AGS Library Newsletter Spring 2024

#AGSREADS INSIDE THIS ISSUE

This term the library has been quiz crazy, recognising various events that some of your classmates have asked to be recognised.

Have a great spring break and I'll see you all in the summer term when we have more events planned!

Miss Pushong

The contents page and all book covers throughout are hyper-linked.

CONTENTS

April 1st-7th - World Autism Acceptance Week

April 22nd - Earth Day

April 24th - Shakespeare Day

May 4th - Star Wars Day

May 13th-19th- Mental Health Awareness Week

June 19th - Carnegie Medal Winner Announced

July 2-3 - Year 6 Transition Days (Library closed all day)

July 1st - 19th - AGS Book Month

Week 1. - Book in a Jar, Book Bingo, Book Quiz

Week 2. - Book Fair, Shelfie Competition Scavenger Hunt

Week 3 - Summer Bingo, Languages Day Quiz, Games@Lunch

THIS TERM'S RECOMMENDED BOOK

BOOK TRIVIA

Thestrals and Floo Powder are both forms of transportation invented by whatinternationally-renownedauthor?

(ANSWERONPAGE10.)

THE HAUNTING OF TYRESE WALKER by J.P. Rose

After a shocking event leaves Tyrese struggling with grief, he’s taken to visit family in Jamaica. From the first night, strange things start happening: impossible visions, blackouts, swarms of insects, and the discovery of a grave hidden deep in the forest… Tyrese can’t explain what’s going on

andhe’sscaredthathe’slosinghisgriponreality

Then Tyrese is warned he’s being hunted by the mysterious Shadow Man. Under threat, Tyrese and his friends set out on a terrifying journey across the island to try and uncover the Shadow Man’s sinister history. Who can Tyrese trust when his own mind is falling apartandthere’snowherelefttohide?

Nominated for The Bucks Book Award, and The Carnegie Medal for Writing. Shortlisted for The Branford Boase Award and The Diverse BookAward.Thisisagreatread,andishighlyrecommended!

LIBRARY RESOURCES

LIBRARY RESOURCES WEBSITE

Have you visited the Library's Google site? It contains links to reading lists, links to all our online resources such as the library catalogue and the eLibrary as well as linkstogamessuchasonlineescaperooms,puzzlesandbrainteasers.

Pluslinkstoalltheformsmentionedbelowareonthesite.

Clickheretovisitthesite

DID YOU KNOW?

Aswellasreservingbookswehaveyoucanalsorequest fortheLibrarytopurchase booksthatyouwouldliketoread.

YoucaneithervisitthelibraryandfillinaBookRequestcard,orCLICKHEREtofillin the BookRequestgoogleform Youwillbenotifiedwhenthebookisavailable

DO YOU NEED SOME BOOK SUGGESTIONS?

If you are struggling to find books to read, or maybe want some suggestions for differenttypesofbooksthenyouneedtheBookDoctor!

The Book Doctor has helped many students since it was introduced in September 2020 and with the introduction of the eBook library we can offer suggestions in different formats.

CLICKHEREfortheBookDoctorgoogleform.

eLIBRARY

Don't forget you can use the AGS eLibrary to download and read books on your phone, laptop etc. There is also an app available from the Windows/Google/Apple store.

Youcansign-inwithGoogleusingyourAGSlogin.

CLICKHEREtoaccesstheeLibrary

Just to remind you you can alter the reading settings on the eBooks to suit your needs. You can change the font andfontsizeandyoucanalsousethedyslexiafriendlysettings.

There are also some new features including Text to Speech (TTS), translation to 150+ languages, plus TTS for translatedlanguages.CLICKHEREtowatchashortvideoonthesenewfeatures.

BUCKS BOOK AWARD

2024 WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT

OverthelastfewmonthsstudentsinBuckshavebeenvotingfortheirfavouritebookonbothof theBBAShortlists.TheannouncementwasheldatAGSandwewerejoinedbystudentsfromSir Henry Floyd Grammar School, Beaconsfield High School, Pipers Corner School and St Mary’s School.

Themorningstartedwithanentertainingtalk

by Author Nicki Thornton, who spoke about winning the Times/Chicken House Children’s fiction competition and gave us all a first hand account of what it takes to get a book published. We were all amazed that it took 2 yearsofintenseeditingforher‘winning’book tofinallymakeitintobookshops!

This was followed by the announcement of the winners of the Short Story and Book Review competitions. AmongstthewinnerswasRishikinYear7,whowasannouncedasthewinneroftheBookReviewcompetitionin theYear7and8categoryforhisreviewofCrookhavenbyJJArcanjo.

Then came the announcement we were all waiting for - the announcement of the winners of the 2024 Bucks Book Award.

The Children’s Book Prize was won by The Ministry of Unladylike Activity by Robin Stevens and Five Survive by Holly Jackson was named as the winner of The Sue Harris YA Prize.

After a short break for refreshments and a book signing, students collected in their teams to take part in the Big Bucks Book Award Quiz. This year wehadanextrateamwithNickiThorntonandthe Librarians!

