The Craft of Writing

Their Eyes Were Watching God Display

Ms. Roger's 11th grade English classes just finished reading Their Eyes Were Watching God and created some amazing visual displays to depict themes and ideas based on the story. The result were some fantastic projects!

Jennifer Rose McMahon Author Visit

Thursday we were honored to host local author and mother to Natick students, Jennifer Rose McMahon as she discussed writer's craft to Ms. Napier Bernstein's Creative Writing classes. Ms. McMahon just published her latest book, Bohermore! The classes were intrigued with her new book and asked great questions regarding her craft. It was a successful event! And Ms. McMahon autographed a copy of her book for Colin Edwards who couldn't wait to read her book! Thank you Ms. McMahon! It's great to see Natick in the news!

AP is in the Air!

Students are taking on the AP's!

It is that time of the year! Students and teachers have prepped, studied, analyzed and argued for the past eight months and are fully prepared to take on the AP Exams! Students have been in the library with last minute studying. We wish them all well and know they are more than prepared and will do great!

 

 

 

 

 

Jar of Happiness

This week we are reading the book The Jar of Happiness / Alisa Burrows. The preschoolers love to talk about what makes them happy and what they would put in their own jar of happiness. As a follow up to our story, we have made a Jar of Happiness here in the library and students and staff from our smallest to our seniors are all contributing to what makes us happy!

Themes from Romeo & Juliet were alive in the library this week as Ms. Ouelett's freshmen English class came to choose novels for their outside reading project, looking at themes such as love vs. lust, fate vs. free-will and self vs. family/friends/social expectations, students were thrilled to choose their own books to read. It was so refreshing to see them recommending books to each other, sitting in a corner reading and having fun! We can't wait to see the results of the project. 



Earth Day is April 22nd. We celebrate Earth Day to recognize the need to protect our planet and environment and take a leadership role in creating a better Earth! Ms. Williams created a display from water bottles that were either left on tables or not recycled properly in the last two months in the library. The result is this towering display to show the waste we can stop locally!!

History Coming to Life!

Gender Studies Voices Unheard Living History Museum

Ms. Histen's  class created a living museum in which students became experts on an important historical figure. Students took and acted out the role of this person or taught about this person with the creation of a memorial. Our Living Museum is called Unheard Voices, as students will teach about people who have made history and whose identities are sometimes silenced or misrepresented by historical narratives. 

Many of the historical figures focus on women's and LGBTQ+ rights in the United States and abroad. Examples include: Aung San Suu Kyi, Kathrine Switzer, Geeta Phogat, Billie Jean King, Alan Turing, Sylvia Rivera, and more.

We felt so fortunate to host Ms. Histen and her amazing students. The students were well rehearsed, brave and true to their character. It was an honor to be part of this experience!

 

Exploring WWII through books

Freshmen classes are diving deep into WWII. Ms. Hale's classes are using books to explore various battles and campaigns of WWII. Students found that the books provided detailed information pertinent to their battle! It was great to see this work.

A Week in the Life......

Just a typical day in CDS!

It is always busy and bustling in the library during CDS. Juniors and seniors who are on priv fill the library working on projects, studying for an exam, relaxing with friends and making our day happy with all of their enthusiasm!!!

Pennies For Patients

Colin Edwards helped out the Pennies for Patients drive by taking the bottle around during CDS and asking for spare change! Because of Colin's commitment to this cause and his strong belief that everyone should be involved we nominated Colin for the weekly "Act of Kindness" award!

Child Growth: How to read to preschoolers

Ms Pandolfo's child growth class is studying what makes a quality picture book. We looked at how to choose picture books that are just right for the target audience based on professional reviews, interest, audience and ability to read out loud! We began the lesson by discussing favorite childhood stories and sharing them with the class.

Home Stretch of English Research Papers!

Junior Annotated Bibliography 

It is the final week of classes for the 3rd term research writing in English! Juniors are reading a specific text, analyzing for various themes and creating an annotated bibliography.

Over 75 English classes have been in the library in the last month learning how to sharpen research skills, create viable search terms, persevere through many searches looking for information to analyze so they can create new knowledge! I am so proud to work with these diligent students and dedicated teachers!

The Joy of a Good Book on a Windy Day!

When it is a cold windy day what do you do? Why you extend story time and do some "independent reading!!" Ms. Morrissey's class enjoying some quiet time reading books to themselves and to each other! 

 

Welcome Back!

 Back at it!

February vacation felt a bit more like April vacation with the mild weather. It seems as if the warm temps and days off was what we all needed. We came back to school ready to work and prepare for the long stretch we like to call March!

 Social Action in Action!

This week the English research paper has been about the seniors. For most seniors this will be their last major writing assignment in English as many will go out on internships for fourth term.
The Social Action Project has students look at a 
topic of interest that directly affects the teen population. Topics range from homelessness, to drug use to immigration. In groups, students research their topic gathering background and statistical data and use it to come up with an action plan a group of teens could realistically put into action. They will then "present" it to a predetermined group whether it be school committee, board of selectmen etc. This happens to be one of my favorite projects to work on with the seniors.

Words to Live by: The Beatles