There’s no doubt that the most popular books amongst our students are Crime/Murder Mystery, so we’re winding up the term with a hat tip to our favourite genre! The Senior Librarians have had a lot of fun embracing some of the more sinister aspects of this theme…all in good humour of course! A special thank you to Elizabeth Grounds who has worked tirelessly to create our very own St Hilda's Murder Mystery activity for students to complete on Tuesday of the last week of the term. Play detective and solve the crime. Identify the suspect, articulate the motive and be in to win! Check your emails for more information.

Excitement continues to build as we prepare to move into our beautiful new Library at the start of 2024! Our relocation provides us the perfect opportunity to refresh and rethink. Students can anticipate a survey in coming weeks as we work to include the student voice in our decision making process. Our collection is being constantly updated to more accurately reflect the current needs of students. Thank you to the teaching staff who have helped to ensure that our collection remains relevant to teaching and learning programmes across the school. A vibrant and dynamic collection continues to draw students into this space.

A reminder to have a look around at home for any rogue Library books gone astray! We warmly welcome the safe return of overdue books - no questions asked! Equally, be sure to pop in to the Library in the final week of term to get your holiday reading sorted. You can email Mrs Ranby (sranby@shcs.school.nz) with your reading preferences if you would like some holiday reading supplied!

Mrs Ranby recommends…

Better The Blood

Michael Bennett

*Recommended for Senior readers*

Detective Senior Sergeant Hanna Westerman is a tenacious Māori detective juggling single motherhood and the pressures of her career in Auckland’s Central Investigation Branch. When she’s led to a crime scene by a mysterious video, she discovers a man hanging in a hidden room. With little to go on, Hana knows one thing: the killer is sending her a message.

As a Māori officer, there has always been a clash between duty and culture for Hana, but it is something that she’s found a way to live with. Until now. When more murders follow, Hana realises that her heritage and past are the keys to finding the perpetrator.

Especially when the killer's agenda of revenge may include Hana – and her family . . .

'Better the Blood touches on themes that have become increasingly urgent in recent years including the far-reaching impacts of colonialism and the often uneasy integration of identity and heritage into modern multicultural society. A tensely plotted, gritty crime novel that has the courage to force us all to rethink our relationship with the past' - Vaseem Khan