New library books!

Thanks to the School Council deciding to spend lots of money on books, there'll be some new additions to both the fiction and non-fiction libraries. Over the next few days, the librarians will be stocking the shelves in the fiction library with books suitable for light blue and dark blue reading levels. 

So look out for:

• Graphic novels based on stories by Charles Dickens

• Omnibus editions of books by Jacqueline Wilson

• Loads of adventure books

• A series of stories by Hilary McKay: Meet Charlie, he's trouble!

• Joke books

• Football stories

... and loads more!

Let us know what you think. If you enjoyed one of our new books, write us a review for the blog, won't you?

Thank you!

A huge 'thank you' to the team of librarians, who spend many of their break-times putting books in order and keeping everything tidy. I know some of them have plans for book quizzes too, so keep an eye on the blog!

"Rameses' Revenge," by Brooke

This is the winning story from the Rowan Class story-writing competition: 

Rameses' Revenge

by Brooke

Once upon a time there was a princess, her name was Cleo. She lived in Egypt during the time of the pharaohs. Her dad was called King Khufu, he spent most of his time building the biggest pyramid ever. Cleo's friend is called Rafiki. Cleo's dad said, 'Don't ever go to the Valley of Kings because frightening things happen in there.'
'OK,' she said.
But at night, they crept out of the palace and went to the Valley of the Kings where Ra's tomb was.
'Are you OK, Rafiki?' Cleo said in a shaky voice.
'Yes, I think.' 
'OK, if you say so.'
In the Valley of the Kings, they couldn't see anything until...
'Who dares to wake up Rameses?'
'AAAAA!!!! What was that?'
'I don't know, it sounds like Ra,' they said quickly.
'I'm not Rarrrrr...'
'Don't look round,' said Rafiki.
'Why?' said Cleo.
'Just don't.'
'AAAAA!!!' screamed Cleo. 'It's a mummy.'
'I know, run in there.' 
'OK, Rafiki.'
So they ran into another room in the Valley of Kings.
'I'm glad we are here.'
'Yes, I know.'
'Wait, what's that thing glowing?'
'I don't know, it's fire?'
'Wait a minute, no it's not,' said Cleo.
'It's a magic staff, with an emerald on top.' 
'You're right, it is,' said Rafiki. 'Pick it up.'
'OK,' said Cleo.
Then it started glowing and glowing. It went mad.
'Do you think it wants us to follow it?'
'Yes, yes, yes, do it now,' said Rafiki.
'OK.'
So they followed the glowing. It led right on to the top of the Valley of the Kings.
'Phew, I'm glad we are safe, this staff comes in handy. I'm amazed. We should keep it and hide it from my dad.'
'That sounds like a bad idea, Cleo, really!!'
'OK, well, I'll have to think of another idea myself then,' Cleo said.
'Uuuuu, I'm back, it's Rameses. Ha, ha, haa...'
'It's Rameses the mummy. Run, follow the glow!'
'OK, Cleo, I understand.'
'Oh no, it's getting light. What is Dad going to say?'
'I don't know, but he'll be very cross.'
'We better hurry, to get Rameses back in the tomb.'
'Anyway, if we see inside Ra's tomb, we will get cursed and bad things will happen.'
So they tried and tried to get him in the tomb, but couldn't. So they quickly went back in to find something, but still couldn't find anything. So they got the staff and hit Rameses with it and shut him up in the tomb again. So they told Cleo's dad about what happened and promised never to go in it again from that day. One more thing, Rameses said he'll come back for revenge!!!!

Well done, Brooke, for winning the competition!

"Ewan Pleasant and the Evil Mummy," by Ewan

Here's Ewan's story for the Rowan Class competition:

Ewan Pleasant and the Evil Mummy

Ewan Pleasant was waiting for a mystery and while he was reading the newspaper, he saw somebody had opened a tomb with an evil assassin mummy that only killed at night. His name was Exedeow and he lived in Egypt. So Ewan Pleasant set off to Egypt. One month later, he was at Egypt and the sun was going down and he hid and he made a plan how to catch and what to do after. The he heard a scream. Somebody had just been murdered, now the game was on! The next day, Ewan Pleasant set off to go and find Excedeow, then he got kicked and standing there was Excedeow, and Ewan Pleasant used his lightning to fight Excedeow, and Ewan Pleasant  knocked Excedeow then he realized that it was a human! He knew that anyone that got attacked by Excedewo that he would put a chip on you. Something funny was going on here, so Ewan Pleasant set off home again. When he got home, he thought of a way to stop the evil assassin called Excedeow!

He heard seven more screams until he thought of a brilliant plan to stop Excedeow. He asked a man to stand there, then suddenly Excedeow appeared and Ewan Pleasant jumped down and got his lightning out. Somebody put the tomb behind Ewan Pleasant and Excedeow charged at him and he just moved to the side and Excedeow got trapped in the tomb and they had a big party. They did music, dancing, feasting and games. The food was delicious and it was lots of fun!!!

Next time: the winning story, "Rameses' Revenge!"

