Lest We Forget

This week, Swans students have been marking the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War in a variety of ways.

Year 9 humanities students presented an excellent assembly on the theme, which included a fascinating debate on whether war can ever be justified.

Here in the library we have displayed some of the many books in our collection that were either inspired by the period or written during it.  Literature plays a very important role in the remembrance of this dreadful time in our history, helping us to commemorate all those that lost their lives.

We also have an unplugged twitter feed displaying a selection of tweets from the various academics who, one hundred years on, are tweeting the events of the Great War daily as they unfold.

Take a Journey

Reading is often compared to taking a journey, as you get to spend some time somewhere else, seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.

Well, the International Bookmark Exchange offers you another way to do just that. 

Participating students are asked to create a beautiful bookmark (relevant to the ideas at the core of the exchange) which, if it is picked as one of the best, will be exchanged with a student at one of the schools we have been matched with.  This year our partner schools are in Estonia, Romania and Jamaica, and we hope to learn more about them once we receive their bookmarks.

All students aged 10-13 are eligible to enter, and all they need to do is come to the library, collect their blank bookmark, decorate it in a beautiful and relevant way and hand it in before Wednesday 22^nd October. 

Winners will be notified and will receive their reciprocal bookmark thereafter.  Those bookmarks that are not picked will be laminated and returned to their owner – so everyone who enters will end up with a brand new bookmark one way or another!

What better way to spread peace and unity than to find common ground with people in the far away corners of the world through sharing our love of books and reading.  Keep an eye on this blog for updates.

Responsible Research

As we know, at IB level it is absolutely essential that projects are thoroughly researched, and that sources are reputable and reliable. 

Well, luckily, help is at hand, because Swans now has a subscription to Questia School, a fantastic digital library of full-text academic articles and e-books.  For our IB students, this is the tailor-made place to begin the search for fantastic information for their internal assessments, extended essays and any other projects.

To start browsing Questia, IB students simply need to contact the library to be receive their password.  They will then be able to access Questia from home or school, or anywhere else they choose!  Not only this, but they will also be able to save their research and generate citations too.

So if you are one of our IB students, call into the library today and discover a world of reliable research right at your fingertips. 

The Golden Age of YA Fiction is Here

It’s a great time to be a teenage reader!

Just take a look at the movies that have been playing to packed houses at our local multiplexes these past few years  - The Hunger Games, Twilight series, The Host, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, plus the upcoming If I Stay, Thirteen Reasons Why and The Giver to name but a few – all of which started life as novels for young adults.

Probably the secret of the success of these books is their universal appeal; these are stories that, while featuring teenage protagonists and aimed at the young adult market, are gripping, sophisticated and highly original.  These are novelists who wouldn’t dream of patronizing or failing to challenge their readers, which has won them an army of fans (including a huge number of not-so-young adults too).

The new display in the library showcases just some of the titles that have captured the imagination of cinemagoers in the past couple of years.  If you’ve loved these movies but haven’t read the original book, why not give it a try?  Reading the novel is like opening a window into the thoughts, feelings and histories of the characters, and also often reveals extra facets of the story that the filmmakers weren’t able to fit in.

So call into the library and pick up the novel of your favourite new film today!

Know For Sure

Swans now benefits from a truly fantastic new digital resource called Britannica School. 

You might have seen the old Encyclopaedia Britannica sets – well, in this new information age, these have been updated and much improved and now take the form of a huge, fully searchable database of information, accessible from school and from home.

Research projects make up a significant proportion of work set in any secondary school academic career, and there are many hazards to relying on the internet to provide you with reliable sources of information.  This is why Britannica School is a vital tool for students.  Search for the topic you are researching, and this database will show you every article it has relating to your search, all of which have been verified by experts. 

But it gets even better - down the left hand side of the page you will find a menu that takes you directly to journal articles on your topic, related e-books and, best of all, a list of suggested websites on which to continue your research.  All of these websites have been specially selected by educators as being great sources of totally reliable information.

You can even create your own My Britannica profile, on which you can save all your research in order to come back to it later.  You can also create references so that you can cite all your sources, be fully academically honest and really impress your teachers with your skills.  There are three levels of information so no matter what your age there will be something to suit your needs.

