Beaumont book club students quiz writer Ali Sparkes

Some of our Year 8 students were given the opportunity to interview writer Ali Sparkes during her visit last week. Here are a few of the questions they asked:

When you are writing your books, do any parts get edited out and how do you feel about that?

Ali: Yes! Car-Jacked is a prime example of this as it went through three big re-writes. The editor thought that Jack's 'monster mother' was too over the top in the first draft and that her actions were too extreme. Also, the book's ending didn't exist in the early drafts. Without wanting to tell you what happens if you haven't read the book, I had left the ending hanging after Jack's press conference but according to my editor the story needed more closure. I am sad that I lost parts of the book but I think it gained more as a result of the editing. I think the book is way better than it was before.

Are you good at meeting deadlines? 

Ali: I'm not bad as I used to be a journalist which is all about deadlines. As I do a lot of events it has become more difficult to organize my time but I try to write whenever and wherever I can!

Do you watch The Great British Bake Off and who did you want to win?

Ali: Liam! As a character, he was the real winner. I'm a keen baker so I'm really addicted to the show. 

What is your favourite TV show? 

Ali: Bake Off would definitely be in my top five. I also like understated comedies like Detectorists and Rev.

If you could make any of your books into a film which one would you pick?

Ali: I think Car-Jacked would work well. Movies for young people often need a strong adult character so that the movie makers can cast a star adult actor in the role. Both Ross and Leonie's characters would be good for that. I'm waiting for the call from Steven Spielberg!

If you had to choose, would you prefer a world with books and no TV, or a world with TV and no books?

Ali: I like watching television but I would have to go for books and no TV because books can reach people everywhere and in a whole different way. 

Genius ideas from visiting writer Ali Sparkes

Year 7 and 8 students had the pleasure of meeting award-winning writer Ali Sparkes when she visited Beaumont last week. Ali has had over forty books published and during her visit she introduced us to her fast-paced adventure story Car-Jacked. The book's main character Jack is a home-tutored child genius who finds himself on the run with bank robber and car stealer Ross as they try to evade the police, the bad guys AND Jack's pushy, over-protective mum. The story follows the pair as they use their very different talents on a breathless chase from Scotland to London. 

Addressing students and staff in the hall, Ali set the scene as she read extracts from Car-Jacked and then went on to describe some of the research behind the story. As Jack has an IQ of 170, Ali contacted real-life child geniuses via Mensa (The High IQ Society) to ask what it was like to be super brainy. Ali also auditioned and appeared on the television quiz show The Chase. She explained that her hopes for success were high as she had previously appeared on Eggheads and had won her head-to-head round on art and books. Sadly, Ali had to confess that her time on The Chase was much more gruelling and that she only got two questions right! Fortunately, she explained, being a writer means that any experience, however  negative, can be turned into material for her books! 

Continuing the quiz theme, Ali's presentation included a How Clever Are You? quiz for the audience. After testing students on maths, books, pi and Jupiter's moons, Ali declared that Beaumont is 'full of geniuses'! There was even a Quiz the Teachers round with top spot going to Mrs Bennett for her knowledge of crepuscular creatures and the Jovian planets! Ali rounded off her talk by encouraging our students to celebrate their 'brainy side'.

Students described Ali's talk as 'brilliant', 'inspiring' and 'very funny'. They loved all the crazy/cute kitten pictures Ali used in her presentation and also the vivid description of her own 'monster mother moment'! 

Ali spent a very busy lunchtime in the library, meeting students and signing copies of her books. She was also interviewed by members of Beaumont Book Club. 

We would like to say a big thank you to Ali for visiting us at Beaumont School. The library has a wide selection of Ali's books, including her latest title Thunderstruck...why not give one a try! 

Beaumont's word millionaires!

The school's Accelerated Reader software estimates how many words our Year 7 and 8 students read each week, based on their AR book quizzes. The following students have all reached one million, two million or three million word-count milestones this term...amazing!

