The OPHS Library Online Newsletter - October 2022 #15

 The OPHS Library Online Newsletter

October 2022  #15

Welcome to our Online Monthly Library Newsletter

Every month, in our Library Newsletter, we have reviews on wonderful books that we have in our Library, snippets of new books on the horizon, interesting information about lovely Authors and also books-to-movies information. There will be links to access upcoming books that are in The Library and lots of book information that you will enjoy.  We will have competitions, winner announcements, links to short stories and poems and other interesting literacy information all in one Newsletter!  

If you would like to add a contribution to our next Newsletter (November issue), such as:  What is your favourite book from our Library?  What were your favourite and/or worst books that you have ever read?  Would you like to send in a book review and/or a literacy picture? Can you think of anything else that would look great in our newsletter?  Then please email:

ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk

Reviews of  The Library by our Students:

 

“We have the best choices of books!!”

 

“I love the Movies and then I can read the book - all in the same place!”

 

“I have just started Year 7 and I love the Library!”

 

“I have just picked my first library book and I am soooo excited”

 

 

 

 

 

 

English Anthology by one of our new Year 7 students

Oaks Park symbolises wisdom, strength and endurance

And everyone works better together

Keeping everyone motivated to achieve better

Safe place to be.

 

Perfect in their own way

Arriving on time can bring positive energy

Recognises what their students do

Kind, caring and supportive teachers and students

 

Here at Oaks Park there are adults to talk to

In the Library everyone can read and watch a movie

Gives everyone the chance to embrace themselves

Here everyone can feel at home.

 

Summer holidays are always nice to have 

Community for everyone to like themselves in a new space

Happy is always better

Onwards to home everyday after school

Outstanding work 

Learning together, achieving together

The Cool Club

A new story that will be continued every month……………………

Chapter 4: So now you know

So there you have it. That’s the story of me and Angela. She left me because she wanted to be ‘cool’. And now she is the most popular girl in school. She is horrible.

After our friendship ended, her parents even got promotions. They moved into this large mansion and now they buy Angela anything she wants. 

You are probably wondering why you shouldn’t be in a cool club? I mean that was just my personal experience on why I do not like cool people. But the real reason you shouldn’t be in a cool club is what happens next…

So, I have no friends and I’m at war with my ex best friend. I thought everything would be okay. Angela would attempt to join the Cool Club and it would backfire. Then she would come running back to me and we could go back to normal. I was so wrong. She managed to join the cool kids almost immediately and since then, she has been the rudest, most popular girl in the whole school. It got in her head. She thought she was the most important person on Earth. But one day, that all changed…

To be continued in November’s Online Library Newsletter…………………

Library Book Reviews:

 

 

In a land trapped by fate, only courage 

can re-write the future.

 

In the magical village of Everspring, everyone receives a fate card before their twelfth birthday, sent down from the mysterious Mount Never. It tells them their purpose, their profession and how old they'll be when they die.

 

Nearly 12-year-old Ember Shadows has always believed she is destined for great things. But when her fate card arrives, it's blank. What does that mean? Then, worse still, her sister's card decrees she will die before her next birthday. No way is Ember's going to let that happen.

 

Determined to challenge what - or who - is responsible for these cards, Ember sets off up the mountain, a place no one is allowed to go. She encounters forbidden realms full of magic, trickery and curious creatures. In a thrilling race through a magical landscape, Ember Shadows must uncover the secret behind the fate cards in order to save her sister ...

 

But will Ember like what she finds at the top of the mountain?

 

With hints of Alice in Wonderland, shades of The Phantom Tollbooth and echoes of Pixar's Inside Out, this a thrilling, warm-hearted race through magical realms, a classic magical adventure, beautifully illustrated throughout.

Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

ISBN: 9781510109957

Number of pages: 304

 

All the time Mum was away, Eleven long years, I saved up my hopes Like little pennies in a jar. 