Students, your lives just got a lot easier!  So don’t delay - before you start your next research task, call into the library and ask for your password and quick tour, to open up a whole new world of easy, reliable and responsible research.

Word of the Day

This new daily challenge began today at secondary school.

Each day will feature a different word, and these will gradually be added to our word tree, which has now taken root next to the slope.

Activities will change on a weekly basis.  This week the challenge each day is to write three original sentences using the featured word, and the first five entries submitted to the library before 4pm will win a merit.

Today´s word was...

Revile - to criticise angrily.

There will be a brand new word tomorrow and a brand new challenge next week so if you're a word fan... watch this space.

New School Year - New Books!

Welcome to a new term at Swans!

It´s great to see everyone again after a refreshing summer break, and it's fantastic to welcome new students too.

And we have been blessed with some new additions of our own... Over the summer, the book order arrived and the library now has hundreds of the best new titles to tempt our readers.

Among these, popular Young Adult fiction from writers like Robert Muchamore (Cherub and Henderson Boys), Veronica Roth (Divergent series), Cassandra Clare (Mortal Instruments), Darren Shan's new Zom-B series and several books by literary sensation John Green.

For younger readers, we have the Dear Dumb Diary series, hilarious books by David Walliams and the Gallagher Girls series.

IB students will find plenty to interest them among our fiction collection, as well as the best in enrichment titles, including Walter Isaacson's biography of the late Steve Jobs, a study of the working methods of Google ("In the Plex") and fascinating new titles for environmentalists "Violent Earth" and "Dire Predictions".

Graphic Novel fans will find our collection of this art form greatly expanded to include the Scott Pilgrim series and a selection of Japanese manga.

And as if that wasn't enough, we now boast all of the titles on the recommended reading lists for every age group.

So there really is no excuse not to make 2014-15 the year that you become an avid reader - see you soon!

Mad Millionaires

Our first individual millionaire claimed victory (and the 50 euro jackpot) a couple of weeks ago – very well done and huge congratulations to Jasmijn De Grebber in Year 8, who really put in the hours while also enjoying the huge benefits of avid reading.  She has been followed into the illustrious millionaires’ club by Ekaterina Fortova (also in Year 8) and will soon be joined by a few more students who have devoured books from our collection over these past months and have no doubt improved their language skills and given their imaginations a good work out while they were about it!  Participating students have now read almost ten million words between them and should keep it up - library VIP cards and early lunch passes are still up for grabs.

Individuals will be rewarded with their prizes during an upcoming assembly, while the winners of the form challenge have already enjoyed the fruits of their labours at their Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the library (see picture).  A great time was had by all with iced tea, cakes, little sandwiches, music, silly hats and a special library treasure hunt to pass the time.  8TJ enjoyed the party immensely and were worthy winners – the library has been grateful of their enthusiasm and support all year, and hopes that this will continue.

The Great Swans Novel

Back in Book Week, the library posed a question... what would happen if we, as a student body, tried to write a novel, with no plan, on the hoof, in just 5 days?

The answer hits our shelves this week in the form of our first self-published extended piece of fiction, a wild and crazy ride entitled “The Surreal Adventures of Casper, Peppa, Batman, Leonardo Di Caprio and Barack Obama”.  It won´t be winning the Booker Prize, but it´s actually a pretty good read!

It was written during breaktimes and lunchtimes over the course of Book Week, with students dropping in during their spare time and adding to an ongoing narrative.  In many ways it was an experiment in collective writing, a way to develop the creativity and English language skills of our students in a fun and casual way.

The result is a totally abstract piece, covering every genre from crime to romance to horror to thriller and even taking in aspects of graphic novel.  At times it veered into stream-of-consciousness; at others played with the constructs of reality in a way that was refreshing and interesting and humorous.  

Some teachers have seen advanced copies and all have been impressed with the obvious talent and enthusiasm on display in what has been described as a true piece of “gonzo” fiction.  This term, first coined in the 1970s by Hunter S Thompson, describes a crazy, eccentric and spontaneous form of literature which favours style over accuracy, shunning the ‘polished’ edited product for a more gritty approach, and making liberal use of sarcasm, humour and exaggeration. 