The quiz consisted of 6 different themed rounds, withlotsofbookprizesbeingwonthroughoutthe quiz

However, at the end the winner’s were Team Treasure Island, with students from Sir Henry FloydandBeaconsfieldHighSchoolwhoscoreda brilliant50/60

NICKI THORNTON WITH THE YEAR 9 & 10 BBA SHADOWING GROUP

WHAT’S BEEN GOING

FEBRUARY 8TH CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK QUIZ

We held a Kahoot quiz during Children's Mental Health Week! 20 teams took part but in the end the winning team was Umar and Ammaar, both from 8PA. Everyone who took part was given a mini bubble and pop stress relief keyring!

FEBRUARY 22ND CHINESE NEW YEAR QUIZ

This year we held our first Chinese New Year Awareness event. We had a book display featuring books by and/or set in countries that celebrate the Lunar New Year. Our quiz was won by Team Maple Syrup AKA Tom and Ahneb. Spot prizes were also awarded to Jathin and Benji.

ON IN THE LIBRARY?

29TH FEBRUARY LEAP YEAR QUIZ

This was a quiz for members of Library Club to celebrate Ushakan’s birthday that falls on February 29th.

The winner of the quiz was Zibyan (8LE)

MARCH 1ST - DIVERSITY FOCUS WEEK QUIZ

This week was AGS Pride Week and to raise awareness we had a LGBT+ themed quiz. It included questions on LGBT+ history, celebrities as well as a trivia round on rainbows! The winning team was Aarav (7RI) and Nikhil (7HA)

MARCH 6TH WORLD BOOK DAY QUIZ

Thiswasoneofourmostpopularquizeventswithafull houseof20teams!Thetopspotwent(onceagain!)toTeam MapleSyrup,AKATom(9DE)andandAhneb(9HA).

Therunner-upspotswereallclaimedby7LE! SecondplacewenttoKanuyanandJosh ThirdplacewenttoAlecandOmar

Boththewinningteamandtherunners-up receivedabookprizepluseveryonewho tookpartinthequizreceived oneofthisyear’s WorldBookDaytitles.

END OF TERM

MARCH 25TH EASTER QUIZ

On Monday, we held a Kahoot quiz which was very loosely based on Easter. There was a Guess the Chocolate Easter Egg round, a round on all things yellow as well as some bunny trivia. The winning team was Alec and Roman both from 7LE.

MARCH 26TH EASTER EGG BINGO

On Tuesday we had a group of students who took their game of Bingo very seriously, and despite being on tenterhooks waiting for that ‘one’ number, the winner of the Chocolate Easter Egg was Benji (8DE)! Many thanks to our Student Librarians for their help; Eldan, was our Bingo caller and Tharuga was in charge of updating the number board. Everyone who took part went away with a small prize of some chocolates and stickers.

LIBRARY STATS

503 reservationsplaced

544 newbooks

TOP 5 BORROWERS

1. rishik, 7PA

2. eric, 10LE

3. anish, 7LE

4. zaeem, 10LE

5. Srikara, 7DE

64LOANS

58LOANS

54LOANS

43LOANS 41LOANS

550 eBookLoans

from sept 2023- march 2024

most borrowed books

4. Percy Jackson and the last olympian by Rick Riordan

5. Crocodile tears - 8 Horowitz, Anthony

6. The mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

7. One Piece 1-2-3. by Eiichiro Oda

8 Percy Jackson and the titan's curse by Rick Riordan

9. Evil star by Anthony Horowitz

10. Simply the quest by Maz Evans

3233 bookloans

382K

THE CARNEGIE ME

WHAT IS THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR WRITING?

The Carnegie Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults The shortlist was announced on March 13th and soon after this the AGS Reading Group (Years 7-10) have been shadowing the award (reading the books). This year there are 8 books on the shortlist:

Eleven-year-old Kofi Offin has dreams of water, of its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets He has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, West Africa, where he lives. He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his father’s father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. But when a sudden death occurs during a festival between rival villages, Kofi ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves Yet Kofi’s dreams may be the key to his freedom

When a young girl wakes up in the middle of the desert, she has no idea who she is She's wearing one shoe, a silky black dress, and she's carrying a strange, heavy case. She meets Tarni, who is on a mysterious quest of her own. Together, the two girls trek across the vast and ever-changing Australian Outback in search of answers. Except both are also hiding secrets.

Set in a world where words appear physically when people speak, AWAY WITH WORDS explores the importance of communication and being there for those we love. Gala and her dad, Jordi, have just moved from home in Cataluña to a town in Scotland. The story Follows the friendship that blossoms between Gala, who doesn't speak much English and Natalie, a local girl with selective mutism. It is a thoughtful and lyrical exploration of the power of communication.

A brilliant blend of Greek myth with a 21st century quest. In Ancient Greece Theseus makes a dangerous and courageous journey to find his father, finally meeting the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. While Theo, a modern-day teenage boy, finds himself on a maze-like quest to find his own father. Each story tells of a boy becoming a man and discovering what true manhood really means.

The path to self-discovery takes Theo through 'those thin spaces where myth, magic and reality combine'. Doubts, difficulties and dangers must be faced as Theo discovers the man he will become.

