Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Spanish

Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be difficult – these resources will help you speak and understand the language like you were born in Spain … or Mexico … or any other Spanish-speaking country!

• Borrow a Spanish language multimedia set from one of our community libraries now open so you can practice anywhere;
• We also have Spanish dictionaries (including one you can access online from home!) and books about Spain;
• One of the best ways to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it – read books and magazine articles written in Spanish, watch Spanish films, and listen to Spanish music;
• Find articles about places in Spain, as well as Spanish history and culture, at StudentResourceCenter;
• Learn about notable Spanish people and more at WorldBook Online InfoFinder;
• Explore travel and tourism websites – we’ve brought all the best ones together in one place to make it easy for you;
• Earn an excellence in NCEA Spanish with help from NZQA;
• The BBC makes learning Spanish easy;
• Make learning Spanish fun – play games at Digital Dialects;
• Keen to visit or live in Spain or another Spanish-speaking country for a while? Win yourself a student-exchange scholarship;
• GoAbroad.com and Youth For Understanding also offer travel opportunities for high school students;
• Get travel tips from Lonely Planet;
• Challenge yourself at StudySpanish.com.

Want some more really useful resources for another NCEA subject? Go to The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Japanese

Do you dream of moving to Tokyo once you finish school? We can help you get there!

• Borrow a Japanese language multimedia set from one of our community libraries now open so you can practice anywhere;
• We also have Japanese dictionaries (including one you can access online from home!) and books about Japan;
• One of the best ways to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it – read books and magazine articles written in Japanese, watch Japanese films, and listen to Japanese music;
• Find articles about places in Japan, as well as Japanese history and culture, at Student Resource Center;
• Learn about notable Japanese people and more at World Book Online InfoFinder;
• Explore travel and tourism websites – we’ve brought all the best ones together in one place to make it easy for you;
• Earn an excellence in NCEA Japanese with help from NZQA;
• The BBC makes learning Japanese easy;
• Make learning Japanese fun – play games at Digital Dialects;
• Keen to visit or live in Japan for a while? Win yourself a student-exchange scholarship;
• GoAbroad.com and Youth For Understanding also offer travel opportunities for high school students;
• Get travel tips from Lonely Planet;
• Discover the latest trends in Japan at Web Japan;
• Check out a bunch of awesome Japan-related websites on SpeakRealJapanese.com;
• Discover Japan’s seasonal attractions.

Want some more really useful resources for another NCEA subject? Go to The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Maths

NCEA Maths not your strong point? Don’t worry, become a mathematical genius with help from the library! As well as checking out any of the fantastic websites listed below, you can borrow NCEA math textbooks and study guides from one of the community libraries that are now open.

Maths help on the Web

• Study It is one of the best places to go for information, contact with Math teachers, and encouragement and support from other students.
• NZQA has got your back with official resources for NCEA Mathematics and Statistics.
• Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus have all been covered in the study guides on SparkNotes.
• Serve your teachers up some pie…graphs by using Create A Graph.

So where did we find these great resources? On The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Science

Stressing out about your assessments for NCEA Science? Take a deep breath, put on your lab coat and click on these helpful links!

• Both the Student Research Center and the Science Reference Center have you sorted with information and resources for every kind of science, from agriculture to zoology.
• Not just for rocket scientists, Science in Context combines scientific information with media reports to show how scientific disciplines are related to real-world issues.
• Check out the New Scientist, Popular Science and Make websites for articles and more, or borrow the print copies of these magazines from one of our community libraries now open.
• The Christchurch City Council offers homework help that covers (among other things) the natural environment, waste, and water.
• Study It can tell you everything you need to know about NCEA Science.
• NZQA also has lots of helpful information and resources.
• Learn how stuff works so you can impress your classmates with awesome science projects.

So where did we find these great resources? On The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Physics

Having trouble getting your head around all the complicated phenomena in NCEA Physics? These resources will help simplify things!

• Search both the Student Research Center and the Science Reference Center for articles.
• Check out what NCEA Physics textbooks we have for year 11, 12 and 13 students at our community libraries now open.
• Get information, advice and support at Study It.
• Learn about gravity, magnetic forces, thermodynamics and more on SparkNotes.
• Physlink has a comprehensive reference section for study and assignments.
• Use the Science Dictionary to learn the meanings of various physics terms.
• Explore the solar system.
• Find out about missions to space and what it’s like to be an astronaut.

So where did we find these great resources? On The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Social Studies

Get an excellent score for NCEA Social Studies with the help of these excellent web resources.