The novel is available to be read in the library now, and contributors can collect their very own copy to keep.  Well done to all the Swans School writers (and illustrator), and who knows what the future holds for our artists’ collective?

A Million Words and a Thousand Miles

Back in Book Week at the beginning of last month, we launched the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire reading challenge, daring students to read a million words by the end of the year.

There were two prizes up for grabs – one for the first form to read a million words collectively and one for the first individual.

Well, I am happy to report that this Monday, just 35 days after the launch of the challenge, 8TJ became the first form to reach their target.  Well done to them, in particular to Elizaveta Fortova and Ekaterina Fortova who contributed the majority of the words, but also to fellow contributors Olivia Sullivan, Esteban Halmi, Khalil Fakhry, Chloe Jeffery and Max Bennett. The form were delighted to learn that their reward will be a Mad Hatter's Tea Party to be held in the library next Friday afternoon during form time.  Their victory is a testament to teamwork; at the time of going to press no other form had managed to match them, but several others were getting very close and it was a hard-won contest.

First prize for individuals is currently being hotly contested with several students having passed their halfway mark.  Though there will be a first prize in this category, all students who reach the target before the end of term will have their efforts rewarded in some way, so keep reading!

When this challenge was first launched, students entered with more than a little trepidation and skepticism.  Were they ever going to get there?  Surely a million words was an unachievable target?   Staring down the barrel of it all, even I wasn't sure!  But consider that the average Young Adult novel has 50,000-70,000 words and you realise that it soon adds up, especially if, as some students have, you really put in the hours.  Even the most daunting goal can be achieved as long as you persevere, undaunted – a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Literature and life lessons from the Swans School Library!

Las Poetas de Swans

Many many congratulations to the talented Swans poets who won top prizes in the recent XVIII Certamen de Poesía Para Escolares Poetas del 27, a Malaga-wide poetry competition run by the Ayuntamiento.

Out of the sixteen finalists, no less than five were Swans students, with two Swans finalists scooping first and third position.

 

They are beautiful poems too - some of our students really do have an exceptional talent and flair for creative writing, and are a real credit to themselves and their teachers.

Their poems now appear in print in this book, and the Spanish department have given us several copies to keep here in the library for all the students who would like to come and read the winning poems. (Many already have!)

Blue Jeans and a Pen

You will no doubt already be aware of the young Spanish literary sensation, Blue Jeans, and his novel Canciones Para Paula, which was said to be the first novel to be published in print following its huge popularity on social networks.  Well our copy of his novel has been on a little adventure to Malaga to meet its maker… and has come back signed by Blue Jeans himself!

Yes, thanks to Sara Rifat and Natalia Fernandez in Year Nine, who took the book with them, waited in a seemingly endless line late into the night, and were rewarded with an encounter with the man himself.  What a thrill for them to have met a local hero, and for us to now have a signed copy of the book in the library for all Swans readers to enjoy!  Sara and Natalia have promised to write about their experience so look out for that report in the upcoming issue of Pulse magazine.

If you´ve never done it, you might not see the appeal in getting an author to sign a book, but there is something really exhilarating about meeting someone whose work you admire.  Part of the appeal is in fact seeing how normal and human they really are and therefore realizing that there is a writer (or a creator of some sort) in all of us.  Another by-product is all the like-minded individuals and fellow fans you will mostly meet while waiting in line!

Blue Jeans fans will already know plenty about this young author (real name Francisco de Paula Fernández), who hails from just down the road in Sevilla, and studied law before giving it up to pursue a degree in journalism and later a career in writing.  All the latest news from him and his current signings tour are available on his very nice website at http://www.lawebdebluejeans.com/ .  Check it out and call into the library to view our signed copy soon!

Reading the News

A host of new titles have been added to our collection in the last week or so, thanks to the generous donations of our users, and the hard work of our monitors who have been frantically getting them catalogued and covered.

