Dear Readers, Welcome to Library Newsletter No.4. The Christmas Library Competition is in full swing with lots of entries already! The stories I have read so far have been brilliant, lots of exciting plots, characters and settings. As for Santa’s treats, well, what can I say…. they look delicious! Well done to all the children who have worked hard on their entries and very enthusiastically accessed their amazing imaginations. Good luck to you all! NOTE: Closing date for the competition has changed from the 21st of December to the 17th of December, this will also be announced in the school. This month the library is celebrating the 200th anniversary publication of Jane Austen’s fourth novel, Emma (1815): “Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.” And the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rudyard Kipling: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” In the world of mathematics, a short discussion will be presented on the famous mathematician Fibonacci and his amazing Fibonacci sequence. “No student ought to complete a course in Mathematics without the feeling that there must be something in it, without catching a glimpse, however fleeting of its possibilities, without at least a few moments of pleasure in achievement and insight.” Helen A. Merrill In the grammar world the newsletter will provide an insight into vowels, why they exist and who decided to split the alphabet into consonants and vowels! Plus, a brief history on the origin of alphabets and phonetics. Author of the fortnight is Andrew Lane. Author of the Young Sherlock Holmes book series, some of which I managed to purchase at a very reasonable price over the last week. They are already catalogued and on the library shelves eagerly awaiting avid young readers. A huge to Dympna Devin (sister-in-law to our fantastic caretaker, Davy), for donating to the school library. The books are greatly appreciated by students and staff alike, with some of them already in the hands of Mr. Flanagan’s 3rd Class. Imagine, this is the second last newsletter for this year! Only 15 more sleeps to go!!! Ho! Ho! Ho! Good reading to you all, Deirdre, Librarian. Young Sherlock Holmes is a series of young adult Thriller novels by Andrew Lane featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's detective Sherlock Holmes as a teenager in the 1860s, who is faced with numerous crimes and adventures throughout the series. Books in the series So far there have been seven books released in the series, with the seventh book released in September 2014. There could potentially be nine in total. Death Cloud (June 2010): Fourteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes is sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Hampshire and teams up with Matty Arnatt to investigate two mysterious deaths which appear to be somehow related to a black cloud which Sherlock Holmes has to solve. Red Leech, retitled Rebel Fire for the American market, (November 2010): A few months after the events of the first novel, Holmes investigates the possibility that John Wilkes Booth is alive and well, and living in England. The investigation takes Sherlock to America with his tutor, Amyus Crowe. Black Ice (June 2011): Mycroft invites Sherlock and his tutor to London for a visit, but when they arrive at the Diogenes Club they find Mycroft with a dagger in his hand and a dead body on the floor. The adventure takes them from the depths of the London sewers to the frozen Russian landscapes. Fire Storm (November 2011): Fourteen-year-old Sherlock has come up against some challenges in his time, but what confronts him now is completely baffling. His tutor, Crowe, and Crowe's daughter, Virginia, have vanished. Their house looks as if nobody has ever lived there. Snake Bite (September 27, 2012): Sherlock finds himself facing another mystery after being kidnapped and taken to China on a ship named as the Gloria Scott. Knife Edge (October 2013): Takes place in Ireland. Following the events of the last book Sherlock returns home to find himself stuck in the middle of a kidnapping. Stone Cold (September 2014): Following his last thrilling adventure Sherlock Holmes has been sent to live in Oxford to focus on his education. But something strange is happening in the university pathology labs. Body parts are being stolen from corpses and are being posted one by one to an address in London. What can these sinister goings-on mean, and what message is someone trying to send? In an attempt to find out, Sherlock finds himself in an isolated manor house where strange things have been happening. Can he get to the bottom of another baffling mystery? Who knows? Night Break (September 2015): Sherlock's mother has died, his father has gone