What Are You Passionate About?

Welcome Back to school! I can't believe mother nature allowed us to complete a full week of school. Here is hoping the pattern is broken and we will be on our way to green grass, blue skies and warmer weather!!!

The library was crazy busy this week! While continuing with the sophomore chemistry project, freshmen English has begun their research paper! Students are looking at topics they feel passionate about and researching in depth. Topics ranged from hate crimes to air pollution to ISIS. I spent the week teaching students how to use our general reference databases. We learned what a database is, what it can do for you and how to develop a search that will result in high quality hits. Often times, students have an idea or a topic but they are not sure "WHAT" they want to know. It is difficult to search for information if you are not sure what it is you want to know. By creating a question first and then a mind map of your topic with potential search terms students will be able to flush out the areas they want to develop for research. From there they can also think of ways to look at their topic from different angles. They need to know how to find synonyms or like terms. All in all I was so impressed with the topics they chose and can't wait to see how they develop into well researched papers.

One English teacher decided to take the project one step further. Ms. Dangel's classes will not only be researching and writing a paper on a current event but they will be coming up with an action plan that any 14 or 15 year old can execute and then have to actually complete it! What made this even more special was when Mr. Galvin, assistant principal, came to speak to the classes in the library about Yahoo Day.

Yahoo Day is the day he created to commemorate his last day of chemo and radiation 18 years ago.  On February 26th Mr. Galvin spends the day giving back, random acts of kindness. He wanted to thank all those who gave to cancer research that allowed him to survive, people he will never meet.  He takes this day and spends his time giving to others. For example, yesterday he handed out iTune gift cards to people waiting at the T-Stations. What is wonderful about this is how simple it can be. It doesn't have to be a large expensive act. It is the act of taking out time in your life to think about others. The day has grown from Mr. Galvin taking out some friends for dinner, to numerous friends, colleagues and strangers getting in on the day and giving back. I think his talk inspired the students as I know it did me. I participated in my first Yahoo Day and look forward to doing it again next year!!

Happy Vacation!!!

Well, It has been hard to be from MA this winter! Every time we turn around there is another storm hitting us! Out for two days this week and with vacation beginning today, I am looking forward to a restart! But despite Mother Nature trying to take us down, there were some great things happening in the library this week!!

One of my favorite projects is the annual chemistry paper. I have had the pleasure of teaching multiple chem classes this week regarding how to locate academic resources tied to a topic of their choice around chemistry. This project is one where one can see the personality of students come out!

Students can choose any topic they are interested in that can be tied to chemistry. Topics range from forensics, to music therapy to protein powder and the body. I love watching the ideas come alive, being able to direct students to the databases that will work best for each topic and see how their idea develops into a full blown paper! And working with the chemistry teachers is always a treat. I feel like the students really become excited about the project because their teachers feel passionate about it.




As we move on to February vacation, I hope everyone survives the next few storms, we are after all New Englanders and we can handle this. Let there be good reading, exciting books and great conversation for your time off!!!

Library as Hub for Study Groups.....

Depending on the time of day and the block, the library can be what some consider the "traditional library" quiet as a mouse, students heads in a book or their laptop diligently working away. At other times the library is a hub of activity..students coming and going, groups working together on projects, kids relaxing and laughing. While I cherish the quiet time in here as it makes it easier for me to get some of my administrated work done, I love the time in here when the library is jumping with activity. I think my favorite thing to see are the working groups. For example, students who come together to work on their AP Physics, students helping students, working through problems as a unit rather than everyone fending for themselves.

I truly believe we foster an environment where students want to help each other succeed and they see the value in learning from each other. Other times you may see a group of students working on a history project, creating a presentation, throwing out ideas, developing a strategy for presenting. It creates a library that feels lived in and used rather than a relic people walk through to admire but don't stop and stay.

Blog Book of the Week: 

Panic / Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver is one of my favorite young adult authors. She penned the very popular Delirium series and her latest Panic, is one of her best! I felt a connection to the main characters, wanted to see them overcome the obstacles set forth for them and come out on top. The story kept me interested from cover to cover and I felt as if this was a story kids and adults would relate to and find a piece of them in each of the main characters. Not one to be missed, Panic is one for everybody!

"In the poor town of Carp, New York, a group of teens enters a high-stakes game that involves a series of secretive, possibly deadly challenges throughout the summer, with the winner receiving more than $50,000--enough money to start a new life"--Provided by publisher.

BLIZZARD 2015!!

Well, it was a quiet week at school, seeing as Juno, Blizzard 2015 hit!! Off Tuesday and Wednesday with over two feet of snow, the Blizzard of 2015 seemed as if it came out of nowhere! We were on the fast track of having no snow days and getting out in early June!!

