the truth and how the loose ends tied themselves up nicely in the end, but other people who have read it didn't like it.
I liked Marcus Sedgwick's other books so I was looking forward to White Crow. Gothic supernatural isn't really my thing, so it was still a good read.
Prisoner of the Inquisition is a terrific historical yarn and we made a video of the beginning last year with some of the then S2.
I am about half way through Out of Shadows and really enjoying it so far, and lastly I still have to tackle Monsters of Men. It seems a bit unfair to put the last part of such a fat trilogy on the list!
The Little Stranger
The Little Stranger by Sara Waters was the Staff Book for April. Some people found it a compelling read and some who hadn't had time to finish it due to work pressures wanted to extend it so that they could. It's a gripping supernatural tale set during and after World War 2.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Carnegie Shadowing
The 2011 Carnegie Medal shortlist is out.
Here are the titles.
BRESLIN, THERESA PRISONER OF THE INQUISITION
McCAUGHREAN GERALDINE THE DEATH DEFYING PEPPER ROUX
NESS, PATRICK MONSTERS OF MEN
ROSOFF, MEG THE BRIDE'S FAREWELL
SEDGWICK, MARCUS WHITE CROW
WALLACE, JASON OUT OF SHADOWS
We have two copies of each and extras of a few titles in stock.
Here is a link to our Shadowing page, where you can add reviews and post comments.
Here are the titles.
BRESLIN, THERESA PRISONER OF THE INQUISITION
McCAUGHREAN GERALDINE THE DEATH DEFYING PEPPER ROUX
NESS, PATRICK MONSTERS OF MEN
ROSOFF, MEG THE BRIDE'S FAREWELL
SEDGWICK, MARCUS WHITE CROW
WALLACE, JASON OUT OF SHADOWS
We have two copies of each and extras of a few titles in stock.
Here is a link to our Shadowing page, where you can add reviews and post comments.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Reader of the month for March
Reader of the month for March is Robyn McCluskey in S1. She has been working hard and passed 3 quizzes this month with 100% correct and earned a total of 11 points.
Well done Robyn!
Well done Robyn!
Room
Staff Book Group book for March was Room by Emma Donoghue. This was quite a controversial choice and split the group. Some members were unable to finish the book because of the subject matter and others persevered and loved it. It is written from the point of view of a 5 year old child who is imprisoned in a small room with his mother by "Old Nick". Despite the subject matter it is an uplifting story of the relationship between mother and child.
In the afternoon after the meeting Room came up for discussion in Radio 4's "A Good Read". You can still here the discussion on iPlayer.
For April we are reading The Little Stranger by Sara Waters.
In the afternoon after the meeting Room came up for discussion in Radio 4's "A Good Read". You can still here the discussion on iPlayer.
For April we are reading The Little Stranger by Sara Waters.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Barry Hutchison
By Guest Bloggers
On Friday the 25th of March a group of children from first year attended a trip to Auchinleck Academy to see the author Barry Hutchison. He was talking to us about some of his books, how he became an author and his childhood.
He told us a few very funny stories from his younger days. One of them was about SQUIRRELS!
Barry said that he is afraid of squirrels, because when he was five or six he was seeing his granny in Aberdeen, he saw a squirrel on the path in the park DEAD..! It was all mashed up with a leg missing and its brain pouring out its eye sockets. So now he hates squirrels!
Another one of his stories was when he was doing falconry, (because he is a bit scared of birds). He had the big glove on and the instructor gave him the bird, and said “throw it hard as you can and it will land on the perch.” So he did and it went flying through the air and kept going …AND GOING … (BY THIS TIME IT WAS WAY PAST THE PERCH)…and going till it hit a tree. It fell and flew back and bit him on the face!
We really enjoyed the trip and we definitely recommend his books to everyone of all ages.
By Kieran Madden Aaron Gilmore and Gareth Kerr
Barry Hutchison signing a book for some of our pupils.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Cathy Forde Visit
The author Cathy Forde came to school and talked to S1 on Tuesday 22nd March. A group of pupils from Auchinleck Academy also came along to the talk.
Cathy talked about where she gets her ideas from and told lots of stories along the way, including one about the scary eyes in the ceiling of the spare room of her old house. She also told the story of a scary ghost walk in Edinburgh, and about her horrible P2 teacher who locked a child in a cupboard and left her there.
Everyone was fascinated by her stories and and asked lots of questions. Afterwards lots of pupils told me they really enjoyed her talk.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
S2 Readers' Cup Quiz
S2 Readers' Cup Quiz was held in the Library on Thursday 17th March period 3. the question topics were Lucky dip, Eoin Colfer, Witches & Wizards, Historical Fiction and Books& Films. Unfortunately the questions proved to be rather harder for s2 and the teams didn't score as well as S1.
Again the contest was between Finlas and Raecar with Finlas leading all the way through, until Raecar managed to overtake them in the final round with a very good score of 8 points.
Congratuations to the winning team of Tommy Campbell, Stephanie Carrick, Rachel Murphy and Halle Fitzsimmons, and commiserations to John Anderson, Nicky Fairbairn, Lorelle White and Sandy Napier.