missing in India and his sister is acting strangely. The Holmes family seems to be falling apart, and not even brother Mycroft can keep it together. A mysterious disappearance leads them to Egypt and the Suez Canal, where an explosive finale will tear the Holmes family apart! Background Based on the success of Charlie Higson's bestselling Young Bond series (as discussed in the last newsletter), the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle authorised a series of books detailing the life of the teenage Sherlock Holmes. One of Andrew Lane's key aims is to explain some of the complexities of Holmes' character, who is scientific and analytical on the one hand, and artistic and moody on the other. Two new characters introduced in this series, his two tutors, Amyus Crowe and Rufus Stone, will help shed light on the formation of the two sides of his character evident in later life. Further titles in the series may include; The Giant Rat of Sumatra (mentioned in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire") The Remarkable Worm Unknown to Science (mentioned in "The Problem of Thor Bridge") Colonel Warburton’s Madness (mentioned in "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb") The Segregation of the Queen (mentioned in "His Last Bow") A Sample of Online Reviews by Young Sherlock Holmes Readers: Louis Desforges, age 13 - 'Interesting and exciting read which is a great introduction to the Young Sherlock Holmes series. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy action and adventure stories.' Liam, age 12 - 'This book was very well written by a very good author who I was interested in. When I had finished reading it, I instantly needed to read the next book in the series.' James Harrison, age 11 - 'I really hope a whole lot more of Young Sherlock books come out, so, all-in- all I say: 'Go Young Sherlock'!' Benjy Randall, age 10 - 'A great all round adventure book, with lots of action. Will keep any young reader full entertained.' Daisy Grundy, yr 7 - 'The book was set with mysteries which would all come together at an exciting climax which the ideas and questions would click together.' Phoebe Allan, age 14 - 'This is a clever book that is full of suspense...His fearless journey is full of action and does not fail to amaze me in a way that only the incredible creation that is Sherlock Holmes can.' Read full review > Mukunth Kowsik, age 12 - 'This book is so good that you simply will not put it down. It is Sherlock Holmes made more easier to understand and to be enjoyed by teenagers.' Elenie Williams, age 11 - 'Young Sherlock; Death Cloud is a gripping adventure story that is so tense it will make you not want to put it down. Why wouldn't you pick it up?' Jenny Bridgeman, age 9 - 'Cracking thriller that re-introduces a classic character to a modern day audience!' Ella Hollingshead, age 13 - 'Suspense, mystery, criminals, detectives- this book is packed full of such excitement. Set in an English town, Young Sherlock looks set to be an exciting series, I can't wait to read the next book!' Jemma Rubens, age 10 - 'This book is the first in a six part series about young Sherlock Holmes. He is accompanied throughout by his tutor, his urchin friend and the tutor's daughter.' Sam Harper, age 10 - 'a thrilling mystery, perfect for anyone who likes solving crimes...A great introduction to the worlds most famous detective.' In the early 1200’s, an Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa (nicknamed Fibonacci) discovered the famous Fibonacci sequence. This sequence falls under the mathematical domain of number theory and its most famous problem concerned rabbits. Fibonacci numbers are an interesting mathematical idea. Although not normally taught in the school curriculum, particularly in primary schools, the prevalence of their appearance in nature and the ease of understanding them, makes them an excellent principle for young children to study. The Fibonacci Quarterly is a modern journal devoted to studying mathematics related to this sequence. Fibonacci's work in number theory was almost wholly ignored and virtually unknown during the Middle ages. Three hundred years later the same results appear in the work of Francesco Maurolico, (September 16, 1494 - July 21, 1575), a mathematician and astronomer from Sicily. INTRODUCTION TO FIBONACCI NUMBERS Have you ever pulled the petals off of a daisy? If you look closely at the centre of a daisy, you will find that the yellow centre is not solid. It is made up of sets of spirals that go out from the centre. It’s not just daisies! Nature is all about math. Look at the pictures of a pinecone. It has those same kinds of spirals. They don’t go around and around in a circle - they go out like fireworks.