 

Apple's mother disappeared years ago, leaving Apple with her nana and a lot of unanswered questions. But when she unexpectedly explodes back into Apple's life like a comet, homecoming is bittersweet. It's only when Apple meets someone more lost than she is that she begins to see things as they really are. 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

ISBN: 9781526606761

Number of pages: 368

 

Leon John Crothers is 4779 days old (thirteen years and one month, if you're mathematically challenged). He has been 'moved on' from six different schools and most people think he has an attitude problem. Leon doesn't care for the label, in the same way that he doesn't care for Tim Burton, supermarket trolleys, train fanatics or Bounty bars.

This time, however, things may turn out differently, as help comes from where he least expects it - Dr Snot, a physician at pains to help Leon navigate 'normal' and classmates, Tanya and Lawrence, who both face their own challenges. When school bully Glen Jenkins humiliates Leon in the school canteen and almost destroys Lawrence, Leon very reluctantly agrees to the formation of a club, The Asparagus Bunch.

How Leon manages to navigate school woes and family drama - and astonishingly ends up with not one but two friends - is nothing short of a miracle, or maybe just simply down to being different.

Publisher: Welbeck Publishing Group

ISBN: 9781801300469

Number of pages: 240

 

The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy Marvel, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations.

 

The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's puzzling house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries. 

 

 

Publisher: Scholastic

ISBN: 9781407159454

Number of pages: 640

 

 

 

How amazing would it be to have a dad who's an astronaut? 

 

Rocket launches, zero gravity, and flying through space like a superhero! Jamie Drake's dad is orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station and Jamie ought to think it's cool but he just really misses him... 

 

Hanging out at his local observatory, Jamie picks up a strange signal on his phone. It looks like alien life is getting closer to home. But space is a dangerous place and when his dad's mission goes wrong, can Jamie prove that he's a hero too? 

 

Publisher: Nosy Crow Ltd

ISBN: 9780857638403

Number of pages: 208

 

Patch Brightwater and his friend Barver, the dracogriff, are trapped on a mysterious island full of monstrous beasts. 

 

Their shapeshifting friend, Wren, is being held prisoner by the Piper of Hamelyn, but she's working hard to escape. Clad in his suit of magical black armour and with dragons and a growing army on his side, the Piper of Hamelyn seems destined to bring chaos and destruction down on the world. 

 

Can anything stop him? Three accidental heroes versus one legendary villain...the epic adventure that began with A Darkness of Dragons comes to a thunderous end. 

Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd

ISBN: 9781474995528

Number of pages: 400

September 1939. The world is on the brink of war. As his dad marches off to fight, Noah makes him a promise, to keep their beloved family dog safe. When the government advises people to have their pets put down in readiness for the chaos of war, hundreds of thousands of people do as they are told. But not Noah. He's not that sort of boy. With his two friends in tow, he goes on the run, to save his dog and as many animals as he can. No matter what.

Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd

ISBN: 9781839132056

Number of pages: 384

 

The greatest dragon myths from the depths of tradition, and from dragon-fearing countries all around the globe, are presented in a magnificently illustrated collectible edition. 

 

Each tale is punctuated with panels of dragon lore written by one of the world's leading dragon scholars, to explain the beliefs behind the fantastical best at its centre, and framed with historical and cultural explications to take the reader beneath the dragon's scales to its dark, impenetrable heart. 

 

To complete the quest for fully formed dragons, the myths are illustrated with a compendium of the most magnificent paintings from history, which show how the mere mention of dragons has inspired creativity in so many cultures. 

After fleeing from the Nazis, who have invaded her childhood home in Paris, Noor Inayat Khan vows to do everything she can to end the Nazi terror. The daughter of a Sufi pacificist and descendant of an Indian Sultan, Noor joins the British war effort, first caring for wounded soldiers, then joining the WAAF. Here, she is recruited as a Special Operations Executive – aka a spy.