Many thanks to the judges, Heather Dunn, Megan Mccleary, Nathan Gilmore and Paige Collins.
S1 Readers' Cup Quiz
The S1 round of Doon Academy's Readers' Cup Quiz was held in the Assembly Hall, last period on Wednesday 16th March. The categories for the questions were Heroes & Heroines, Jacqueline Wilson, Lucky Dip, Comics and Animal Stories.
After a very hard fought contest between all four teams, Finlas and Raecar edged ahead and the contest ended at the bell in a tie with both teams having a respectable 30.5 points.
The final result was decided with a tiebreaker between Finlas and Raecar the following day. Both teams got 6/10 in the tiebreaker and so it went to sudden death and Finlas just managed to answer the last two questions more quickly so they won.
Congratulations to the winning Finlas team of Alana Murray, Morgan Davis, Shannon Clelland and Keiran Madden. They all received W H Smith vouchers.
Well done to the other teams especially Raecar who were pipped to the post.
A big thank you to the judges, Heather Dunn, Lisa McTaggart, Rosie Coles and Hayley Bone.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Carnegie Medal Shadowing
We will be running a Carnegie Medal Shadowing Group again this year. If you join in you will have a chance to read some really exciting new books and give your opinions on them, plus have some fun along the way.
This is the link to the Carnegie Medal page.
We also have a Doon Academy Shadowing Page.
There are some quizzes and competitions at ReadWriteExcite
This is the link to the Carnegie Medal page.
We also have a Doon Academy Shadowing Page.
There are some quizzes and competitions at ReadWriteExcite
Friday, March 04, 2011
World Book Night 2
World Book Night free book giveaway continued..
Lots of pupils came down to the Library during mentoring and chose a copy of one of the three titles we had to give away.
Agent Zigzag was by far the most popular, followed by The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
World Book Day
For World Book Day, we invited P6 and P7 boys from Dalmellington Primary School to join S2 boys in the library to watch Eoin Colfer on BBC Authors Live for World Book Day.
Eoin Colfer was very entertaining and had all the boys in stitches laughing as his stories about his awful little brothers and his sons. He uses their antics in his books especially in the Artemis Fowl series to show how the baddies behave!
World Book Night
We gave away lots of books to the staff at morning break. The most popular title was Agent Zigzag. The others were Case Histories and the Reluctant Fundamentalist.
For more information and to give your opinion on the books go to World Book Night.
Once you have read the book, you can pass it on to someone else. All the books have a Book Crossing number in the back. Book Crossing is a global experiment where people release books "into the wild" and the website allows you to enter the unique number and track where your books ends up - or came from.
Happy Reading!
For more information and to give your opinion on the books go to World Book Night.
Once you have read the book, you can pass it on to someone else. All the books have a Book Crossing number in the back. Book Crossing is a global experiment where people release books "into the wild" and the website allows you to enter the unique number and track where your books ends up - or came from.
Happy Reading!
Digi-Tale
www.digi-tale.co is a new website where you can share your thoughts on books and reading. There is also a story widget which enables you to put yourself or your friends as characters.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Author visits
S2 pupils who have been enthusiatic participants in Accelerated Reader will be invited to go on the trip to Loudoun Academy to hear the author Gillian Philip talk about her work. The trip is in the morning of 15th March.
We have run a competition for S1 pupils to go to Auchinleck Academy to hear Barry Hutchinson talk about his work on 28th march. They were asked to write up to 200 words on why they wanted to go. We have 20 enthusiatic winners!
We have run a competition for S1 pupils to go to Auchinleck Academy to hear Barry Hutchinson talk about his work on 28th march. They were asked to write up to 200 words on why they wanted to go. We have 20 enthusiatic winners!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
World Book Day
3rd March 2011 is World Book Day. To join in the fun go to World Book Day. Everyone will get a £1 book token nearer the time which you can use to get £1 off any book or one of the special World Book Day books.
We are writers has lots of ideas for would-be writers and a great competition.
We are writers has lots of ideas for would-be writers and a great competition.
Spring Read programme
The authors coming to visit East Ayrshire schools in March this year are:
Keith Gray
Gilliam Philip
Barry Hutchinson
and Cathy Forde
For more information have a look at these links
Cathy Forde Cathy Forde will be coming to Doon so lots of pupils should have a chance to see her.
Gillian Philip We are plannning to take a minibus to see Gillian Philip at Loudoun Academy. If you are keen to go see your English teacher.
Barry Hutchinson we are planning to take a minibus to see Barry Hutchinson. There will be a competition for places to see him. Ask your English teacher for more information.
Invisible Fiends
Keith Gray
Keith Gray
Gilliam Philip
Barry Hutchinson
and Cathy Forde
For more information have a look at these links
Cathy Forde Cathy Forde will be coming to Doon so lots of pupils should have a chance to see her.
Gillian Philip We are plannning to take a minibus to see Gillian Philip at Loudoun Academy. If you are keen to go see your English teacher.
Barry Hutchinson we are planning to take a minibus to see Barry Hutchinson. There will be a competition for places to see him. Ask your English teacher for more information.