• Get clued up on the lives of over one million notable people from around the world, past and present.
• Contemporary Women’s Issues is a good place to stop if you’re studying how critical issues and events have shaped women’s lives in over 190 different countries.
• Read all sides of the story with Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center so you can discuss a social issue from more than one perspective.
• Explore all corners and aspects of the globe at World Book Online Info Finder – you’ll need your library card and PIN.
• Take a look at the original Treaty of Waitangi document and learn all about what happened on 6 February 1840.
• Find out everything you need to know and do for NCEA from those who know it best: NZQA.

So where did we find these great resources? On The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Classics

Think Homer is a bald yellow guy with a beer gut on The Simpsons? Don’t know the difference between the Colosseum and the Pantheon (except that one begins with C and the other begins with P)? Be wise like Athena and study hard for NCEA Classics with the help of these great web resources!

• Find full-text reference books on classical Greece and Rome by using the subject search at Credo Reference;
• Make sure you know what you’re doing when it comes to sitting your NCEA assessments;
• Learn about the Roman Empire on SparkNotes and memorize the names of Rome’s Emperors, from Augustus (27 BC-AD 14) to Constantine XI Palaeologus (1449-1453);
• Take an interactive tour through the Hellenic World;
• Visit the Internet Ancient History Source Book for everything you need to know about Greek and Roman history.

So where did we find these great resources? On The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Re-Draft: where publication is the prize

Are you passionate about writing? Always wanted to be published? Then Re-Draft is the competition for you!

This annual event for New Zealand’s teenage writers is organised by Dr Glyn Strange , director of the School for Young Writers, and judged by Tessa Duder and James Norcliffe.  You can submit poetry, stories, scripts or songs which are then judged.  Each entrant can submit up to three pieces of work. Successful writers will then be published in Re-Draft.

Here’s an excerpt  from a  poem written by Emily Adlam in last year’s edition of Re-Draft, The world’s steepest street:

It was not the same
Where are they, all my lost places?
I went back, but found only emptiness.
The smell was of cinnamon traces
instead of burnt varnish; the air
touched differently, as if it had learnt tenderness
for someone else.
The past was not on display in glass cases.
Maps and addresses are no use to me
and there is no convenient office
where I may reclaim my property.

Moving, moody, funny clever – there certainly is an abundance of talent out there.  Get your hands on a copy of ‘The world’s Steepest Street’, read it and re-read it, then write you own literary masterpiece!

Entry forms  can only be found in the back of the book  (which you can photocopy at your local library) or buy a copy through the School for Young Writers . Entries close 30 September 2011.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Music

Whether you sing solo or in a choir, or play drums in a rock band or for the school orchestra, we can help you with your NCEA Music assessments.

• Get your classical music fix at the Classical Music Library;
• The Jazz Music Library has more than 8000 albums by jazz artists and ensembles;
• Find tuition resources such as graded exam playlists, pronunciation guides, a glossary of musical terms and much, much more at Naxos Music Library;
• Oxford Music Online is another brilliant reference and research tool;
• Check out all the excellent music links on our website;
• Read interviews with New Zealand musicians, find the lyrics to your favourite song, and more on The Pulse;
• Borrow music CDs, scores, magazines and books on music theory and composition from one of our community libraries now open;
• Head along to our free New Zealand Music Month performances happening in May;
• Be prepared for your assessments with help from NZQA;
• Find out what the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra is up to, post-earthquake;
• Go watch the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in action if you get the chance;
• Chamber Music New Zealand has news about artists, contests and upcoming performances.

Want some more really useful resources for another NCEA subject? Go to The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.

Get ya geek on: Really useful resources for NCEA Graphics

Let us help you plan your great designs in NCEA Graphics!

• Our community libraries now open have NCEA Graphics study guides, design and do-it-yourself magazines, technical drawing books and more;
• Check out Safari Tech Books Online – you can find electronic copies of 3D graphics books such as Real World Google SketchUp 7;
• We have a treasure trove of great websites related to engineering, building and construction, and design;
• Be fully prepared for your NCEA assessments;
• Tools4Work makes engineering fun;
• Try your hand at creating floor plans;
• Learn about isometric projection, planometric projection, perspective drawing, orthographic projection, section drawings and assembly drawings at the BBC website for high school students;
• Figure out how to use AutoCAD with the help of some handy tutorials;
• Build 3D models.

Want some more really useful resources for another NCEA subject? Go to The Pulse, the library’s website for teens.