tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52899861127441092612024-03-04T23:06:24.897-06:00School Librarians Have More FunLizz Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02777905468490867518noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-89440102705250369952015-03-31T08:59:00.004-05:002015-03-31T08:59:48.246-05:00Library Hour of CodeSince Sean Hickey, our department's Technology Specialist, is also the school's Computer Science teacher, we decided the library was the ideal place to host an <a href="http://hourofcode.com/us" target="_blank">Hour of Code</a>.<br />
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The Hour of Code is a global movement, <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics." We have Makey-Makeys and Arduinos and circuit boards and banana pianos and all sorts of wonderful things, so Sean's Computer Science class hosted the event during one of our tutorial periods (school-wide free blocks) and we had an excellent turnout.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">The students set up stations where interested classmates could learn about various technologies: Makey-Makeys, Arduinos, and other web applications. </span></span><br />
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Of course, the banana piano was wildly popular:</div>
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A couple of students even modified the banana piano so they could play <a href="http://flappybird.io/" target="_blank">Flappy Bird</a>--or Slappy Bird, as it involved into:</div>
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And that, obviously, was fun for everyone.</div>
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<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-36822286285980448312015-01-14T13:26:00.001-06:002015-01-14T13:26:35.051-06:00A Look Back at 2014 in the LibraryNow that it's 2015, here's a look back at some of the programs we offered from September to December of 2014:<br />
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For Banned Books week this year (September 21-27, 2014), we covered banned books with brown paper and wrote the reasons why each book was challenged and/or banned on the covers, hoping that the often ridiculous challenges ("too sad" written on the cover of <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>, for example) would pique the curiosity of our students. And it did! <br />
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We also borrowed the art department's button maker. Oh, the button maker. Why did we never know before how completely satisfying it is to make buttons?<br />
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We got completely carried away with the button maker, expanding from "I read banned books" buttons to a slew of other book-themed buttons. We still haven't given the button maker back.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buttons celebrating TFiOS, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, & Game of Thrones.<br />
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At the very beginning of the year, we decided we wanted more library art--simple, literary-themed, inexpensive posters to add a splash of color to the sleek white walls of our updated library. Of course, we went with <a href="http://www.litographs.com/">Litographs</a>.<div>
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Since the renovation linked the library on the second floor with the science wing on the first floor, we chose a Litograph print of Darwin's <i>The Origin of Species</i> to display over the Carlson Commons. The reading nook in the back of the library, tucked away behind the stacks, features a <i>Moby Dick</i> Litograph. </div>
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The best part of our new Litograph artwork is when students who have walked past the posters dozens of times suddenly realize that the image is made up of text and they stop in their tracks, completely awed and amazed, to read a few sentences. :)</div>
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We also ordered new artwork for the ends of our bookshelves. These are very simple posters, designed in Photoshop and ordered online from a nearby Kinko's. We selected two popular phrases as our text for these posters: "Don't forget to be awesome" from nerdfighters John and Hank Green's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers">VlogBrothers</a> YouTube channel, and "May the odds be ever in your favor" from Suzanne Collins' <i>The Hunger Games</i>. Our third poster is an old WPA advertisement for public libraries, dating from the 1940s and available for free download online from the <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wpapos/">Library of Congress</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pqslyBADfxE-dJNR7i-ZTxP0RtjsSJQBq21RVKjtxnS89D2WYYTbXFLhuV_vjIO39kECBTKo-NxsIb-9A65fu-I9yV18uHG6RzpyXo7s3llByhBa55Mzt5UztucX1n1qy8H041d4HOY/s1600/new+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pqslyBADfxE-dJNR7i-ZTxP0RtjsSJQBq21RVKjtxnS89D2WYYTbXFLhuV_vjIO39kECBTKo-NxsIb-9A65fu-I9yV18uHG6RzpyXo7s3llByhBa55Mzt5UztucX1n1qy8H041d4HOY/s1600/new+art.jpg" height="474" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a beautiful library!</td></tr>
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<br />A few choice book displays (I often use the free Pic Collage app to make simple photo collages, the better to show and promote our display shelves):<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVUs-2TVumf7cLOVmlMviXqMri5d07pI-1WUa3zuwvTi9mD0BZJswFgnYGkdLiQqAIKhrvqz4ocQRPDQCNwxkRU6-CLQmxCAvKxGz9jOt8bd5xWldQiSeWubOkTCPXBKnUZkATMtr1BI/s1600/ebola+book+display.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVUs-2TVumf7cLOVmlMviXqMri5d07pI-1WUa3zuwvTi9mD0BZJswFgnYGkdLiQqAIKhrvqz4ocQRPDQCNwxkRU6-CLQmxCAvKxGz9jOt8bd5xWldQiSeWubOkTCPXBKnUZkATMtr1BI/s1600/ebola+book+display.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ebola display! Books about plagues and diseases.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_HjJq1MVoYPHBmiGOAAQYqYk4vLH1b3ZyWt6nLHQJxfqexBhVqSh5tsvv1pdcipgOG1_XsmXOkVWuv7tOp6F5oe8HRPR4d-8-Lp1kGWOl4DYIlXKuOsho9KBYmE3T3MdInGNqizjvfY/s1600/movember.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_HjJq1MVoYPHBmiGOAAQYqYk4vLH1b3ZyWt6nLHQJxfqexBhVqSh5tsvv1pdcipgOG1_XsmXOkVWuv7tOp6F5oe8HRPR4d-8-Lp1kGWOl4DYIlXKuOsho9KBYmE3T3MdInGNqizjvfY/s1600/movember.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paper mustaches for books for our Movember display.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOMg-gWyt4Jkpm_CcwcEDiBLSh9CF1m5V-mDdkSbMQejdMdXgcvHcTK0jdooEhcy7EAonwUwAqZZk30l6cTBEkr7WmnILpyV1sF5OQPFMDjyWPWJR_A2W555QasKfOcdUwyF-XCE8fSI/s1600/mustache+book+display.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOMg-gWyt4Jkpm_CcwcEDiBLSh9CF1m5V-mDdkSbMQejdMdXgcvHcTK0jdooEhcy7EAonwUwAqZZk30l6cTBEkr7WmnILpyV1sF5OQPFMDjyWPWJR_A2W555QasKfOcdUwyF-XCE8fSI/s1600/mustache+book+display.jpg" height="612" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read a mustache.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli27EnKSPY3djviz-7vbuw16hsaNDw4SWOYfnEVdbH1RH7lZz2fbVbGzbCe0qETSooXf8Eli96bMOkRI9_bXgpoiMfeDa8Tdf1ObK8fYJ8yf9MshjwmyPqH7_XVx6aSBxka5-VEt1Z5g/s1600/hg+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhli27EnKSPY3djviz-7vbuw16hsaNDw4SWOYfnEVdbH1RH7lZz2fbVbGzbCe0qETSooXf8Eli96bMOkRI9_bXgpoiMfeDa8Tdf1ObK8fYJ8yf9MshjwmyPqH7_XVx6aSBxka5-VEt1Z5g/s1600/hg+books.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dystopia display for the new Mockingjay movie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ05p2HweTK6SAbifx7sUcaS8OCwMjE2ICZke-xriLonNF2YPlM8scHfF87kjLV9lqHmj4cxnIzgIbqjHPTTVhqa4BFic1aQySpttO3xUlPvM4Nyz-tz5bwLglHvz7M5-PuVybEtiHPxQ/s1600/hacker+books.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ05p2HweTK6SAbifx7sUcaS8OCwMjE2ICZke-xriLonNF2YPlM8scHfF87kjLV9lqHmj4cxnIzgIbqjHPTTVhqa4BFic1aQySpttO3xUlPvM4Nyz-tz5bwLglHvz7M5-PuVybEtiHPxQ/s1600/hacker+books.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Gamers and Hackers" display</td></tr>
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<br />We also celebrated Jane Austen's birthday and the first even Annual Jane Austen Day (as declared by the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England) on December 16th. We have a Jane Austen action figure, so the obvious thing to do was to create a diorama in our office:<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlElBWWa_HPWcPeyzSAD_gjlqO0DE-hFveImfArmfKF0jhLAVUJZt7lUYfb7SsVNXdpBgzAFxr6ZGQ0geQEFvIvsQAc6jEpMFQPVg7_WQfLuRve75wBARkuQmQbPuvBirbWmeEAQIPHY/s1600/IMG_8933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlElBWWa_HPWcPeyzSAD_gjlqO0DE-hFveImfArmfKF0jhLAVUJZt7lUYfb7SsVNXdpBgzAFxr6ZGQ0geQEFvIvsQAc6jEpMFQPVg7_WQfLuRve75wBARkuQmQbPuvBirbWmeEAQIPHY/s1600/IMG_8933.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane celebrates her 239th birthday with a dinosaur, President Buchanan, a My<br />Little Pony, Harry Potter, Edgar Allen Poe, and a zombie from "The Walking Dead."</td></tr>
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<br />And today we are live-streaming the free climbers in Yosemite National Park as they near the summit of El Capitan:<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KbWWPmpDh0I_oT9O285aw4syv1SKljqlHKMKZyutde74nkzN3CP9ekJFPY0UrdAAM9nfn0ZKTX5cbDE5_k59dszuYlGAIOIFZm7FAJy9Bl9msMYJIHAMzHM2UmDBUSo267MfEVCO0Xc/s1600/el+cap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KbWWPmpDh0I_oT9O285aw4syv1SKljqlHKMKZyutde74nkzN3CP9ekJFPY0UrdAAM9nfn0ZKTX5cbDE5_k59dszuYlGAIOIFZm7FAJy9Bl9msMYJIHAMzHM2UmDBUSo267MfEVCO0Xc/s1600/el+cap.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-20561735681886429642014-11-17T15:15:00.003-06:002014-11-17T15:27:28.871-06:00YA Lit Symposium, Austin, TX<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Over the weekend, I attended <a href="http://yalitsymposium12.ning.com/">YALSA's Young Adult Literature Symposium</a> in Austin, Texas. It was my first time attending a YALSA conference and my first time in Texas, and I was very much looking forward to it. </div>
