A Christmas Evening

As a thank you to all the local community who have supported us so much over the past six months we would like to cordially invite you to 'A Christmas Evening' at Watch House Cross Community Library on Tuesday evening 18th December, starting at 7.30pm. Come and enjoy an evening of Poetry, Live Christmas Music, Homemade Mulled Wine & Mince Pies at your local library. Free Admission - Over 18's Only For more details; call 061-457726.

Children's Book Festival 2007 - Prize Winners Award Ceremony

On Friday 7th December, Watch House Cross Community Library presented prizes to the winners of the Children's Book Festival Art & Colouring Competition 2007. Over twenty children were presented with prizes, and our current Mayor, Councillor Ger Fahy was present to do the honours.
Well done to all who entered the competition this year!

Local Artists Launch Exhibition

This evening in the Library at Watch House Cross two local artists Margaret Ray and Tomas O ‘ Maoldomhnaigh launched an exhibition of their own work of original painting’s which depict scenes of Limerick City ,coastal scenes, sporting and people. For more information see the limerick blogger article

"The Story of the Rubbish Monster!" - at Watch House Cross Library

Skylight Productions

Present

The Story of the Rubbish Monster

Jimmy and Serena live next door to nice but untidy Mr. Hackinsack. Strange rumblings are heard from thje rubbish heap in his garden. A Rubbish Monster appears with sinister plans. Enter a wise old Binworm who leads them to his magical underground kingdom and teaches them about recycling. Can the children defeat the evil rubbish monster and save the planet in time?

The Story of the Rubbish Monster is a hugely successful piece of puppet-theatre which has been performed in over 180 national schools in Cork City and the County region since 2001 and now makes its first appearance in Watch House Cross Library. Running for approximately 45 minutes, this highly professional and polished production utilises puppets and actors against a colourful stage-set built from re-cycled materials. It encourages participation from a young audience in a process of education about the importance and methods of recycling.

This production is one of 10 showings this week, which will be played to 18 schools across the city, targeting approx 900 students with an antilitter message in a fun and creative way.

Written and produced by Conor Dwane, founder of Skylight Productions, one of Cork City’s most prolific and energetic theatre companies of recent years The Story of the Rubbish Monster was conceived and designed specifically within the framework of national waste management strategies.

Website Directory for Children

Website Directory for Children


ART

Art Activities - http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/index.html

Art Attack - http://www.hitentertainment.com/artattack/

Colouring - http://www.coloring.com/

Crayola Educators - http://www.crayola.com/educators/index.cfm

The Crayon House - http://www.thecrayonhouse.com/

Etch – A – Sketch - http://www.etch-a-sketch.com/

Kidzdraw - http://www.kidzdraw.com/

Imagination Station - http://www.draw3d.com/mainframe.html

How To Draw - http://webhome.idirect.com/~cec/

Art Detective - http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/

Art Junction - http://www.artjunction.org/

Lil’ Fingers - http://www.lil-fingers.com/

Le Louvre - http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en

The Tate - http://www.tate.org.uk/

Dreezle - http://www.dreezle.com/

Monet - http://www.excelsiordirect.com/monet.htm

Haring Kids - http://www.haringkids.com/

Van Gogh - http://www.excelsiordirect.com/vangogh.htm



Games

Darts - http://www.crazy4all.nl/flashgames/flashgames/bullseye.swf

Golf - http://www.links4kids.freeserve.co.uk/miniputt.swf

Ice Hockey - http://game.sekonda.co.uk/IceHockey.swf

Key Ball - http://www.globz.net/globz3/swf/keyball/keyball.swf

River Cross - http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor3/games/river_cross/game.html

Chess - http://www.media-division.com/flashgames/flashchess/chess.swf

Checkers - http://www.funranch.com/games/checkers/checkers.dcr

AstroBoy - http://www.shade.ca/games/astroboy/Astroboy.swf

Fuel Transport - http://home18.inet.tele.dk/LoopIT/fueltran.swf

Oversteer - http://www.saydesign.com/oversteer/OverSteerFinal5.swf

Apples - http://home.wanadoo.nl/flashgames/games/applegame.swf

Bug Hunt - http://gravisphere.com/gallery/ID6.swf

Defender - http://www.rieder-online.net/games/defend-city/start.swf

Games - http://www.tripletsandus.com/80s/80s_games/arcade.htm



Entertainment

Disney - http://home.disney.go.com/ (make sure Flash player installed)