"The Missing Diamonds," by Grace

Here is Grace's entry to the Rowan Class story competition. I've scanned it, as she made good use of fonts to create her story. 

Stories by Anouk and Maddie.

We've just finished a short-story competition in Rowan Class. Students were asked for a crime story set in Egypt. Here are entries from Anouk and Maddie. 

The Mystery

by Anouk

Hi, we're in Egypt. I'll tell you my name and my trusty sidekick's name soon. "Oh no, someone is cursing all the animals, I'm glad you're okay..." I looked at my dog and I shouted, "Buddy!... No! I have to save him." A tear dropped from my eye. "Don't worry Buddy." I found the person who was cursing the animals and I stopped him and all the animals woke up. I rushed to Buddy, but Buddy was playing a trick on me. Buddy was okay. So me and Buddy went back to the pyramid and ever since that happened everything was cool. Right, now I'll tell you my name. My name is Cleo and as you guessed it, Buddy is my trusty sidekick. Now we're all happy, I'll tell you how I found the person who was cursing all the animals. This strange man had a bag. The bag was glowing, it had special powers so he could curse animals, but luckily I've seen him before, so I stopped him by taking his bag of powers. 

The Stolen Pyramid

by Maddie

Once a long time ago, Cleodenile, the queen of the Egyptians, took a walk through the desert looking at all her beautiful pyramids, but her most beautiful one of all was gone.

"Aaaagggghhh!!!" she cried.

All of her guards came rushing to her.

"What is it, your majesty?" said one of her guards softly.

"My pyramid's gone, the beautiful one," she cried.

All the guards looked where the pyramid was. "It is gone," said the guards...

Next time: stories by Grace and Ewan. 

Opal Plumstead by Jacqueline Wilson

Thanks to the librarians for telling me that the new Jacqueline Wilson book is out. Set just before the First World War, it's about the Suffragettes. Follow this link to Jacqueline Wilson's website and find out more! 

'Mystery of the missing car' by Oli C.

Mystery of the missing car

by Oli C.

'The blue what?' asked Mike. 'Lizard?'

'No, it's salamander!!' shouted Kelly angrily. Mike never listened to her and was always getting things wrong! 'Should we go and see it?' 'Ok,' agreed Mike. 'When shall we?' 'Tomorrow,' said Kelly, 'I've got nothing to do then.' 'All right then,' agreed Mike. The next day, Mike grabbed his bike and raced off towards the wheel power test track where Kelly was meeting him. 'How are we gonna get in Kel?' he asked. Kelly answered 'I know this sounds awkward but... I know one of the workers and... he's over there.' Then she peered closer. 'Hey? That's 10000% not him.' 'Er...Kel? I think he's over here,' said Mike. Kelly suddenly shouted 'I knew that, you idiot!!!!' 'Sure you did... not,' muttered Mike under his breath. They went in at last and as soon as they did, Mike shouted 'Whoa, sooo cooool,' as he saw the salamander roar past on the track. 'Awesome, isn't it?' said Kelly, grinning. Mike nodded. 'Agreed!' The next day, Mike woke on Kelly's dog, Span!!? 'Wha...wha...?' stammered Mike. 'I thought I went to sleep at home!' 'No, you fell asleep here!!' 'I was just asking,' muttered Mike under his breath. 'Sorry,' replied Kelly. 'Anyway, where's the car?!' asked Mike uncertainly. 'I didn't notice!' worried Kelly alarmed. She knew it was there yesterday! 'Who could have stolen it?' 'Uh-oh,' said Mike. 'I feel an investigation coming on!'

To be continued....

'Dimension Dilemmas: Australia' (part four)

Brownness ('cos of the milk). Then total blackness, and they returned to reality, once again. 

Martine was dazed, and wondering where she was. She looked up, and realized she was in Carhays beach, the one she and J and H had visited. She had got washed up on the shore, and was lying face flat on the sand. Coffee was a bit shaken, but otherwise fine, and Martine was happy to see J and H lying next to her, with their eyes closed. Just then, Julia awoke, staring at Martine. 'Where are we?' she asked, thoughtfully. (By the way, Harold was still out cold.) 'We got washed up on Carhays beach,' replied Martine. They woke Harold up, and told him where he was, then they walked back to the hostel. Martine's turn to cook She cooked a quick microwave pizza then off they went to bed. Martine washed, dressed, and put Coffee in his cot. The she was out like a light. (By the way, they had discussed how they were going to the biggest water park in Australia before they go home.) She dreamed of going down slides, and tunnels, and playing water polo, and all of that. Aaaahhh, what happy memories she would have... zzz...zzzzzzz...zz.....

Martine had packed her swimming costume (plain black, not girly) and towel. So had Julia. Harold said he had to have goggles so he doesn't get the chlorine in his eyes.

They caught the bus there and got changed in the changing rooms. Then they ran out, excited, to a really big slide. It was really like Australia. The slides had Australian Aborigine art painted on them, and there was one Australian themed, where you twist and turn, then you fall into a big open space of brown water, like a waterhole. Then you got tipped into icy water at the bottom. They went on loads of other slides, until it was time to go home. Well, back to the hostel. They got dry, then caught a taxi back home. They were really worn out. It was Harold's turn to cook. He cooked a lovely homemade pea and ham soup, in the soup-maker. Mmmm. Then to bed.

