Come down to your School Library this month to check out our theme for January: Science Fiction. We have a huge selection of Sci-Fi novels for your enjoyment. On top of that we have Sci-Fi graphic novels, Sci-Fi themed magazines and Sci-Fi Short Story collections. We even have a large selection of non-fiction books that examine Science Fiction in all its forms, including novels, television, games, and movies. Be sure to come down and see what we have to offer.
November is International Games Month @ Your Library but you can celebrate all year long in so many ways, including enjoying our subscription to “Games World of Puzzles” magazine. Come down and check it out.
The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 in the north-west of India, (what is now Pakistan.) He would go on to become the first of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. In 2023 the celebration of the birth of Guru Nanak is November 27. The day is also referred to as Guru Nanak’s Prakash Utsav and Guru Nanak Jayanti.
Most Canadians of Indian heritage who live in Canada are Sikhs, including many students at Lord Tweedsmuir, and in communities throughout Surrey and Greater Vancouver. If you are not Sikh, learn more about Guru Nanak, Sikhism, and the Sikh community. What a great way to better understand your friends, neighbours and fellow Canadians.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American friends, family and neighbours! Along with Turkey and football games, another staple of American Thanksgiving for many is listening to the 18 minute classic, “Alice’s Restaurant.”
November has been Peace month in the School Library, with an emphasis on understanding peace education, the antiwar movements, civil disobedience and other non-violent means of social change. Such themes overlap with American Thanksgiving in “Alice’s Restaurant.”
Originally released in 1967, Arlo Guthrie’s 18 minute long recording of “Alice’s Restaurant” has become on of the most famous protest songs against the Vietnam War. The events described in the song, beginning with a Thanksgiving celebration amongst friends during the sixties, were the inspiration for a film which was released in 1969.
More than 50 years later Guthrie’s signature song is a staple of classic rock radio stations on and around American Thanksgiving.
We asked LTSS Teachers and Staff about some of their favourite games to play. Here are some of the replies:
Mr. Ferrier played Axis & Allies when he was a kid. Now he loves Yahtzee, and the My Little Pony game, although his daughter beats him every time.
Ms. Truss loves Arkham Horror. She also mentioned Love Letter, Jaipur and Taco Cat.
Mr. Donaldson’s favourites include Settlers of Catan, Sequence, Cribbage, D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and Chess
Other teacher favourites:
Mr. Birnbaum is a big fan of Dungeons and Dragons, Scum & Villainy, Dungeon World, and Blades in the Dark.
Ms. Calla plays Pandemic with family and friends, along with other favourites such as Catan, Ticket to Ride, Munchkin, Cards Against Humanity, and Cribbage.
Dr. Robinson says that Sorry taught her how to lose, and that Scrabble taught her how to lose to her Mother every time they played. She prefers lawn games like Bocce and Cornhole.
Ms. Newton likes to play Cribbage, Monopoly Deal, Dutch Blitz, Speed, Uzzle, Jenga, Mahjong and her ultimate favourite, Mancala!
Ms. Stroh likes to play Exploding Kittens with her kids. She also likes Sequence, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly Deal and Ticket to Ride.
November is International Games Month @ Your Library
Rage Against the Machine have many titles that could be picked for lists of the greatest protest songs. One of the most overtly antiwar tracks is “Bulls on Parade.” (1996).
Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library Line up to the mind cemetery now What we don’t know keeps the contracts alive and movin’ They don’t gotta burn the books they just remove ’em While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells Rally ’round the family, pockets full of shells
“Hero of War” is a 2009 song by the American band, Rise Against. Many of the most well known peace and antiwar songs that are most prominent in popular culture come from the 1960s and 1970s, particularly protest songs against the American war in Vietnam. However, there are also many other more recent songs that look critically at more contemporary wars, including the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Have a listen, and spend some time thinking about your response. What do antiwar songs, and songs of peace and alternatives to violence, have to say to us in 2023?
Come down to check out some of these titles related to peace, non-violence, antiwar movements, civil disobedience and other alternatives to violence, as well titles that look at war and its horrific impact on humanity.
One of the most famous and influential songs of the antiwar movement of the 1960s and early 1970s is “Ohio”, written by Neil Young and performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. So many aspects of youth counter-culture, protests against the Vietnam War, and deep divisions within American society came together tragically as four university students were shot dead, and nine more wounded, at Kent State University in Ohio when the National Guard opened fire against student protestors. Neil Young wrote “Ohio” in reaction to the tragedy at Kent State, and the song was released in June of 1970. It has grown to become known as one the anthems of protest and antiwar activism.