Some of the amazing happenings across the BGS Library this year!
Christmas in the Libraries
Wishing you a safe and happy holiday break, and looking forward to seeing you all back again in the New Year!
Remembrance Day
Grammar Young Writers
Over the past couple of months, author Christine Bongers has been working with a select group of students from BGS and BGGS as part of the Grammar Young Writers program. The students were tasked with crafting a short story that comprised a historical element from either schools’ history.
On Wednesday, Christine presented the awards for best narrative. Congratulations to all involved and in particular Jacky Tan and Jacob Blanch!
FIFA World Cup
We're excited for the World Cup!
Library Monitors
We had a wonderful group of Library Monitors this year who enthusiastically volunteered their time to help out with library duties. It was great to celebrate with an end of year pizza party!
Horror Week
Horror Week fun and spooky activities took place across the libraries this week!
Year 8 Orientation
Mrs Oxley presenting on what to expect in the Senior Library as the Year 8s begin to prepare for their transition to the Senior School next year.
Year 5 and 6 Reading Challenge
Boys were encouraged to read a book with a parent and there were various optional challenges as well. Boys and parents shared their thoughts:
"It was fun spending time together that wasn't homework."
"I felt a bit more connected with my dad and it was good to talk about it."
"It was enjoyable talking about which characters we liked the best and why."
Congratulations to everyone who participated, and the following Winners were drawn at assemblies:
Year 6: Lewis Prescott, Aadya Wadhwani, Ethan Moore
Year 5: George Oliver, Anderson Han, Ashton Thompson and Felix Li.
Congratulations!!!
There are so many great books in our Middle School Libraries that some gems are overlooked. A display for the Years 5 and 6 boys is asking them to explore some "Hidden Treasures" and recommend whether we should look to purchase more in the series or let them find a new home.
As you can see, Tom got right on board!
Father's Day
Boys in the Centenary Library designed personalised mugs to gift to their fathers!
Mystery and Thriller
The Years 8s have just begun learning about stories depicting crime, mystery and thriller. Some tense and suspenseful lie ahead...
Year 12 Final Exams Study
Year 12s making the most of their last days, revising and consolidating their learnings ahead of exam block. Good luck boys!
Visualise - Question - Predict
Our Year 8s boys practiced metacognition in their Library lessons as they read sections from four different stories and then discussed them.
They were challenged to visualise as they read, question what events might have led up to this part of the story and predict what might happen next. Some readers do this intuitively; others need to consciously think about this as they read.
Books with a twist, where the reader didn’t predict how the story would end, can be very satisfying to read. Others, with unreliable narrators, can either be fascinating or frustrating. If you like books with a big twist, try some of these:
Year 7 Fantasy
Reading is your window into new worlds, and Year 7 is delving into many worlds in the Centenary Library!
Science Week 2022
This year’s theme was ‘Glass: More than meets the eye’, and in conjunction with the Science Department, numerous events and competitions were held across the three Libraries.
Tension during the US Open
Boys in the Centenary Library watching on in suspense as Aussies Kyrgios and Kokkinakis compete in the men's doubles!
Books Adapted to Screen
The Books adapted to Screen lesson sparked so much interest and conversation that we added stickers to the books that have had adaptions made indicating where they are currently available to view, and created this display.
R U OK?
Books to Screen
The boys were asked to discuss what makes a movie adaption work (or not) and the differences between a book and its screen adaption. There were many passionate opinions on this topic! A lot of great recommendations were made, including @shadowandbone (Netflix); @alexridertv (Prime) and @oneofusislyingpeacock (Stan). We love that these series are generating such interested and demand for their book counterparts!
Making Connections
Year 5 boys in the Middle School Library have been focusing on elements of what good readers do. A crucial part of this is the ability to “make connections” – and these can be either “text to self”, “text to text” or “text to world”.
Boys were tasked with identifying at least one type of connection from a chapter and these ideas were then linked together to form a paper chain. It is amazing to see the number of connections that can be identified within one book chapter.
Photography Competition Winners 2022
Thank you to everyone who submitted their entries into the BGS Library Photography Competition over the past couple of months, and a special thank you to our esteemed judge Mr Maxim Varghese. We are excited to announce this year’s winners:
There were dozens of fantastic and inspiring entries, and these were all showcased across screens throughout the School generating much anticipation of the results!