DAL FOR WRITING

In this moving sequence of poems Nicola Davies’s text combines with the superbly evocative illustrations of Petr Horáček to provide insight into the real-life experiences of refugees forced to leave their homes and previous lives behind to face an unknown future.

Suffused with compassion and understanding, the work invites you to share in these stories in the hope of building greater awareness and empathy for the struggles faced by so many, and to choose love as our response.

'Do you feel safe?' A powerful novel exploring how teenagers can be swept up into county lines Erik's life has been falling apart ever since his dad died Homework and being good at school stop feeling important when you're the new man of the house. When Erik's bad behaviour attracts the wrong crowd, he's sucked into a terrifying new world of drug dealing, trap houses and violence.

Making money feels good but Erik soon learns that a small favour can become a huge debt When his sisters' lives are threatened, Erik will have to cross one more line to save them.

War comes to the streets of Paris and Safiyyah's life changes for ever. Her best friend's family have fled, and the bombing makes her afraid to leave the mosque where she lives. But when her father is arrested by the Nazis for his secret Resistance work, it falls to Safiyyah to run the dangerous errands around the city. It's not long before hundreds of persecuted Jews seek sanctuary at the mosque. Can Safiyyah find the courage to enter the treacherous catacombs under Paris and lead the Jews to safety?

Shaun (aka MC Growls) is ready to drop his best bars and smash the competition at Raptology. That way, he's convinced Tanisha, his crush, will finally give him a chance. But when a livestream practice goes epically wrong, Growls's dirty laundry is literally exposed. He's finally achieved his dreams of going viral - not in the good way.

Now Tanisha won't look at him, he's the joke of the school and there's no way he can show his face at the competition Will he ever catch a break? When a new girl appears, she just might be just the friend Growls needs. Especially when she points out that Raptology could be the answer to his problems after all. . .

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SHADOWING GROUP?

If you would like to join the shadowing group you will be expected to read a minimum of 6 of the 8 shortlisted books by June 20th. If you hit the reading target, you will be invited to attend the Shadowers meeting, held at St. Mary’s School, where you will be given the opportunity to discuss the books with students from several schools across the county. If you want more information or would like to take part, speak to Miss Pushong.

BEANSTACK UPDATE

COMMUNITY GOAL

Last year our community goal was to log 500,000 reading minutes which we achieved. So, this year we are going to increase this number and aim for a challenging community goal of 600,000 minutes!

MOST LOGGED READING

So, please remember to log your reading minutes, not forgetting the 10 minutes you read at the start of your English lessons, as every minute you log will help achieve our goal.

Thank you to all students who continue to record their reading minutes. Remember, you can add your time at the end of each day or if you prefer you can add it weekly

MOST BADGES EARNED

READING MINUTES LEADERBOARD

BOOK TRIVIA

Answer:J.K.Rowling

Throwing a handful of Floo Powder into a connected fireplace would turn the flames emerald green and allow the witchorwizardtostepintothefireplaceandtraveltotheirdesireddestination.

AThestralisabreedofwingedhorsewithaskeletalbody,afacewithreptilianfeatures,andwide,leatherywings. Oncetrained,theyareverydiligentandwillquicklycarrytheirownerswherevertheywishtogo.

PUZZLE CORNER

If you are looking for something to do during the Easter break there are a lot of fames andactivitiesontheLibrary'sGoogleSite(linkonpage2.)

Belowaresomenewgamesyoumightenjoy

Justclickonthelinkstoaccessthem.

EASTER EGG JIGSAW PUZZLE & MEMORY GAME

COMPETITION - REBUS PUZZLES

WINASIGNEDCOPYOFTHELASTCHANCEHOTELBYNICKITHORNTON!

Toenter,allyouneedtodoissolvethe5picturepuzzlesbelowandaddyouranswers tothisgoogleform.

The closing date is Friday 19th April 2024. TWO winners will be chosen at random.

Click here to play the Easter egg memory game.

Click here to access the 99 piece jigsaw.

BOOK SHELF

WHAT'SONTHESHELF?

Thesearejustafewofthenewbooksthathavebeenaddedto theLibrarythisterm.

ClickonacovertoviewitontheOnlineLibrary.

ThebookthatnoonewantedtoreadbyRichardAyoade

TheMandalorianbyRodneyBarnes

TheboywhofellfromtheskybyBenjaminDean

SevenmillionsunflowersbyMalcolmDuffy

TheboyIambyKLKettle

ThefightforthehiddenrealmbySiobhanMcDermott

DogsofthedeadlandsbyAnthonyMcGowan

RobinHood:Ballots,blasts&betrayalbyRobertMuchamore

It'sTrevorNoah:bornacrimebyTrevorNoah

SnowglobebySoyoungPark

CruelCastlebyBryonyPearce

TheclockworkconspiracybySamSedgman

100talesfrontheTokyoGhostCafebyJulianSedgwick

ThehowlinghagmysterybyNickiThornton

MurderonaschoolnightbyKateWeston

Themisfits:aroyalconundrumbyLisaYee