Hilliard's Investigate

Yesterday afternoon we were treated to a round of excellent presentations from our most recent group of Year 7s to complete the BGSI Library Activity.  Presentations covered subjects as diverse as the History of our School, Modern Life at BGS, Favourite Authors and Books and Allen Lane (illustrious BGS OB & founder of Penguin Publishing). The students of Hilliard’s House had worked extremely well in their groups last week and throughout the course, so our expectations were high indeed.

  As a class, Hilliard’s have to be one of the most passionate groups we have had this year.  The amount of spirited debate on the topic of ebooks vs traditional paper books stands as testament to the students’ strong convictions.  In fact, had we not cut the discussion short, it could have gone on for hours and certain pupils could well have come to blows over the issue!!  Several presentations included quizzes and mini-discussions, proving that the best talks aren’t one-sided affairs.

Every group presented admirably, even a pair whose presentation had been accidentally deleted managed to improvise their way through some interesting material.  The group that emerged victorious, and each walked away with a fabulous prize, was Julius, Emma and James, speaking about the history of libraries and the Dewey Decimal System.  Although competition was fierce, we decided that this group deserved to win for the amount of research done and the way they selected appropriate information to include.  They also stood-out for excellent presentation-style, speaking clearly and confidently and never simply reading from a sheet. The second prize duo of Lara and Noah impressed us with their wide range of reading and passionate love of books.

It’s been a pleasure having you with us in the Library, Hilliard’s and we’re looking forward to welcoming Gunawardana’s in a fortnight’s time.  They’ll have to work pretty hard to match your efforts!  Consider the gauntlet thrown down.