GAA Secondary Library Newsletter SY 2022-2023

Knowvember Issue

Chevron Readers' Cup

Cheers to these amazing bookworms who accepted the reading challenge and completed the first round of the Chevron Readers' Cup held by the Emirates Lit Fest! 8 Secondary students formed in 2 groups and collaborated by reading and studying a selection of 3 books. We are proud of you!

Little Thinker Book Fair!

by Janika Ramirez

The first Book Fair of the school year was held at the GAA main lobby on Nov 14th to 18th. Students were invited to this event that brought together a varied selection of books under one roof!

Youngsters of a wide range of ages were able to take a look and purchase English and Arabic books, as well as educational resources. A myriad of books were included under the category of fiction in different genres like fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, graphic novels, etc., as well as nonfiction and comics! Moreover, educational and entertaining games/puzzles were also part of the selection!

A Week of Fun at the Library!

by Annika Adesokan

The library has held numerous fun events that include: UNO and Donut Day, Author's Month Scavenger Hunt, FIFA Kahoot Quiz, and the Book Drive Raffle Draw. As you can see in the photos below, it was truly an exciting week and GAA students had fun participating in these activities. If you missed out don't fear because there are many more library events to come though the year, make sure you look out for them!

UNO and Donut Party

by Annika Adesokan

On Monday, November 21st, the library hosted an Uno and Donut party. Through this party, GAA students were able to collaborate and use their critical thinking skills to win the game. As you can see in the photos, the student had a lot of fun and the game got very intense!

Author's Month Scavenger Hunt

by Janika Ramirez

To celebrate Author's Month, the Reading Ambassador's Club organized 2 scavenger hunts: one for middle school and one for high school. Middle School's scavenger hunt was on Tuesday, November 22nd, during MS lunch. The high school scavenger hunt was on Thursday, November 24th, during HS lunch.

In the scavenger hunt, students hunted for 10 books by famous authors that gave them clues to spell out a final puzzle. 10 paper snowmen (MS) or 10 paper pumpkins (HS) were hidden in the popular books of well-known authors depending on the lexile level (different for MS and HS).

FIFA Quiz

A Kahoot FIFA Quiz was hosted by some CAS students on November 23rd. 5 top winners took home medals and some cool FIFA souvenirs!

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Book Drive Raffle

We are so grateful to all the students and teachers who supported the book drive!

The 3 lucky winners of the Book Drive Raffle are Muhammad Khan (Gr8), Ahmed Al Falahi (Gr9) and Rania Aziz (Gr12). Winners received a Kinokuniya gift card prize. Congratulations!

Squash escape room by Makerspace club

The HS Makerspace Club joined the Family Fall Festival held on 28th of Nov. The club set up a Squash Escape Room that players have to unlock boxes by using multiple clues in order to escape! Apart from unlocking the boxes of clues and materials, another challenge was to beat the fastest and high score! The fastest player finished the game in 1 minute and 30 seconds. We were so ecstatic seeing how thrilled the players were in completing the game!

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Football Reading Recommendations

by Annika Adesokan

Are you a fan of football and would like to learn the history on it? As you may know, the 2022 World Cup kicked off in Qatar on November 20th. Our library has numerous books about the history of football, past winners of the world cup, books on specific teams and players, and more books related to the world of football.

Juniors' NYU Library Field Trip

by Alessia Del Frate

Recently the IB students (Juniors) have begun the Extended essay process. For context, the Extended Essay is a 4,000 long essay that IB students write in their first and second year. They are given the freedom to pick a subject of their choice (from their 6 subjects) and write a research question on it. It is an essay that allows students to explore areas of interest by enhancing different skills such as research, communication, open-mindedness and many others. Personally, as an IB student it was incredible to visit the NYU Library. Their resources truly helped and I believe that the EE will be an interesting experience for all of us.