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Plus I had some really good reading material for the flight:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-oSQEApwqu1x-HgcGcLxVh-IB2DG_DP0ZPqnBztSs-cX7mtLjtd8nIIKiNkH_IyQV7iuKDXWmVWyhm4aiV-blv5btm0eNTqT436hCjr4_vitge0OCMSl1UxXdZh9l_WBUT-riubID2GM/s1600/IMG_8474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-oSQEApwqu1x-HgcGcLxVh-IB2DG_DP0ZPqnBztSs-cX7mtLjtd8nIIKiNkH_IyQV7iuKDXWmVWyhm4aiV-blv5btm0eNTqT436hCjr4_vitge0OCMSl1UxXdZh9l_WBUT-riubID2GM/s1600/IMG_8474.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The Blake School had generously and inadvertently paid for me to attend a pre-conference Friday afternoon, despite my not expressing any interest in any such pre-conference or intending to register for a pre-conference. But hey, a session is a session, so after landing in Austin and getting lunch, I joined the already-in-progress "Practical Ideas to Amp Up Your YA Literature Programming." Sadly, it was not a great session. The presenters had apparently had great luck at their libraries with lots of arts and crafts programming inspired by Pinterest and Etsy. They go through gallons of decoupage at these libraries, and while I'm thrilled for them (crafts are fun; I like crafts), I do not think the students at my school will be interesting in anything like "making" their own bookends:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXcchlEo7-0Pk_GpOji9tA7q-Vnk3ekUIonfKX-WsvjbKiPhxJHk5iqbnXCyfd2IXxwipAi2FoEoEkAt7E72uJ7Rf1UQhhcLgJSNkpPjlIhN-1-YIsH4V0oNUBZhBsjGPveDGTha3cIs/s1600/IMG_8489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXcchlEo7-0Pk_GpOji9tA7q-Vnk3ekUIonfKX-WsvjbKiPhxJHk5iqbnXCyfd2IXxwipAi2FoEoEkAt7E72uJ7Rf1UQhhcLgJSNkpPjlIhN-1-YIsH4V0oNUBZhBsjGPveDGTha3cIs/s1600/IMG_8489.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sample from a "Make Your Own Bookend" teen library program.</td></tr>
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Uninspired, I left the $69 ticketed session hoping for better when the conference proper began Saturday morning. I also skipped Friday night's opening reception boat cruise, because it was cold in Austin. I even bought a new coat. I was that cold.<br />
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But the hotel that hosted the conference was lovely--the Hyatt Regency, overlooking Lady Bird Lake (a Colorado River reservoir created by the construction of the Longhorn Dam in 1960) and nestled between the Congress Avenue Bridge (home to the U.S.'s largest urban bat population, whose nightly emergence from under the arches attracts thousands of tourists every summer; alas, the bats have already migrated to Mexico for the winter) and the South First Street Bridge, with easy walking access to downtown Austin and the trendy SoCo (South Congress) neighborhood. But before I could get out and explore the city, I had to attend at least one more session!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EIH820_msHzEKlRtTyoCi4ixSdlB1ZXbASPCWax48b-b6o0VPHD40GGqnI3stiOQWPwt4veccjuU8qbCNPxq3SL7BMHBk5WozuC_CM1eq9cKdxx-eQDiQ_FA_SxDtcBadAbFQZs5mHg/s1600/IMG_8475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4EIH820_msHzEKlRtTyoCi4ixSdlB1ZXbASPCWax48b-b6o0VPHD40GGqnI3stiOQWPwt4veccjuU8qbCNPxq3SL7BMHBk5WozuC_CM1eq9cKdxx-eQDiQ_FA_SxDtcBadAbFQZs5mHg/s1600/IMG_8475.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My hotel room view of Lady Bird Lake and downtown Austin.</td></tr>
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So I went to the Saturday morning session "YA Realness: What Makes 'Contemporary Realism' Feel True to Readers?" The influence of the success of John Green's books (particularly <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>, of course) and of Rainbow Rowell's <i>Eleanor & Park</i> was fairly obvious, as the panel of authors discussed how they attempt to write authentically about diverse teen experiences. <a href="http://www.sarazarr.com/">Sara Zarr</a>, <a href="http://sararyan.com/">Sara Ryan</a>, <a href="http://mattdelapena.com/">Matt de la Pena</a>, <a href="http://www.joknowles.com/Home.html">Jo Knowles</a>, and <a href="http://coebooth.com/">Coe Booth</a> all stressed their desire to include details, even mundane details, to create real worlds. They spoke about intentionally challenging readers through the use of slang or dialectic, and the importance of including complicated relationships with flawed adult characters. Many of these authors have felt pressured by publishers and editors to include romantic plots, even if their stories are not love stories. All these authors feel like they've told their stories well when they hear from fans wanting to know, "What happens next?" because that means readers are picturing their characters as real people, alive in the world today. They also stressed that writing YA means taking teens' needs and wants into consideration (teens are drawn to sadness, despair, and tragedy, they all agreed), despite the often contrary needs and wants of the adults in their lives (who tend to want teens to read "happy books"). Each author also spoke about the fine balance that can occur when they write about a character whose experience is different than their own, and their concerns about doing justice to that experience. It was a good session, because it was great to hear authors speak so openly and passionately about their commitment to an authentic teen experience!</div>
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Then, I went out to play.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yf0KA8nCExjE2STPlz4w0xNrKAFW4K_rgc4Q2COidXT9ncrC0s7Y2wrh1Pp9-xtecidFvVifrsaL3-WWmRASaq-Ic8EKC0xzdc09fW_YQJnuxtceZNZMUQ9j4L_vzXXbapY00Yhcwa8/s1600/IMG_8503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yf0KA8nCExjE2STPlz4w0xNrKAFW4K_rgc4Q2COidXT9ncrC0s7Y2wrh1Pp9-xtecidFvVifrsaL3-WWmRASaq-Ic8EKC0xzdc09fW_YQJnuxtceZNZMUQ9j4L_vzXXbapY00Yhcwa8/s1600/IMG_8503.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Eberly">Angelina Eberly</a> is my new hero.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdBPJ7DVhio9W-jMBEFMVc-sI2wEQgmFcbVq0c20Kl9g-Hnr4HgHqSV7dxqz5sfYbtrNFg4gqRSapHd6Ur9TIJFO3zhT39sXn4b3zrpczReLeQHRI4uoFuXatYeUrYtI6lYYENgFtkB8/s1600/IMG_8511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdBPJ7DVhio9W-jMBEFMVc-sI2wEQgmFcbVq0c20Kl9g-Hnr4HgHqSV7dxqz5sfYbtrNFg4gqRSapHd6Ur9TIJFO3zhT39sXn4b3zrpczReLeQHRI4uoFuXatYeUrYtI6lYYENgFtkB8/s1600/IMG_8511.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUTT1ALNxiwezYjlrRoAufOQ9lhFDONPJCE-x9SleT95Dvspd8sBy2u-qz1hXSFeAjD7thDkj0swmBBNMch76Ea6pFCTR64HLibxu14v4ViStYpuAgO19mmZlUltZ5FwgWzzSH4FZYWw/s1600/IMG_8516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUTT1ALNxiwezYjlrRoAufOQ9lhFDONPJCE-x9SleT95Dvspd8sBy2u-qz1hXSFeAjD7thDkj0swmBBNMch76Ea6pFCTR64HLibxu14v4ViStYpuAgO19mmZlUltZ5FwgWzzSH4FZYWw/s1600/IMG_8516.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They have really great statues in Austin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfAaUi3WLYThv-RnBFpayIf9g7PZYr9SP3P5gbH9OD7MxapN2S95JXv0KW9U67da8IW3pgB-IKG2JQj1Va87mFXA5IS2AV5ppUam8ovazICkYC4NctiwcFJ05xYt5yHkWNnQzYG7Mj0w/s1600/IMG_8535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfAaUi3WLYThv-RnBFpayIf9g7PZYr9SP3P5gbH9OD7MxapN2S95JXv0KW9U67da8IW3pgB-IKG2JQj1Va87mFXA5IS2AV5ppUam8ovazICkYC4NctiwcFJ05xYt5yHkWNnQzYG7Mj0w/s1600/IMG_8535.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Austin also has horses that sing in bands.</td></tr>
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I had very good intentions of attending Saturday's 1:00pm session "Where Are the Heroes of Color in Fantasy and Sci Fi?" but my husband and I got lost in downtown Austin and I didn't make it back in time. But I did eat a really good burrito:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZJlzdrAWFYfg1fPwhxM7w8tTqyOPIfsDEm-7CXDZTTvRlVwm_JLEqoXjfN6O_zfh5Ik8qYUEI_73HkY2IYfdj9u9JKfHnx3O8haBuz6A9PZiW4yWuhBtW6hXnYcFb_O6A4kuxOnR_r8/s1600/IMG_8541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZJlzdrAWFYfg1fPwhxM7w8tTqyOPIfsDEm-7CXDZTTvRlVwm_JLEqoXjfN6O_zfh5Ik8qYUEI_73HkY2IYfdj9u9JKfHnx3O8haBuz6A9PZiW4yWuhBtW6hXnYcFb_O6A4kuxOnR_r8/s1600/IMG_8541.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cayenne tortilla burrito from <a href="http://freebirds.com/">Freebirds World Burrito</a>. </td></tr>
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I did make it back for the 3:30pm sessions, and attended "Using Multicultural YA Literature to Examine the Impact of Racism on the Lives of Teens of Color." This lengthy-titled session was something of a disappointment, as the presenters were so concerned with making the session a "safe space" for discussion that, at well over an hour into the session, they had recommended a few books but hadn't actually talked about the real experiences of any teens of color and hadn't imparted any findings that were particularly new. I ducked out early, and decided to catch the end of another 3:30pm session, "Who Gets to Tell Our Stories? Authentic Portrayals of Trans* Youth in YA Fiction." This session was a bit meatier, as two transgender teen authors (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/23/trans-couple-memoirs_n_6035238.html">Katie Rain Hill and Arin Andrews</a>) made up the panel. Katie and Arin stressed the importance of libraries as a safe place with important resources, but emphasized a need for both openness (librarians should make sure to be available as allies) and privacy for teens who are still exploring their identities (consider putting resources online, make sure subject headings reflect GLBTQI* content). The Blake School has an active, passionate community of students focused on issues of gender and sexuality, so it was good to hear confirmation from other trans* teens that we're on the right path.</div>