The Great Gatsby
As Year 11 English embarks upon studies of this classic text, we thought we'd set the scene in the Library...
When students teach students at the Centenary Genius Bar lunchtime sessions.
Congratulations to our winner Ramtino Sandroan who proved too strong for the competition. A big thank you goes to Leo Koch in 5C who first pitched the idea, and then designed the posters and organised the running of the event.
Winter Warmers
At the end of term, BGS staff received winter postcards bound with a chocolate treat and recommended holiday reads to cosy up with ❄️🧣🧦
Reading and Relaxing
During the last week of Term Two, the Year 8 boys came in to borrow for the holidays and get some quiet reading in. A nice peaceful time after what was such a busy and eventful term!
Push Up Challenge
Library staff set up "Push Up Stations" marked at several areas around the libraries.
reach our daily quota! See our Instagram Stories to see videos of the boys and library staff pushing the books!
Mechatronics - on the Library wall
No, it's not graffiti, it's just the mechatronics club getting carried away on the glass windows of the group study rooms!
School Captains' Significant Books
See our Captains' Corner page if you'd like to know why they chose these titles.
25 Years with Mr Hills
In 1997, Mr Hills undertook his final practical placement at BGS for his library qualification and, once his studies were completed, he was hired to join the Library team. It is the positive human connections that make all the difference, says Mr Hills. No matter how difficult the day or situation, the times where you can help a student or staff member or provide that sense of community is what makes it all worthwhile. Mr Hills has also witnessed the digitisation of records, and the development of ebooks, audiobooks, databases and online research guides. When asked about his thoughts on libraries today and into the future, Mr Hills recognises that the librarian’s role is even more vital today than it once was. He says, “the librarians’ role hasn’t changed, it has broadened. We are still in the midst of a major transition in the information age, and librarians are still needed as gatekeepers”.
Browsing Non-Fiction
The new "Dynamic Shelving" making non-fiction more accessible and easier to browse!
"Miss, we’re reading a picture book!?" the boys in Year 6 exclaimed, insisting they were already too grown up! As they settled into the story of “Photographs in the Mud” by Dianne Wolfer & Brian Harrison-Lever, the boys kept an open mind. Many people don’t realise that a wide range of picture books are in fact written for all ages- requiring the use of multiliteracies to gain meaning of a particular subject or idea.
The discussions that followed these initial comments were both an engaging and a valuable exploration and questioning around particular subjects that arose throughout the story.
is well underway, with over 22 LibGuides live for each assignment task to support your research.
We had a fantastic day on Saturday welcoming prospective families to tour the Library space and participate in all the fun activities including badge making, droid racing and stop-motion animation.
Every Friday in Break 2, Board Game Appreciation is running in the Middle School Library. There's loads of games to chose from and lots of fun to be had.
We honour the service and sacrifice of our veterans.
BGS supports the National Day of Action against bullying and violence. Come visit the library and see the displays of fiction and non-fiction books about resilience and actions against bullying.
See the ePlatform wellness library for eBooks!
Keeping afloat during a natural disaster, Brisbane flood crisis March 2022
Our Library staff play an integral part in developing students’ research and information literacy skills. These skills are particularly critical for Science, as boys are required to find credible data sources to support their research claims. During their recent Science lessons, Year 10s were taught research and analytical skills in reading high-level academic journal articles specific to their upcoming assignment. Finding and interpreting relevant, credible data is challenging, which is why it is important to refine and build upon these skills, enabling the boys to apply them in each research task they undertake.
As a follow up to this lesson, Year 10 classes were invited to the Forum during Consolidation and Preparation time this week for the opportunity to have one-on-one research help. Our Library staff are always available to assist boys with locating and evaluating quality sources and creating in-text citations and referencing to support boys in becoming confident and independent researchers by the time they leave school.
Below are students' feedback from the sessions:
Celebrating all the reasons we love our Libraries.
Top 5 Loans by Genre in 2022
Check out the winners in each genre!
Battle of the Books!
The theme for this year was "books or series that turn 22". Congratulations to 'A series of unfortunate events' by Lemony Snicket!