And with more snow potential for next week we could have a historic winter season! This is what it looked like out one of the library windows! While it is just a drift and the snow was not actually that high, it shows the kind of storm we had!!


Seeing as we didn't have much school this week, classes scheduled for library visits were pushed back until next week. I will be working on website evaluation with some Freshmen English classes. We will go over the 5 W's to determine if a website should be used for academic research. Students will then evaluate a website and determine if it is a legitimate source for research! It is a fun lesson and one I think really drives the point home about not believing everything you read on the web!!
The link to the 5 W's is here: 5 W's Website Evaluation

Blog Book of the Week

The Impossible Knife of Memory / Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is an iconic young adult author. Her novel Speak has won numerous awards as well as being included in many high school curriculum. She knows how to portray her characters as real adolescents and capture their emotions. Her latest, The Impossible Knife of Memory is no different. Haley's dad has witnessed many horrors in the war and their attempt to move back to his hometown and begin a "normal" life proves to be more difficult than either expected. The story really brings out the suffering of PTSD by war veterans and a teens desperate attempts to hold her family together and be the caregiver when the parent is unable to do so. The characters are real, the emotions raw and exposed and the story flows. A page turner and a great read!

Midterm Madness!!!

 Mid-Terms

How can you tell it is mid-term week? The library is overflowing with students in between their exams!!! The library is a buzzing with students before each exam...whether it is last minute check in with peers, relaxing before they take their test, or just moving about before they are off to their next exam, the library is the place to be.

During exams, those that are not taking one come to the library to study and/or relax.....it is also a time where we have lots of students check out books for pleasure reading as they are entering into second semester and many have some much needed down time! Many students have come in to ask for a recommendation and have walked out with smiles on their faces and their arms full of some great titles!

 

Shakespeare Said It First (In Print)

another of Mr. Wong's amazing bulletin boards.....an ode to Shakespeare....did you know these common phrases used daily actually came from Shakespeare and were made popular in  his plays? Romeo & Juliet! Students and staff have enjoyed seeing the history of such popular phrases!!

For example: " wild goose chase" is from Romeo & Juliet

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Book of the Week!!

Beautiful Creatures / Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I found this series to be a guilty pleasure! Suspense, romance, thrill and chills, Beautiful Creatures was a great read! The deep south comes alive through the town of Gatlin where teen Ethan lives, counting the days until he graduates and can move out. That is, until newcomer Lena arrives and his world is turned upside down. Beautiful Creatures is part mystical, part romance part thriller, and keeps you wanting to read more!!

From jacket: In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

Research Abounds in 9th Grade English

The week before mid-terms is always a busy time. Students are using the library for study groups, finishing up projects and preparing for the mid-term week! We spend our time helping students with their research projects, calming nerves regarding mid-terms and providing a place where students can study, relax and prepare.
In addition I was able to work on one of my favorite projects. Ms. Percheski brought some of her English classes to the library to work on their first research project related to the book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Students compare and contrast three different formats of research; blogs, databases, and videos. I spend the time teaching what each one is, how it is used in academic research and how to determine which format will best serve their needs based on their research question. Students then create a five minute presentation using their research. This is a great introduction to research and prepares them for their bigger research project for third term!

Mr. Voldman's Holocaust & Genocide class have been in the library all week presenting their group projects. Students have created displays on a topic related to the Holocaust.

The displays consist of both a physical product as well as a technology component. All of his classes come to the library to observe and comment on each project. The library looks like a mini museum!!! Great to see students observing and commenting on each others work!

 Blog Book of the Week: Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi

Mr. Wong calls this book: "insanely good" A graphic novel and one of the first to take hold in main stream, this is a memoir of a little girl and her experience growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The following summary from the publisher really says it best:

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane’s child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, through laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! After a much needed winter break, we are back at school ready to start the new year off with positive energy, lots of classes in the library and a commitment to reading great books! We are beginning to book up with classes ready to tackle the second semester with research projects galore! Looking forward to watching the process of research unfold with students in all grades!
Ms. Carrick has challenged the library teachers and assistants in the district as well as our Students As Readers group to the 2015 Reading Challenge! The challenge asks people to read books in various categories such as: "Read an author with the same initials as you" or "Read a book by a new author" You have a year to do it! The challenge can be found here! And Look, our youngest members are already starting!!

 2015 Reading Challenge

 









Blog Book of the Week: 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail / Cheryl Strayed
Summary: Cheryl Strayed recounts the impact of her mother's death on her life at age twenty-two and chronicles her experiences after she made the impulsive decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert all the way into Washington State.
Ms. Carrick read this book over the vacation and described it as compelling, reckless and ultimately positive.