One million words: 

Polly Alexander 7A
Isabella Cottingham 7A
Noah Loberman 7E
Chaya Flatau 7L
Lucas Parkes 7L
Ashan Balasuntharam 7R
Alexander Morgan 7R
Lucy Morrish 7R
Ethan Teague 7R
Nick Berman 8A
Elliot Coates 8N
Danny McDougall 8N

Two million words:

Alice Yntema 7A 
Mia Samuels 7R
Hannah Robinson 8E

Three million words:

Jonathan Bint 7R

Accelerated Reader league tables - the half time scores are in

Since the start of the school year in September, Year 7 and Year 8 students have been busy reading and taking AR book quizzes in their weekly library sessions. Here are just a couple of fantastic facts about our students' reading endeavours so far: number of book quizzes passed 1047, number of stars awarded for scoring 100% on book quizzes 447. We have also awarded 35 silver and gold stars to the following students:

SILVER (for scoring 100% on five book quizzes) 

7A Sam Coffer,Jonathan Harris,Isabella Cottingham, Lais Patel, Jenna Yasin, 
7E Edward Benson, Noah Loberman
7L Chaya Flatau
7R Jonathan Bint, Annabella Casson, Austin Earl
7S Shuo Han Wang

8A Milly Oliver, Maisie Kemp, Ella Neal
8E Lilia Prowse, Sophie Austin
8L Molly Sandford Smith, Bronny Jones
8N Elliot Coates
8R Rosie Tembras, Charlie Tym
8S Sam Taylor

GOLD (for scoring 100% on ten book quizzes) 

7A Polly Alexander, Alice Yntema
7E Liam McCrae
7R Mia Samuels

8E Hannah Robinson
8N Danny McDougall

Congratulations to all our students who have passed a book quiz this term. You will all have earned points towards your individual points target AND contributed to your form's overall points total. We display a weekly update of the AR points league tables in the library so you can keep an eye on how your form is doing. Here are the latest standings:

What would you be prepared to sacrifice, in order to live in a perfect world?

 



The school year has got off to a great start in the library with the launch of Lois Lowry's book The Giver as our new Beaumont Reads/whole school read. This powerful novel, set in a near future, tells the story of Jonas and his life in what, at first glance, appears to be a perfect world. Here there is no discord or war or pain, lives are ordered and comfortable, strong emotions are controlled by pills and memories do not exist. In this model society, people strive for 'Sameness' and have a fear of being different. Nine-year-old Jonas' world is turned upside-down when he meets the Giver and becomes the Receiver of Memory. Jonas discovers that, with memories, come powerful emotions and sensations, both positive and painful. This new knowledge makes Jonas question his world and forces him to make the most difficult decision of his life.

The Giver is a truly compelling and thought-provoking book. Over the coming weeks we will be encouraging as many students, parents and staff as possible to read, review and share the book. We will support the book across the curriculum through a range of activities . All those who review The Giver will be presented with a specially designed badge, exclusive to Beaumont!

As we have discovered in previous years, the Beaumont Reads initiative is a fantastic way to bring the school community together. We will post regular updates on this year's activities on our social media so please look out for all the latest news on The Giver!

Year 7 book club celebrate The Giver

AR points - this term's winners!

Many congratulations to 7E and 8E for coming top of their respective AR points tables this term. Fantastic team performances by both classes and in particular 7E as every one of the students in that form has passed a book quiz and contributed to their form's total.

It has been a great term of quizzing across all the classes. In total, our Year 7 and Year 8 students have passed over 1300 book quizzes...fantastic reading!

As the term ends, we must mention the latest students to receive silver or gold stars:

Silver
7A Tara Parks
7L Mitchell Banks and Grace Harvey
8A Scarlett Parks

Gold
7E Sam Flury
8S Paris Hall

Finally, the following students have read 1 million words this term:

7A Ella Neal
7E Sam Flury
7L Peter Laanest
7R Rosie Tembras
7S Evie Clark and Seth Cooper
8S Paris Hall

7N Elliot Coates has read 2 million words!

We would like to wish all our students Happy Summer Hols and we look forward to seeing you back in the library in September!

Beaumont readers brighten the library with stars

 

As you can see from the photo, the Accelerated Reader display board in the library is brimming with all the stars earned by our Year 7 and 8 students this term. Every star will be entered into a special draw with prizes for the lucky reader from each form. Well done to ALL the students who have passed book quizzes and contributed to their form's points total.

