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St Thomas of Aquin's

St Thomas of Aquin's

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    Library

    Welcome to the library

    The School Library Resource Centre (SLRC) plays a central and full role – both academically and socially – in the life of the school by supporting learning and teaching.

    The library is on level 3 of the building, next to the Computing, English and Modern Languages departments.

    It has a wide range of books, magazines and audiotapes, as well as Internet access.

    The SLRC is staffed by two qualified librarians Ms Lindsay Nealon (Mon – Tue) and Ms Magda Wojnar (Wed – Fri), who share the job to provide a full time professional service

    Accessing books during the Covid-19 Outbreak 

    The school librarians work throughout the school day but access is limited and the library remains closed for use to most of visitors during Covid-19 outbreak. Either fill in the form below and send it as an attachment by email to one of librarians by clicking appropriate name Ms Nealon or Ms Wojnar , or print the form and pop your request into the ‘post box’ on the Library door. You can also send a request by email without attaching the form. 
    Books will be delivered to you within a few days.

    The Book Request Form is available here

    Click this link to make requests – this link is temporarily disabled

     

     

     

    Opening Times

    Mornings         –      Monday to Friday

                                         8.15am – 8.40am

    Lunchtimes     –      Monday to Friday

                                        1.30pm – 1.50pm

    *  exclusive to Bookgroup and other clubs on some days

     

    After School     –     Monday to Thursday

                                        3.30pm – 3.40pm

    After School           Friday

                                       1.10pm – check with librarian

     

    Staff and pupils are automatically registered as library users when they join St Thomas’

    No cards are needed.

     

    Borrowing

    Books are issued for a period of 2 weeks

    The loan period can be extended if required.

    There are no limits on staff loans.

     

    Borrowing Times

    Overdue Books

    Reminders for overdue books are sent out via English Teachers.

    Letters will be sent home after a few weeks of having overdue books and money for replacement copies sought.

    As other people are often waiting for these items, please try to bring them back on time Thank you !

     

    Computers

    Wireless Internet access is available.

    Due to Covid-19 restrictions there is no access to IT devices and printing facilities in the library until further notice.

    We apologise for inconvenience.

    Literacy Across Learning

    Events in the Library

    The librarians along with other departments organise and run various activities throughout the year.  Here is the list of upcoming events we would like to celebrate in the library:

    CALENDAR OF LITERARY EVENTS 2020-21 

     

    The Librarians and English Department have developed a reading programme (Book Bingo) that aims to teach and develop literacy skills. All S1 andS2 English classes have one period timetabled in the Library every fortnight.

    Pupils are encouraged to read for enjoyment and to take part in literary activities such as Roald Dahl Day, National Poetry Day, etc.

     

    Book Quiz : March 2020

     

    Free Lockdown Reading Resources
    Bookshops and libraries may be closed at present but there are still plenty of books for you to read ! Take a look at these free resources …

    Extra Curricular

    We want you to enjoy reading!

    There are Book Groups for pupils and staff, and pupils are encouraged to review books for Teen Titles magazine.

    Trips are organised to the Edinburgh International Book Festival and other author events.

    We run various clubs including:     S1- S3 Book Group,    Staff Book Group   and    Book to Film Club

    Unfortunately they are all put on hold due to social distancing rules. We are planning to resume them as soon as restrictions are being lifted.

     

     

    Scottish Teenage Book Prize
    The winner of the 2020 Scottish Teenage Book Prize – voted for by our S1-3 Bookgroup – is ‘One Shot’ by Tanya Landman. It tells the story of Maggie, a girl whose unladylike behaviour gets her thrown out of her family home, but whose skill with a gun ultimately saves them. Based on the life of Annie Oakley, it was a popular read for our pupils and a deserved winner !

    Resources

    Printed Resources

    Our school has links with other libraries in the city. Everyone is encouraged to join their local, public library and staff and senior pupils can use University libraries and the National Library of Scotland for reference purposes too. Books can often be borrowed from other schools via the Librarian. An inter-library loan facility is also available for ‘Higher’ and academic texts.