Two books featuring the eponymous hero Jason Bourne are now ready to borrow, as is the English translation of Isabel Allende´s classic Latin American novel The House of the Spirits, which will no doubt be a popular title.  Johnny and the Bomb, another Johnny Maxwell novel by the author of the Discworld series, is set to be a hit with our younger readers, and Started Early Took My Dog by the ever-popular Kate Atkinson will not be languishing on the shelves long if our older and adult users have anything to do with it.

There are also new books in our Spanish and French collections as well as a few new additions to our modest but growing selection in German.

We are always open to donations of books as long as they are in reasonable condition.  I suppose it won´t surprise you to discover that we in the Swans School library believe very strongly that books should be read, enjoyed and then released into the world to find new readers.  If you have books gathering dust in your house, consider setting them free.

In the meantime, call into the library to check out the fifty new titles that have recently hit our shelves.

In The Club

Those who have come through the primary school will be familiar with the way a book club works - students take home catalogues and place an order to buy any of the books in them that they like the look of.  These books are then delivered to the school and distributed to take home.  For many students at primary it´s one of the highlights of the year, and the benefits of choosing your own books to enjoy at home, away from the pressures of school and studying, cannot be overstated.

And now there´s the chance for secondary students to get involved!  By now all students in Years 6-10 should have received their catalogue from Baker Books International Book Club and taken it home.  There are some wonderful books in there and something to suit all ages from 10-16.  If you see a book you would like to add to your home collection all you need to do is talk very nicely to a parent (or whoever holds the purse strings in your household) and ask them to buy it for you.

Paying for the books really couldn´t be easier.  We have set up a brand new, state-of-the-art facility called Parent Pay, which means that parents simply need to go to this web address http://parentpay.bakerbooks.co.uk/clubs/SWASPA1 and pay with their debit or credit card.  It is completely secure and can all be done from the comfort of your own home.  How easy is that?

And why should you buy books this way instead of through other well known booksellers?  The benefits are two-fold.  Firstly because the books on offer in this catalogue have been hand-picked and specially selected by educators as being great reads and resources for students, and secondly because for every book our students order the library will receive credit to put towards books to add to our collection.  So it really is a win-win!

Deadline for orders is Friday 23^rd May, so that your brand new books will be delivered and distributed before the end of term.  Make sure you get your order in before then.

Finger on the Pulse

The first library-produced issue of Pulse came out last Friday and, as I´m sure you have now found out, it makes a fascinating read!  Many thanks and congratulations to all our contributors for their articles on subjects as diverse and interesting as the perils of rock n roll music, the benefits of reading, the importance of maintaining a healthy body image and what our favourite snack tells us about our personality, to name but a few.

Don´t miss the wonderful double page spread from Nikita in Y9, in which he shares photographs and tales from his encounters with the wildlife of the Caribbean, and our Inspirational Writers section which includes many of the winning entries from the various writing competitions in Spanish and English that have taken place this term.

New books and video games are given the once over by our team of reviewers and our technology section keeps you up to date on all the latest innovations on the market (and some that haven´t yet got that far).

Basically this issue is packed, cover to cover, with fantastic not-to-be-missed articles.  If you want to contribute something to the summer issue, due out in June, please send it along to the editor at library@swansschool.net or come along to an editorial meeting which takes place every Thursday lunchtime in the library, where we will also be seeking photographers, designers and illustrators.

Book Week Roundup

Despite it being a very busy week, with the Easter egg competition and sports day among other events taking place, the Swans students still found time to go loco for literature during our first Book Week (we´ve historically only had a day).

In the library we had daily quizzes to test our students book smarts, we also launched the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire challenge which dares students to read a million words in 2014.  There is still time to take up the challenge, and you can enter both as an individual and as a form group – there will be prizes for the first to reach the goal in each category. On Wednesday we had the Book Swap which was a great success thanks in no small part to the students who took part, going home to seek out suitable books to trade and coming to spend their tokens with great enthusiasm at our special stall.

We hope to do this again next year, and since there were so many students heard to say that they wished they had participated, we expect it to be even bigger and better next time around.