Shrek the Third - http://www.shrek.com/main.html

Looney Tunes - http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/homepage/homepage.jsp

Tom & Jerry - http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/tomjerry/

Highschool Musical - http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/originalmovies/highschoolmusical/index.html

Bob the Builder - http://www.bobthebuilder.com/uk/index.html

Roald Dahl - http://www.roalddahl.com/

Artemis Fowl - http://www.artemisfowl.co.uk/home.html

JK Rowling - http://www.jkrowling.com/

Alex Rider - http://www.alexrider.com/

Harry Potter (The Movie) - http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/

Scholastic - http://www.scholastic.com/

Dreamwords SKG Animation - http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/dwa/opencms/index.html

Pixar - http://www.pixar.com/

Horrid Henry - http://www.horridhenry.co.uk/

Cartoon Network - http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/

The Den - http://www.rte.ie/tv/theden/thedenindex.html

Darren Shan - http://darrenshan.com/

Nickolodeon - http://www.nick.com/

Nick Jr - http://www.nickjr.com/

Cbeebies - http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/

Playstation - http://ie.playstation.com/

Postman Pat - http://www.postmanpat.com/

Dora the Explorer - http://www.nickjr.co.uk/shows/dora/index.aspx

Spongebob Squarepants - http://www.nick.com/shows/spongebob_squarepants/index.jhtml

Pingu - http://www.pingu.net/uk/index.htm

Thomas the Tank Engine - http://www.thomasandfriends.com/uk/thomas_the_tank_engine_uk_website_homepage.html

Angelina Ballerina - http://www.angelinaballerina.com/uk/home.html

The Muppets - http://muppets.go.com/main.html

Barney - http://www.barney.com/uk/index.html

Bratz - http://www.bratz.com/

Power Rangers - http://disney.go.com/powerrangers/index.html

3-D Car Gallery - http://www.3dcar-gallery.com/



Education

Schools Wikipedia - http://schools-wikipedia.org/

Kids Educational - http://www.kidsknowit.com/


Scoilnet - http://www.scoilnet.ie/

Ireland’s Flora & Fauna - http://www.biology.ie/

Ask About Ireland - http://www.askaboutireland.ie/student_zone.html

Make & Do - http://www.blackrockec.ie/environment/makedo.htm

ALA Websites for Kids - http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/default.cfm

ARKive - http://www.arkive.org/

Starfall - http://www.starfall.com/

Pre-School Library - http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp

School Science - http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml

Britannica Junior – http://library.eb.co.uk/elementary?library_id=limerickcity
(use your library card number to log in)

Jigsaw - http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/H/hoobs/activities/interactiveActivities.jsp?id=jigsaw

Explore Some More - http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/learning/exploresomemore/

Foundation Learning - http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/4.cfm

Phonics for Early Readers - http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/phonics/

I-Spy - http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/H/hoobs/activities/interactiveActivities.jsp?id=ispy

Letters- http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/H/hoobs/activities/interactiveActivities.jsp?id=letters

Picture Dictionary - http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Dictionary.html

Rhyming - http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/H/hoobs/activities/interactiveActivities.jsp?id=rhyming

Environment Info - http://www.enfo.ie/

Nasa for kids - http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/home/index.html


Sebastian Swan - http://www.sebastianswan.org.uk/index.html

Fun with Spot - http://www.funwithspot.com/house.asp?locale=UK

Dr. Seuss - http://www.seussville.com/

Story Circle - http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories/

Chinese New Year - http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html

Feelings Game - http://www.juliasrainbowcorner.com/html/feelingsgame.html

Dinosaur Playground - http://www.abc.net.au/dinosaurs/dino_playground/

Dynamo’s Lab - http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/dynamo/lab/index.shtml

