Celebrate UAE National Day in the Library

We were thrilled this past week when Administration generously provided us with funds to celebrate UAE National Day.  We were able to purchase a whopping 26 new titles for the library - all of them related to the Emirates in some way.  There are both English and Arabic titles, written by Emiratis and foreigners, poetry and prose, and even a couple of Arabic graphic novels!

You can learn more about the UAE's beloved leaders in Sheikh Khalifa, Life and Times, and With United Strength, H.H. Sheikh Zayid Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Four volumes of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's work offer a wealth of insight into the thoughts and life of an amazing statesman and person. These are available in both English and Arabic.

 

 

In From Rags to Riches, a Story of Abu Dhabi, (we have both English and Arabic copies), author Mohammed A.J. Al Fahim, chronicles the changes Abu Dhabi has gone through since the 1960s.
For even more history, check out Frauke Heard-Bey's From Trucial States to the United Arab Emirates.  Heard-Bey provides a detailed account of how the geographical conditions and tribal structures of the region  have shaped what has become the UAE.  originally published in 1982, the book is now in its third edition with updates in 1996 and 2004.

 

 

For a foreigner's insight into Emirati culture, have a look at Oasis: Al Ain Memoirs of Doctor Latifa, and Mother Without a Mask.  Both  are memoirs of women who were deeply involved in Emirati communities.

 

 

 

 

And finally, we found Galagolia, a fantasy novel written in English by a 17 year old Emirati girl, and two Arabic graphic novels, Gold Ring volumes 1 and 2, also written by an Emirati author.

 

 

 

These are only a few of the titles now available in the library. They will be on display just inside the door until the holidays. After that you will find them in their own special section called the "UAE Collection".  Hope you all have a chance to come by and have a look.

Mr. Larry, thank you very much!!



Cheers,
Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie







 

It's Here!

 

 

 

Allegiant was released a week ago and I have a copy in my hands right now!  The third and final novel in Veronica Roth's Divergent series has been much anticipated, and there is already a line-up for it.  Come in and add your name to the list - the book will only be available for 7 day check-outs until all the holds have been satisfied.

 

Hope you all have a great long weekend!

 

 

Cheers,

Ms, Susan and Ms. Maggie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Books!

Three new books are now on the library shelves! 

House of Hades

We've been waiting for, well, a year, for the next installment of the Heroes of Olympus series from Rick Riordan. It was released on October 8, and we have a copy ready for you to scoop up!  The story picks up immediately after the cliff-hanger in the last book, Mark of Athena.  Can't believe we have to wait for another year to finish the series!

 

 

 

 

 



 Russian Roulette:  Alex Rider

We all thought Scorpia Rising was the last Alex Rider book, so it was a bit of a surprise to come across Russian Roulette.  Turns out, this is more of a prequel to the series, the story of Yassen Gregorovitch, Alex's arch enemy.

 

 

 

 

One Crow Alone

One Crow Alone is not a sequel to author S.D. Crockett's first novel, After the Snow, but it is related to it through characters.  Set in a future where Europe is in the grips ice age, this new addition to the dystopian genre is receiving some great reviews.

 

 

 

 

 

Teen Read Week Winners

Teen Read Week is just about finished and we hope you all had an opportunity to discover new books and a passion for reading!  Many thanks to those of you who participated in the competitions.  The winners are:

Hope you all enjoyed Having Tim Hortons here as well. 

 

 

Till next time...hope you all continue to read, read, read!

 

 

Cheers,

Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a Wrap!

All good things come to an end, and so too must Teen Read Week.  But we're ending it with a bang! 
Here's what going on tomorrow:

Book Character Dress-up

Tim Hortons in the school

Pizza Day

Make you way to the library at lunch time for the judging of the best book character costume, as well as the announcement of all competition winners.

See you there!

Cheers,
Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan





 

Teen Read Week

We are smack in the middle of Teen Read Week, and we hope you are enjoying DEAR and the lunchtime activities in the library.  There is still time to enter the competitions, which you can read about here.

Don't forget that all competition entries must be handed in by 3pm Wednesday.

On Thursday, Tim Hortons will be in the school to kick-off out TRW wrap-up party. They will be selling coffee, hot chocolate, sandwiches, donuts, muffins and cookies.

The best book character dress-up costume will be chosen on Thursday at lunch, as will the winners of all competitions, so come and join the fun!

All details on the Teen Read Week Website.


Cheers,
Ms. Maggie and Ms, Susan




 

Eid Mubarak!

We would like to wish you all Eid Mubarak and hope that you have a safe and happy holiday.  We're looking forward to a great Teen Read Week when you all get back!  Start working on those competitions now so you have enough time!