Based on the life of a real war hero, this is a story of heroism, espionage and resilience. As a radio operative for the spy network, Noor is flown into enemy territory in the middle of the night. She takes on a new identity and begins working undercover to send crucial information back to London. But soon after she arrives, it becomes clear the network has been infiltrated and there are traitors within. She must decide: go home, or continue her mission and risk capture?

Noor is written by Sufiya Ahmed as a brave and fiercely impassioned young woman, ready to give her life. She’s a just and courageous hero, but one who feels fear and makes mistakes, just like anyone else. Noor must make incredible life-or-death decisions and, based on her real life, the story has a hard-hitting conclusion, with some scenes that may be unsuitable for younger or more sensitive audiences. Throughout, Sufiya Ahmed gives an unforgettable voice to a unique hero whose incredible life will inspire generations to come.

From bestselling author and illustrator Kate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, comes another 'smart, informative, inclusive and accessible' book about trail-blazing women (Fiona Noble, The Bookseller).

This time, it's women who have been making decisions that have helped protect our natural world from way before it was on a political agenda. Discover their untold stories.

Tackle the plastic problem with Isatou Ceesay by recycling waste into beautiful objects. Marvel at the intelligence of chimpanzees with Jane Goodall. Learn why it's important to shop fair trade and cruelty-free with Anita Roddick and The Body Shop. Resist devastating deforestation and plant seeds of change with Wangari Maathai.

We're in an age when young people like Greta Thunberg are calling for those in power to 'wake up' and take action. But everyone has a part to play. Written with hope and encouragement, this book shows that all actions, big and small, can be powerful in the fight against climate breakdown.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

ISBN: 9781408899298

Number of pages: 32

Nico Cloud desperately wants to be an explorer, but her parents think adventures aren't for girls. Fate intervenes when Nico chases a kitten on board a ship... and then the ship sails out to sea!

Nico is an accidental stowaway. Lucky for her, the ship belongs to a famous scientist who is on a quest for new discoveries. But clouds are brewing overhead and cunning pirates are determined to wreck the crew's mission. Can Nico steer the ship to victory and prove her parents wrong?

An epic adventure story about the power of science and legends.

Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

ISBN: 9781510108417

Number of pages: 336

From the multi award-winning Australian author of 'How to Bee' and 'The Dog Runner', another original and heartfelt middle-grade fiction adventure, exploring themes of loyalty, resilience, courage and the environment. Neoma and Jag and their small community are 'living gentle lives' on high ground surrounded by the risen sea that has caused widespread devastation. When strangers from the Valley of the Sun arrive unannounced, the friends find themselves drawn into a web of secrecy and lies that endangers their whole way of life. Soon, daring, loyal Neoma must set off on a solo mission across the risen sea, determined to rescue her best friend and find the truth that will save her village.

Publisher: Old Barn Books

ISBN: 9781910646670

Number of pages: 288

Calling all Manga Artists!

We need more fantastic Manga art in the Library!  For more information, please pop into the Library 

to see Mrs Taylor or email  ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.co.uk

 

Author of the Month:

Jamilla Gavin

 

I was born in the foothills of the Himalayas in Mussorie, India, in 1941. After the war, our family relocated to England where I spent the remainder of my childhood.

Those first experiences of life at that time, between two countries and cultures became the main inspiration for much of my writing later on. I wanted to reflect the changing face of multicultural Britain, knowing the importance of every child being able to find their mirror image in books. My first book, The Magic Orange Tree was published in 1979, followed by numerous other short stories, collections and several novels including The Surya Trilogy, Coram Boy, and Blackberry Blue.

Weaving the true story of World War Two heroine Noor Inyat Khan into a fictionalised account allows the author to bring her character to life in a way that perhaps a straight biographical retelling would not. 

The creation of Noor’s school days and the friendship between the four very different girls allows the reader to experience the build up to and living through the war in very different circumstances and from very different perspectives. 