Games for Kids 1-5 - http://www.kidspsych.org/oochy2.html

Lulu’s Games - http://perso.orange.fr/jeux.lulu/english.htm

Numbertime - http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/numbertime/index.shtml

Free Spanish Lessons - http://www.learn4good.com/kids/learning_spanish_online/free_lessons_for_children.htm

World Wildlife Federation - http://www.panda.org/

Planet Earth - http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/planetearth/


Sport

Four Four Two - http://www.fourfourtwo.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,11442,00.html

Sky Sports Planet Football - http://home.skysports.com/football/

Liverpool FC - http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/

Manchester United FC - http://www.manutd.com/

Chelsea FC - http://www.chelseafc.com

Arsenal - http://www.arsenal.com/index.asp

FAI - http://www.fai.ie/start.php

Munster Rugby - http://www.munsterrugby.ie/

Irish Rugby Football Union - http://www.irishrugby.ie/

GAA - http://www.gaa.ie/

Limerick GAA - http://limerick.gaa.ie/

Clare GAA - http://www.claregaa.ie/gaa/index.htm

Horse Riding - http://www.equestriann.com/

Horseland - http://www.horseland.com/

Gymkhana - http://www.abc.net.au/rollercoaster/saddle/interact/game/default.htm

Beginners Horse Riding - http://www.equusite.com/articles/basics/basicsHome.shtml

Swim Ireland - http://www.swimireland.ie/

WWE – http://www.wwe.com

NBA - http://www.nba.com/

NFL - http://www.nfl.com/

Handball - http://handball.gaa.ie/

The Library

My Favourite Image - Limerick Camera Club Exhibition

Watch House Cross Library is currently holding an exhibition of photographs by the Limerick Camera Club. The title of the exhibition is 'My Favourite Image'. It was opened on the 15th of November by the Minister for Defence, Mr. Willie O'Dea.

Members were asked to submit their favourite photograph along with a brief explanation of why this photograph has significance for them. This is a chance for members to show their work to a wider audience and to bring a more personal explanation to their work for those viewing.

For more infomation on the Limerick Camera Club please visit their official website
Here

Books to get you hooked ....

Young Readers Do you love Harry Potter? Are you mad about Darren Shan? Or are you hooked on Jacqueline Wilson? But you can’t decide what to read next ? The list bellow gives some suggestions of books you might like to try, all the books are specially picked by us and have recommendations from children all over the world, so try something different and let us know what you think. If you like Harry Potter, Try Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Deep Trouble by Debi Gliori Mister Monday by Garth Nix If you like Narnia, Try The Wind Singer – William Nicholson The Hobbit – JRR Toilkein The Spiderwick Chronicles – Tony Diterlizzi Five children and it – E. Nesbit If you like Jacqueline Wilson, Try Frankie, Peaches & Me – Karen McCombie Saffy’s Angel - Hilary McKay Chicken Friend – Nicola Morgan Charm School – Anne Fine Passion Flower – Jean Ure If you like Marita Conlon Mckenna, Try The Drumshee Series – Cora Harrison A Winter of Spies – Gerard Whelan Lawlor’s revenge – Mary Arrigan Preovate Peacefull – Michael Morpurgo If you like Darren Shan, Try The Switchers trilogy – Kate Thompson Measle & Wraithbone – Ian Ogilvy Unbearable – Paul Jennings Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy

Want to Learn or Improve a Language - Use our Language Lab!

Here at Watch House we have a room dedicated to learning or improving languages.
We have three PC's with over twenty language courses installed on them. You can book two hours sessions in this room, just enquire at the main desk for details.
This room should be particluarly useful for Secondary School students studying languages, aswell as people wanting to learn English as a Foreign Language.

