Author Visit provides Food for Thought

On 21st of May, the Tokomairiro High School Library was visited by New Zealand author FiFi Colston. Fifi has had a varied career,but the over riding theme of her work has been creativity. From an early age she had a love of drawing and she followed this into a career in design, but over the years she has accepted many challenges working as a children's author, a poet, a television presenter, costume designer, wearable art maker . Currently her book on wearable art is  a finalist in the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.
Fifi spoke to 25 students from Year 7 to 13 and her main message was  to work hard at what you love and take the opportunities life presents you .

Dunedin Writers and Readers Festival

The school has five free tickets available to The Young Adult writers Panel. The panellists are Melinda Szymanik and Sandy McKay  who both published historical novels for young adults in 2013. A Winter’s Day in 1939 is Szymanik’s story of her Polish father’s time in Russian work camps during the Second World War. McKay has also written of the wartime experiences of a family member in When Our Jack Went to War, which takes the form of letters between two brothers, one at war and one at home. 
The writers will talk about their books, the experience of writing them and of the connection young readers today feel when reading stories of the past. 

Students interested in attending please see Mr Daniels or Miss Eames 

Ready for the New Year

Hi Everybody welcome back to the 2014 school year.

Hopefully you all had a good break

Library News

.Every student should now have access to the library catalogue on their own individual desk top..There should be an icon called Library Catalogue  You can use this to search the library collection and see what is in and out.
I hope to have set up the system so you can check your own borrowing and renew and  reserve books. This will be in place by the end of Term One.

What I read in the holidays:

I took the plunge and read Eleanor Catton's Booker Prize winning  novel. The Luminaries. It is a fascinating story set on the West Coast ni the 1860' s and is full of intrigue and mystery. The characters and atmosphere are beautifully evoked.
Eleanor Catton is  a young New Zealander, who has managed to win the most prestigious prize in the literary worlds
You can find out more here http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Catton,-Eleanor.htm

Reading and Writing Week

 Reading and Writing Week is coming. This year we have  a special focus on Writing. A chance to be creative and take part in some great contests and activities. Writing Competitions, Quizzes, special events.Reading and Writing Week Term 4 Week Two .21 Oct -25^th October  

We have a special focus on writing so check out: 

 Writing Competition If you’re a keen creative writer get writing for the upcoming Creative Writing competition . Open to all students, it will be judged in these categories: Year 7 – 8, Year  9 – 10, Year 11 – 13 . All  work is eligible poetry, song lyrics, essays,  short stories, work done in class and   even personal writing.  Prizes will be the usual great selection:  Book tokens, Movie Tickets  Chocolate, and other surprises. Get writing now ! All work should be handed in  to Mr Daniels. Competition Closes end of Reading week( 21 – 25 October  2013)

21/10/2013 -25/10/2013

What’s happening in Reading and Writing Week?

1 – Giant Trivia Quiz. Yr 10 - 13.

50 “Fiendishly” hard questions.  Monday to Friday. Collect the questions from Mr Daniels on Monday. Work as individuals, or teams.

2  - “The Giant Story”. Add a line or a paragraph to the “Big Story” .  All week

3 - Writing Competition

Open to everyone, Year 7 – 8, Year 9 – 10, Year 11 – 13.

1^st  2^nd and 3rd prizes at each level.

4- Costume Competition

Thursday 24/10/2013

Come as your Favourite Character from a book. Open to staff and students! Prizes!

5 -  Lunchtime  

Quizzes/activities all week

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in our Stars

By John Green

This book really gets you in touch with your feelings. It is about a girl who has cancer, she goes to a cancer support group one day and meets the love of her life. This is all new for the girl, she has never experienced these feelings. You then go on a journey with the girl as her life changes completely.

John Greene has done an amazing job writing this book. He makes you feel as though you know the characters personally and they have been your best friends for years.

I loved this book, as it is is one of those books you never want to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a decent book about real life and love. If you do , then this is the book for you. Recommended for girls especially - But be warned this book will make you cry!