The girls are initially united by their shared lack of parents, who are all living abroad, leaving them at boarding school. Gwen’s story is told in the first person perhaps because being born in India mirrors the author’s own lived experience. Gwen is the steady fulcrum of the friendship and India is the initial link with Noor. Dodo’s English parents live the high life in Germany while Vera’s Jewish parents believe themselves to be safe in Paris.

The girls come and go through each other’s lives after school as each becomes more involved in the war effort. Gwen in the War Office then following her brother into the air as a pilot, while the other three become embroiled in espionage and resistance, kept secret even from each other. We are drawn into so many aspects of the war through the girl’s stories. 

The Blitz in London, the terrifying German occupation in Paris, the plight of Jewish families trying to escape and the infiltration of Nazi admirers into British high society and government. All the threads are woven together beautifully and the reader is entirely invested in these characters. Noor’s real story means that tragedy is inevitable and yet we are left inspired and hopeful for humanity.

 

The harsh realities of 18th century life, of slavery, of prejudice, of tragedy, of corruption, of the haves and the have nots are woven together incredibly intricately and yet quite simply told too.  Rest assured this book will have significant impact on a teenager, just as it will an adult….

Prepare to enter a world of magicians, enchanted forests, talking animals and wicked witches . . .

Here are six magical stories to thrill and enchant you. Watch Blackberry Blue rise from the bramble patch; follow Emeka the pathfinder on his mission to save a lost king; join Princess Desire as she gallops across the Milky Way on her jet-black horse.

These beautifully written and original stories will delight readers of all ages, and the stunning illustrations by Richard Collingridge will take your breath away.

Fleeing from their burnt-out village as civil war rages in the Punjab, Marvinder and Jaspal are separated from their mother, Jhoti. Marvinder has already saved her brother's life once, but now they both face a daily fight for survival. Together they escape across India and nearly halfway around the world to England, to find a father they hardly know in a new, hostile culture...

 

The dramatic second story in the Surya Trilogy by Whitbread award-winning Jamila Gavin, author of Coram Boy. 

India 1948. The light has gone out of our world.... 

Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated. In India, chaos and turmoil reign. In England, Jaspal and Marvinder's father is in prison. Jaspal cannot forgive him, and longs to return to his village in the Punjab where he feels he belongs. Marvinder has found friends, her first love, and her gift as a violinist. But how can she ignore her mother's voice calling her back to India? 

She is torn between two worlds. A story of thesearch for reconciliation, the sequel to Wheel of Surya is a beautifully crafted story sets against the backdrop of Indian independence and thePartition of India and Pakistan. 

The dramatic final volume in the Wheel of Surya trilogy by Whitbread award-winning author of Coram Boy, Jamila Gavin. 

In 1947 India is rocked by the Independence movement and partition with Pakistan. Their lives disrupted by violence, Jaspal and Marvinder are sent from their Indian village to find their father, who is a student in England. 

In The Track of the Wind, Jaspal and Marvinder are reunited with their mother in India, but their fight for independence goes on. 

 

 

A collection of short stories celebrating the magic of children's imaginations. Monsters, dragons, giant birds, all types of mythical creatures are conjured up as excuses for dirtying clothes, missing tea or being late for school.

 

  

 

 

 8 Interesting Facts about Fiction Books

1. One in five adults worldwide is unable to read or write.

2. It takes about 475 hours to write a novel book.

3. As of the year 2022, there are almost 180 million books in the entire world.

4. The “Harry Potter” book series is the biggest-selling series of novels ever published. Above all, it has sold 450 million copies collectively.

5. Dr. Seuss created the word “nerd” in this book “If I Ran the Zoo” in the year 1950. Most noteworthy, the word “nerd” became widely accepted due to the popularity of Dr. Seuss.

6. Around 27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’ first book. But due to the author’s determination (Theodor Seuss Geisel), his books became successful and have sold more than 500 million copies around the world.