List of Language Courses

Spanish
Beginners Spanish (B)
Spanish – The Short Course

Irish
Irish – The Short Course

French
Instant French (B)
French – The Short Course
French – Intermediate Level
French – High Intermediate Level

German
Instant German (B)
German – The Short Course

Italian
Instant Italian (B)

Swedish
Swedish – The Short Course

Portuguese
Portuguese (Continental) – The Short Course
One-Day Portuguese

Arabic
Egyptian Arabic - The Short Course

English
Colloquial English (B)
English for Arabic Speakers
English for Hindi Speakers
English for French Speakers
English for Spanish Speakers
English for Cantonese Chinese Speakers

Recommended Reading - November 2007

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke




'Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years.
It's funny, moving, scary, otherworldly, practical and magical, a journey through light and shadow --- a delight to read, both for the elegant and precise use of words, which Ms Clarke deploys as wisely and dangerously as Wellington once deployed his troops, and for the vast sweep of the story, as tangled and twisting as old London streets or dark English woods.
It is a huge book, filled with people it is a delight to meet, and incidents and places one wishes to revisit, which is, from beginning to end, a perfect pleasure.
Closing JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL after 800 pages my only regret was that it wasn't twice the length.'
- Neil Gaiman

---

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka





For years, Nadezhda and Vera, two Ukrainian sisters, raised in England by their refugee parents, have had as little as possible to do with each other - and they have their reasons. But now they find they'd better learn how to get along, because since their mother's death their aging father has been sliding into his second childhood, and an alarming new woman has just entered his life. Valentina, a bosomy young synthetic blonde from the Ukraine, seems to think their father is much richer than he is, and she is keen that he leave this world with as little money to his name as possible.

If Nadazhda and Vera don't stop her, no one will.
But separating their addled and annoyingly lecherous dad from his new love will prove to be no easy feat - Valentina is a ruthless pro and the two sisters swiftly realize that they are mere amateurs when it comes to ruthlessness. As Hurricane Valentina turns the family house upside down, old secrets come falling out, including the most deeply buried one of them all, from the War, the one that explains much about why Nadazhda and Vera are so different. In the meantime, oblivious to it all, their father carries on with the great work of his dotage, a grand history of the tractor.


"Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a
glamorous blonde Ukranian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was
thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade,
churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface sludge of sloughed-off
memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside."



Read them today at Watch House Cross Community Library

Prepare for your Driver Theory Test at Watch House Cross Community Library

In Ireland, since the 25th April 2001 a Driving Theory Test must be undertaken (and passed !) before a person can obtain their 1st provisional driving licence.

The test is conducted on a computer monitor where 40 multi-choice questions are selected at random from a bank of over 1250. 35 questions must be answered correctly to achieve a pass.

From the 21st October 2006 500 new questions were added to the data bank..

Now, in Watch House Cross Community Library, you can book an hour on a computer to practice for this test using the Official Driver Theory Test CD-ROM.

Enquire at the library desk for details.

Halloween Table Quiz & Fancy Dress Party

On the 31st Oct 2007 the Watch House Cross Community Library hosted it's very first Ghosts and Ghouls Table Quiz & Fancy Dress Competition Over 35 children (between the ages 8-12) attended, all wearing frightening costumes and make-up. The children were tested with questions about Halloween, Sport, Music, Nature & TV. The three best outfits all won a prize along with the top three tables in thr quiz. Well Done to all who took part, and thank you for making our first Table Quiz a success. See ye next year! P.S. It must also be noted that the staff of the library were not looking themselves.....

Author Visit - Roisin Meaney - Children's Book Festival 2007

Roisin Meaney was born in Listowel, Co Kerry, She has lived in the US, Canada, Africa and Europe. In 2002, Roisin won the Tivoli Write a Bestseller competition with her first novel, The Daisy Picker, which was subsequently followed by Putting Out the Stars. Her widely acclaimed book Don’t Even Think About It was her first forray into children's books. Roisin is currently based in Limerick where she also teaches part-time.

Storyteller Visit - Susie Minto - Children's Book Festival 2007

Susie Minto has a deep love for stories and their energy. She enjoys telling all kinds of tales - traditional stories and legends from her Scottish roots and from many world cultures, as well as personal anecdotes and spontaneous stories straight from her imagination.

Based in Ireland and Scotland, Susie is happy to go wherever the storytelling trail leads. On the 18th October this trail led Susie to Watch House Cross Community Library!

For more about Susie visit;
http://www.storiesfromtheheart.co.uk/

City and County Librarians Annual Conference Visit Watch House Cross Branch

For the second year running the City and County Librarians Autumn Seminar was held in Ennis in County Clare.