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Saturday evening was the BOOK BLITZ!!! The highlight of the conference (in my opinion, anyway), the Book Blitz was a chance to get complimentary books, and to get them signed by the authors. Each librarian was given a tote bag and six tickets; once the hall opened, you traded tickets for books. Over forty authors awaited us when the doors opened, and if there's one thing librarians love, it's free books--especially if there's an opportunity to meet the authors. I had no specific authors in mind when I entered the Book Blitz (I would have liked to get the memoirs by Katie Hill and Arin Andrews, but they were gone in the blink of eye), but I ended up quite satisfied with my haul.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book Blitz</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book Blitz!!!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPuEnLklVFs6PuVIakSomRh2u6RzwdtHVx-OCKSXX_Y2vCBAiL2CjxrdCKmBhbSHtgIoosqashODIe3xoEypuuPIKz65F6NyolbZm-YkrVC59XzYdPG01Z8zsPk1B6aJM798p9_V6wKs/s1600/IMG_8547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPuEnLklVFs6PuVIakSomRh2u6RzwdtHVx-OCKSXX_Y2vCBAiL2CjxrdCKmBhbSHtgIoosqashODIe3xoEypuuPIKz65F6NyolbZm-YkrVC59XzYdPG01Z8zsPk1B6aJM798p9_V6wKs/s1600/IMG_8547.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BOOK BLITZ!!!!!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja19iXf22jwmQmX0j3c2duPgT1KpjlxvdzLihRiZP0WRi0Liy_O0ao3SyrKf4t6P7gcPp_7PLD71GgMapRgZnivtTyaST2zbPavtIyDecmyUUsI47RiI1_Q1Uxroy93PwzYfkkyhsCokQ/s1600/IMG_8549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja19iXf22jwmQmX0j3c2duPgT1KpjlxvdzLihRiZP0WRi0Liy_O0ao3SyrKf4t6P7gcPp_7PLD71GgMapRgZnivtTyaST2zbPavtIyDecmyUUsI47RiI1_Q1Uxroy93PwzYfkkyhsCokQ/s1600/IMG_8549.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new books. I'm so proud.</td></tr>
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After the Book Blitz, I took in some more Austin city culture:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjgsH4kn8LwUXYLRg_ldVSpFEtoAhxvuvSehFDSF6kyiWPmK22D3YbgT3_w262Ave_u4OiwFdgBdLnoqJ_nxf9AUhpMUJeUwKvpG7JCW-YhGVcwgUqOu_7b8PRQj-T340y63P9kDk7eA/s1600/IMG_8554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjgsH4kn8LwUXYLRg_ldVSpFEtoAhxvuvSehFDSF6kyiWPmK22D3YbgT3_w262Ave_u4OiwFdgBdLnoqJ_nxf9AUhpMUJeUwKvpG7JCW-YhGVcwgUqOu_7b8PRQj-T340y63P9kDk7eA/s1600/IMG_8554.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgTAOUzoHCpNzjFYzqYA8ZdDOpnY1rjO4MTpuCJzfCz_vDPQFL0vpf4K1JeiO9Tk5LVGhOEWyIgodGbXfGdLDpx9AFmTZuRaXT5opg9vv8HO3n1fGOPZdtrZAunZO-PGO0wHnqxyRN40/s1600/IMG_8566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgTAOUzoHCpNzjFYzqYA8ZdDOpnY1rjO4MTpuCJzfCz_vDPQFL0vpf4K1JeiO9Tk5LVGhOEWyIgodGbXfGdLDpx9AFmTZuRaXT5opg9vv8HO3n1fGOPZdtrZAunZO-PGO0wHnqxyRN40/s1600/IMG_8566.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_n7EVlYKV6JDhwDqUVyUJhXR67sCvJ0TP9HE7VWZvAVqFnoN9OUA2Gu62O89T8eeUyHPWuE6aF_HPFdPNzU1leaKTybNBEaQ851VPArhRWIbE9hFeZyPEf0qYblyTxsu3MWWTy7CCig/s1600/IMG_8555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_n7EVlYKV6JDhwDqUVyUJhXR67sCvJ0TP9HE7VWZvAVqFnoN9OUA2Gu62O89T8eeUyHPWuE6aF_HPFdPNzU1leaKTybNBEaQ851VPArhRWIbE9hFeZyPEf0qYblyTxsu3MWWTy7CCig/s1600/IMG_8555.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeGR4w2KAT_P92IBoTYSQpc62B95xZLTEin2n-OGaz9S8s7aqqrxKBXOfQrgHVgIEH6qaRegNgRoon_ekA5YBmByFT4-lvgitiUpwbVexKiFcTMOCRcSTkN_RkiAJGvpEx9S57YPJ98I/s1600/IMG_8557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeGR4w2KAT_P92IBoTYSQpc62B95xZLTEin2n-OGaz9S8s7aqqrxKBXOfQrgHVgIEH6qaRegNgRoon_ekA5YBmByFT4-lvgitiUpwbVexKiFcTMOCRcSTkN_RkiAJGvpEx9S57YPJ98I/s1600/IMG_8557.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The Austin city <a href="http://www.museumoftheweird.com/news/">Museum of the Weird</a> on East Sixth Street is highly educational. Also, there's a bar called The Library:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't expect librarians to resist a bar actually called The Library, can you?</td></tr>
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My final session was Sunday morning, "GenreQueer: Smashing the Closet." It seemed the closest thing to my missed session "Where Are the Heroes of Color in Sci Fi and Fantasy?" (which is a question we've had multiple students ask). It did not reveal anything especially earth-shattering about the need for GLBTQI* teens to see themselves represented in books that take place in the past, present, and future, but the panel of authors spoke well about the issues, and author <a href="http://www.malindalo.com/">Malinda Lo</a> in particular is a wonderful advocate for diverse YA literature.</div>
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I skipped the closing session with R.L. Stine so I could eat tacos and go to bookstores before the flight home.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mole sauce at <a href="http://www.guerostacobar.com/">Guero's</a> is excellent.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My husband waits impatiently for South Congress Books to open.</td></tr>
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We visited South Congress Book and BookPeople. <a href="http://southcongressbooks.com/">South Congress Books</a> is a small, independent, well-appointed and very charming little used bookstore, with an impressive selection of beautiful rare and collectible editions. <a href="http://www.bookpeople.com/">BookPeople</a> is big and bright with two stories of new books, author events, and helpful booksellers anxious to put as many books as possible into your hands. Go to Austin and shop at these bookstores.</div>
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The most interesting comment I heard about the state of young adult literature today was a brief conversation--and observation, really--that I overheard in the hotel lobby between an unknown author and a fellow librarian. The author (who I failed to recognize) said to the librarian, "You all say that you want diverse books, but I'm told I can't get published if I don't have white characters." That brief remark says so much about about the state of the book industry, the struggle that well-intentioned but struggling authors face, and the important role that librarians can play. But try telling that to one of my favorite students, who's standing here as I type this, asking where are all the authors and characters of color in her favorite books? </div>
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The theme of the 2014 YA Literature Symposium was "Keeping It Real: Finding the True Teen Experience in YA Literature." We have a long way to go before that "true teen experience" is truly reflected in the books on our shelves, but we're getting there. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YALSA sells YALSA shot glasses, because young adult librarians are classy.</td></tr>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-81313489485192098002014-10-22T11:49:00.001-05:002014-10-22T11:49:20.335-05:00Fun Library Things Happening LatelyThe new renovated library, now in it's second year, continues to be a destination for teachers and classes. Sometimes they're doing research-related projects; sometimes they're just enjoying the new space and having fun. Some highlights from the first quarter of the year include...<br />
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The freshmen seminar classes, which run during study halls for the first two weeks of the school year, are held in the Carlson Commons which connects the library upstairs to the science wing downstairs. This year, each section conducted egg drops, using teamwork to build the best contraption that would keep an egg from breaking when it was dropped from the catwalk:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New 9th graders test the parachute method of egg protection.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 9th grade team celebrates after its egg survives the drop.</td></tr>
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The whiteboard paint on the walls of the quiet study rooms continue to be popular, with students using them more and more for homework rather than doodling, covering the walls with math equations or lines of the various languages they study:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4-SK4X_cjFWSgXdyZUl1BGfzDBDxnet-b-hnWpjIEvmIz_AGQzLrj-GnxoSRtfdge8-WuTmEtGSZDK-QEOF9oFsgH7tUuTBWXqx2OC9cGLxX8n7xDMNULiU7knaGR2rfeLOt6NpRbq0/s1600/IMG_7360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4-SK4X_cjFWSgXdyZUl1BGfzDBDxnet-b-hnWpjIEvmIz_AGQzLrj-GnxoSRtfdge8-WuTmEtGSZDK-QEOF9oFsgH7tUuTBWXqx2OC9cGLxX8n7xDMNULiU7knaGR2rfeLOt6NpRbq0/s1600/IMG_7360.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandarin characters cover the study room walls as students work through a Chinese language assignment.</td></tr>
