Volunteer Opportunities

Looking for something to do in June? Then why not help out at the Celebrate Canada Day event at the library.
Date: June 29, Saturday
Time: 11:00 am to 4:00 pm (volunteer for the whole day, morning or afternoon)
Duties: help with face painting and Canada-Day-themed crafts/games for children

Email us at: teens@yourlibrary.ca if you are interested or for more information.

Teen Poetry Contest

If you're an aspiring poet aged 12 - 18, help us celebrate poetry month by entering an original poem in our Sixth Annual Teen Poetry Contest.

What's in it for me?

You could be published! Six winning poems in two age categories (3 winners aged 12-15 and 3 winners aged 16-18) will be published in the Richmond News and on the Richmond Public Library website. Winners will also receive cool prizes!

How do I enter?

It's easy! All you need to do is:

• Write a poem no longer than one single-spaced typed page.
• Make sure your contact info is on your entry. Include your name, age, address, phone number and library card number if you have one.
• Send it to the library before April 30. You can send in your entry one of two ways:
• Drop it off at the Information Desk at any Richmond Public Library Branch.
• Email your entry as a Microsoft Word attachment to teens@yourlibrary.ca

Contest Rules

1. Contest open to all teens in the Lower Mainland aged 12 - 18.
2. Poem must be an original work, written by the entrant. Plagiarized poems will be disqualified.
3. Only one entry per person.
4. Entries must be no longer than one single-spaced typed page. Entries longer than one page will be disquallified.
5. Contest deadline: April 30. Entries received after this date will not be accepted.
6. Entries will become the property of Richmond Public Library and will not be returned. Make sure you keep a copy of your poem.

Money Run by Jack Heath

This is one of a pair of reviews that I wrote for my school's book club - Enjoy!

Amazon Summary:
“When a heist goes wrong, teen thief Ash finds herself in a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse. Ashley “Ash” Arthur is a teen thief. Motivated by the thrills as much as the money, she’s pulled off some amazing heists with the help of her childhood friend Benjamin, who acts as tech support. Now she’s got the world’s richest man in her sights, convinced that Hammond Buckland has 2 million dollars hidden away in his corporate HQ. Ash isn’t the only one with an interest in Buckland. The Australian government gets his fortune if he dies on their soil, so they’ve sent the world’s #2 assassin, Peachey, to kill him. With Ash and Peachey both sneaking around the office building and working at cross purposes, it’s only a matter of time before their paths cross and Peachey decides Ash has seen too much to live. Once it’s a matter of life and death, can Ash keep her eye on the prize? Set over the course of a single night within a single building, this is a page-turning thriller with gadgets, guts, and summer-blockbuster action”

Review:
So I’d read The Lab and Remote Control (other books by the same author) and found them quite enjoyable. As a result, I followed the recommendation of a certain librarian and read Money Run. This book reads like a Hollywood action-comedy popcorn flick from start to finish. For the premise, think Mission Impossible meets Ocean’s Eleven with a dash of Johnny English for good measure. From start to finish, this book is just one fun ride. One will likely read this book in one sitting (due to its pacing and length) and will likely have a smile plastered on their face for 90% of that period. From shootouts between assassins to Bugatti Veyrons jumping from rooftop to rooftop, to attempting to evade sophisticated security systems, this book has it all. It also has twists. Lots of twists. So many twists that there are literally twists to its twists (in other words, one could say that the book is all tied up in knots). The ending is bittersweet, but still works quite well and opens the book up to be continued in a sequel (the sequel has already been published in Australia). Despite the twists and turns that the book takes, Money Run’s plot and characters are both quite shallow. There is not much to be gleaned from the plot other than the simple lesson that greed can be the end of one and the characters are generally quite flat. The plot (in case you hadn’t already guessed) is also quite unrealistic. This all is to be expected in this type of book of course (hence the term “popcorn flick”) and so none of these issues really detract from the book in the end. I still prefer Jack Heath’s Six of Hearts series, but still made for a very enjoyable day’s reading.
4/5 stars

R.C. Palmer Censorship Debate

Come watch the students of R. C. Palmer as they debate on the topic of censorship in the library, on Saturday March 2, 2013 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm. The debate will be held in the Kids’ Place Program room at the Brighouse Branch of the Richmond Public Library.

 

“Out of the Stacks” – A Book Club for teens!

Can’t think of a better way to spend the afternoon than reading a great book? Then why not meet up with like-minded teens and share your love of reading. The “Out of the Stacks” – A Book Club for teens meets the fourth Wednesday of every month at the Brighouse Branch of the Richmond Public Library @ 4:00pm. Starting March 27^th.