7. Every year, an estimated 900,000 new books are published.

8. One of the most expensive books in the world is the 1640 Bay Psalm, which sold for $14.2 million.

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader at Oaks Park High School

 “Our primary purpose is to accelerate learning for all children and adults, of all ability levels and ethnic and social backgrounds, worldwide.”

- Mission Statement, Renaissance Learning UK

Why do we want students to read?

What are the benefits of reading for pleasure?

·         Children who say they enjoy reading for pleasure are more likely to score well on reading assessments compared to pupils who said they enjoyed reading less

·         There is some evidence to show that reading for pleasure is a more important determinant of children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status

·         It can have a positive impact on pupils’ emotional and social behaviour

·         It can have a positive impact on text comprehension and grammar.

What works in improving independent reading?

·         An important factor in developing reading for pleasure is providing choice - choice and interest are highly related

·         Parents and the home environment are essential to the early teaching of reading and fostering a love of reading; children are more likely to continue to be readers in homes where books and reading are valued

·         Reading for pleasure is strongly influenced by relationships between teachers and children, and children and families.

 

What is Accelerated Reader?

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a really effective software tool used by an increasing number of schools to foster reading growth. It encourages students to read widely and independently whilst allowing staff to monitor progress and support where necessary.

The programme is designed to work out a reading level (or STAR reading level) for students at the start (by means of a STAR test, completed in Library lessons). Students then read books within this level – all books in the library that are registered with AR have a numbered label on the spine to help them recognise books within their ‘zone’. Students take a quiz on the website after reading each book to assess how well they understood it. Their STAR level is tested four times in the academic year to see how they have progressed.

As well as being about promoting reading and academic achievement, AR is also about enjoyment of reading and creating a real culture of reading at Oaks Park High School.

Who takes part in AR at Oaks Park High School?

All students in year 7 and 8 take part.

When does AR start?

Year 7 students will begin AR in the first term, through Library lessons. Our school Librarian will introduce and explain the programme and introduce STAR reading levels, the concept of quizzing and independent reading expectations.

All year 7 students will take ‘quick reads’ before their first STAR Test, because we do not have their independent reading ages.  These ‘quick reads’ are to be read in one week and then, once finished, recorded in their planners on page 17.  The students enjoy reading a wide variety of ‘quick reads’ and they also learn how to use the library, look after the books, plan their own independent reading times and how to record their book useage.

As soon as the Year 7 students complete their first Star Test (this will be completed during their second library lesson), they will then take out larger, more suitable books for their age range.

How often does reading take place?

Students are required to read independently every night for a minimum of twenty minutes, this includes weekends and school holidays.

Of course, we encourage parents/guardians to encourage their children’s independent reading home.

What can I do to ensure my son/daughter has a good reading routine?

 

·         Make it clear that the reading book is part of the student’s essential equipment and is expected in their bags every day.

·         Reading is not a punishment but something we want to make fun and purposeful.

·         Remind your child to write down all completed books in their planner.

·         Encourage your child to read at home!

 

How is the library used in Accelerated Reader?

Students are encouraged to visit the library before and after school, as well as break and lunch times. Year 7 and Year 8 students also have a Library lesson every four weeks.

How and when should students change their books or take quizzes?

When their book is completed, they will need to pick a new book as well as take their book quiz. 

What about STAR tests?

STAR tests will take place four times per year. Students take them during Library lessons. As soon as possible after the tests are over, the new reading levels will be generated and the results will be given to their Form tutor and English teacher.  The students will need to write the results in their planner on page 16.

 

 

 

 

Books to 

Movies/TV Series

 

 

What film adaptation did you love?

What is your favourite movie or television series that has been adapted from a book?

Let us  know the name of the book and movie adaptation that you loved the best, saying if you prefer the book or the movie, and why.  Your contribution will then be added to our next Newsletter in October!