     

    Electronic Resources

    You can access free Electronic Resources by registering at Edinburgh City Libraries.

    You will find more information on the website below or ask the Librarian

    https://yourlibrary.edinburgh.gov.uk/web/arena

     

    There are more free resources available online and you can find details in our guide here:   Online Resources Guide

     

     

    Websites

    For ideas about what to read, there are many websites, including:

    www.teenreads.com

    www.lovereading4kids.co.uk

     

    Reading Lists

    Our librarians update Reading Lists annually.

    You can access them below or get printed copies from the school library.

     

    School Database of Educational Articles

    You can use this database  The list of articles  to search for articles useful for various school subjects.

    For more information and how to access them online, please refer to our Online Resources Guide

     

    Downloads

    News

    TEEN TITLES
    The latest edition of Teen Titles magazine – TT77 – is now available and St Thomas’ are on the front cover !
    Click on the link below to see reviews by
    • Bethany McLuskey (p4)
    • Lucia Bainomugisha, Charlie Cook , Safwan Mohammed and Polly Dickson-Smith (p6)
    • David Mochan, Haider Salman and Livi Tague (p8)
    • Joanna Boulis (p14).
    To see back copies of the magazine and to find out more , go to

    TV Guide

    Future Events & Activities

    Greyfriars Bobby Day - 14 January 2021

    Greyfriars Bobby Day is celebrated each year in remembrance of the Skye Terrier who guarded the grave of his master, John Gray, for 14 years. Bobby died on 14 January 1872 and is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. You can see his statue at the top of Candlemaker’s Row and his collar in the Museum of Edinburgh
    January 2021 is also ‘Walk Your Dog’ month – a good opportunity to improve your own health and wellbeing whilst exercising your pet ! If you like dogs,or animal stories, try some of the books below.
    Remember you can access e-books via Edinburgh City Libraries – join at https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries/join-library

    Empathy Day 9 June 2020

    Tuesday 9 June is Empathy Day , encouraging us all to step into someone else’s shoes and relate to the challenges they face. It seems especially relevant at this time when people are anxious about the corona virus, campaigning that ‘Black Lives Matter’ and dealing with issues on a personal level. To find out more on how to develop your empathy skills, or to join in with author talks, poetry and drawing workshops, see the powerpoint below.

    empathy power point

    You can ‘train your brain’ to be more empathetic . Here are 3 of our library books which could help –

    Europe Day 2020

    Although we are in the process of Brexit,  Europe Day will be celebrated on 9 May 2020 to mark peace and unity amongst member countries. Test your European book knowledge below.

    Downloads

    Librarians in Lockdown

    During lockdown,  Edinburgh’s school librarians developed a Twitter account dedicated to bibliotherapy -@ECR_Edinburgh.   ECR – Escape, Connect, Relate  – has been in all Edinburgh schools for some time, in terms of fiction titles, support materials etc . Last week, to support Mental Health Awareness Week, they also put this video together –
    If you’re interested in reading to improve your mental health , have a look at the list below. Many of the titles are available in e-book form, free of charge, through Edinburgh City Libraries.
    Edinburgh City Libraries have resources to help you with your homework and some Polish fiction titles too .
    Ms Nealon has had her first ever attempt at ‘blackout poetry’ . Take a block of text ( newspaper article, leaflet etc) and black out words except those which can go together to form a phrase, sentence etc . More details at https://blackoutpoetry.glitch.me/
    For more book-based activity ideas, search Twitter #EdinburghSchoolLibrarians
    Ms Nealon has joined in the librarians’ challenge of highlighting books which made them smile. Here are three of her favourites, what are yours ?

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    2 - 20 Chalmers Street,
    Edinburgh.
    EH3-9ES

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    0131 229 8734

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