The Library - Te Puna o te Mātauranga

The role of the library is:

• To provide a facility and service which supports both the curricular and recreational information and reading needs of the school community
• To assist users to become confident, independent and effective users of different information resources
• To promote and encourage an interest and enjoyment in reading
• To create and maintain an inclusive environment which is welcoming and respectful towards people of all ages, levels, and backgrounds

Databases

Visit the library to receive login and password details...

• EPIC databases - Through EPIC schools can access databases containing thousands of international (and some New Zealand) magazines, newspapers, biographies, substantial reference works, and images. EPIC lets you access up-to-date full text articles covering a huge range of subjects. Complete resource lists are available when you access any of the EPIC databases. n.b. Password and login details available from Library.

• Index New Zealand database - Index New Zealand describes over half a million articles published in New Zealand over the past 20 years. The titles indexed range from popular magazines such as North and South and Consumer to more specialised journals such as New Zealand Law Review and Art New Zealand. Index New Zealand is updated daily and approximately 2,500 documents are added monthly. Subjects covered include general interest material, social research, current affairs, the arts and humanities. Full-text of articles can be requested by emailing dss@natlib.govt.nz with all the relevant details.

• iLearn - iLearn is the online learning environment for the students of Mt Roskill Grammar School. Access to online learning materials set up by each department within the school is gained by logging in using your normal school network username and password, then entering a 'Course Enrolment' key provided by your classroom teacher. Some courses do not require an enrolment key.   

Hours/Staff

Hours:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8am-4pm
• Wednesday 8.30am-4pm 

Staff:

• Mr Simon Whitlock – Library/Website Manager
• Ms Sharon Pang – Library Assistant (part-time)
• A team of student librarians

Collections and Facilities

The library has a number of different collections and facilities:

• Non-fiction
• Fiction
• Short Stories
• Quick Reads
• Picture Books
• Graphic Novels
• Reference Material
• Magazines
• Photocopiers
• Sixteen Internet Enabled Research Computers
• Four Catalogue Computers

Useful Websites for Study and Research

Projects/Assignments

• Any Questions - a New Zealand web portal that gives students access to expert librarians between 1pm and 6pm during term time. These librarians are trained to deal with both primary and secondary school students.
• Many Answers - a sister site to Any Questions, this site stores and archives topics which have been frequently searched at the Any Questions site. It provides the user with external links that have helped other students in the past.

General

• Te Kete Ipurangi - great site funded by the Ministry of Education. Search hits each provide a detailed blurb, as well as icons that tell you if the information is New Zealand based, commissioned bu the Ministry, in PDF format etc. All external sites recommended by TKI are also quality assured meaning these sites will provide accurate, current content that fits with the New Zealand curriculum (much better than simply 'googling it'!).
• Learning Media - specialises in educational resources. This site contains useful online games for a range of years and subjects (maths, science, English, and social studies). Learning media also manages a helpful English-Māori, Māori-English online dictionary. 

NCEA Revision

• Studyit - NCEA maths, English and science (physics, chemistry and human biology) students will find this award-winning website very useful. It lists achievement standards accompanied by student-friendly explanations of each standard. It offers plenty of study and exam advice for students juggling multiple NCEA assignments. It also contains seven subject-based forums where students can submit questions and draft work for review by expert teachers. The site contains previously asked (and answered) questions.
• New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) - has a section dedicated to 'learners'. Here you will find past external exams, asessments and unit standards for NCEA students. Practice for your big exam by doing past exams. You will also find 'exemplars' (examples) of work that earned 'excellence' or 'merit' or 'achieved'.
• BBC Schools - is designed to help British students, but there is crossover between their curriculum and ours. A large number of different subjects are covered for all ages.

Current Affairs

• Stuff and New Zealand Herald - these websites offer comprehensive news services which are updated throughout the day. You can also search backdated news stories. Great for finding current affairs articles.
• National Geographic Kids - provides information on animals, countries and geography accompanied by breath-taking photography.
• Time for Kids - Time Inc publishes this weekly magazine. The site is split: one half provides lesson plans and topics for teachers while the other half contains activities and articles for students. The students' half includes the 'homework helper' where you can search stories filed under different topics and pickup advice on how to structure an article. There are plenty of educational games on this site as well.

History

• NZ History - this site features a 'hot topic' section on its homepage, with more information arranged behind topic tabs. One of these tabs is labelled 'NZ History Classroom'; it has NCEA topics arranged by level (1-5).
• Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand - a great online New Zealand encyclopedia with entries about famous New Zealanders and lots of other New Zealand information. 

Science

• The Science Learning Hub - is funded by New Zealand's Ministry of Research, Science and Technology. NCEA science students will find the site interesting, especially if they are thinking of a career in this field. You can find science projects designed for students under the 'context' tab. Each project goes into a lot of detail (including fact sheets, activities, and people to contact for further information).
• Exploratorium - the website of San Francisco's museum of science, art and human perception. A great site with plenty of fun and interesting activities (not necessarily relevant to the New Zealand curriculum however).
• Discovery Education - managed by the Discovery Channel, this site is aimed at teachers rather than students. Useful tabs on the home page include 'Home Resources' and 'Fun Tools'. Under these you will find a large number of interesting articles and ready-made worksheets, as well as downloadable lesson plans and instructional videos.
• Discovery Kids - Discovery's child specific site.

Maths

• Mathletics - is based on the New Zealand curriculum but access to this site requires payment of an annual fee. This site provides online mathemataics-based competitions as well as a support-centre with step-by-step lessons etc.
• NZ Maths - this site is run by the Ministry of Education. Here you will find unit-standard exemplars for NCEA students plus online activities. Much of the information of NZ Maths is designed to help teachers plan lessons. Practical help for students is provided through links to external sites. Links are also separated into topic areas (e.g. measurement, algebra etc.) so you will be able to track down a useful site for help with a particular problem.