One of the most exciting projects here in the library was the Great Swans Novel, which challenged students to write a novel in just a week, by writing as a collective.  The huge enthusiasm of their students, as well as their impressive creativity, imagination and humour meant that the novel all but wrote itself, and, having had a sneak preview, the library can report that it is a roller-coaster of a read!  It covers just about every genre from romance to fantasy to crime to horror, and definitely verges on the surreal, but it certainly isn´t boring.  The library will now work on editing and publishing the masterpiece so stay tuned to this blog for news of its progress.

Outside of the library, the English department spent this week going even more bonkers for books than usual by holding readathons in lessons (complete with comfy cushions and snacks) and holding the annual book trailer competition.  The climax of this took place during our final Book Week assembly, during which we got to watch the best ones which were judged and marked so that a winner could be chosen.  Choosing a winner was a difficult job indeed, given the standard of all the trailers into which the students had put so much hard work.  They were really accomplished – acted with commitment, approached with creativity and originality, and slickly produced and edited to boot!  All the staff were delighted with the amount of time, effort and passion the students had put in, as well as the level of teamwork demonstrated in achieving the outcome.  It´s amazing what you can achieve when you feel really passionate about something.  Well done to all the key stage three students who took part.

The next event was the nail-biting finale of the annual Spelling Bee.    Students were tested with some incredibly hard words including one that managed to fell all of the remaining runners bar one, our winner, a student from Year 6!  She took home the fabulous prize of a kindle, and an enormous sense of pride.

So that was Book Week and the library would like to thank all the students, staff and teachers for their continuing enthusiasm for all things literary.  And so, until it returns next year (hopefully even bigger and better than ever) we bid a fond farewell to Book Week.  Except we don´t, not really, because as any of our users know... in the Swans School Library every week is a book week!

Not Just a Flash in the Pan

What a week it is!  Not only is it Book Week at Swans, but the latest issue of Pulse magazine has just gone to press – the first one edited and produced in the library.  Within its pages, among other wonders, readers will be able to find the winners of the library´s Flash Fiction competition, and what extremely worthy winners they were.

Despite initial scepticism, entrants conjured up some exceptional tales...in just twelve words.

Key Stage Two

The winner is Marcus Tawil, with this chilling tale that creates drama, suspense and horror in this finely crafted and economical piece:

The instant she recognised his face she knew her life was over.

Runner-up Miriam Frank-Petersen captures the sweet agony of first love between a highly unlikely pair of protagonists:

A zombie can still love.  I´m different from all others for you.

Key Stage Three

An extremely strong field here, but after much deliberation the winner is Julia Frank, with this cheeky and highly personalised take on a sci-fi staple:

Lazy, rude aliens invade Swans School—teachers do not notice any difference.

Second place goes to Nacho Casado with an eerily simple yet very menacing tale that leaves the reader with many more questions than answers:

She was my love—I was always with her… until her disappearance.

Key Stage Four

Girl power exerted its influence over our Year 10 and 11 students, with winner Luca De Jonge referencing romantic fiction and unconventional fairytale in her intriguing winner:

She knew him too well to just be friends.  Marriage it was.

And Imani Tupper brought us all the freshness, fun and neuroticism of modern chick lit with her peek into the protagonist´´s life:

She feels stressed, depressed but not well dressed.  This is my life.

Great stuff from the Swans writers!  This was not an easy challenge and yet again you exceeded all expectations. Certificates will be presented to the winners in assembly on Friday. 

Meanwhile here is a selection of the other fantastic efforts that narrowly missed out on the top spots:

There was a superhero called Fred that could defeat 6 malicious supervillains. Hector Y6

A turquoise spotted cow danced over the bright grass with a pink tutu. Victoria Y6