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry — one of the most important and time-honored forms of literature in the world — brought us greats like William Shakespeare and W.B. Yeats to ancient poets like Homer and Dante Alighieri, Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson.  Below, are just a few of the magnificent poets………

Edgar Allen Poe

Birthplace: Boston

Famous poem: ”The Raven”

Famous quote: ”I have great faith in fools — self-confidence my friends call it.”

William Shakespeare

Birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon, England

Famous poem: ”Sonnet XVIII” (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?)

Famous quote: ”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts. His acts being seven ages.”

Maya Angelou

Birthplace: St. Louis

Famous poem: ”On the Pulse of Morning”

Famous quote: ”I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Emily Dickinson

Birthplace: Amherst, Massachusetts

Famous poem: “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers”

Famous quote: “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul — and sings the tunes without the words — and never stops at all.”

Robert Frost

Birthplace: San Francisco

Famous poem: “The Road Not Taken”

Famous quote: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

Pablo Neruda

Birthplace: Parral, Chile

Famous poem: “I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You”

Famous quote: “To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life.”

E. E. Cummings

Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Famous poem: “I carry your heart with me”

Famous quote: “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

Walt Whitman

Birthplace: Long Island, New York

Famous poem: “I Hear America Singing”

Famous quote: “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.”

Thomas Hardy

Birthplace: Dorset, England

Famous poem: “Hap”

Famous quote: “The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him.”

Rudyard Kipling

Birthplace: Bombay Presidency, British India

Famous poem: “Gunga Din”

Famous quote: “We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.”

Oscar Wilde

Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland

Famous poem: “A Vision”

Famous quote: “I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”

John Keats

Birthplace: London

Famous poem: “A Thing of Beauty (Endymion)”

Famous quote: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Birthplace: Durham, England

Famous poem: “How Do I Love Thee?”

Famous quote: “If you desire faith, then you have faith enough.”

William Blake

Birthplace: London

Famous poem: “The Tyger”

Famous quote: “The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.”

Sylvia Plath

Birthplace: Boston

Famous poem: “Daddy”

Famous quote: “Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it and the imagination to improvise.”

William Wordsworth

Birthplace: Cumberland, England

Famous poem: “The Prelude”

Famous quote: “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”

Mark Twain

Birthplace: Florida, Missouri

Famous poem: “Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec’d.”

Famous quote: “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

W.B. Yeats

Birthplace: County Dublin, Ireland

Famous poem: “The Second Coming”

Famous quote: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

Lord Byron

Birthplace: London

Famous poem: “She Walks in Beauty”

Famous quote: “There is no instinct like that of the heart.”

Lewis Carroll

Birthplace: Cheshire, England

Famous poem: “Jabberwocky”

Famous quote: “It is one of the great secrets of life that those things which are most worth doing, we do for others.”

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Birthplace: Lincolnshire, England

Famous poem: “The Charge of the Light Brigade”

Famous quote: “‘Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.”

Homer

Birthplace: Smyrna (present-day Greece)

Famous poem: “The Iliad”

Famous quote: “Evil deeds do not prosper; the slow man catches up with the swift.”

Li Bai

Birthplace: Tang Empire (present-day Kyrgyzstan)

Famous poem: “Quiet Night Thought”

Famous quote: “We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains.”

Jalal al-Din Rumi

Birthplace: Khorasan (present-day Afghanistan)

Famous poem: “Masnavi-ye Ma’navi (Spiritual Verses)”

Famous quote: “Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”

 

 

 ePlatform

Please do not forget that you can also use our reading app ePlatform to read lots of fabulous electronic and audiobooks!  For instructions on how to use ePlatform, please use the link below:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8064653522683152574/1799106046324446297

 

 

Well, that is the end of this month’s Library Newsletter!

 

Is there anything else that you would like to see in The Online Library Newsletter?  If you have any contributions, queries or great ideas please email: ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk