The OPHS Online Library Newsletter - December 2023 #29

The OPHS Online Library Newsletter

December 2023  #29

Welcome to our 

Online Monthly Library Newsletter

Every month, in our Online Library Newsletter, we have reviews on wonderful books that we have in our Library, snippets of new books on the horizon and interesting information about lovely Authors and 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 (January 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

If your contribution is displayed in the Library Newsletter you will get a 

‘Thank You’ certificate from The Library and fabulous achievement points 

will be added to your Bromcom account.

Show us what you have read and we will publish your photo in our next issue of our online Library Newsletter!

World Book Day 2023 is coming on the 3rd March 2022!

We're so excited to announce that World Book Day 2023 is on the 

 2nd  March 2023.   It will be filled with lots of exciting, celebratory ways to promote reading for pleasure, and all-year round, including the new £1 books.

Decorating the Library starts this week!

Holiday Decorating is starting in the Library!! Pop in to make some snowflakes and paper chains!

To kick start our Holiday cheer, we have alternate ‘Grinch’ stories from some of our Year 8 students:

  THE GRINCH

There was a town located in Antarctica called smallville and there was this little green goblin called the Grinch.  He was fluffy and furry and he was getting picked on because he was different (green).  He had been picked on ever since his birth when his mum left him and humans saw him and looked after him.  Now, he is all grown up and lives in a tall mountain with his dog named Max.

As September rolled around, a thick white blanket draped over the icy cold streets of Whoville and thousands of cheery people with pointy, pink noses giggled uncontrollably as the Christmas spirit engulfed them. Bustling shopping malls and booming Christmas music could be heard from miles away. Rows of houses had been decorated from top to bottom in alternating red and green lights. Each house had tall, colourful trees with glowing stars shining brighter than the last. However, this big, materialistic tradition had turned into a competition between the house-owners. 

But then there sat the grumpy Grinch in his frosty cavern, crankily watching over the innocent civilians of Whoville. All his life the horrible children ridiculed him for his scaly purple skin and bright yellow eyes. Isolated in his lonely cavern, he befriended a petite kitten with big, innocent sapphire eyes and soft ginger fur. The Grinch didn’t feel as much of an outcast with this cute little creature for company. He felt as though it… understood him, unlike the children who mocked and teased him. He grew jealous of their happiness, especially at this time of year when they had Christmas coming and they had already started fussing over it. So, the Grinch had a nasty idea. He was going to ruin their Christmas.

For months, he developed his cruel scheme, planning and plotting all the ways to carry out such a vile ambition and perfecting until it was the best it could be. And then, when December 24th finally arrived, he was ready.

At exactly 23:00, whilst all was quiet and everyone was asleep, the Grinch released 5000 miniscule robots on the houses of Whoville. One by one, the Grinch watched as the vibrant and festive decorations were torn from the tiny homes. A tree had come tumbling down with a thunderous CRASH, colourful baubles rolling around on the now dirty brown snow, tinsel had been shredded to nothing more than thin sparkly ribbons and fairy lights had been broken, leaving shards of broken glass lying on the ground. The robots climbed on top of roofs and jumped down chimneys to steal beautifully wrapped presents and tear them apart. It was a sight of pure destruction. The Grinch watched over and the corners of his lips turned up to his ears, but he had a feeling that he wasn’t the only one watching. He turned around curiously, and immediately a look of horror replaced what was once a grin.

He looked up and down at the tall, chubby figure. He had a large, white beard, a floppy red hat, a flashy red suit, a black belt with a gold buckle, and tall, shiny black boots. It was Santa. “S-Santa! Look, I promise this isn’t w-what it looks like” I-I-I just f-found-”

“Ho ho ho! Hello to you too! I say, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you! Now, why don’t you tell me, what exactly is this?”

Slowly, the Grinch explained how, since he was a child, the Whos had bullied him and excluded him from their fun, and how he envied their happiness and sense of belonging so he decided to ruin their Christmas. But after talking with Santa, he came to a realisation: what he did was wrong, and he had to fix it.

So, with the help of Santa Claus’ Christmas magic, all the decorations flew back into place, the presents dressed themselves in the wrapping paper, and the streets looked a fine sight once again. 

The next morning, thousands of children woke up to presents under their trees, and smiled at the thought that Santa had visited them. Excitedly, they tore off the wrapping paper and hugged their presents tightly to their chests with joy. Christmas was a success. As for the Grinch, he had his own little Christmas waiting for him. He too woke up to presents from Santa under a small tree in his cavern. Carefully, he unwrapped the little gift and held it in his furry hands. The tag read:

‘To: Grinch

Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy your gift!’

And he did, for, for the first time in his life, the Grinch smiled with true happiness.

The End

A HOLLY DOLLY CHRISTMAS

   

One night, in a world far away, there lived a violet, furry Smurf with polka dots.  But this Smurf wasn't like others, he despised any form of celebration and the worst of all was Christmas.

So this Christmas he decided to steal all the Christmas presents.  He went back into his lair and built a vacuum cleaner, but this was no ordinary vacuum cleaner, this one could suck up anything he had wished to take.  So on the night of Christmas Eve, when Santa had finished setting all the presents, he went to the gigantic Christmas tree where all the presents were, and he started his vacuum cleaner.  But to his surprise instead of sucking it up it let out halloween decorations all around the place, ”What in tarnation!!!” said the smurf, ”Wait this is even better, it will totally destroy the Christmas spirit ,even though I don't like halloween it is better than Christmas”  said the happy smurf.

In the morning everyone woke up to the horror of halloween all around the place.  Christmas was destroyed for them but not for the smurf, he was happy.  So that was how Christmas was destroyed for the people of Smurfville.

THE END!!!

 

Did the Grinch really steal Christmas?

We all know the story of a green, furry and quite mean man who stole Christmas, and his machine that stole presents, but is that really what happened?

December in Whoville was like no other; Snow covered the ground like a blanket, trees were bare, windows and cars were frosted, but most importantly- houses were decorated.  They were decorated real good.  Every year everyone either went big or went home, it was an unspoken rule.  That rule applied to absolutely everyone. Except, the Grinch. 

December 23rd, 19:00 pm the grinch was getting ready for bed with his usual routine. 

1.Drink 5 cups of coffee

2. Read a book but then throw it away because its not worth all the effort

3.Go out and look at the disgusting, revolting not to mention scary christmas decorations

And lastly, play with max.

Today was no different- until exactly 19:45. The grinch, unable to sleep because of the lights, lay in bed wide awake, eyes twitching with anger. In the blink of an eye, an idea arose - the idea.

A machine, one that stole christmas, at exactly 19:45

THE GRINCH

Grinch woke up on Christmas Day.  He was getting ready to ruin the Whoville children's lives until he went to the living room and saw a present…

This changed his whole life.

He went from bad guy to good guy from that day to this, he was now Santa's little helper.  He went to the North Pole to have a chat with Santa.  It was a perfect quick journey with his flying carpet.  When he arrived Santa was there and he got so scared of the Grinch he fell on his belly🤣😂🤣.Grinch had told him he wants to have peace and help Santa.  So after a long time of negotiating Santa agreed. Everyone lived happily ever after……

Or did they??????

GRINCHY

You must have heard of the Grinch right? YOU haven’t?

Giant green furball?

Has a cute little dog?

Loves Christmas?

Oh you have!

Hates Christmas?

The Grinch doesn’t hate Christmas!!!

He's just a little bit sensitive about it.

.

You haven’t heard? Well get some popcorn,sit back and relax

This is going to be a LOOOOOONG ONE.

It all started on December 24 2001

Christmas Eve -  In the playground. In year 2. It was time to meet Santa.  Milk, cookies, stockings, the Christmas tree and most importantly carrots JUST for Rudolph.  Midnight struck. It was time!!!  Grinchy's face lit up as the clock striked 12.00.

1 hour passed.

Nothing.

Another hour passed.

Still nothing

He waited for at least another 5 hours.

Dusk hit.

But still NOTHING…Grinchy was upset, not just upset, but mad REALLY REALLY MAD.

He had prepared all year for this moment, and for what?

FOR NOTHING!?!]

Nobody ever saw Grinchy like this. The next day, Grinchy went to school expecting everyone to be angry and disappointed that Santa decided not to come last night. 

He walked into school and saw a glow on everyone’s faces as they were showing off all their presents.. He was alone…

Why didn’t he get any presents? He didn’t deserve this. Grinchy was so tempted to cry, but then a realisation hit him………

He was on the naughty list…

Do you have a funny ‘Grinch’ story?  If so, send it to ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk

Book Reviews by Students

Frankie’s World by Aoife Dooley

This was a really good book as we can see from the viewpoint of a autistic person and it is also really heartfelt and interesting 

Desert Island Books from Students

If I was stuck on a desert island I would take the book Alex Rider, Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz.  This is because I really enjoyed this book and it is a very interesting piece of writing.

It starts off with Alex going to Scotland to celebrate New Years with a wealthy businessman and  former conservative politician, Desmond McCain.  People believe he does good work with charity and helping to fight climate change, but in reality, he is an evil man. He then plans to use science to destroy an entire nation of 50 million people by adding a deadly poison to a wheat field which will intoxicate and spread to anyone within a radius of less than 30 miles.

However it is up to Alex to be able to stop him and save the lives of 50 million Kenyan people  

 

The book is action-packed with many near-death scenes for Alex and McCain.

I would recommend this book for the following reasons:

• Firstly, it is long so it can keep you company while you are waiting to be rescued 

• Secondly, if you're twelve and a want to be James Bond ,this book is perfect for you 

•  Thirdly, it is action-packed and is filled with lots of omg moments and scenes which will surely have you on the edge on your seat 

If I was stuck on an island, I would choose The Girl of Ink of Stars because it is an adventure story that will captivate the reader's mind. It is a great book for all ages and I think it is an awesome story to read. The story is about a girl who is trying to go to an island. Her father is a cartographer and she wants to see the island that has been deserted.

                                             

If I went to visit a desert island and could only take one book I would take Deadlock by Mark Walden

I would chose and recommend this book because it takes about many students how have captured from H.I.V.E Facility and are trained to be assassins can Otto save has friends.

If I was going to a desert island, I would bring the book 'Lord of the flies', as the amazing book is about kids stranded on a desert island. This book would teach me what to, and not to do, while not boring me, as it is a fiction book (not real). The book is also relatively short, and easy to read - so I will have plenty of time to gather materials, and live in the wilderness. 

Acrostic poems

Learn new words everyday

It’s a magical place

Books you will find there

Read to your heart's desire

And remember to complete you book quizzes

Reach the top 

You can do it

Loving this library day and night

It’s amazing you can see the light

Beware some books might give you a fright

Reading our books is such a delight

And reading our books helps you write

Reading books is such a delight

You..over there, why don't you give it a try!

 

L -Look at some books

I - I’m sure you would like them

B - Books are interesting

R - Reading is fun 

A - Always make sure you return them back!

R - Ready to read as always 

Y - You will never regret it

So pick up a book and read it!

At the Library, you can learn new things by just reading a book
It's time to shine when you know it’s about to rhyme 

Beware of the words that come your way 

Reading helps to start that brain 

All is fun and great but it's time to learn 

Racing ahead might get it done, but slow and steady wins the race 

You are an Accelerated Reader 

Books to Movies

 

What film adaptation did you love?

What is your favourite movie 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 January!

 

 

 

How to Write an Epic Short Story

Write a short epic

Truth is stranger than fiction. Often it is funnier too. Short Epics are nuggets from the daily news that might raise a smile or prompt a remark that starts: “You wouldn’t believe it, but…” They must be no longer than 140 characters long including spaces. Do have a go at writing one and send it to ltaylor@oakspark.redbridge.sch.uk and your epic story will be in our next issue of our online Library Newsletter!

“You wouldn’t believe it but my Nan was on television yesterday, because she won a dance competition and she is 88 years old!!”

“You wouldn’t believe it but schools in England have reported that the Ukulele (famously played by George Formby) is taking over the Recorder as the top musical instrument!”

  

Great New Books coming to The Library!!

 

Famous Charles Dickens Book Quotes

 

1. “A day wasted on others is not wasted on one’s self.”

A Tale of Two Cities

 

2. “Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”

Our Mutual Friend

 

3. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

A Tale of Two Cities

 

4. “The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.”

Nicholas Nickleby

 

5. “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”

A Christmas Carol

 

6. “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

Our Mutual Friend

 

7. “We need never be ashamed of our tears.”

Great Expectations 

8. “The most important thing in life is to stop saying, ‘I wish’ and start saying, ‘I will’. Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.”

David Copperfield

 

9. “Please sir, I want some more.”

Oliver Twist

 

10. “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope -into a better shape...”

Great Expectations

 

11. “There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.”

Oliver Twist

 

12. “Family not only needs to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also of those whom we’d give blood.”

Mugby Junction

 

13. “Ask no questions and you’ll be told no lies.”

Great Expectations

 

14. “It is because I think so much of warm and sensitive hearts that I would spare them from being wounded.”

Oliver Twist

  

15. “Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast.”

Martin Chuzzlewit

 

16. “Love, though said to be afflicted with blindness, is a vigilant watchman.”

Our Mutual Friend

 

17. “There are very few moments in a man’s existence when he experiences so much ludicrous distress, or meets with so little charitable commiseration, as when he is in pursuit of his own hat.”

The Pickwick Papers

 

18. “There is a wisdom of the head and a wisdom of the heart.”

Hard Times

 

19. “A word in earnest is as good as a speech.”

Bleak House

 

20. “One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it’s left behind.”

Little Dorrit 

 

21. “Trifles make the sum of life.”

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens fact file

Born: 7th February 1812

Place of birth: Hampshire, England

Published books: At least 19 

Died: 9th June 1870 (aged 58)

Four fun facts: 

• Worked as a reporter covering politics in the 1830s.

• Many of Dickens' novels were initially published as weekly or monthly instalments.

• His first works were published under the pseudonym “Boz.”

 

 

Accelerated Reader

All Year 7 and Year 8 Students MUST have at least ONE library book on them at all times.  You must read your AR library book for AT LEAST twenty minutes every night.  Please do not forget to write your completed book in your planner on page 20.  You must then complete your online book quiz within 24 hours of completing the book, then write your quiz result on page 19 of your planner!!!

 

 

 

Well, that is the end of this month’s Online 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