We have been introduced to different aspects of it as well as the research bases we may use to formulate our questions in a few library sessions. It is a very stressful choice as there are many possibilities and questions we students may pick from. Because of this, on the 17th of November the Junior IB students visited the NYU University Library to learn more about the correct research methods and tactics. This field trip allows the students to finalize their EE bids as well as their research questions. It was an amazing experience that allowed us to look into sources from more higher sources being that it was of University level. We had two groups where we were shown around separately. NYU Library was incredibly large and the resources were overwhelmingly helpful. We were guided to a research room where we were given access to research on their official NYU library website.

November is Knowvember! Feed your brain with reading nonfiction books!

by Alessia Del Frate

High School Reading Recommendations

The faraway brothers by Lauren Markham

A remarkable story of brotherhood, immigration, and finding home, The Faraway Brothers follows the lives of 17-year-old twins Ernesto and Raúl Flores, who are forced to flee El Salvador for America after being targeted by a local gang.

Surrender, 40 songs, One story by Bono

Bono—artist, activist, and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2—has written a memoir: honest and irreverent, intimate and profound, Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he's lived, the challenges he's faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.

Do you know who you are? by Megan Kaye

A great book for would-be journalists whose efforts never quite get off the ground, this hybrid quiz/self-help/activity book is filled with questionnaires, creative activities, and wisdom (imparted by both the professional psychologist who helped create it and the reader who does the exercises).

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey

The Inner Game of Tennis (1972) explains the tension between your conscious and unconscious minds, and how this conflict relates to performance, specifically through the lens of tennis.

The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris

VP-elect Kamala Harris' memoir has been adapted for young adults. Her book looks at her journey to becoming the Attorney General of California, a U.S.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Through his work with the Equal Justice Initiative, attorney Bryan Stevenson fights every day for the vulnerable and wrongfully imprisoned, and also to reveal the inequities and racial bias of America’s criminal justice system.

I am Malala by Malala Yousafrazi

I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

Team of Rivals by Doris Keans Goodwin

Team of Rivals is a biographical portrait of President Abraham Lincoln and the men who served with him in his cabinet from 1861 to 1865. Three of his cabinet members, Secretary of State William H. Seward, Attorney General Edward Bates, and Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P.

Middle School Reading Recommendations

It’s your world by Chelsea Clinton

Combining facts, charts, photographs, and stories, describes how readers can enact change in the world around them and find solutions for such global problems as climate change, poverty, gender inequality, and homelessness.

The notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin

Written in 2010 by Steve Sheinkin, the book encompasses the whole life of Benedict Arnold, from his freezing cold date of birth in Connecticut to his death in England in 1801.

Tooth and Claw: The Dinosaurs wars by Deborah Noyes

Though today we know dinosaurs once walked the earth, that wasn’t always the case. This book retells the war of information between two scientists, Edward Drinker Cope and Othinel Charles Marsh, to find more fossils in the Wild West. Their rivalry went on for 30 years, spanning landscapes, tabloids, and Congress, and having intense effects on their personal and professional lives.

Machines that think! By Don Brown

A look at machines through the ages, from the abacus to 16th-century thinker Blaise Pascal’s Pascaline to Ada Lovelace’s analytical machine to the early computers used by NASA, and, finally, to smartphones.

Never Caught: The story of Ona judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

This is the young reader edition of Erica Armstrong Dunbar’s Never Caught about Ona Judge, the Washingtons’ favored slave who escaped rather than be given as a wedding gift to their granddaughter. A fugitive who fled America’s most powerful family, this book follows Ona’s childhood in slavery to her eventual escape to New Hampshire.

I will always write back by Caitlin Alifiernka

The New York Times bestselling true story of an all-American girl and a boy from Zimbabwe and the letter that changed both of their lives forever.It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter.

The outdoor scientist: The wonder of Observing the natural world by Temple Grandin

Grandin is a renowned American scientist and one of the most well-known public figures with autism. She connects with her audience in a personal and fascinating style while detailing her early scientific observations about the natural world. The book combines memoir, biography, informational text, and engaging projects.