Once Tom went to space and was amazed by a bright flash of the moon. Emma Y6

The storm started with thunder and lightning.  Then came the rain... Lucia Y6

Evil will come to Earth but Billy will save the world.  Vlad Y6

As the monster creeps by, there asleep I lie.  Selma Y6

The soldiers are gone, and I am in love...  Claudia Y6

Sunny day, snowy mountain, I was skiing and a big bear appeared. Carmen Y6

Back from the future, gone to the past, my best creation ever.  Arman Y6

School for sale.  Children optional extra, free of charge.  Simone Y6

The wolf howled alone in the damp forest until the sun rose.  Honey Y6

John´s house was burned down.  Now he can admire the night sky. Alex Y6

Old lady wearing black, home alone.  Madison Y6

I have nothing left.  It´s just me and the road behind.  Help. Sebastian Y6

She has black hair and glistening, luminating white eyes.  She is midnight. Neeva Y6

I used to have a magic pencil that did all my exams.  Paula Y8

A taco boy found a pizza girl in a disgusting kebab restaurant. Anon Y8

“You can´t see me,” said a boy, but then I found him.  Patricia Y8

A short time ago the world was one but now it´s two. Jack Y9

Maria ate a poisonous pizza and died. Rebecca Y9

An astronaut pig discovered a sty.  Unfortunately it was my messy bedroom. Damian Y8

The granny hit the robber with her handbag that has a brick.  Cedric Y8

New world discovered in Ryan´s bag, there were lots of broken skulls.  Jason Y8

Secret world discovered in Marten´s bag.  New life formed in homework diary.  Melle Y8

There was a girl who found happiness in this cruel world. Sara Y9

I found a treasure inside a treasure inside another treasure inside another. Andres Y8

I fell on the floor and landed on the ceiling.  Pablo Y11

The orang-utan smelt bananas and then found them.  William Y11

Book Week is Coming!

This year we´re not settling for Book Day – we want a whole Book Week!  Yes, that´s right, all next week, 31^st March to the 4^th April, there will be tons of book-related fun for you to participate in and enjoy.  Here are just a few examples of what you have to look forward to next week when Swans School goes bonkers for books:

The Big Book Week Book Swap

Got shelves of books at home you´ve already read?  Desperate for something new to read?  Then the Big Book Swap is for you!  Simply bring a book into school you no longer want and swap it for a book token in the library. Keep your book token safe and then bring it along to the Big Book Swap next Wednesday (April 2) and exchange it for your choice of book.  The library is issuing tokens for books from now until Friday so don´t delay, clear off those bookshelves today!

The Great Swans School Novel

As we all know, novels normally take months or years to write.  But that´s because they are usually only written by one person.  So what about a novel that is written by 370 people?  Throughout Book Week in the library, students are invited to add to the Great Swans School novel.  You may make as many contributions as you like, either in groups or individually, so the fate of our central character is entirely in your hands!  Our masterpiece will be kept in the library for us and all future generations to enjoy.

Who Wants to be a Millionnaire?

How many Swans students have got what it takes to complete the Who Wants to be a Millionaire million word challenge?  Collect your millionaire card from the library and every time you return a library book that you have read you will have the word count added to your total.  Students that reach a million words will receive a special certificate and a prize, as well as a HUGE sense of pride and all the other fabulous benefits that go along with having developed a fruitful reading habit.  You´ll be surprised how quickly you reach your target, although obviously this challenge will continue far beyond Book Week.

The Book Week Spelling Bee

The English department will also be holding their annual Book Week Spelling Bee, the grand final of which will take place during assembly on the last day of term.  It promises to be a real nail-biter, with the fabulous prize of a Kindle up for grabs, and the library is pleased to report having seen many students furiously revising the spellings of the set texts in anticipation of the heats.  Good luck to everyone taking part!

Book Trailers

Produce, direct and star in your own trailer for a book?  No problem for the talented students of Key Stage Three, who have all been working very hard on their book trailers for the past several weeks.  The best ones will be selected by the English department to be shown in the final assembly and we are all excited to see the results.

And Much Much More…

There will also be fun activities during registration periods, in which we will talk about the books that have changed our lives, and test our knowledge of our favourite fiction and non-fiction.

So come to school all next week ready to go loco for literature!

It´s Electrifying!

It´s Positive Behaviour Week at Swans and here in the library we are seeing even more examples of how to be a great student than we usually do (and that really is saying something!).