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The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile was seen in the neighborhood and Lizz and I were lucky enough to be there when it passed by the school:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cSv0GSeaQXYLTeSi_uMRL7xRb0q0Vef4lnjzbuxQy3dl2nVEh-I_w0ZGnnvbh9JwhMmVtzPlm80XAYJKgp_4yk29H0sVSFCOhDZ2uporLmdoH0hJO-X_74IVH7iQtFyF9ljkAywyWuk/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cSv0GSeaQXYLTeSi_uMRL7xRb0q0Vef4lnjzbuxQy3dl2nVEh-I_w0ZGnnvbh9JwhMmVtzPlm80XAYJKgp_4yk29H0sVSFCOhDZ2uporLmdoH0hJO-X_74IVH7iQtFyF9ljkAywyWuk/s1600/photo.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizz takes a picture of me taking a picture of the Weinermobile.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXDLDS1MTM8LtU3gvxKUXqtiCgTXSjbmLhJjCWFSOP7c4qRgWY-SuDJugVlwUUPz2ogo_rJyKoPqvsytYFw5FTLpwBx2I4VL1UNjt6PEpfAlNXuHumYhPkk95CKj4LZd9Ud6tT0EgxYU/s1600/IMG_7693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXDLDS1MTM8LtU3gvxKUXqtiCgTXSjbmLhJjCWFSOP7c4qRgWY-SuDJugVlwUUPz2ogo_rJyKoPqvsytYFw5FTLpwBx2I4VL1UNjt6PEpfAlNXuHumYhPkk95CKj4LZd9Ud6tT0EgxYU/s1600/IMG_7693.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Weinermobile in all its glory.</td></tr>
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<br />The Ancient Worlds class is one of our best customers, using the Commons for a Greco-Roman debate simulation and demonstrating ancient warfare techniques with yardsticks for swords in the library hallway:<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just like the ancient Greeks, students take turns debating important issues.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGeyQei-GOpcIb0s_Cup_-eqCHddDIbIw6KINrA54TR_XnwZRdbCYIAhRMdRvIYUuchgmj6QtqhvBoBwAb3PFSSyM1c0Bot07zKHKZ-mm9BEVpebRqPjPUG90g7b_-j2jU8exNi9tzsk/s1600/DSC_0163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQGeyQei-GOpcIb0s_Cup_-eqCHddDIbIw6KINrA54TR_XnwZRdbCYIAhRMdRvIYUuchgmj6QtqhvBoBwAb3PFSSyM1c0Bot07zKHKZ-mm9BEVpebRqPjPUG90g7b_-j2jU8exNi9tzsk/s1600/DSC_0163.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Cady directs a phalanx of Spartan warriors.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charge! </td></tr>
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<br />The World Cultures/ World History classes are also in the library almost every week--sometimes every day. A recent assessment included points for creativity displayed during an Olympic Parade of Nations that started in the library, circled through the school hallways, and ended in the Danielson Room:<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World History teacher Ms. Calderone acts as host nation and leads the procession through the Carlson Commons.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheering students representing their proud countries return to the library.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Greek constituents bring up the rear, bearing Lizz's library-made paper torch.</td></tr>
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<br />Our current book display is a very topical exploration of ebola and other plagues and diseases:<div>
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<br /><br />And today, we have Karina Leppik, Blake graduate of the class of 1993 and current SOFIA mission director at NASA, speaking to the school today. So of course we put up a quick space books display, and had Sean pose with it since it's also his birthday and Lizz got him a space hoodie as a gift:<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Space hoodie, space books.</td></tr>
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We're looking forward to many more fun times in the library as the year goes on.</div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-87295408652135223052014-10-10T14:57:00.006-05:002014-10-10T14:57:56.234-05:00Library Relay Races<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTG353YCqUfK5dytr_JZPFqoJhJI5trtkOxuc7XQiqjxD0cTBEdcgxcINPOc1Xb4pmGInZnt3NM4P4W8F3-jV99HxfQvEG2W71ksX3MpJn8XILxHqAlyuDimQfsNBENypeoQnHt8cYLs/s1600/IMG_7635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTG353YCqUfK5dytr_JZPFqoJhJI5trtkOxuc7XQiqjxD0cTBEdcgxcINPOc1Xb4pmGInZnt3NM4P4W8F3-jV99HxfQvEG2W71ksX3MpJn8XILxHqAlyuDimQfsNBENypeoQnHt8cYLs/s1600/IMG_7635.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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The 2014-15 school year has started, and we've been busy! We've even already started our now-annual field trips to the downtown central Hennepin County Library, and this year, to prep for these field trips, we did a "library relay race" activity with the ninth grade World Cultures/World Literature classes. The goal was to have a practice session in a library before the field trip and its accompanying assignment, and to assess our ninth graders' library and research skills.</div>
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Lizz devised a series of activities for each group of students (four students per group) to perform. Once a student completed their given activity, they would come to me, Lizz, or their teacher for judging. If the activity had been successfully completed, the group would get a new task, and so on until the first group won and received an thrilling prize of candy. </div>
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Activities included coming up with successful search terms for both a Google search and a library catalog search, finding books by call number and by subject, finding specific information in a book using the table of contents and the index, and finding and evaluating a database article. For each activity, they had to relate the book or article to what they've been learning in class so far this year. A few of the activities led to specific books that we wanted students to explore; this made it easy for us judges to know if the students had successfully followed directions--although we did have a lot of re-shelving to do between each set of relay races so the next groups could find the right books again!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0izLxB3zbpJN8Yj-hczb5jyUB_xW7DS_pSoOlpNg-bvrFfDipYATEGTWZYu8B9_PkIhA6CmdY5_CY4K36-5KNJxwmvQ-3mmKCtfLDBKB4TFFNF-O038YE3jrHXkp-y095eDuAPXb8XY/s1600/IMG_7638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0izLxB3zbpJN8Yj-hczb5jyUB_xW7DS_pSoOlpNg-bvrFfDipYATEGTWZYu8B9_PkIhA6CmdY5_CY4K36-5KNJxwmvQ-3mmKCtfLDBKB4TFFNF-O038YE3jrHXkp-y095eDuAPXb8XY/s1600/IMG_7638.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some activities required students to work together in teams and groups to come up with the best answers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some activities required students to find resources on their own, without help from peers or teachers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World Cultures teacher Ms. Calderone judges a student's book selection.<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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We conducted these library relay races for every block of 9th grade World Cultures/ World History classes, all in one day. It was very busy, a little hectic at times, but we got a very good sense of the areas in which students need to gain more skills. And since the kids got to compete with each other for the glory of the win and a few pieces of candy, they deemed the activity "fun." A few kids even thanked us, which is always a win. <div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A ninth grade groups together works at the library catalog station.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two groups of students--one looking for books in the stacks, the other <br />brainstorming search terms--race for the ultimate library relay prize. </td></tr>
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<br />The teachers also agreed that the activities were helpful to both see where the students were at when it came to using library resources for research, and ensured that the students wouldn't be too lost and would have some context for the public library field trips. All in all, a useful and entertaining addition to our library-classroom collaboration.<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ms. Youmans and a student, winning.</td></tr>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-42080177604149656942014-05-08T10:43:00.003-05:002014-05-08T10:43:28.689-05:00Downtown Central Library Field TripsAs a high school located in the heart of a city, we have all the resources of a major public library system at our fingertips to supplement and support our school library. The best way we've taken advantage of this is to take our history students on research field trips to Hennepin County's <a href="http://www.hclib.org/News.cfm?ID=3188">Central Library</a> in downtown Minneapolis.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hennepin County's Minneapolis Central Library opened in 2006 and is super fancy. </td></tr>
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When school resumed after Spring Break, our ninth graders began their World Cultures history projects. They could select any historical topic between the years 1500 and 1940, as long as it was from a non-U.S. point of view. Topics included the Dutch tulip bubble of 1643, court life during the reign of King Louis XIV, the inventor of the mustard gas used during World War I, the science behind Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstein</i>, the history of the mafiosi in Italy, the disappearance of the USS Cyclops in the Bermuda Triangle, and the formation of the Mercedes-Benz company. Since students were expected to work with both primary and secondary sources, we decided to introduce them to research at <a href="http://www.hclib.org/">Hennepin County Library</a>.<br />