Noughts and Crosses
Throughout the year we have been secretly admiring and taking photos of the various creative formations that come about after a game of noughts & crosses!
Congratulations Year 12
The graduating Year 12s will be missed as the Senior Library has become a hub for them this year and Mrs Oxley had a Year 12 Tutor Group as well. Providing collaboration and study spaces for the Year 12s has been crucial to catering not only to their academic pursuits, but also to their wellbeing.
Good luck and farewell Year 12!!!
Solar Car Challenge
The track was at fever pitch with young engineers racing their solar cars today after weeks of construction and trialling in the Middle School Library.
Under the guidance of race starter Mr Canfield, six groups of Years 5 and 6 boys lined up to see who had made the fastest car. Congratulations to Luka Rodins and Elliot Morris who took out first place, and to all who persisted in this very exciting STEAM challenge!
Zoom Presentation
Cathy Oxley and Elsa Larsen presented at the QSLA (Queensland School Library Association) LibGuides Showcase PD on how we curate and design content to feature everything from Books and Reading guides, individual assignment research guides, eResources guides, to interactive competitions and forms for book reviews and book suggestions. We enjoyed sharing our initiatives, including the Captains’ Corner (pictured) and learning new ideas from the other presenters!
Predicting and Visualising
The Year 8s have been refining their Predicting/Visualisation skills this week with a story that ties in with the current Horror theme - Jeffrey Archer’s classic short story “Never Stop on the Motorway”. Whilst listening to the narration, the boys were tasked with drawing on their tablets what they were visualising.
The story goes… A woman drives out of London late on a Friday evening intending to spend the weekend with friends on a farm; however, as she drives, she is harassed by a young, leather-jacketed man in a black van. He tails her relentlessly, both on the motorway and on dark country lanes…
Good writers put ‘red herrings’ into their stories to distract the reader away from what is actually taking place, and this story is no exception as very few of the boys ever guess what is really inside the woman’s car.
Pictured below is the drawing Jonathan did as he was listening to the story.
Happy Diwali!
Celebrations are underway for millions of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Newar Buddhists across the globe who are observing Diwali — the Festival of Lights. The season is in celebration of the victory of good over evil and this year, the five-day event begins on Saturday, October 22 and ends on Wednesday, October 26.
Thank you to Sathya for creating these Rangoli art pieces for our display!!
Paper Planes
Will Kostakis visits BGS
Year 8s were treated to an inspiring and entertaining session last week with a visit by author Will Kostakis. Will received a publishing offer at the age of 16 and has since had 5 books releases as well as contributing to an anthology of stories by YA Australian authors. Drawing on his own personal life, Will shared the challenges of writing, being part of a lively Greek family as well as offering advice on writing techniques. There were some lively giveaways to lucky recipients and it was clear that the audience was appreciative of Will’s presentation.
Centenary Medal Winners Party
7C have been enjoying their Centenary Library Medal win with a week-long movie party during Break 1 which includes a surprise treat every day. Today's was lollipops! 😁 As the class won the challenge with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, they are watching the sequel in the Narnia series.
Book Fair in the Middle School
The Book Fair is on and stocks are continually being replenished thanks to Dymocks! There is a great selection of books for all family members!
Centenary Library Medal
The Centenary Library Medal launched this term, where each Year 7 class had to decide on one favourite fantasy novel, then promote it to their peers using posters, videos and bookmarks. The students also presented at assembly persuading undecided voters that their chosen book should be the one to win. Congratulations to 7C who took out the win with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
The Year 9s had a research investigation regarding the periodic table, so we thought this might help to get their heads around it.
Year 9 Science Help
Senior Library staff working with Year 9 Science classes as they embark on their research investigation. The boys were introduced to additional databases, advanced research strategies and given instruction on referencing and in-text citations.
Year 12 Exams
The Year 12’s have begun their exam assessment period… lots of study, collaboration and revision happening throughout the Senior Library!
Wear it Purple
Every year thousands of schools, community organisations, universities and workplaces hold events across Australia for Wear It Purple Day – a movement of expression, celebration and support. The day focuses on our LGBTQIA+ youth and the issues they face, whilst showing them they have the right to be proud of who they are and who they are becoming.
