Year 8 Book Reviews: Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

Mrs Wimsett's Year 8 English class have just completed book reviews, in which they chose a book and produced a poster or folder covering: a synopsis of the story, author biography, target audience and personal reflections. They then gave a short presentation of their review in front of their peers.

We start the ball rolling with Jess Holman's review of Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols.

Endless Summer is a "rom-com", aimed at a readership aged between 12 and 15. It is the sequel to The Boys Next Door.

The main character is called Lori. She is a bit "blonde" and clumsy so she kind of reminds me of myself! Lori loves to wakeboard; every Summer she does this and hangs out with her friends. This Summer it's her 16th birthday. Lori has been best friends with Adam Vadar for years, but she really likes his older brother Sean. She plans to win Sean over by making him jealous and pretending to go out with Adam. But Adam starts falling for Lori and everything heats up! Lori is sick of being treated as just one of the guys so when her plan goes all wrong, and she has two brothers fighting over her, it all becomes very difficult.

I really liked this book because of the comedy in it, and because all of the characters were equally likeable, and the author did a really good job of making them all unique. Also, at the end of most chapters there was a cliff-hanger, so it was really gripping and made you want to read on.

Jennifer Echols

Jennifer Echols is American and lives in Alabama, where she was born, with her husband and son. She mostly writes romantic comedies for teenagers but has also done a few for adults. Her first novel was called Major Crush which was about her own high school funny experiences.

Maths Challenge

The Maths Department recently entered some of its star Year 12 and 13 performers in the Senior Mathematical Challenge competition which is run by the The UK Mathematics Trust - a ‘satellite’ of Leeds University which organises national mathematics competitions and other mathematical enrichment activities for 11-18 year old UK school pupils.

This was great fun and a very useful exercise for the Stover mathematicians. A big ‘congratulations’ is in order for Linh Nguyen who, despite only being in Year 12, came out as ‘Best in School’ and winner of a gold medal. Other top performers were Bobo Chan, Neo Kan, Sian Wood, Dauen Lee, Coco Lee, Carol Chan and Angel Sze. Well done to all concerned!

Mammals of the British Isles - The Squirrel

Grey Squirrel

Strangely enough, the cute and lovable grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) we see playing in the grounds of Stover School are in fact rodents – the same group of mammals as rats. Since their introduction from North America, they have had a catastrophic effect on the native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) throughout the British Isles. Grey squirrels also cause significant damage to woodlands through ‘bark stripping’ and reduce density and diversity in populations of woodland birds.

Wild grey squirrels first appeared in Britain in the late 19th Century, with some possibly escaping from London Zoo. In Italy two pairs escaped from an ambassador's garden in Turin in 1948, although some sources suggest that pet grey squirrels had already escaped in Piedmont by the late 1800s. The spread of grey squirrels, at the expense of native red squirrels, appears to have had a more marked effect in the British Isles than on mainland Europe – so far at least.

Red Squirrel

There are now thought to be just 140,000 red squirrels in Britain, whilst there are over 2.5 million greys, and the future of the red squirrel is becoming increasingly uncertain as they are now extinct in southern England (except for a few on the Isle of Wight). Red Squirrels are still widespread in the North of England and Scotland, but even here their range is contracting. The grey squirrel is having such a profound impact on British wildlife that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has now listed it on their global list of the 100 worst invasive species. The UK Forestry Commission is working with partners in projects across Britain to develop a long-term conservation strategy that deters greys and encourages reds.

The Grey Squirrel is larger and more aggressive than its European cousin, and greys out-compete reds for food, feeding more on the ground and being able to digest acorns, which reds can’t. Contrary to popular opinion, red squirrels do not hibernate – but as greys can build up and store more fat they are better at surviving cold winters. Grey squirrels are also more generalist feeders eating: nuts, flowers, fruits, seeds, tree bark, fungi, bird eggs, nestlings and frogs - whilst reds prefer the seeds of coniferous forests, although they will diversify under pressure. Grey squirrels are also thought to have introduced the squirrelpox virus from North America which is deadly to red squirrels, although greys have a natural immunity.

Distribution of Grey Squirrel

Distribution of Red Squirrel

Grey squirrels, which can live at high population densities in broadleaved woodland, cause significant damage to trees such as sycamore, beech, oak, sweet chestnut, pine, Norway spruce and larch, by bark-stripping. This dramatically reduces the economic value of woodland – costing more than £10 million per year. They may also be partly responsible for recent declines in many woodland bird species - through predation of eggs and young chicks, competing for nest sites or because they consume food which would otherwise be available for birds.

Squirrels build large nests, called dreys, often in the forks of tree trunks. They can breed twice in a season, in spring and in late summer, but usually only breed once. There are between one and six young in a litter. The young are born naked and blind. Young squirrels may stay with their mother until she has her next litter. Mortality is quite high, with only one in five surviving to their first winter. Adult squirrels have few natural predators, as they are far too quick and agile for most.

this article is based on work by Jane Chen, Year 10

Year 13 Philosophy and Ethics: Voices and Visions

Year 13 Philosophy and Ethics students have recently been studying the topic of Religious Experience. They created a “mock” newspaper article describing the events leading up to the establishment of Lourdes as a centre for pilgrimage and healing.

Bernadette Soubiros, a 14 year old local girl is reported to have seen visions of a lady dressed in white who then told her to dig a hole in the ground, which she did. Water then sprung from the hole, the location of which has developed over the last 160 years into the pilgrimage site of Lourdes in the Pyrenees region of France. Lourdes is today visited by over five million people a year to bathe in or drink from the holy water which is said to have amazing healing powers.



Lourdes



The students reported the events surrounding the visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858, and then included “quotes” from eminent scholars in the field with their imagined views on the subject. For example, Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist dismissed the experiences as “an illusion that derives from people’s psychological needs” whilst William James, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, said that he would be very keen to speak to Bernadette about her vision to include it in his forthcoming book about Religious Experience. “Bernadette has experienced union with something larger than herself and from this union she may find her greatest peace”.

Thanks to Mrs Bradley (Alison that is!) for this piece.