Liana Spence 12Co

7Pr Reading Recommendations

7PR Recommends

There are a keen group of readers  in 7PR  and they submitted these short reviews.  All books are in the library. Thanks a lot 7PR. Every review on the blog earns a chocolate fish.

Mouse Guard

By David Petersen

It’s a really good book for people that like comic sort of books.

I’m only halfway through but it is a really cool book and I have really like so far. It is funnly but is long and takes forever – not!

Anika Grey

Drawing Horror Characters

It shows you how to draw a mutant dog. I call it Hell hound which is hard but good. I recommend it for people who like to draw and not scare easily.

Shawn Taylor

Geronimo Stilton: The Ice treasure

By Thea Stilton

It is very interesting. Got to the mystery very quickly but kept carrying on. It was really good I liked it a lot. It took a while to get to the main part.

Grace Michelle

Diary of A Wimpy Kid

By Jeff Kinney

Genre: diary

Publication Date 2011

Comment: it’s about a boy who is 11 and has just got to middle school and wants to write ajournal but his mum brought him adiary.

Liam Gibson

My Story. Wartime Princess

By Valerie Wilding

If you like history then you will probably like all “my Story Books. They are written as a diary. This one I really enjoyed because it is about Queen Elizabeth and her sister princess Margaret Rose. It is set in the Second World War. Most of it is about Princess Elizabeth’s blossoming romance with Prince Philip.

Phoebe Cox- Herring

Guilty

By Eric Brown

This is the best book I have ever read. This is the only book I have ever finished. You will enjoy it.

Tayla Frost

Guilty

By Eric Brown

This book  was great and it was about murder and it has a great ending.It was the best book I have ever read.

Shayna Lloyd

If Wishes Were Horses

Virginia Vail

An ugly horse gets old to a girl for 2 cents!. She thinks that as soon as she makes him alright looking horse she will see him. As time goes on she gets more and more attached to him. She finally decides to keep him

I would recommend this book to a really advanced reader who loves animals.

Molly Whitaker.7Pr

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

By J K Rowling

This is a really good book for anyone who likes magic or adventure. The first one in the series is “ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”. The one after is “Harry Potter and the  Chamber of Secrets “ and the next one  is ‘Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azbakan”. There are 7 books in the series. 8/10

Richard  Scott.7Pr

Born to Run

By Michael Morpurgo

This book is about a young boy who finds a sack of puppies in a river. His parents decide to keep one dog, Best Mate.

He goes from and Unwanted dog, to a favourite companion , and from pet to a champion race dog. This remarkable greyhound proves that not just cats have nine livesd. This greyhound was cast aside, kidnapped and even living on the streets , always found a way to survive

Phoebe Cox- Herring . 7Pr

  

The Dog at the Window

By Helen Griffiths

This book is probably not for boys, but it is very moving and sad. A girl sees adog at an apartment window that looks sad and desperately wants to help him. The problem is that her mother does not like dogs and thinks she should not poke her nose into other peoples business

She goes to the apartment he is in and finds out he has a lot of problems. The owner wants to sell him and the girl is determined to save him.

Molly Whitaker. 7 Pr

Goodbye Chunky Rice

By Craig Thompson

This book is an awesome book and I would recommend this book to people that like comics. It is about these weird looking liens riding on motorbikes. It has got a lot of pictures ut not much wordsm so it’s mainly a picture book, but a good book. It is the second best book I have ever read.

I hope that now you have seen my review , that you would one day get it off the shelf and read it. It is a good book, believe me, I loved it.

Anika Gray. 7Pr

Book Review

At the moment I’m reading  'The Drovers Quest" by Susan Brocker. It’s a great read for about twelve to thirteen year olds who are interested in historical books. It is a New Zealand book based in Christchurch and the west coast.

It is mainly about a child whose’ dad went to the west coast on a drive and ended up staying there to become a prospector to find some gold so he and his daughter can live a life they never had.

I got this book at the Milton Public Library.
 Bronson Blackbourn  8Ra.
Check out the author's other books at  susanbrooker.com