Teens in grades 7 -12 are welcome to attend. Interested? Email us at teens@yourlibrary.ca

Richmond Multicultural Community Services (RMCS) hosted the second audition for the Culture Club Diversity Talent Show on Wednesday January 30^th 2013. The goal of this talent show is to provide youth with a platform to express and celebrate diversity through the arts (dance, drama, music, song, etc). The auditions are open to Richmond youth aged 13-24. The top 10 finalists will perform at Gateway Theatre on February 28^th 2013. Youth reporter, Caitlyn Lam, fills us in on how the second audition went.

Splendid Seconds

by Caitlyn Lam

The second auditions were extremely entertaining and definitely showed the diversity of talent in the city. We witnessed seven acts – acrobats, singing, dancing, instrumental music, and even a poem!

A group of eight girls from J.N. Burnett Secondary school were dressed in a uniform white t-shirt with a golden heart (thus their group name iHeart) and white denim shorts. Their dance to a Korean song was really upbeat and showcased girl power and the ability to be confident in loving themselves! I really enjoyed the way they added sass into their movements and their poker faces. Jon Lee-Son, one of the judges, commented on his appreciation of how they all held hands when they took a bow at the end to represent unity. Deirdra Kiai, another judge, loved their performance and commented on the synchronized choreography, but wishes for more facial expressions and perhaps more connection with the audience.

Cindy Ye played an instrumental traditional Chinese song that “shows her culture because it is so well known.” Seeing as it is played on a recorder, I thought she played it extremely well: the sound was crystal clear and the notes were played to their full value, meaning there was no awkward pauses in between. She even had the piece memorized! Deirdra praised her, saying that she has a “really consistent, nice tone throughout on the recorder, even on the high notes!”

The last performance was the most memorable in my opinion. 14-year-old Angelica Poversky wrote her own poems and read them out! Her clear and strong voice held so much emotion; you could hear the passion bursting from within, and understood that she meant every single word. The three judges were blown away by her poems, all stated that she was amazing and passed their scale of expectation.

All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed watching all the performances and learnt a bit about each contestant. The final audition is coming up on the 20^th of February, and I can’t wait to see what’s left!

The Top 10 finalists will be announced at the audition on February 20^th and tickets for the Grand Finale on will be on sale. Plus, you the audience will be the 5^th judge at that Grand Finale and can help decide who the winner will be. Tickets are $5 for youth/senior and $7 for adults. The Grand Finale is at Gateway Theatre on Thursday February 28 2013.

This project is funded through the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

RMCS Talent Show - “Fantastic Firsts”

Richmond Multicultural Community Services (RMCS) hosted the first audition for the Culture Club Diversity Talent Show on Wednesday January 16^th. The goal of this talent show is to provide youth with a platform to express and celebrate diversity through the arts (dance, drama, music, song, etc). The auditions are open to Richmond youth aged 13-24. The top 10 finalists will perform at Gateway Theatre on
February 28^th 2013.
Youth reporter, Caitlyn Lam, fills us in on how the first audition went.
 

“Fantastic Firsts”

By Caitlyn Lam

 Bionca Go and Sabrina Oh were the first two brave souls to try out! Bionca performed a Chinese contemporary dance to represent one half of her ethnicity. Stepping into the ballet shoes of a distracted schoolgirl, Bionca was in character right away. It was incredibly easy to get lost in her graceful acts – with standing flips, the splits both standing and on the ground. I was mesmerized by her movements. John Lee-Son, one of the judges, noted that Bionca was in her “zone” immediately. Trisha Romani, another judge also commented, saying she was exquisite and very light on her feet. Deirdra Kiai, the last judge thought she was lovely and quite enjoyed the choice of music; later adding that it had an ambient sound.

 Sabrina chose to portray her talent in a different form: singing. Strolling in with a sea-green guitar and a self-created medley of what she called “reminiscing songs (songs that generate memories),” her soulful voice captured the attention of the audience. The judges all agreed that she has a full, beautiful, raspy voice and that her rhythm is on par! John was especially impressed with her “impeccable rhythm and finger picking”, as he too is a guitar player. When asked what message she wanted to give to the audience, Sabrina responded saying she liked the message from Jessie J’s song Price Tag: value is not always monetary.

 I was completely blown away by the talent shown here at the auditions! The two ladies did a fantastic job – congratulations and the best of luck to Bionca and Sabrina! The next audition is Wednesday, January 30^th at 5pm at Richmond Cultural Centre. What surprises will they bring, stay tuned to find out! J

This project is funded by the Government of Canada and Embrace BC. Please visit www.iamrichmond.ca for more details.