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L I B R A R Y
R E P O R T   2 0 0 7

Balancing chairs, flying monkeys and Confucius call my bluff !

Over twenty chairs were precariously balanced one on top of another on a Friday afternoon in early September. No, this was not preparation for another meeting in the Library, but rather an activity of the Puzzles and Games Club which was launched under the Library umbrella at the start of the school year. The chairs in question were twenty four small plastic pieces and the object was to stack as many as possible thus promoting manual dexterity, concentration, strategic planning and fun! Other games, both for individuals and groups, aim to encourage logical thinking, verbal and mathematical skills but all with a fun element. Pupils from all years have taken part in the sessions and some of the games have been loaned out for use in tutor periods and classes.

April saw another new initiative with the visit of a storyteller. Der-Shin Hwang told traditional Chinese tales to the year 8s and also spoke at an open session at lunchtime. Whilst entertaining us with stories of the Jade Emperor, a flying monkey and other exotic creatures, she managed to introduce us to the ideas of Confucius and was expert in engaging her audience.

Other events included a lunchtime, “Call My Bluff” session when unlikely definitions of unusual words sometimes proved to be true! Students and staff enjoyed seemingly ludicrous definitions of “taphephobia”, “linstock”, “bardolatry”, “trotline” and “vexillology” – you will have to check a good dictionary to find out what they mean! The annual sale of nearly-new books in March in aid of Book Aid International raised £70. The Library also organised a poetry reading session to mark National Poetry Day at which staff and pupils read their favourite poems and explained why they liked them. As well as these “extras”, the day-to-day work of the Library in supporting students’ learning and leisure interests continued as usual. Classes were brought to the Library to research biomes, illegal drugs, careers options, Shakespeare, healthy eating and many other topics. Model United Nations continued to make good use of resources in their after-school meetings.

All in all it was a successful and very busy year!