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Over the course of two weeks, Lizz and I accompanied students and teaches on six separate trips to the downtown library branch. For many of the ninth graders, this would be their first time using public transportation. We herded the students across the <a href="http://www.walkerart.org/garden/">Minneapolis Sculpture Garden</a> by the Walker Art Center, over highway 394 on the <a href="http://www.walkerart.org/art-on-call/stops/1053">Irene Hixon Whitney pedestrian bridge</a>, and to the bus stop on the corner of Hennepin Avenue and Oak Grove Street. For the most part, we could get a double-section (usually about 25 to 35 students) on a single bus, which didn't generally thrill the other passengers, but it's all part of the wonderful world of public transportation!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzl3bHnXYxu4HRY60PafpQqUxuH85jE-XawPxhFFZk7s2mw0naada5yK6wzWXd5e2ONjLl8xnebYjn5uZpbPSgIQTFhVf-p-WIwFBvTlfUl8vznhHD7bq_kvJnfFrqY0WgMBommy8UmMA/s1600/IMG_3862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzl3bHnXYxu4HRY60PafpQqUxuH85jE-XawPxhFFZk7s2mw0naada5yK6wzWXd5e2ONjLl8xnebYjn5uZpbPSgIQTFhVf-p-WIwFBvTlfUl8vznhHD7bq_kvJnfFrqY0WgMBommy8UmMA/s1600/IMG_3862.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking through the Sculpture Garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the bridge over the freeway.</td></tr>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Once on the bus, we stressed "bus etiquette": more as far to the back as you can, fill in any empty seats, and accept that you will have to sit next to strangers! We elected one kid each trip to pull the cord to signal our stop, and after a twenty-minute ride down Hennepin Avenue, we piled off the bus and into the library.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our students on the bus to the library.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Blake students makes the acquaintance of a young bus passenger.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Into the library!</td></tr>
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The Minneapolis Central branch is very large; most students had not been there before. We gave them a quick set of instructions: most of the history materials are on the fourth floor, each student should leave with at least one book either checked out or on request from another library branch, and no coffee from the coffee shop until they found a good resource! Let the research begin!</div>
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As the students searched for their topics, Lizz and I and the teachers provided guidance on searching the catalog, using subject headings to find similar books, evaluating a book based on all the available information in the library catalog, and using the stacks (always a good time, pushing the buttons to make the bookshelves move!). We also stressed the art of finding the <i>best</i> book available, not merely the top hit after a simple search.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd6mA9QVF7AAmi8WelxXXwYPJQXDai35Aqfd530K01OmAjzMCyHu0XO2p8jlpN0uq-gAJhz0nDRyL1M2aRr2rDKNQnxN8AjaL7uq1j9DGrK5cd4DrFpPWH6mRWT-1raNtUyzyLt3ObU0/s1600/IMG_3781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd6mA9QVF7AAmi8WelxXXwYPJQXDai35Aqfd530K01OmAjzMCyHu0XO2p8jlpN0uq-gAJhz0nDRyL1M2aRr2rDKNQnxN8AjaL7uq1j9DGrK5cd4DrFpPWH6mRWT-1raNtUyzyLt3ObU0/s1600/IMG_3781.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student looks in the moveable stacks for a book.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students use the library's catalog stations to find resources.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9d2LZ44sdLYULrEKhJAsWzEt2-rAznmC73mBfcS4_2eaCduuzm_kD3aiAhGkGxdqyE3ijbArIEstlYLvy1JRWO-iUf9fJ5rfmPjEjA4rx7EYYemkj9Sa47h9KEsznAwT1a7NFPOzFTUs/s1600/IMG_3863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9d2LZ44sdLYULrEKhJAsWzEt2-rAznmC73mBfcS4_2eaCduuzm_kD3aiAhGkGxdqyE3ijbArIEstlYLvy1JRWO-iUf9fJ5rfmPjEjA4rx7EYYemkj9Sa47h9KEsznAwT1a7NFPOzFTUs/s1600/IMG_3863.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Student and teacher evaluate a book together. </span></td></tr>
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We also helped several students check the status of their library accounts, and in some cases, get library cards for the first time. One of our goals for the coming years is to make sure every student at the Upper School has a Hennepin County Library card, the better to access the many resources available.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student gets a library card!</td></tr>
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The field trips to the public library prove that research is an adventure, and that finding and using your resources correctly is the most important part of writing a research paper. The field trips also allow our students a glimpse of the city that our school is part of--an important part of the outing since many of our students commute from the suburbs and rarely leave the school campus until they're juniors or seniors. Also, libraries are just plain awesome and we love showing them off. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0Tn43crhAGOK3EGuWar4Qb0NDl4FMaMrHdO2F9sZG7cONRZPsA2SdXesXlhnoft7nIVeUJSICNhcpBYKrBSami26ANeGs596Y3v1g1rpzUa0HGktDzAa-LJnQ8tZfI48jLZqPJJyzNc/s1600/IMG_3783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0Tn43crhAGOK3EGuWar4Qb0NDl4FMaMrHdO2F9sZG7cONRZPsA2SdXesXlhnoft7nIVeUJSICNhcpBYKrBSami26ANeGs596Y3v1g1rpzUa0HGktDzAa-LJnQ8tZfI48jLZqPJJyzNc/s1600/IMG_3783.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students waiting for instructions in the library lobby.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1QLX958t7qQIBRND3JKWPZf22PTh8T-ncOzAC4_LXaNijiotN2w261Ddeql9HHYG3yJqjlcMa4vdMoESmVeYZEyCTavbdG4s6JdVTx_8eYt6TgXlebA4lwjnJCzHoYJObJ6d7i4cl_8/s1600/IMG_3875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1QLX958t7qQIBRND3JKWPZf22PTh8T-ncOzAC4_LXaNijiotN2w261Ddeql9HHYG3yJqjlcMa4vdMoESmVeYZEyCTavbdG4s6JdVTx_8eYt6TgXlebA4lwjnJCzHoYJObJ6d7i4cl_8/s1600/IMG_3875.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Visiting the coffee shop is a highlight of the library field trips.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4F7MiLU1Mon6Aoxg-ID9KdymmMCBd9QoGP-jXIHIm6l2DRYvv96GE5K9VlWRIqmzysxq_mDLKR2SD3c14TLUpNxYCNebUivaB3C3OvscT0dr9i79iB1IMK__frKJe7XcZye0pyHsKeQ/s1600/IMG_3877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4F7MiLU1Mon6Aoxg-ID9KdymmMCBd9QoGP-jXIHIm6l2DRYvv96GE5K9VlWRIqmzysxq_mDLKR2SD3c14TLUpNxYCNebUivaB3C3OvscT0dr9i79iB1IMK__frKJe7XcZye0pyHsKeQ/s1600/IMG_3877.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note Lizz, seated below the display case on the right, working with a student. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE3WYUVJg8L5SS8hknNhGfx1j1_e_4RAM9jUaLoKRTvOaursdbUAkz56yV9wnyRFcD0MmVMqiD3uF199VaSb4dRScY33SgiTCOp_ngjHL30xWJPtSU-gWedlK2vrOFHaHMtROkfTqcIo/s1600/IMG_3799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkE3WYUVJg8L5SS8hknNhGfx1j1_e_4RAM9jUaLoKRTvOaursdbUAkz56yV9wnyRFcD0MmVMqiD3uF199VaSb4dRScY33SgiTCOp_ngjHL30xWJPtSU-gWedlK2vrOFHaHMtROkfTqcIo/s1600/IMG_3799.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students wait near the library exit for the bus home.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4jKUwUtg2hwsIyKU3GNLwfluHXTmBjvKB_Jym3ldMzoJ5zPHVXEYEEuXBeuDXeaOReD61fEJiN-L325YVcYoFKgKdYd_IKlFnGr8z1lZTNNEmTX0ovWtUTuhsAXloQsyDMVmM9_2OGU/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr4jKUwUtg2hwsIyKU3GNLwfluHXTmBjvKB_Jym3ldMzoJ5zPHVXEYEEuXBeuDXeaOReD61fEJiN-L325YVcYoFKgKdYd_IKlFnGr8z1lZTNNEmTX0ovWtUTuhsAXloQsyDMVmM9_2OGU/s1600/IMG_3867.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A proud history teacher leads students back onto <br />the bus after another successful library field trip.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPA1qzb55xidgXkCIZV-Q70vsf45_qlQkGMD7flE6J9or1xaL94UuLKkUGVF0mujqb5ga2blOBdlKNHtnneKnBC7o7F-xW6asvXXh9snctQhqpmyAVLvKifNmF2x_dhweXVFIS0iVv8FE/s1600/IMG_3864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPA1qzb55xidgXkCIZV-Q70vsf45_qlQkGMD7flE6J9or1xaL94UuLKkUGVF0mujqb5ga2blOBdlKNHtnneKnBC7o7F-xW6asvXXh9snctQhqpmyAVLvKifNmF2x_dhweXVFIS0iVv8FE/s1600/IMG_3864.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye, library, until next time!</td></tr>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-20161615521206820732014-04-24T09:20:00.002-05:002014-05-13T11:08:01.728-05:00Library FoxesThis spring, we've had the unique pleasure of observing local wildlife--a family of foxes whose den is right outside our tech workroom!<br />
<br />
We first spotted the foxes on April 1st, when our laptop repair guru Gary Spencer spotted a parent fox out his window, looked down, and saw a number of tiny fox kits tumbling around in the snow (yes, we also had snow on April Fool's Day!):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUU3wcED2nTVHIwMT9TTNo-Iv3TZo4rkJoZdsfzCafKSBo4xUnPmr91f_9sCxq23aeD7SnkvkUwdYa-pUT3q3lYl9L-jAv6x6X46cSW_VK_XIPLZGTD9sl-pqk-fs2gt88a5-LCcWEaCA/s1600/IMG_3779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUU3wcED2nTVHIwMT9TTNo-Iv3TZo4rkJoZdsfzCafKSBo4xUnPmr91f_9sCxq23aeD7SnkvkUwdYa-pUT3q3lYl9L-jAv6x6X46cSW_VK_XIPLZGTD9sl-pqk-fs2gt88a5-LCcWEaCA/s1600/IMG_3779.jpg" height="320" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary took this picture from his workroom window, looking down <br />
at the fox den below. This was our first glimpse of the den and we<br />
later determined that this was papa fox (mama fox has lighter fur<br />