The following students earned a silver or gold star last week:

Silver
7L Leila Macpherson
7R Ryan Rollings
7R Rosie Tembras
8S Daisy Porter

Gold
7A Nick Berman

We can also estimate the number of words read by each student based on their book quizzes. The following students have reached significant word count milestones:

1 million words read this term: Nick Berman 7A
2 million words read this term: Lilia Prowse 7E

The latest AR standings are shown below. While the positions at the top of each table remain the same, there were some great reading performances lower down the tables last week. 7R moved up from 5th to 4th with a solid 183 point gain. 8S also moved from 5th to 4th last week as a result of some very accurate quizzing. We should also mention Seth Cooper in 7S who passed four quizzes last week (including three on Harry Potter books) and earned an amazing 108 points for his form!

Summer reading...escape with a book!

As the heatwave hit Beaumont last week and temperatures in the library soared, our thoughts turned to summer and the holidays ahead. To help students prepare for the long summer break we decided to put together two holiday reading displays with book suggestions galore. 

The above display features fourteen books well worth packing in your suitcase. The selection includes the thought-provoking CILIP Carnegie Medal-winning Salt to the Sea and The Bone Sparrow which was awarded the Amnesty CILIP Honour. Alongside these is the latest Tom Gates book Family, Friends and Furry Creatures and two of the books shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud Book Award 2017: My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord and David Baddiel's Animalcom. For Holly Smale fans there is the Geek Girl special Sunny Side Up. Whatever style or genre of book you enjoy, there is something for you on this display: from romance to fast-paced action adventure and from horror to humour.

As you can see, we have picked the books in our second display on the basis of their sunshine-yellow covers! The result is an exciting mix of titles to suit all tastes. Come along to the library and see for yourself!

Silver standard reading from Year 7 and 8

Some excellent reading and quizzing produced a flurry of silver stars on the AR board last week. Well done to the following students who have all scored 100% on at least five book quizzes this term:

7A Ella Neal
7N Thomas Mumford
7R Elliot Coates (this takes Elliot's total up to 25 stars this term!)
8A Grace Green
8A Lucy Robinson
8E Luka Cutts
8E Rosie Fletcher
8E Rachel Thompson

Year 7 student strikes double AR gold

Congratulations to Hannah Robinson in 7E for earning a second AR gold star during the Summer Term. This is a great achievement by Hannah who has now scored 100% in twenty-two AR quizzes...fantastic reading! A big round of applause also for the following students who have been awarded silver stars for scoring 100% on five book quizzes:

7A Maisie Kemp
7E Sam Flury
7N Sam Mackinnon
8L Helen Ross
8S Paris Hall

We must also mention Jake Morrish in 7L who has read 1 million words so far this term. This word count is based on Jake's AR quiz activity and is an impressive milestone. 

All students who passed a book quiz last week will have added to their form's points total. Here are the latest standings:

Challenging our top readers

There is an exciting new display in the library celebrating the launch of a reading initiative called 'Branch out with your reading' aimed at challenging our outstanding readers in Year 7 and 8. The English department has identified a number of students whose vocabulary and comprehension is of a sufficiently high standard to allow them to tackle books at GCSE level. These students will be invited to take part in the scheme and to stretch themselves by reading fiction from a wide range of titles selected by the English department and the librarians.

This selection includes classics, modern classics, young adult and adult fiction chosen to challenge the students' reading skills. There is also a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde category. In this section we have suggested a number of modern fiction titles that explore the same themes or are constructed in a similar way to R L Stevenson's classic novella. The aim of this selection is to introduce the students to the ideas behind Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde before they come to study it at GCSE.  

Mrs Mayer-Khan has produced a booklist entitled 'Challenge Yourself and Branch Out With Your Reading' to support the scheme.

Nicky Singer inspires Beaumont students

'Nicky Singer went into such detail and really explained every aspect of the writing process. It was great to meet such a unique author and get a behind-the-scenes look at what really makes a good book.' Evie, Year 7.

Evie's comment about writer Nicky Singer sums up what our students felt after listening to her talk in the library during our recent Children's Book Award Discussion Day. During her visit, Nicky gave the students a real insight into her life as an author and some invaluable tips on how to write. Here are some of the things we learned:
 
You have to have self-belief to be a writer. You need to be able say to yourself not 'I failed' but 'I tried, it didn't work so I'll try something else.'
 