After being overwhelmed with offers of help, all the books that weren´t yet covered now are, and students can currently accumulate “volts” by modeling exemplary library comportment.  Those who are spotted working away in silence or reading quietly have had their efforts rewarded; as have those who have renewed or returned their books on time, or written an entry for the competition.

The library has also become a film set once again, with the video to commemorate the event being shot here.  Participants are given a word associated with positive behavior which they must act out for the camera – think of it as an extended game of charades.  The Swans students have, as ever, risen to the challenge with their usual enthusiasm and given us more than enough to work with!  It should be good fun to watch the results in the second special assembly on Monday.

Let´s just hope all the wonderful positive energy that has been doing the rounds this week continues for the rest of the term and beyond.

A Flash of Inspiration

I´ll be brief:  it is thought that Ernest Hemingway wrote the shortest story ever written in order to win a bet. 

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

In only six words we are given a situation, characters and an atmosphere.  It may be true to say that we are left with more questions than we are answers, but isn´t that what really great storytelling is all about?

This month´s library competition challenges you to become the Flash Gordon of flash fiction, by writing an original story on any theme that is just twelve words long.  With double Hemingway´s word count, you should be able to intrigue, evoke and leave your readers wanting more.  Brevity and precision are the names of the game here – there´s no room for waffle – so be ruthless with yourself.  The best way to get there may be to write a longer version first and then cut cut cut!

This form of fiction is becoming increasingly popular in the age of the internet, and with attention spans getting shorter by the minute, maybe this is the way forward for the written word.  This is a particularly popular form with writers of horror and science fiction, so if you are seeking a theme or genre you might want to start there.  Here are a couple of my favourites:

Fish were falling from the sky. The truck driver stared in awe.

Mr Snowman needed a cuddle, the sun agreed, now he’s a puddle.

Reload, finger on the trigger, aim, breathe, shoot. The turkey is ready.

God said, 'Cancel Program GENESIS.' The universe ceased to exist. (Arthur C. Clarke)

And some more six word ones by famous writers, just to show how easy it is:

TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there … (Harry Harrison)

Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses. (Richard Powers)

Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?  (Eileen Gunn)

Sorry soldier, shoes sold in pairs.

Voyager still transmitted, but Earth didn’t.

Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time (Alan Moore)

Deadline for entries is Wednesday 19^th March, and you can submit your stories either as a comment under this blogpost, or on paper in the library.  The best ones will be selected for publication in the upcoming Easter edition of Pulse magazine – good luck!  

Hot. Cool. Yours.

The library is buzzing with excitement over the Winter Olympic Games, which started in Russia last Friday.  While the usual controversy surrounds the competition, the fans´ enthusiasm remains untarnished, and several library users spent their break watching real-time updates from events, reading magazine articles about various athletes and discussing their respective favourite team´s chances of success.

It´s one of the times that being in an international school is particularly exciting – we may all be rooting for different teams but it´s a great way to learn about other countries and see the world from multiple perspectives.

One of the main topics of discussion seems to be Russian figure skater Yulia Lipnitskaya, who at just fifteen is the youngest competitor at the Games and has, after two spellbinding performances, just helped bag a gold medal for the host nation in the team event.  Proof that no matter your age or stature (she´s just 1.57m tall), if you have the talent and are prepared to work extremely hard you can achieve the truly extraordinary.  Read all about her and the rest of the Russian figure skating team in the latest issue of Time Magazine, available now in the library.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, another talking point is snowboarder Jenny Jones who, despite being a decade older than most of her rivals, has just won Britain´s first ever medal on snow.  Her event, Slopestyle, only made its debut this year, and many thought it had come too late for Jones.  They were wrong.  So after years of working in whatever job she could find (including selling doughnuts) to support herself while she perfected her skills, her dreams have finally come true.  What a well-deserved reward for such persistence, determination and dedication.  Read more about her here:http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/winter-olympics-2014-selling-doughnuts-to-sweet-success--how-snowboarder-jenny-jones-claimed-olympic-medal-9117760.html

Great life lessons and plenty of inspiration from these and many more Winter Olympians… and it is still only day three!  Keep up to date with all the latest news from the games on the official website: http://www.sochi2014.com/en