Invisible Fiends
Keith Gray
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Reading Week
Our Reading Week was a great success. Here are some pictures of our keen readers concentrating on their books.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Useful Websites (weekly)
-
Climate Change: information and resources for secondary schools in Scotland
-
Learning ahoy as maths project unearths hidden booty - Secondary - TES Connect
-
Young entrepreneurs grab a pizza the action - Secondary - TES Connect
-
10 Tips to Do Presentations Like Me: Interact with the audience | David Lee King
-
Online Whiteboards & Feedback « Mathematics, Learning and Web 2.0
-
How To Get Manga on Your Kindle 1 or 2 – Step by Step Guide | BGZ TV
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Story cubes
Find more photos like this on Write Path International Connections
Great idea for getting kids to think of stories.
The cubes are available from http://www.storycubes.com/
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
National Storytelling Week
As part of National Storytelling Week, most of the pupils from Dalmellington Primary School came to visit my Library and to find out what a librarian does - apart from stamping books and tidying shelves.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Spring Read Authors
This year's Spring Read authors are Keith Gray,Gillian Philip, Barry Hutchinson and Cathy Forde. If you are a fan and would like to be on the trip to go and see them, let me know.
To find out more about them click on the links below.
Keith Gray at Scottish Book Trust
Gillian Philip's website
Barry Hutchinson's website
Cathy Forde's website
To find out more about them click on the links below.
Keith Gray at Scottish Book Trust
Gillian Philip's website
Barry Hutchinson's website
Cathy Forde's website
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Caught Reading posters
Here are some of the great posters that S1 pupils have created. The real ones have been printed and put up round the school to publicise reading and our Reading Week.
Reading Week
Next week everyone in school is going to read for the first 20 minutes of the day every day of the week. Everyone seems quite up for it and all classes have been given a supply of reading materials in case they haven't got anything suitable.
Should be great, I'm looking for a chance to read at work!
Should be great, I'm looking for a chance to read at work!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Useful Websites (weekly)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Book Swop
Book Swop
There will be a book swop on the Wednesday in the Library P4 – P6. Bring in books, magazines and comics the week before and hand them into your English teacher or to the Library. You will get a token for everything you hand in. On the Swop day, you will get a chance to come to the Library to choose books matching your tokens.
There will be a book swop on the Wednesday in the Library P4 – P6. Bring in books, magazines and comics the week before and hand them into your English teacher or to the Library. You will get a token for everything you hand in. On the Swop day, you will get a chance to come to the Library to choose books matching your tokens.
Reading Week
31st January - 4th February
Why?
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
~ Dr. Seuss ~
When?
31st January to 4th February, first 20 minutes of P 1
every day of the week.
Where?
In all subjects and rooms in the school.
Who?
Everybody on the staff and all pupils from S1 – S3. (S4 - S6 are busy with prelims that week)
What?
You can either read your Accelerated reader book or bring in a favourite book or magazine from home, or borrow a book from your class teacher. The Library will be available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning to change books, but it will be closed on Thursday and Friday morning due to exams. Please change your books during Registration.
How?
Just sit quietly, relax and read!
Why?
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
~ Dr. Seuss ~
When?
31st January to 4th February, first 20 minutes of P 1
every day of the week.
Where?
In all subjects and rooms in the school.
Who?
Everybody on the staff and all pupils from S1 – S3. (S4 - S6 are busy with prelims that week)
What?
You can either read your Accelerated reader book or bring in a favourite book or magazine from home, or borrow a book from your class teacher. The Library will be available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning to change books, but it will be closed on Thursday and Friday morning due to exams. Please change your books during Registration.
How?
Just sit quietly, relax and read!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Get streetwise
Check out this list of the latest urban legends going the rounds.
Snopes 25 Hottest Urban Legends
Snopes makes fascinating reading!
Snopes 25 Hottest Urban Legends
Snopes makes fascinating reading!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Great Reading Suggestions
Bill Boyd has a terrific list of 100 novels for 10 - 14 year olds in his blog.
Fiction list
All the titles have a short plot summary to give you a feel for the book.
Fiction list
All the titles have a short plot summary to give you a feel for the book.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Writing Competition
Calling all budding writers!
Renaissance Learning are sponsoring the Carnegie Medal this year and they are running a writing competition for secondary school pupils on this website http://www.readwriteexcite.co.uk/ . You are asked to write no more than 1000 words on the theme of CONFLICT.
Check out the site and have a go.
Renaissance Learning are sponsoring the Carnegie Medal this year and they are running a writing competition for secondary school pupils on this website http://www.readwriteexcite.co.uk/ . You are asked to write no more than 1000 words on the theme of CONFLICT.
Check out the site and have a go.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Useful Websites (weekly)
-
TargetMap - Create & share customized data maps on Googlemaps. Free Online Mapping tool
-
YouTube - Project Based Learning: Explained.
"these preferences, please use the links in the footer at the bottom of the page.
Click "OK" to accept these settings or click "Cancel" to set your language preference to "English (UK)" and your location filter to "Worldwide"." -
A dozen ways to teach ethical and safe technology use - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)