Tell yourself: 'I can do anything as long as I want to enough.' Don't be contained.
 
As an author you have to step into someone else's shoes, inhabit their soul.
 
Be really nosy: listen, poke around in things. Ask people to explain to you how they feel; writing is about feeling.
 
Never put a real person in a book, they can't behave with the freedom you would like in the story.

Many thanks once again to Nicky for spending the day with us at Beaumont and inspiring our students.

Read more about Nicky's visit in the following Herts Advertiser article:

http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/education/author-helps-with-judging-for-pupils-own-book-awards-at-st-albans-school-1-5035546

'We are all connected' - thinking about our world with writer Nicky Singer

The library's Children's Book Award (CBA) Discussion Day on Monday 22nd May was made doubly special by a visit from writer Nicky Singer. We were delighted that Nicky could be with us on the day and take part in all the book-based activities. She was particularly keen to sit with the students and listen to their discussions and opinions on the three books shortlisted for the CBA 2017. With over fifty students in the library, it was a lively and hectic morning. Nicky was busy from start to finish, right down to counting the students' votes and announcing the winner of our CBA poll!

With all the CBA activities over, the students gathered to listen to Nicky as she talked about her work, her books and her life as a writer. Nicky has written extensively for young people; her works include seven fiction books, a play, a musical and an opera. In this talk, she focussed on Feather Boy, her first children's title and Island, her latest book. 

Island is a beautiful and thought-provoking book set on Herschel Island in the Arctic circle. The story focusses on the native Innuit people and the drastic effect that global warming is having on the Arctic environments. Nicky describes it as 'a story that needed to be told'. She talked to us about how drilling for oil, climate change and rising sea levels are eroding and destroying Herschel and endangering the wildlife, including whales and polar bears. The Arctic people are intensely spiritual and deeply connected to nature. It is this connection that Nicky fears we are losing in our modern world. In the book, Inuluk, an Innuit spirit-girl, talks about us, the people in the world outside the Arctic (the Qallunaat), as 'the people who change nature'.

While delivering an important message, Island is also a compelling and enthralling story. We follow the main character, London teenager Cameron (described by Nicky as 'arrogant and blundering') to Herschel and watch as Inuluk tries to make him understand his part in what is happening to her island: 'when you tread heavily in your world you also tread in ours.'

Nicky's stressed the need for us all to think and care about others on our planet. In Inuluk's words: 'No one's an island, Cameron. You, your parents, London, Qikiqtaruk, the whales, the guillemots, the living, the dead. We're all connected. If one moves we all move.'

The students listened intently throughout Nicky's talk. Here are some of the things they had to say about meeting Nicky:

'I found her talk really inspiring...I feel this made me determined to help the environment.' Lilia 7E

'This was a fantastic day. Nicky showed us her beautiful book Island. We found out what we are doing to the earth and how it is affecting the Arctic.' Eliana 7R

'The whole day was amazing - the author's talk has to have been my favourite part though. Nicky really got engaged with us and answered all our questions. It was great to meet such a unique author.' Evie 7S

'Nicky Singer came to our school to talk about her new book. I really enjoyed it because of her outgoing and interesting personality.' Tia 8R

Many, many thanks to Nicky for visiting Beaumont and inspiring us all. For further information on Island and the fascinating story on how Nicky brought this book to publication, click on the links below:


http://nickysinger.com/new/island/

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/oct/22/nicky-singer-you-will-hate-my-book

Hanging out the bunting at our Children's Book Award Discussion Day

On Monday 22^nd May, Beaumont students and the library team welcomed pupils from Marlborough and Sandringham to our Children’s Book Award (CBA) Discussion Day. The CBA is the only national book award voted for solely by children. It involves 250 schools across the UK. As part of the awards process, over 1,000 books have been reviewed and rated by children and whittled down to a shortlist of three. The aim of our library event was to explore and discuss the three books shortlisted for the 2017 prize and to vote as a group on which one the students think should be the eventual winner.