on her back and legs). Both fox parents help care for the kits.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We've known foxes (and other wildlife, like turkeys) lived in the woods behind school and we've caught occasional glimpses of them, but we had no idea the fox den was so close by--literally nestled right up against the school in a retaining wall behind the library and science wing. We immediately became obsessed, because foxes!<br />
<br />
We set up a "fox cam" with streaming on Ustream, a free online streaming service, and broadcasted the stream in the Commons so students could observe. It was a few days before we spotted the foxes again and we feared they had played a cruel April Fool's Day joke on us, but we knew they were still there by the occasional dead rabbit or crow that would appear (and then disappear) on the hill outside the window. A few people caught glimpses of the foxes via the fox cam (including a suspenseful interval where the mama fox seemingly couldn't decide if she wanted to feed her kits crow for dinner or not, and kept moving the dead bird around on the hill while her babies played below), but it wasn't until the next week that we saw the foxes during the school day again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdzR_E12B67CSM9hNkyAjxHDd01yGmSP3CbzKzoSglAc9T2g1DUtKlWNV0qhOMFiRrxRVg1YZ2sYD-sWAIZ9jAuF4vAicETZk3GyctE0a2RO9qFSdGfyWbvkzToEw5ckQ9WdUod9Jca8/s1600/IMG_3851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdzR_E12B67CSM9hNkyAjxHDd01yGmSP3CbzKzoSglAc9T2g1DUtKlWNV0qhOMFiRrxRVg1YZ2sYD-sWAIZ9jAuF4vAicETZk3GyctE0a2RO9qFSdGfyWbvkzToEw5ckQ9WdUod9Jca8/s1600/IMG_3851.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four fox kits seen from the library office window. The babies were not <br />
bothered by a few humans peering out the window at them, though the <br />
parent foxes would not approach the den if they saw us watching them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The foxes began to move their kits! Online research revealed that gray foxes usually move their kits a few weeks after their birth, to a bigger den, though we concluded that our increased notice of the foxes likely contributed to their move as well. Gray foxes are extremely well-urbanized and can exist quite well in cities, but they're still very wary of humans. <br />
<br />
So we watched as, over the course of about an hour, the mother fox returned to the den again and again. The kits (seven of them!) would tumble out to nurse and play, and then eventually the mother would select one kit to carry away with her.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yNcFYVVE6xf8jzoAW0C0YgfJLiFRqV_iwfTuEv8YAbMbMAj4s6RWC7rpFtJH8Eh4nM9PvpKWwu2IEZxmN5jQjYzu-VVq8dckk9ItvWEW4aqs7NMKI0g3mB9y7ptYL4IAgtsUGFR4k8k/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7yNcFYVVE6xf8jzoAW0C0YgfJLiFRqV_iwfTuEv8YAbMbMAj4s6RWC7rpFtJH8Eh4nM9PvpKWwu2IEZxmN5jQjYzu-VVq8dckk9ItvWEW4aqs7NMKI0g3mB9y7ptYL4IAgtsUGFR4k8k/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama fox approaches the den...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bJH7YhvrM_Bwc3JILRYYhV31V8hcJLzOZyyCF3tiGqyeV6OUxU1qj0ngYtAF0ZCebvFOj4NHACQZo4xqss-KEiDtg1VydVdRieXrCxsLFxsi-jhez4DtyTt_jqyDE1wgL5NKCnBZcRE/s1600/DSC_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bJH7YhvrM_Bwc3JILRYYhV31V8hcJLzOZyyCF3tiGqyeV6OUxU1qj0ngYtAF0ZCebvFOj4NHACQZo4xqss-KEiDtg1VydVdRieXrCxsLFxsi-jhez4DtyTt_jqyDE1wgL5NKCnBZcRE/s1600/DSC_0004.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...picks up a kit...</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0qDEFwvRZg1DpNjDHVV2M_3ybIrHkC0rbxNdNqGsmnkk-ur6tBI6bu8Cd-w5-xmbpPBSFGU9toLnMAqRqenNsp09DIN2XdRS7cXjqadqrPV-t4T8li8Sdfftg97nEYn9v9t13HvLB0k/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0qDEFwvRZg1DpNjDHVV2M_3ybIrHkC0rbxNdNqGsmnkk-ur6tBI6bu8Cd-w5-xmbpPBSFGU9toLnMAqRqenNsp09DIN2XdRS7cXjqadqrPV-t4T8li8Sdfftg97nEYn9v9t13HvLB0k/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...nimbly climbs up the retaining wall...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbkilTKIBdJt3jzzmP4d2YXSHZ1KQP0OjAhljRrKXqtPlYEt_JT65qXyRXe7GRnhOsmH8YRHydYesY2IlzU3PwmFn9QhZVda4Anak4p7cz1KMomsSzbVANVgA-rR_huNIsy3GvBt9mxY/s1600/IMG_3857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbkilTKIBdJt3jzzmP4d2YXSHZ1KQP0OjAhljRrKXqtPlYEt_JT65qXyRXe7GRnhOsmH8YRHydYesY2IlzU3PwmFn9QhZVda4Anak4p7cz1KMomsSzbVANVgA-rR_huNIsy3GvBt9mxY/s1600/IMG_3857.jpg" height="322" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and trots away to the new den.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgX_7btKoGW0_i0LFrF_GIpZtq3uoPbXZz2ol2F1fsePuvEPSyH64ZfPmc74szBIb-syYmKG6MDN1rNNpM_yXNjxnhUsx009ha2DTYLr6ynKHXDLBfHsURd_kzoPXLXpzln5cA0nfJuxc/s1600/IMG_3860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgX_7btKoGW0_i0LFrF_GIpZtq3uoPbXZz2ol2F1fsePuvEPSyH64ZfPmc74szBIb-syYmKG6MDN1rNNpM_yXNjxnhUsx009ha2DTYLr6ynKHXDLBfHsURd_kzoPXLXpzln5cA0nfJuxc/s1600/IMG_3860.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fox kits play outside the den between their<br />
mother's visits to move them to the new den.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Soon all seven kits had been carried away. Lizz spotted the new den on the other side of the school, tucked into a neighbor's large, hilly, overgrown backyard. When we got a couple more inches of snow last week, we spotted more fox prints, though the foxes seem to have permanently abandoned the den below our window. We hope they'll be back again next year, but will not be surprised if they cease to use a den that can be so easily observed by people now--an unfortunate consequence of the renovation, since previously the space was arranged in a way that did not have a person working near this window all day long! <br />
<div>
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<div>
The fox cam was a fantastic way to allow the community to experience the foxes without being too intrusive. We streamed footage to the Commons and were able to record much of the removal of the kits to the new den to show later:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Video of fox kits nursing and playing: <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45875355">http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45875355</a> (fox action up to about the 11 minute mark)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Video of fox kits playing after the mother carries one kit away: <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45877090"> http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45877090 </a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Video of the mother fox repeatedly moving kits: <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45877275">http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45877275</a> (fox footage from 0:00 to about 2:30, from 9:10 to 12:05, and from 18:42 to 20:43; no fox action after that mark) </li>
</ul>
<div>
In short, we absolutely adored our library foxes, and the obsession lives on in our office even weeks later:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjti0KvFUrQFnVwADgCOPURPsIX_xXkszRLM_fzNbi-L4WDnEbYOetADkgzWm5pT0AhU3_9H5SpgQr-o1VvI0nlkkI39J7020hbLz8rCV8ysaPjZu6YWgfw-GDhXMsZ4JUQ1yRvvaYdt0Y/s1600/garyfox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjti0KvFUrQFnVwADgCOPURPsIX_xXkszRLM_fzNbi-L4WDnEbYOetADkgzWm5pT0AhU3_9H5SpgQr-o1VvI0nlkkI39J7020hbLz8rCV8ysaPjZu6YWgfw-GDhXMsZ4JUQ1yRvvaYdt0Y/s1600/garyfox.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5ca7PNZqiwGfuHh6J_U_E2dd7H-UKeVfyhHJ7YlSbtZf1qfBpT1EVRWtG_sndPgASWSjUetxuK0U59Bi3BewAoeVJj20w2_Y97K0AyqAGBRKkcKSXvlNKP9u1IC2rZYhWoJieZ_H3fw/s1600/kalifox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5ca7PNZqiwGfuHh6J_U_E2dd7H-UKeVfyhHJ7YlSbtZf1qfBpT1EVRWtG_sndPgASWSjUetxuK0U59Bi3BewAoeVJj20w2_Y97K0AyqAGBRKkcKSXvlNKP9u1IC2rZYhWoJieZ_H3fw/s1600/kalifox.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPsuj4eu4N9Fj5XGZIGmGFvmXUeGBSdfjMugpzqEDeGLLD2sPcNDsWF7TV62SZyl4LGITYi981D5ohlLYLh7ZT_bnh9wGVg4SJJFVzAQFUl7AKCniouKhHqe6SIYY1fBBxk5JGh7KJug/s1600/lizzfox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPsuj4eu4N9Fj5XGZIGmGFvmXUeGBSdfjMugpzqEDeGLLD2sPcNDsWF7TV62SZyl4LGITYi981D5ohlLYLh7ZT_bnh9wGVg4SJJFVzAQFUl7AKCniouKhHqe6SIYY1fBBxk5JGh7KJug/s1600/lizzfox.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qGFYMPVUFYHf27aCktBewF8VUZUpBEkamfFNaSSqoY8C0frWCgL156BVfGCRFNFHzHUIDk31K-W4SXfxMR_XcJtY8kC17aAiC-TCCwNTQG8Ue7LpTYMP1G80kIVg4wDPv_h9Ff3TuG0/s1600/seanfox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qGFYMPVUFYHf27aCktBewF8VUZUpBEkamfFNaSSqoY8C0frWCgL156BVfGCRFNFHzHUIDk31K-W4SXfxMR_XcJtY8kC17aAiC-TCCwNTQG8Ue7LpTYMP1G80kIVg4wDPv_h9Ff3TuG0/s1600/seanfox.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwOQsD3uSQvDcHLLR6mx-idquhLU5bDskYvOZFkHeDWCVShjgVRogx2lBwNoqgd1fRI_tVkAAodJal_c0Qp0rodT49VDE1ReM7-XUBFAfdLPtDbTOFG7k3I4BPbRdfhYjccWFr9uRHtg/s1600/trockfox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwOQsD3uSQvDcHLLR6mx-idquhLU5bDskYvOZFkHeDWCVShjgVRogx2lBwNoqgd1fRI_tVkAAodJal_c0Qp0rodT49VDE1ReM7-XUBFAfdLPtDbTOFG7k3I4BPbRdfhYjccWFr9uRHtg/s1600/trockfox.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama fox. Isn't she pretty?</td></tr>
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We also used the fox as our poster-animal for this year's library item recall (final due date May 2nd, so Lizz and I can do inventory!)</div>
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UPDATE! </div>
