Curiouser and curiouser...

Assemblies this week have focused on World Book Day, and Mrs Olding, our school librarian, stood before the students dressed in a Queen of Hearts tabard and asked if anyone could guess which character pillar she represented. She was, of course referencing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and the pillar was 'Curiosity', as Alice utters the words "curiouser & curiouser" to herself when she sees a rabbit checking the time on his watch, who she subsequently follows down the rabbit hole.

She then posed the question - Why do I do my job?  And in response, said she could say Agatha Christie made her do it!

Mrs Olding then spoke to the students about her love for the works of Agatha Christie, and the mystery books which captivated her as a teenager. She became Curious to discover if she could crack each mystery as it unfolded throughout the pages, and eventually read every title the author wrote. She explained that seeking out and organising the relevant information to piece together the puzzle, and sorting the facts from the red herrings, is something which helps to develop information handling skills.

Information handling skills can help you learn to look at any problem, homework or exam question, and work out what is required of you, pulling on the relevant information you have gathered in your mind, to provide the answer or write the essay as you are being asked to do. Information handling skills allow you to demonstrate your Reasoning in every subject to get those good results that offer you the very best opportunities in life after school.

Information handling is what Librarians do for a living; the stamping of books & putting them in the right order on the shelf is a MINISCULE part of their role.  There is a lot more information management going on behind the scenes as they select relevant information from every new book to add to the Library Catalogue. This is the information that offers you the opportunity to search on the screens in the Library, for books that are keyworded with what you want to find. You might be looking to find a verse book or a book written in first person narrative, or for different genres, topics, and books that are relevant to subject learning in Art, Science, Music, Maths, Psychology, Geography OR for the books that appear on the Potential High Achievers reading lists.

You'll find most Librarians love a good murder mystery to get their teeth into!

Miss Joel then spoke about the books she chose to read during the pandemic. It was a difficult time for everybody and she decided to read literature that helped her explore her attitudes to life and towards others.

One of the books which had a profound effect on her was The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold. The story is about the five victims of Jack the Ripper, but differs from most of the other books that look at all about the grisly details of the murders that happened in Victorian London and speculate about the true identity of the killer.

This book focusses on the victims, their circumstances, and the lives they were living, which were so sadly cut short. Many people have fixed ideas about these women, and this book opened Miss Joel’s eyes to think about them in a new and different light, with Compassion and with a much broader mind. It has also shown her the importance of taking the time to consider wider circumstances and context, and she is now less judgemental of others.

Whichever authors and genres you enjoy, we hope that you will all take the opportunity to choose something new this World Book Day. We will be celebrating the event on 8 March, when staff throughout the school will be dressed as their favourite literary characters.

#Curiosity #Reasoning #Compassion