As a double celebration of books and reading, we were also delighted to meet writer Nicky Singer who joined us for the Discussion Day.  The library buzzed with lively debate as students chatted and played board games specifically created by Mrs Mayer-Khan to encourage discussion of the shortlisted titles. Staff from all three schools were impressed by the students’ knowledge of the books and the clarity and passion with which they discussed them.

After an hour of discussion, students were invited to vote for their favourite of the three books. The winner of the group’s vote was ‘Car-jacked’ by Ali Sparkes, a fast-paced adventure story which won by a small margin over Sarah Crossan’s verse-novel ‘One’. The overall winner of the national CBA 2017 vote will be announced on Saturday 10^th June.

Following the vote, students spent time producing artwork, reviews and writing inspired by the three books. This work will be collated into a portfolio and presented to the shortlisted authors. To commemorate our Discussion Day, all the students were also invited to pick one of their favourite ever books and write the title in a ‘Celebration of Reading’ journal. The result is a fantastically varied collection of book suggestions. This journal will circulate between Beaumont, Sandringham and Marlborough, hopefully inspiring other students to read some of the books recommended inside.

 

Once all the CBA activities were over and students had been unleashed on the refreshments table, we handed the floor over to Nicky Singer. The students were treated to a fascinating talk about her life as a writer, her work and the inspiration behind her books. There is so much to say about what we learned from Nicky that it merits its own post on our blog! Please click on the link below to read more about Nicky's visit:

http://libraryatbeaumontschool.blogspot.com/

 

'I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!'

7A and 8A students did Jane Austen proud with their reading last week. Students in 7A passed 32 book quizzes, accumulating an impressive 209 AR points. This keeps them at the top of their league table. Meanwhile, 8A readers passed 17 quizzes, earning 116 AR points which was the biggest points gain for the week in Year 8. Well done to ALL the students across the two year groups who passed book quizzes last week. Silver stars have been awarded to the following students: Nick Berman (7A) Peter Laanest and Isabelle Tapson (7L) Congratulations also to Lilia Prowse (7E) for achieving a gold star. Here are the updated league tables:

'I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library'. Pride & Prejudice.

Latest AR book quiz news - and a double gold.

Students in Year 7 and 8 passed a grand total of 124 AR book quizzes last week. Well done to all those quizzers. A huge round of applause for Hannah Robinson (7E) who has earned a gold star for scoring 100% in over ten book quizzes so far this term, and for Elliot Coates (7N) who has bagged his second gold star. Jake Morrish (7L) and Danny McDougall (7N) have been awarded silver stars. 

All those students who passed a quiz have contributed to their form's points total. The latest standings can be seen below. A great team effort from 8E who passed 14 out of 14 quizzes, accumulating a  huge 248 AR points last week. 7E remain at the top of their table with 7L moving into 2nd place following a very strong week of quizzing: 19 quizzes passed and 187 AR points earned.

A fantastic week of reading at Beaumont

Year 7 and 8 readers have passed a grand total of 145 AR book quizzes in their library lessons over the last week. Students scored 100% on 88 of these quizzes which means the AR board in the library is filling up with stars.

Congratulations to Lilia Prowse and Hannah Robinson (7E) who have already read over one million words since the start of the Summer Term. They are also amongst the students who have earned silver and gold stars this term:

Silver (100% on 5 AR quizzes)
7E Lilia Prowse and Hannah Robinson
7L Molly Sandford Smith 
8N Isobel Holsborough

Gold (100% on 10 AR quizzes)
7N Elliot Coates (as mentioned in another library blog!)

All students who passed a quiz have contributed to their form's points total. Here are the latest standings. 7E and 8E remain top of the charts but a special mention must go to 7L who achieved the biggest points gain of the week, adding an impressive 313.5 AR points to their form's total. This propels them from 6th to 3rd place in the Year 7 table.

A golden performance by top AR quizzer Elliot

Hats off to Elliot Coates (7N) for being the first student to earn a gold AR star in the Summer Term. Gold stars are awarded to students who have scored 100% on ten AR quizzes. Elliot has in fact scored 100% on eighteen quizzes this term, which means he has answered 180 book-related questions correctly...a flawless performance. Fantastic reading by Elliot which puts him well on the way to a double gold!

