Tuesday 31 January 2023

Wicked Writers: Be the Change Writing Competition

The Wicked Writers: Be the Change creative writing competition is open all UK schools and is run by the National Literacy Trust in collaboration with Wicked the Musical.

Entrants are asked to plan and write a piece of persuasive writing about anything they feel passionate about and would like to see changed.  Your teacher will select the best two entries for submission to the judges.  


Winners will be chosen from two age group categories (9 to 11 and 12 to 14) by the judges who include author Sharna Jackson and actor Mark Curry from the cast of Wicked.
 

The prizes are:

  • Tickets and funding to take your class to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London
  • A writing workshop with Sharna Jackson
  • Plus lots of books

The competition opens on 30 January 2023 and entries must be submitted by 31 March 2023. 

Friday 27 January 2023

Holocaust Memorial Day 2023

What is Holocaust Memorial Day?

Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27th January each year to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust in World War II, as well as the millions of other people killed by the Nazis and in other genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.  

Organised by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMD), it is a time to reflect, empathise and learn from the past to ensure that we have a future without genocide.  This year's theme is 'Ordinary People'.   EPHS will be remembering Holocaust Memorial Day through a series of assemblies for all years, organised by the History Department.

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day, you are invited to 'light a candle in the darkness' and put it in your window at 4pm today to remember those who died and stand against hatred and prejudice today.

To find out more, check out the fantastic selection of books (fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels) that we hold in the Library, which deal with the subject of the Holocaust. They include Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Maus by Art Spiegleman and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and Michael Rosen's The Missing are particularly poignant as they are written from a very personal perspective.

A list of book recommendations from the HMD Trust, some of which we hold in our collection, is available to view here.

You can also read an account of one of the last Holocaust survivors living in the UK in this First News article featured in their latest issue:

Thursday 26 January 2023

Harry Potter in Ukranian

The phenomenally popular Harry Potter series, about a young wizard and his quest to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort, has been made available to read in Ukrainian! The books are in e-book format and can be viewed for free on the Pottermore website. Each book has its own web page - just click here to access!

To view other Ukrainian books that we hold in the Library, click here

Friday 20 January 2023

First Story Young Writers - news

Rachel Seiffert, Writer in Residence
We were very happy to welcome back Rachel Seiffert, our First Story Writer in Residence, yesterday. Our year 9s and 10s have been looking forward to working with her again after the festive break.  Yesterday, Rachel was joined by Emma Leahy from First Story and Carrie from Goldsmiths. 

We are thrilled to be hosting this programme again, after the success of last year. At the end of the programme, the group's work will be published in an anthology, allowing students to share their voices with the world. Last year's anthology, The Maze of the Mind, a copy of which is held in the British Library, is available to borrow from the Upper Library.

Our budding writers are in the second half of the programme and are really excited about their anthology. The opportunity to work so closely with such an amazing writer has been invaluable and has helped students develop their writing skills and confidence in their writing. 

In related news, some of our Year 12 students will have the opportunity to develop their academic writing skills over the Summer break, as part of the Royal Literary Fund Bridge programme.  These workshops will be delivered by Rachel Seiffert and other authors, as part of Rachel's new role working with the Royal Literary Fund.

Finally, a big thank you goes to Emma Leahy, who kindly donated two copies of The Day is Fresh, a remarkable anthology of creative writing that showcases the talents of 14 alumni from the Rathbones Folio Mentorships programme, run in association with First Story. These will be available to borrow soon from the Libraries.  

Ms Peters and Mrs Nolan 

Thursday 12 January 2023

The Power of Poetry Competition

Like a challenge and winning prizes?  Why not enter the Young Writers Power of Poetry competition?  Your challenge is to:
  • Write a powerful poem on a theme of your choice
You may choose to write a haiku, acrostic or rhyming poem using alliteration, similes and metaphors. 



As well as seeing your story published, the judges top 5 favourite poets will each win £50 and a trophy! Also, the school with the best overall entries will win a £100 National Book Token.  To enter, pick up a planning sheet/entry form from the Lower Library.

The closing date is Friday, 10th February 2023.  All entries should be handed in to your English teacher or to the Library.

Reading for Empathy

With this year's #ReadforEmpathy books due to be announced on 8th February, we thought we would highlight a few of the YA books recommended on the LoveReading4Kids '40 books to inspire empathy' blogpost by Charlotte Carus. All are available to borrow from the Libraries:


Empathy-boosting stories encourage us all to gain a better understanding of how people think and feel and enable us to treat others more kindly.  
You will also find many of the books from the previous collections in the Libraries. 

Friday 6 January 2023

New Year Reading Resolutions 2023!

Happy 2023!  We hope you had a good break and enjoyed some great books. For those of you who need some encouragement, we have some suggested reading resolutions on display in the Library to get you reading more in 2023.  You might also like to take part in our Reading Bingo Challenge - to find out more click here or just ask your Librarians!

Why not challenge yourself to read more by signing up to The StoryGraph or Goodreads websites?  They let you track your reading and help you choose your next book, as well as offering loads of great challenges.  

For new books and reading recommendations from your Librarians, check out the Library Insta @ephs_library.  Happy reading!!


Welcome back!

Welcome to 2024 ! Hope you had a good break and enjoyed some brilliant books.  For those of you who need some encouragement, there are some ...