Martine was so tired, she couldn't even be bothered to dress in her onesie. She fell into a deep, deep sleep. Coffee, if you're wondering, has been asleep the whole day, the lazy pig.

A few months later:

Byeeeee! Martine waved one last time to J and H as she walked up the steps into the aeroplane. 10 minutes later, RRrrrooooaaarrrRRRGgggh! roared the aeroplane, for the last time, thankfully. Just so you know, this story is ending now, so I'd want you to know that Martine got home safely.

The End. 

'Dimension Dilemmas: Australia' (part three)

Martine was floating on something brown. She took a sip. Mmmm, chocolate milk. Chocolate milk? Had she died and gone to chocolaty heaven? But then she realized she was in a well. A well filled with chocolate milk instead of water, for some reason. She noticed Julia dragging Harold across the well towards her. He had fainted at the sight of sharks. Luckily, Coffee was safe. And it was also very lucky that the pocket Coffee was in was zipped up, so he didn't get wet, or drown, for that matter. Martine and Julia clambered out, and Harold had finally woken up. They walked around, and took in the landscape. There were gummy trees, and marshmallow houses, and candyfloss for grass. But the weirdest thing was the people. There was gummy bear and jelly baby people, all running about in a panic. 

Martine stopped one and asked: 'Where are we?' The gummy bear replied, 'You're in Candyland, the world of candy and marshmallows.' 
'How did we get here?' asked Julia, suspiciously. 
'Probably the portal in the well. You got here by jumping in the sea, am I correct?' questioned the gummy bear. 'Oh, and by the way, my name's Gerald,' said the gummy bear.
'Hi Gerald, and yes, we did accidentally jump into the sea. But there's one more question I need to ask you, and that's why is everyone running about in a panic?' said Harold, wonderingly. 
'Mr Marshmallow. He's evil and he's trying to take over Candyland with his evil minions to turn it into a pink unicorn balloon making factory! I know, evil, right!?' said Gerald, speaking quieter after every word. 
'Eerrr, yeah, maybe?' said Martine, uncertainly. She didn't know why someone evil wanted to turn Candyland into that. She was expecting an evil secret lab, or something like that. 
'Oh, and one last thing,' said Gerald. 'Do not, under any circumstances, eat the candy. It hypnotises you into being one of Mr Marshmallow's evil minions where he can control whatever you do. Simples,' he added. And with that, he walked off.

'Ok, I have a plan,' said Martine, seriously. 'To save the town, of course,' added Martine. 'Ok, back to business, you see that marching group of evil minions over there?' She pointed, and J and H nodded. 'We blend in with them, into MM's (Mr Marshmallow) secret base. There, we get our hands on his machine that controls the minions. We tell them to bit MM's head off (I know, pretty gruesome, but he's only a marshmallow, so what harm will that do?) then we break the machine, freeing the minions, then we get home through the well! Great plan, right, guys!' said Martine, pleased with herself. 'Great!' smiled Julia.
'Sounds awesome!!' followed Harold. So off they went towards the marching minions...

They managed to blend in just fine, apart from the fact that they weren't candy. The minions led down into a side alley, right in between two big toffee towers. Then they went down a slope and underground. There was no trespassers in the base because there was a big sign saying 'Danger of death' and 'Keep out'. And for good measure, a skull and crossbones picture. Anyway, they walked into the dark tunnel below...

There was metal machines everywhere that do things like make pink unicorn balloons. Learning how to make beef stew (that wasn't a machine, it was just one of the recipes in MM's recipe book). Minion Multiplier (it makes clone minions). And, last of all, the one Martine needed for her plan. The computer controlling the minions. 

Suddenly, they saw the Mr Evil Marshmallow walk out of... walk out of... the toilet. Hee hee hee! You readers are probably giggling now. But that was it. Everyone heard a flush and then MM walked out with a piece of tissue paper stuck to his foot. LOL. While everyone was laughing, Martine snuck over to the computer, and typed in 'EAT MM'. Commotion! That was the only word for it. The minions ran at MM like ravenous sharks (remember the sharks?). Harold secretly envied MM's handiwork with his computer he'd built designed to control. But then, sadly, Martine got a jack hammer out of the 'machine that gives you anything' (quite handy, really) and smashed the computer to pieces, freeing the minions. After, of course, the minions had eaten MM. Then all was happy. There was hugging jelly babies and gummy bears cheering. Everyone ran out of the base and spread the news. 

Now all we need to do is get home, thought Martine to herself, as the three friends (four, including Coffee) walked out of the base. 'Well done, Mart,' said Harold. 'That was epic,' added Julia, impressed.

'Great, but we need to get home now,' answered Marine, in serious mode again. So they went to the well, and hurriedly jumped in....

Next time: the final installment. Will Martine 

get home safely?