Summer's splendid stars.

As you can see from the photo, the Accelerated Reader board in the library already has an impressive scattering of stars in only the first week of the Summer Term. Year 7 and 8 students certainly hit the ground running last week, with many taking book quizzes in their AR lessons. Congratulations to all the students who got some reading done over the Easter hols and who have already passed a quiz this term. We will update the AR league tables next week after all our Year 7 and 8 students have completed their Star Tests and have had a chance to quiz. Good luck to all our readers in the term ahead! 

Author visits and awards season - an exciting Summer Term ahead in the library!

There are lots of exciting events taking place in the library in the coming weeks. Highlights include our Children's Book Award Discussion Day which will take place on Monday 22nd May. This is the only national book award chosen entirely by children/young adults. During the Discussion Day we will be inviting students from other schools to join us to celebrate the three shortlisted titles and to decide which book we think should win the award.

Children's Book Award shortlist - older readers

We are very excited about this event as, on the same day, we are also welcoming writer Nicky Singer to Beaumont. Nicky is the author of Island, a powerful and moving book about story-telling, the beautiful Arctic and the effect we all have on our planet. It is illustrated by the Children's Laureate Chris Riddell. The story behind how Nicky brought Island to publication is equally fascinating. Read about Island in the author's own word in the following interview:

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/oct/22/nicky-singer-you-will-hate-my-book

We are also shadowing the CILIP Carnegie Medal book award which features a very strong shortlist of eight young adult novels. For more information on what we are doing, take a look at our very own Carnegie group page:

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/grouphomepages/index.php?GroupID=11440

CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlist

Keep an eye on our blog and twitter page @BeauLibrary for all the up-to-date news on library events!

A special mention for Molly SS (7L)

There have been many fantastic quiz performances by our Year 7 and 8 students in their AR lessons this term. Overall, students across the two year groups have passed a staggering 1529 quizzes over the Spring Term.

We would like to make special mention of Molly Sandford Smith in 7L. Molly has proved our most consistently accurate quizzer. She has taken and passed 21 book quizzes this term alone, that's 230 questions answered in total. Of those 230 questions, Molly only got ONE wrong...spectacular work, Molly! 

 

The Library Team would like to wish you all a Happy Easter Break!

Elgar tops the AR charts

As the Spring Term draws to a close, we can announce that 7E and 8E have finished top of their respective AR league tables. A very consistent performance by 7E who have led from the front, not once slipping from first place over the entire term. 8E left it much later to take the lead, storming to the top of their table with a 258-point weekly gain in mid-March. We would like to congratulate ALL our Year 7 and 8 students who have passed an AR quiz since Christmas and contributed to their form's points total this term.

The tables will now be re-set for the start of the Summer Term so there is all to play for when we return from the Easter holiday!

More quizzing success for Beaumont readers

Year 7 and Year 8 students passed over 120 book quizzes in their AR lessons last week...fantastic reading! As you can see from the photo, the AR board in the library is brimming with all the stars awarded to students over the Spring Term. 

The following pupils achieved silver and gold stars last week:

Silver (100% on five quizzes)
7E Sophie Austin
7L Alex Camp, Leila Macpherson
8E Kate Evans
8N Susie Weidmann
8R Dilshan Andersson

Gold (100% on ten quizzes)
7E Lilia Prowse - this is Lilia's second gold star this term!

The following readers reached significant word count milestones last week:

One million words read this term
7E Sophie Austin
7R Eve Worsley

Two million words read this term
7E Lilia Prowse

Here are the latest league tables:

AR league table updates - huge gains for 8E

A great team performance by 8E in their AR lesson last week pushed them to the top of the Year 8 points table. Fourteen 8E students passed a total of twenty-four book quizzes, contributing a fantastic 258 AR points to their form's total. This is a tremendous gain in one week, taking 8E from 3rd to 1st place. Many congratulations! Two 8E students have also been awarded silver stars this week for scoring 100% on at least five AR quizzes since the start of the Spring Term. Here are this week's silver and gold star students:

Silver
8E Thomas Cross and Rachel Thompson
8L Katherine Camp

Gold
7A Nicolas Berman. This is Nicolas' second gold star!