The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas wins the Tower Hamlets Book Award 2008

Tower Hamlets Book Award

Your votes are all in now, and there is a clear winner at St Paul's Way, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but will the other schools in Tower Hamlets agree with us? Watch this space later today to find out.

The Kite Rider

Boody, Agibou, Ahtik and Samiur from 9T have been reading the Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean. Here is a fantastic piece of work they have done on it.

Terror in Dagu!
Children Trapped
in Fire

A widow and two young children survived an enormous blaze which devastated a family home in Dagu yesterday evening.

A two-year-old girl called Wawa and her mother Quing-an Gou, aged 39, were pulled from the roaring inferno by hero Di Chou, first mate of the Chabi, at around 10pm.

Crisis in Dagu

The disaster happened just a few weeks after Pei Gou, Quing-an’s husband, died in a wind-testing tragedy. It is believed that Quing-an may now marry Di Chou. The first mate said, “I was just passing and I heard screams. I ran in and pulled them out, it was nothing.”
It took neighbours and friends two hours to put out the intense
flames, which destroyed dozens of kites made by the widow’s 12-year-old son Haoyou. Police are
investigating the cause of the fire, led by Inspector Ben Tham.

The Inspector said, “We found a burnt match at the scene and we are gathering a lot of evidence. I will be interviewing neighbours to help with my inquiries.”

Year Seven Book Reviews

I'm always very pleased to receive book reviews from students, and I will award a merit to anyone whose review is published on the blog. Here is a review from Numan in 7P.

I read a book from the library, and the book's name was 'Why Eating Bogeys is Good For You.' I've read only 23 pages of the book and it's funny. The book has some good questions in it. The good thing about this book is the questions because they are too funny. I'll tell you one funny question from the book: 'If kangaroos keep their babies in their pouches, what will happen to all the poo?' (The baby kangaroo's poo).

Ruhul has been reading Varjak Paw.

A Mesopotamian cat named Varkak Paw. He lives in an old house with his family on a hill. One day his grandfather told them about seven skills. They only knew three: slow-time, moving circles, and shadow-walking. He left home and went to a dangerous city.

The city was full of dogs, cat gangs and, most mysterious of all, the vanishings.

Varjak was the youngest one in his family. He got a mission to succeed in: to find dogs and talk to them...

Farhadul has reviewed Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo.

Kensuke's Kingdom is a good adventurous book. It's about a boy that goes into an island with his dog. They've got no food or water. If you want to find out what happens to them ,read the book. It's a really good book. Read it! Read it!

Lutfha has read Everything I Know About You by Belinda Hollyer.

The thing I like about this book is it's a bit funny. It talks about a family but their mother is dead. Lizzie and Eric start fighting, telling different stories. She starts working in a gift shop but there's a mystery in her family and she has to solve it.

There is a little poem or song and it's a bit sad because they talk about their mum and she's not alive, but it's very enjoyable. Just read it.

Fahmida has enjoyed Let's Get Invisible from the Goosebumps series.

The best part of the story is when the main character goes invisible and no one can see him. I like this part because if I were invisible I could do anything that I dreamed of. The worst thing in the book is when ... (perhaps Fahmida was going to give away too much). I like the book because it is spooky and I like spooky stories.

Now you see him; now you don't.

Simran on 'Sleepovers' by Jacqueline Wilson, with illustrations by Nick Sharratt.

All of Daisy's friends in the Alphabet Club - Amy, Bella, Chloe and Emily - have had sleepovers for their birthdays.

Daisy has a dilemma: she'd love to have a sleepover too, but then she'd have to let her friends meet her sister...

I think this book was really fun to read and I think that other people would like it too. My favourite character is Daisy because she was the main person.

Jahed has been reading HIVE by Mark Walden.

The book that I am reading is called 'HIVE' - Higher Institute of Villainous Education

This book is about a thirteen-year-old master criminal boy (his name is Otto Malpense) who has been chosen to attend H.I.V.E., the top-secret school of villainy.

Otto is in a helicopter with an Asian boy who is sitting next to him, and they both are trying to figure out where they are. I won't tell you any more in case I spoil the story, but find out for yourself what happens next.

Anne Cassidy at St Paul's Way

Year 8 and Year 9 students were incredibly lucky to take part in two writing workshops given by Anne Cassidy, the author of some fantastic books including Looking For JJ, Love Letters and Forget Me Not. Anne spoke to the students about how difficult it is to get a book published and the importance of a good beginning to a story. Most of us were amazed to find out that publishers only read one page before deciding not to publish a book! Anne gave the students the opening sentences of some books that she hasn't written, and after a short discussion about why the sentences were interesting, everyone settled down to write the first paragraph of a story. The results were fantastic, and you can read some of them as they are on display in the library. Congratulations to all the students who took part. Anne Cassidy was very impressed with you and so was I.

New Magazines in the Library

For those of you interested in football, and I know there are a few (including me), we now have Match of the Day Magazine in the library every week. The first issue we received featured our very own Danny Shittu who came to this school a few years ago and who plays for Bolton.

If you are into science you can now read the New Scientist every week in the library. This week's issue includes articles on endangered animals and the water supply in Bangladesh.

Finally, we have a new magazine called Iris which is about the Classical World (Ancient Greece and Rome). It contains articles on the Olympics, drama, myths, science fiction and loads more.