City and County Librarians from around the country gathered for the event, entitled “Developing Quality Services for Children and Young People”, at the Old Ground Hotel, Ennis on 4th-5th October 2007

A visit to the Watch House Community Library was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The group was welcomed by Pat Dowling, Director of Service, Limerick City Council & Dolores Doyle, Limerick City Librarian.

The librarians took time to browse and explore the new library and to speak with staff about membership and interest in services provided.

Refreshments were served before the group headed to Sixmilebridge.

Limerick BEST Project launch

On Friday 12th October, the Limerick BEST project was launched in the Watch House Cross Community Library.

To mark the launch, a photographic exhibition is now being held in our exhibition space.

The photographs were taken by the participants of the project who attended a photography course.

This exhibition is the fruit of that work.

All of our members are more than welcome to view this valuable work.
Each photograph is for sale at 150 euro each.

Minister of Defence, Willie O’Dea was on hand to officially launch this worthy project.

Limerick BEST is a new project for Young People in Limerick City.

The aim of the project is to give young people the opportunity to develop their personal, social and technical skills through training, mentoring and supports, thus allowing them to build their own capacity to participate in their own personal and career development.

Building Education Skills Teamwork

Puppet Show - Children's Book Festival 2007

The Pyramids - A lecture by Fiona Ismail - Childrens' Book Festival

Tuesday 8th October - Fiona Ismail, Assistant Librarian in our Roxboro branch of the Limerick City Library Service, gave a lecture today to well over 100 children from St. Munchin's Girls and the Corpus Christi Primary School.

The lecture was a whistle stop tour through some pyramids from around the world. Starting with the development of pyramid building in Egypt during the Old Kingdom - discussing the building materials that were used & how the pyramids were constructed.
Moving on to Mesopotamia and the Ziggurats that were built there.
Finishing with a look at some of the more famous pyramids from Mexico like Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza & Palenque and talking a little about the different theories as to how people on opposite sides of the Atlantic ended up building pyramids!

In The Beginning....

Pictures speak louder than words (occasionally)

Pam's Super Storytime

Pamela, one of our Branch Librarian's, held our largest ever storytime last Tuesday 8th October. She told the story to over fifty children, who were very well behaved and they all really enjoyed it.

Absolute Beginner's Computer Course

We are running a 5-week Absolute Beginner's Computer Course in the Watch House Cross Community Library. Places for the course were booked very early and we plan to run the course again in January.
We have currently held three of the five classes, and we have covered the following Computer Fundamentals with our students.
The use of the Mouse, the Keyboard, Typing, Internet Basics, Search Engines and Email.

Arts & Crafts - Children's Book Festival 2007

Sat 6th Oct, saw the biggest group for Arts and Crafts in Watch House Cross Library.
We made Pasta Picture Frames, what you may ask are Pasta Picture frames ?

Pasta Picture Frames are a very simple and novel idea using basics that most of us have in the house every day. The children glued various pasta shapes to coloured paper, leaving the centre free for them to glue a favourite photo to it.

For that rainy day at home, when you are looking for something to entertain the children, check out your cupboards, you would be surprised what you will find.

Check out our notice board for the next Arts and Crafts session that we are holding for 7 to 11 year olds.

The Salesian/Fernbank Brownies visit the library

We had the honour of hosting a fun-filled the Salesian/Fernbank Brownie visit to our new library. 40 enthusiastic Brownies from the Salesian/Fernbank troop were in attendance. They were treated to an introductory tour of the library by Sinead, our esteemed Assitant Librarian.
Following that, each of them entered the Design a Festival Bookmark Competition 2007.
This competition is held nationwide and the eventual winner will have their design printed on thousands of bookmarks!

The closing date for this competition is Wednesday 24th October.

For more info see this webpage

Explore, Search & Discover: Google Earth

Since we opened in June '07, we have very positive feedback about Google Earth.
From children to the elderly, all computer users have been amazed at the power of this groundbreaking program.
Google Earth is installed on all the computers in the Watch House Cross Community Library.
Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.

For a thorough & interactive guide on how to use it; Visit this link
Google Earth Guide