Year 6 Literature
Year 6 boys are beginning a new literature activity this term which has been developed as an alternative to the traditional Literature Circles model. While groups will all read the same book, they will have access to an online padlet where they can post their insights about the book and any questions that arise.
Captains' Corner
A tradition spanning thirteen years of BGS School Captains photographed with books of significance to them. A great legacy as these photos are printed onto canvas and added to the walls of the Senior Library each year. Full descriptions of why the boys chose these books and links to the catalouge records can be found Here !
Goodnight Mister Tom
During their library lessons, Year 8 boys leaned about the blitz and the circumstances that lead to the mass evacuation of the children in cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham to rural areas including Kent, East Anglia and Sussex during World War Two.
Australian School Library Day
Thank you for your votes BGS!
Time to borrow...
5C discussed book covers; blurbs; and first sentences, and how they made connections with the books through these avenues. Then, it was time to borrow, and they were all very keen to get started on their reading!
Genrefied Fiction
Horror, Fantasy, Historical Fiction maybe? We wonder which genre bays these boys selected their books from… The Senior Library fiction collection has been “Genrefied” for over a year now, and we’ve never looked back! We have distinct sectioned bays for each genre, with corresponding shelving to match the appropriate genre spine labels. This means that the boys can browse at their leisure, for Fantasy; Science Fiction; Horror; Crime & Mystery; Australiana & Indigenous; Realistic Fiction; War; Classics; Historical Fiction and Short Stories.
Book Week Fun!
The Middle School had such a fun week celebrating Book Week, with so many events and activities on offer including origami; the Breakfast with author Pat Flynn; lunchtime Kahoot; Trivia Evening with Richard Yaxley; a Book Cover Competition; Book Bingo; and a Book/Movie Screening.
NAIDOC Week
Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!
This annual event brings crucial attention, focus and celebration to culture, history and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Thinking of Studying Medicine?
To tie in with many of our Year 12 boys sitting the UCAT exam this July, we created a medical sciences display in the Senior Library. The UCAT exam allows guaranteed entry into some university degrees to study medicine. Thank you to the Old Boys who generously contributed words of advice and information about their experience in medicine and their chosen specialty.
Welcome to Term 3
Research in Term Two
All of these books and more, were used this term for research investigations… now that it’s holidays, time to reshelve! 📚
Chopstick Challenge Winners
After a fast and intense three rounds, we finally had our winner and runner-up. A big congratulations to Lehan and Sensai Yamada!
Hall of Fame - Accelerated Reader
Congratulations to Kingsley and Max who are now on the Hall of Fame!
Pride Month
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖 June is Pride Month ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖
Year 8 Advertising
This term the Year 8 boys have been reflecting on the ways in which advertising concepts learned in their English unit also relate to the techniques which publishers use to promote and market books.
The boys used the Effective Thinking skills of identifying, evaluating, explaining and applying as they analysed book trailers to decide which techniques were most effective in promoting books, and participated in a one-minute book review competition to try to ‘sell’ a book they had read to other boys in the class.
Of course, the Library staff also tapped into these marketing techniques to promote books for the boys to borrow!
The boys learn from their peers about their reading journeys as well as sharing their own experiences.
Teacher Librarians Ms Palmer and Mrs Lusink also actively help boys find books they want to read and discuss strategies that may help them develop their reading engagement.
National Sorry and Reconciliation Week
We remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all share in the healing process.
Ms Smith working with the boys to introduce them to academic integrity; databases including ProQuest and Explora; referencing guides and saving sources.
May the Fourth Be With You
What did you read these holidays?
Year 8's taking advantage of the beautiful weather while immersed in Science Fiction book discussions.
The Water Tower
(by Gary Crew & Steve Woolman)
Year 8 boys have enjoyed unravelling this book in the lead-up to writing their own science fiction short story. Once they appreciated the significance of the circle symbol on everything related to water in the book, they were then surprised to find that they too had been 'infected' by drinking the water.
International Women's Day
Recognising Women in Literature
We are kicking off 2022 by encouraging the boys to think about the future of feeding the world- particularly in terms of environmental sustainability. Could industrialised insect-farming be part of the solution?
A big welcome to the 10 classes of Year 7's who came in for their orientation in the Centenary Library. Each boy left with at least one chapter book and a welcome pen and bookmark.