Cheers,
Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie




 

End of the Database Trials

The Gale Virtual Reference Library and the ABC-CLIO trial periods have come to and end, and there is only one day left for all the other trials.  We hope that you had a chance to look at these resources, and we would appreciate your feedback regarding them. Please email us at hslibrary@cisabudhabi.com with your comments.


Thank you,

Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan



 

Teen Read Week

Teen Read Week is an international event celebrating and promoting young adult literature and reading.  In North America, this year's Teen Read Week takes place from October 13 to 19. Since we are on holidays that week, CIS high school will participate during the week of October 20 - 24.

There are competitions and events planned throughout the week, culminating with a wrap-up party on Thursday October 24th, with Tim Hortons.

Competitions:
Most pages read
Scavenger Hunt
Book Review
Book Trailer
Book Character Dress-up

Other Events during Lunch Time in the Library
Workshops on research skills
Treats and Trailers
Author Talks (videos)
John Green Day

and...

Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) throughout the week

For complete details see our Teen Read Week page.

We're looking forward to a fun week!

Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie



 

ProQuest

We have now also obtained a trial for 4 databases from Proquest.  We only have until October 10 to evaluate the product and compare it with the GALE and the ABC-CLIO products, so have a look at it here:

Proquest Trial

and let us know what you think.



Cheers,
Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan






 

Study in Canada Fair - October 20

The Embassy of Canada is sponsoring a Study in Canada Fair on October 20 at Le Royal Meridian.  This is a great opportunity to find out what these universities have to offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Books!!

This week we received 4 much anticipated books to add to our collection!  Come on in to the library to check out the latest books in these series:

Last Survivors series

The Shade of the Moon has just been released and we have it!!!  We've all been dying to know when and  if life starts getting better after that meteor knocked the moon out of kilter. Come and get it soon as there may be a line-up to get it!

Lorien Legacies

The Lorien Legacies continue in the 4th book of the series, The Fall of Five.  Also just released, this book continues the battle between the Garde and the Mogadorians.  Who else still survives, and where?

Fire and Thorns

Finally, we were able to acquire the next two books in the Fire and Thorns series, The Crown of Embers, and The Bitter Kingdom.  Find out what happens to Elisa after the epic battle with the Inveirnos, and where her godstone leads her.

 

 

 

 

Come and get them while they're hot!

 

 

Cheers,

Ms. Maggie and MS. Susan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gale Virtual Reference Library

We are so excited to have acquired a two-week trial access to the Gale Virtual Reference Library.  Many would say that GVRL is the gold standard for databases, and we'd like you to help find out if it's true! 

This reference library offers about 2000 titles on a wide range of subjects, including Science, Social Studies, History, Arts, Technology, Law, Business, Biographies and more.  Adding this database is like tripling our library resources.

You can access the trial here, or from the Databases tab above.  Please ask your teachers or the high school librarians for the username and password.


Hope you all try them out!

Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan









 

Database Trials are ON!

We are very excited to introduce a number of library database trials!  From now until October 9,  CIS staff and students have access to a virtual reference library on a wide range of topics, including social studies, science, financial and digital literacy.

So, what is a library database, and why use one? The short answer is that a library database is a collection of articles, journals, and other information that has been indexed and organized so that your searches provide relevant content.  Most of the material provided in a database would not be available for free on the internet.  For an in-depth answer, please have a look at this excellent article from St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut.

To get started with the databases, click here, or on the link above.  You can obtain the usernames and passwords from your teachers or the high school librarians.

If you have any questions, please come see us in the library.

Cheers,
Ms.. Maggie and Ms. Susan




 

Welcome Back!

We are very excited to start a new school year and are looking forward to welcoming back returning students and meeting new ones!

We have some exciting plans for the high school library this year and we will start working on these as soon as all the textbooks have been distributed.  Speaking of textbooks, we'd like to remind you that many of these books are very expensive to replace, so we strongly recommend that you take good care of the ones issued to you.  A table of the replacement cost of most textbooks can be found here.

Keep your eyes on this space to find out about library events and happenings throughout the year, We welcome your respectful comments, suggestions and input, and wish you all the very best year of 2013-2014!


Cheers,
Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan

Our First E-book is here!

The high school library's very first ebook is now available for checkout.  You will need the username and password, which you can acquire from either Ms. Maggie or Ms. Susan. 

Once you have the password, click on the Follett Shelf link in the left-hand sidebar to access the login page. After logging in, you can access our first ebook, Firestarters: 100 Job Profiles to Inspire Young Women.

Return your library books!

Only 4 weeks of school to go, so please make sure you return your library books as soon as possible.

Important Dates:

June 9    - Last day to borrow books     
June 16  - All books must be returned
June 23  - All textbooks must be returned