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Today (May 13th) we spotted a fox kit scampering around in the grass outside Gary's window, very near the old den. The kit hopped around for a bit and when it finally spotted us (oohing and aahing from the window while trying to take pictures with our iPhones), it climbed up the retaining wall to gaze at us briefly from the cover of the woods before heading off in the direction of the new den. </div>
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The kit was clearly still a baby (not even half the size of a grown fox) but now has the typical red coat of its parents.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qbCha6CofYGs9TZoMDTNPbGKLzM3B2CCW8ZNYSvJXjWxsITYs2jPGbYcFwobmxLWFdk-TAA9Ewh_dAZNoanNLMZoqKqpW-Z_E67jM7AEIE4ZsvH-AmlPNtRDhGvLwLF0mjA4_FG1W3Y/s1600/photo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qbCha6CofYGs9TZoMDTNPbGKLzM3B2CCW8ZNYSvJXjWxsITYs2jPGbYcFwobmxLWFdk-TAA9Ewh_dAZNoanNLMZoqKqpW-Z_E67jM7AEIE4ZsvH-AmlPNtRDhGvLwLF0mjA4_FG1W3Y/s1600/photo1.jpg" height="400" width="311" /></a></div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-39243412372635757882014-04-14T14:59:00.004-05:002014-04-14T14:59:35.788-05:00Book MadnessWe did not get caught up in basketball March Madness. Instead, we got caught up in our very own Book Madness, a trend that seemed especially popular among libraries and school and other book-related communities this year., because obviously Book Madness is much more fun!<br />
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We pitted required reading against recreational reading. We only had a couple weeks, since spring break occupies the last two weeks of March, so we began with a bracket of sixteen--eight books we selected from class reading lists to compete against eight of our most popular fiction books.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVHYOMS8g2ByB_vwwMucxpxkO41Bda1TI56qh2hbYoN5wGtrKDHgyX5_-tJOBUyouZbJEhF-nqBYtOv6yb8zdPKZ2j7S_Z9fZafLOHFSKImeVNbmvVHLVRB_jpojgQUczbmCs4Dm6Y6U/s1600/book+madness+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguVHYOMS8g2ByB_vwwMucxpxkO41Bda1TI56qh2hbYoN5wGtrKDHgyX5_-tJOBUyouZbJEhF-nqBYtOv6yb8zdPKZ2j7S_Z9fZafLOHFSKImeVNbmvVHLVRB_jpojgQUczbmCs4Dm6Y6U/s1600/book+madness+poster.jpg" height="412" width="640" /></a></div>
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The above image is the poster we made and posted around school; students came to the library and voted on the first round and selected their final pick using the form below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqVgJvTWWZDmU9W69N2dPt5DxCFu-_mux_drKjFHX9d5QdqxxipR8M1iCFwMKTx-mIY9qCXeB6p9PXhQjpWExpJq6aWhPgw4lDZ1wUOFgCSEwwlxmgkjnHv0rE5u-l1R7olSygs-kcOE/s1600/Book+Brackets+2014+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqVgJvTWWZDmU9W69N2dPt5DxCFu-_mux_drKjFHX9d5QdqxxipR8M1iCFwMKTx-mIY9qCXeB6p9PXhQjpWExpJq6aWhPgw4lDZ1wUOFgCSEwwlxmgkjnHv0rE5u-l1R7olSygs-kcOE/s1600/Book+Brackets+2014+1.jpg" height="640" width="492" /></a></div>
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Each round of voting was open for a day or two over the next two weeks; as the brackets were narrowed down, we made new voting forms for each round.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WJ6Sj28YABBN0TrqMyiI0DIORhwO01Ot4wZVCGem7C0zojcqYjyH1n5g7alUxbZ-ZXUMUSaNO0_f6-6kjr9QeyPsCvLbwtegicEqY93DM-wnFrWp_frY9sZWMXv-CpeUrxO_4vjXans/s1600/book+brackets+ROUND+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WJ6Sj28YABBN0TrqMyiI0DIORhwO01Ot4wZVCGem7C0zojcqYjyH1n5g7alUxbZ-ZXUMUSaNO0_f6-6kjr9QeyPsCvLbwtegicEqY93DM-wnFrWp_frY9sZWMXv-CpeUrxO_4vjXans/s1600/book+brackets+ROUND+2.jpg" height="400" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round 2 </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit75LChrayO585nKz3EPdJL5fksTPD9wFhv0X3XM6Cjj9b6pE1_Ipc_UUK8GmGcoZX7NhDfzy16ZT1hxlgCfYF6mpSKsfE8zM5gJPlGFsdn2W3oB5gvOKOrwrBdURIDisLYlZ0NuJTNik/s1600/ROUND+THREE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit75LChrayO585nKz3EPdJL5fksTPD9wFhv0X3XM6Cjj9b6pE1_Ipc_UUK8GmGcoZX7NhDfzy16ZT1hxlgCfYF6mpSKsfE8zM5gJPlGFsdn2W3oB5gvOKOrwrBdURIDisLYlZ0NuJTNik/s1600/ROUND+THREE.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round 3</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrTKs8mWnwKyxsr5jYZGCJEGNsIkcjysHx_5c6HormBgPTbweYMlq5vgT32zwQ7teuhRqkB25yDOkHN_zCFHg808iH5cNQV8NuSd0PadD-p2jP7-wT2Vzbrg8Sz4w1wRBwHefxlD_usg/s1600/FINAL+ROUND.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrTKs8mWnwKyxsr5jYZGCJEGNsIkcjysHx_5c6HormBgPTbweYMlq5vgT32zwQ7teuhRqkB25yDOkHN_zCFHg808iH5cNQV8NuSd0PadD-p2jP7-wT2Vzbrg8Sz4w1wRBwHefxlD_usg/s1600/FINAL+ROUND.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final Round</td></tr>
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<br />We had fun tweeting and posting about the results. Westeros' got nothing on Hogwarts; Katniss creamed Tris. No one wants to hang out with Holden Caulfield, especially when Jay Gatsby's around to throw a party. And not even Lady Macbeth could pull one over on Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. But <i>Harry Potter</i> won it all, of course--no surprise there, even with a last-minute faculty meeting bumping up the votes for poor old <i>Frankenstein</i>, considering that our students are the generation that grew up with Harry and company. We had about 20 students, teachers, and other staff voting each day, so it was a successful and entertaining little contest. Two students came closest to predicting the final path to victory, and they were rewarded with copies of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winger-Andrew-Smith/dp/1442444924/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397500359&sr=1-1&keywords=winger"><i>Winger</i></a> by Andrew Smith and Patrick Ness' new novel <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-This-Patrick-Ness/dp/0763662585/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397500412&sr=1-1&keywords=patrick+ness">More Than This</a></i>. We'll do it again next year, maybe pitting the classics against science fiction, or popular nonfiction against fiction. Book madness!<div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-83907376621690401002014-04-09T13:07:00.002-05:002014-04-09T13:07:41.780-05:00Cross-Curricular, Cross-Campus CollaborationThe Blake Upper School is right down the street from the <a href="http://www.walkerart.org/">Walker Art Center</a>. We have an excellent relationship with this neighboring institution (Blake students get in free, for example, and teachers are often able to participate in private tours of new shows) and we take advantage of our closeness as often as possible. <br />
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It's usually art classes visiting the Walker, but when the museum opened an <a href="http://www.walkerart.org/calendar/2014/hopper-drawing">exhibit of Edward Hopper's drawings and sketches</a> highlighting his artistic process, Lizz saw a unique opportunity to involve one of our favorite teachers and her 10th grade U.S. history classes.<br />
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Having just completed their big U.S. history projects, these sophomore classes were in the perfect position to appreciate the idea of <i>process</i>: the research, notes, and early drafts that come before the final paper is complete and ready to turn in. But focusing on the research process was just one way for the students to access the Hopper exhibit. They're also history students, and Hopper's art reflects a specific period in time when he was working--that of the 1930s and '40s when America was experiencing the Great Depression and then World War II. <br />
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Margi went a step farther and called on a Middle School art teacher to Skype in to her class (which she held in the library classroom) and give a presentation about Hopper's art and its context in both American history and art history. Students were encouraged to use various lens through which to analyze the art, and to think about the differences in objectivity and subjectivity that apply to historians and to art historians.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFC1N7xiDU60M64MiC3OCUU0nHDLtNDTdkvK40hgciMWFHmkTorlOKux69k96m4aZQF4h1HeATLtvidg3EgebBFa8ctCuY930PBQ0dDnkgKAWKLAeT9Hr8jUWTtQfvfjlJvOajiDVP9OI/s1600/IMG_3807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFC1N7xiDU60M64MiC3OCUU0nHDLtNDTdkvK40hgciMWFHmkTorlOKux69k96m4aZQF4h1HeATLtvidg3EgebBFa8ctCuY930PBQ0dDnkgKAWKLAeT9Hr8jUWTtQfvfjlJvOajiDVP9OI/s1600/IMG_3807.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgWhUeXajJtBDHLgg-iVLLCGLUBWWA9JqMaMyLL6p-8Mu3mcEkCs4HR2eScrVAiFQxY9k8I7Dp3S-Vh3oiqaKIsgCERXLi54b5pvR4cs4fAonvBdT2epZeBfAL0Pj2AhtsQUzsuDNS3c/s1600/IMG_3809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgWhUeXajJtBDHLgg-iVLLCGLUBWWA9JqMaMyLL6p-8Mu3mcEkCs4HR2eScrVAiFQxY9k8I7Dp3S-Vh3oiqaKIsgCERXLi54b5pvR4cs4fAonvBdT2epZeBfAL0Pj2AhtsQUzsuDNS3c/s1600/IMG_3809.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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After art and history had had a chance to interact through the guidance of a Middle School art teacher and an Upper School history teacher, the students walked a block to the Walker, broke into small groups with guides, and toured the exhibit.<br />
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Just an all-around excellent example of collaboration. </div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-39676456667302329132014-03-21T14:52:00.002-05:002014-03-21T14:52:59.422-05:00Creative Classes in the New LibraryOur new library spaces have been constantly in demand and in use since we reopened at the beginning of the school year after last year's fourth quarter and summer under construction. We have three spaces that we reserve for classes--the library proper, or Reading Room; the Danielson Room, which is a dedicated classroom with walls and projectors and whiteboards; and the Carlson Commons, which is the large staircase with stadium seating connecting the library on the second floor with the science wing on the first floor.<br />
