Wednesday, 30 March 2016
Monday, 28 March 2016
Thursday, 24 March 2016
Shadowing the Carnegie Shortlist - we're on our way!
Just one week on from the announcement of the Carnegie 2016 Shortlist and the Beaumont Book Club has already got its teeth into the eight titles on the list. There is great excitement amongst the students, who are looking forward to shadowing the Shortlist in the weeks ahead. As shadowers, they must read all eight books...one of the Book Club students has already read six of the Shortlist!
The Library Team are also enjoying the shortlisted books which are all brilliantly written, as you would expect from contenders for the prestigious Carnegie Medal. Mrs Mayer-Khan and Mrs Hicks are currently reading Lies We Tell Ourselves, which tells the story of the desegregation of all-white schools in 1950s America. Mrs Shepard is enjoying Five Children on the Western Front which is set against the backdrop of World War 1. Why not have a look at the following website for more information on the eight shortlisted books:
We would love to hear from all our students who are reading any of the eight books. Let us know what you think!
Oakwood Book Club: Star Wars and beyond
Every Wednesday, Beaumont Library opens its doors to ten lucky Year 5 girls and boys from neighbouring Oakwood School. The Oakwood Book Club is the brainchild of librarian Mrs Mayer-Khan and was set up to encourage a love of reading and an understanding of the library amongst junior school readers.
The hour-long visits have a lovely, relaxed atmosphere as the children chat about books (mostly) and share their thoughts on what they are reading. Over this term the Club, as a group, has read Oranges in No Man's Land, Rooftoppers and Time Riders.
The children are also allowed to choose a library book of their own each week and have borrowed an eclectic and interesting assortment of titles. These have ranged from Wonder to vlogger Joey Graceffa's autobiography In Real Life ! Meanwhile, Book Clubber Jonathan is steadily working his way through our 'impressive' selection of Star Wars books!
As well as reading, the sessions have included learning how to use the library, reading games and colouring activities...not to mention orange squash and plates of biscuits! It is a pleasure to welcome the Oakwood Book Club each week as the children always bring their own brand of fun, insight and enthusiasm to the Library.
Thank you Oakwood...and carry on reading!
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Are you making the most of the Library's rich research resources?
Researching a topic for homework? Looking for information on a specific subject? The Beaumont Library gives you access to many sources of information, including books, magazines, journals, newspapers and on-line material.
Many students will have used the Library while researching topics for the current Public Speaking challenge. There are so many resources on offer!
Looking for a book? Search your topic by using the Subject Index folders on the main desk in the Library or through the computer catalogue Eclipse. Everything in the Library is indexed on Eclipse; you can search for books by author, title or keyword. Links to useful websites are also provided when you search for a subject.
The Library also holds hard copies of Issues magazines, Fact Files and Essential Articles. These provide reliable and up-to-date information, articles and statistics on a wide range of vital topics.
These magazines are shelved towards the back of the library, by the doors to the Sixth Form Library. You can also access all Issues articles, Fact Files and Essential Articles on-line via:
For AS and A2 study, the Library also subscribes to Philip Allan journals,both in print and e-magazine formats.
These journals are kept on the magazine stand in the Sixth Form Library (archived journals can be found on the bookshelf). Alternatively, you can access the journals via the following website:
As you can see, there is a wealth of information at your fingertips! If you have any questions about accessing and using these research resources, please speak to the Library Team.
Early Morning Reading Club
The Beaumont Library is now running an Early Morning Reading Club for Year 7 and Year 8 students from 8.15-8.40am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. The Club offers those students who would benefit from a shared-reading experience the opportunity to meet with a sixth-form 'reading buddy'. In the one-to-one sessions, the students read aloud to a sixth-form volunteer; they can also discuss and share their thoughts on the book they are reading.
Regular reading and an engagement in books are key factors in helping students to gain confidence and greater independence in learning. Thank you to our sixth-form volunteers for being part of this scheme and to all the students who have joined the Club and brightened up Mrs Mayer-Khan's early mornings in the Library!
Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Seeing stars in the library
The Accelerated Reader board in the library is star-spangled! All Year 7 and Year 8 students who achieve 100% on an AR quiz earn a coloured star on the board. The Library Team has also introduced silver and gold stars. Silver stars are awarded to those students who achieve 100% on five quizzes during the term, and gold stars go to those who achieve 100% on ten quizzes. As you can see by the number of stars on the board, the level of quiz success has been fantastic. All students with a star are entered into a prize draw at the end of this term, with the chance to win Easter egg prizes!
The board also features the Year 7 and Year 8 Accelerated Reader target points 'league tables'. These are updated weekly and show the number of AR points achieved collectively by each class over the term so far. Currently at the top of the points tables are 7N and 8S.
Congratulations to all our Year 7 and Year 8 students for the efforts they are putting into their reading and the AR quizzes. Keep up the good work!
Thank you also to Alicia, our dedicated sixth-former, who creates the stars and has the tricky task of keeping up with our successful quizzers!
Thursday, 17 March 2016
CILIP Carnegie Shortlist announced!
Year 7 and 8 Book Clubs will now be 'shadowing' the Carnegie Shortlist in the run-up to Monday 20th June 2016 when the winner of the award is announced . Along with thousands of 'shadowers' in reading groups across the country, the Beaumont students will read, review and discuss the eight books, with the help of online activities on the CILIP website. Shadowing is a fantastic way to explore and share the books on the shortlist. If you are interested in joining the Book Clubs and being a shadower, please speak to the library team.
Watch this space for more news on the Shortlist!
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
World Book Day: books,biscuits and brain-teasers
World Book Day at Beaumont had a distinctly apple-y theme in celebration of our whole-school read Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan. The day got off to a great start with the announcement that Beaumont readers had been part of the record-breaking Guinness World of Records Bumper Book Quiz the previous week. World Book Day festivities continued in the library during break and lunchtime with students taking part in Mrs Mayer-Khan's fiendish 'Guess Who's Reading' challenge. This involved identifying the twenty-eight teachers photographed hiding behind books.
The challenge proved very popular, and the library was packed with students having a go (or two!) Successful students each won a biscuit in the shape of an apple...of course!
Students also marked World Book Day by writing reviews of their favourite books. The library team will be able use these reviews when recommending and suggesting books to other readers. Lots of our students chose Apple and Rain as their favourite book!
To round off the day, students were allowed to choose a book from a selection of new and exclusive World Book Day titles, and were also given £1 book tokens. These can be used in participating bookshops for £1 off any full priced book.
The World Book Day tokens are only valid until Sunday 27th March, so remember to use your token before then!
Thursday, 10 March 2016
Book-loving Record Breakers
WE DID IT! On Monday 22nd February, ninety-four Year 7 students were part of a successful Guinness World Record attempt. The challenge was to break the current record for 'the most people participating in simultaneous book quizzes”. The quiz was organised by World Book Day and tested the students on a wide selection of books, characters and covers, from Harry Potter to Miss Trunchbull to Artemis Fowl.
On World Book Day, 3rd March, it was announced that a new record had been set, with 6388 students participating in the quiz across the country. Well done to all the Beaumont students who took part...your book knowledge is fantastic!
Sarah Crossan wows Beaumont!
On Tuesday 1st March we received an inspiring visit from Sarah
Crossan, the award-winning author of Apple and Rain, Beaumont's whole-school read. During the visit, Sarah was interviewed by three
Beaumont Book Club students. She
then gave an energetic, funny and enthralling talk on the joy and power of
poetry to Year 7 and Year 8 students in the main hall.
Sarah's energy and enthusiasm made a real impression on everyone here. Students said they found her 'really friendly' and called her talk 'inspirational', 'very funny' and 'amazing'. Lili Szigel wrote of Sarah: 'I think that she'll inspire many people to delve into poetry and face their fears'. Eleanor Huntley summed up the thoughts of everyone at Beaumont when she wrote: 'Thank you Sarah Crossan for delivering such an amazing talk and for taking the time to visit our school'.
One is currently longlisted for the prestigious Cilip Carnegie Medal book award. Good Luck, Sarah!