We at the School Library Learning Commons were thrilled to host the 1st Annual Poetry Slam today at lunch. Today the Junior category took place before a small but enthusiastic crowd! The poets shared some wonderful words with us.
Tomorrow at the lunch the Senior Poetry Slam features many more poets. We are expecting that will also mean an even bigger audience. Join us tomorrow at lunch for another Poetry Slam!
There should be other adults in the lives of our students who are role models when it comes to reading. Sadly, for many of the kids in our schools, there may not be any adults who demonstrate the value of reading in everyday life. It is essential that teachers show our students that reading is a vital aspect of what it means to be a lifelong learner.
From Donalyn Miller’s Four Steps to Creating A School-Wide Reading Culture:
We hope that children have reading role models at home, but many don’t. We must surround children with reading role models throughout the school day – not just in Language Arts class.
Showing children that adults choose to read a wide range of texts for a variety of purposes sends a strong message that reading is important after formal schooling ends. Sharing your own reading life with your students and staff reinforces that you believe reading enriches your life. As much as possible, you should participate in the reading initiatives at your school, not only as a school leader, but also as a reader! Ask students what they are reading… take their book suggestions and share what you enjoy about the books you read.
For many of us, SSR is the best opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are readers. Teachers need to put away the marking and pick up books, magazines or other reading materials to show that reading isn’t just we do to pass tests or assignments at school.
Jerry Spinelli was born on this day in 1941. He is the author of many wonderul books for childrena and young adults, including Maniac Magee, which won the Newberry Medal in 1980.
Acclaimed historical fiction author Philippa Gregory was born on this day in 1954. Changeling is Book One of a new young adult series, Order of Darkness, that combines historical fiction and fantasy.
Writer Shirley Jackson was born on this day in 1916. She is probably best known for her novel, The Haunting of Hill House, and for her short stories, particularly “The Lottery.”
Our second offering in a series of lunchtime concerts in your school library is on tap for Thursday, December 19. Bring your lunch and join us for Christmas Carols and other holiday songs!
Help out the local Food Bank and the Reading Tree program. A donation of three cans of food, or two new or used books, earns you a photo opportunity with Buck the Library Duck, and a custom made Christmas Card to share with friends and family!
Starting December 2, come down to the School Library to take advantage of this incredible holiday tradition!
Help out the local Food Bank and the Reading Tree program. A donation of three cans of food, or two new or used books, earns you a photo opportunity with Buck the Library Duck, and a custom made Christmas Card to share with friends and family!
Starting December 2, come down to the School Library to take advantage of this incredible holiday tradition!
Thought provoking ideas from a wide variety of thinkers are brought together by editor John Brockman in Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? In the opening essay, “The Bookless Library,” Nicholas Carr asserts:
As a technology, a book focuses our attention, isolates us from the myriad distractions that fill our everyday lives. A networked computer does precisely the opposite. It is designed to scatter our attention. It doesn’t shield us from environmental distractions; it adds to them. The words on a computer screen exist in a welter of contending stimuli.
Carr isn’t arguing that the internet is bad. We cannot dispute that the internet has given us huge advantages. However, those advantages come at a cost.
My own reading and thinking habits have shifted dramatically since I first logged on the Web fifteen years ago or so. I now do the bulk of my reading and researching on-line. And my brain has changed as a result. Event as I’ve become more adept at navigating the rapids of the Net, I have experienced a steady decay in my ability to sustain my attention… What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation.
The computer age has not rendered the book obsolete. True, the future of paper publishing may be in doubt. The physical book is here for at least the short-term. In the long run maybe they will be completely replaced by e-books. That is not the point. Regardless of the format, we need books, more than ever. We need them for many reasons, not least as an antidote to the distracted, shallow thinking that is the product of so much of what people do on-line. We need long-form text, including fiction and non-fiction. We need to read things that require concentration, engagement and deep thinking.
The author of Dracula was born on this day in 1847 in Ireland. Check out bramstokerfestival.com for more on the life of Stoker and Dracula. You can borrow several different versions of the Dracula story from our collection, including several graphic novels.
The first of in what we hope is a series of free lunch time concerts on the new school library stage went today and it was a big success! Thanks to “Seeing in Technicolour,” a band of Lord Tweedsmuir senior students, who put on a great show.
A small but enthusiastic crowd of students was on hand to enjoy the music. We hope that word can spread that we can pack in even more people for our next show.
If you are a performer, either in a band or a solo act, we would love to give you the chance to perform on our stage in a future event!
See Mr. Sexton or Mr. Swaddling for more information.
You have been asking for it. If you were impatient you went and bought your own copy last week. For those who were able to wait a few days, your patience is rewarded. We now have some copies ready to lend to you… FOR FREE!
For those who want to start from the beginning, check out Divergent by Veronica Roth. This dystopian YA novel was followed up by Insurgent. Many fans claim that the trilogy is superior to the “Hunger Games” series. Read them and decide for yourself.
Check out our Sci-Fi & Fantasy section, with all sorts of related titles including Dystopian, Time Travel, Steam Punk, Alternate History, Fairy Tales, Mash-Ups and more.
Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library 