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The social studies classes are our best customers when it comes to using the library, and the department's teachers have come up with some very creative ways to use the new spaces.<br />
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Every year, the Social Psychology class hosts a Baby Day. Teachers and staff are invited to participate with their children (ages infant to four years) and the students conduct little experiments to test developmental abilities. The new library is an open, comfortable space for this adorable activity.<br />
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The school gymnasium flooded this winter, so the Robotics Club, which normally practices in that space, took over the library on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons during their build season. The light-weight furniture, a key feature of the new design, was easily wheeled out of the way so the Robotics team could set up a large wooden frame and practice having their robot toss a big red ball through it. Robots in the library are fun. </div>
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The Ancient Worlds class is a regular in the library, since the Danielson Room is larger and has more technology than their regular classroom. One memorable day, however, they took to the Reading Room, the better to practice Greco-Roman battle techniques. They (safely) used yardsticks as swords, coat hangers and rulers as bows and arrows, chairs as horses and chariots, and ottomans as bridges. It was a more rambunctious class than we usually get in the library, but it was fun to watch the students demonstrate Spartan defenses and re-enact the Battle of Thermapylae. <b style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"></b></div>
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Two sections of sophomore U.S. history classes used the library Reading Room and Danielson Room for project presentations. The sophomore history paper is a milestone at our school, and one particular teacher gave the quarter-long research assignment the attention and respect it deserves. Parents of students in the class brought food (including a chocolate cake with the words "Congratulations on Finishing Research Papers!" written on it in pink frosting) and served as audience members, as did ninth grade history students. Students sat at tables and gave brief overviews of their projects (which ranged from "The Virulent Manhood of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr." to "Flappers: The New Feminists" to "Mental Institutions and Muckraking") to their attentive audiences.</div>
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On the last day of classes before Spring Break, we organized a relay race scavenger hunt for the ninth grade World Cultures/Wold History classes. Students had to follow directions to find library materials using any available resource (including librarians!). Students could work together in small groups, but only one student from each group could get up from their table at a time. It was another rowdy activity with a fair amount of running and giggling and racing, but it was helpful to gage how proficient our students are in accessing the library catalog, understanding the Dewey Decimal system, and being able to find not just books about their topic but the relevant information within those books. Finding books to read for fun over break was part of the challenge, too.</div>
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We also purchased a bound edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, complete with a magnifying glass so you can actually read the entries! We're very proud of it and have been encouraging students to flip through it as much as possible.</div>
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Since the library also houses the tech center, we used the space to collect student laptops for repairs over Spring Break. The collection worked well; we managed to set up the library space for laptop intake and still leave some room for classes as well. With school out for two weeks for break, the library has become laptop central, tables covered with laptops and their matching new parts waiting to be repaired.</div>
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All in all, we're very pleased with how our new library is being used and enjoyed by our students and teachers. </div>
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We have a lot of fun with it, too. :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean, Lizz, and students convert Mardi Gras beads into jump ropes after <br />the Parent Association-sponsored "Winter Doldrums Mardi Gras Day." </td></tr>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-48428337884772810792013-12-13T10:20:00.004-06:002013-12-13T10:20:50.004-06:00Winter Break Library GiftsWe usually try to do a new order of fiction books before Winter Break, the better to promote recreational reading over the two weeks that the students (and teachers) have off from school. This year was no exception, but, on a whim, we decided to do things a bit differently...<br />
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As Lizz and I were going through our new book order, pulling books out of the box and oohing and aahing over them, we found ourselves saying things like, "You know who would love this book? So-and-so!" or "We should make sure so-and-so gets this book, because I know she really loved the prequel." <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-d_LruKkucsLOO2w3AAcipGaKWLALC_LgwmaWHXp-q6ykufUUlVMKRQW3gqASF2xi3Fnhrm-sjRvDy7ihe1u2A-UTNXeQVVSdcK-piLhcmTXPlvZDWSV0KYY-TSevKzGyUuy28JvlMI/s1600/DSC_0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-d_LruKkucsLOO2w3AAcipGaKWLALC_LgwmaWHXp-q6ykufUUlVMKRQW3gqASF2xi3Fnhrm-sjRvDy7ihe1u2A-UTNXeQVVSdcK-piLhcmTXPlvZDWSV0KYY-TSevKzGyUuy28JvlMI/s1600/DSC_0054.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our December fiction book order.</td></tr>
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And so was born the idea to surprise students with a new book, already checked out and ready to go, to take home over Winter Break.<br />
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Then we realized we had a bunch of wrapping paper left over from an annual school-wide holiday giving project that we do, and we decided it would be much more fun to present students with a wrapped book, very much in the spirit of the holidays, and way more fun.<br />
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We emailed students (and a few teachers) to inform then that there was a surprise Winter Break gift waiting for them in the library, and stacked our wrapped books high so that others would inquire and ask for their own specially-selected Winter Break book. Many students did so, and the kids who we emailed more often than not received their books with squeals of excitement and gratitude which, of course, made it all the more fun and rewarding.<br />
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Because everyone likes a surprise gift every now and then. Happy holidays!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6-2zw4co40n26FFudLYNWUma6neOP6ONrOG4GpczEEtJnxPK_PxQs7Ll6zcH1-PcCxWjsVFKm7sQMxP7FUjVesNZWaKe_XA9VBmxSRjFrGK8axUeBvY4dDEnUoH9vbjFP4ZcnGAP6bg/s1600/winter+break+gifts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi6-2zw4co40n26FFudLYNWUma6neOP6ONrOG4GpczEEtJnxPK_PxQs7Ll6zcH1-PcCxWjsVFKm7sQMxP7FUjVesNZWaKe_XA9VBmxSRjFrGK8axUeBvY4dDEnUoH9vbjFP4ZcnGAP6bg/s1600/winter+break+gifts.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books selected for specific students and teacher, all wrapped in pretty paper.</td></tr>
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<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-12806799505673870282013-11-07T14:54:00.001-06:002013-11-07T14:54:53.675-06:00Banana PianoWe made a banana piano. Just because. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZo0kQh67FkyC22wI3D5Gk6fMcvH3ENQjkcdnDwEntU2KyRSwGJq8yd4BOjGUNcsUk5iJFkrte_mE3EHBIHdXyAdBXQTOc17tUrUiPWroH2zPeNPrVgJeQ_FByJS_6bsbosgPH227xxU/s1600/DSC_0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZo0kQh67FkyC22wI3D5Gk6fMcvH3ENQjkcdnDwEntU2KyRSwGJq8yd4BOjGUNcsUk5iJFkrte_mE3EHBIHdXyAdBXQTOc17tUrUiPWroH2zPeNPrVgJeQ_FByJS_6bsbosgPH227xxU/s1600/DSC_0323.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students are amazed and impressed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTonZFdaS7XPtDY-P-7II2meS2vjui5ZwttVH7IAp8GXKysMD3FCsbGGeKs45nz39UWAapx_eXS6oW6Duk167EjWWjKEm0pdO6pOerzMTNzKvaQs3WssD_1iuB5mP7_EsJ9UgfbK_2VY/s1600/DSC_0324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTonZFdaS7XPtDY-P-7II2meS2vjui5ZwttVH7IAp8GXKysMD3FCsbGGeKs45nz39UWAapx_eXS6oW6Duk167EjWWjKEm0pdO6pOerzMTNzKvaQs3WssD_1iuB5mP7_EsJ9UgfbK_2VY/s1600/DSC_0324.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean's got the banana piano blues.</td></tr>
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We used a <a href="http://www.makeymakey.com/">Makey Makey</a> and, you know, some bananas. :)</div>
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Here's a YouTube video that shows you how easy (and fun) this really is: </div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P91xcYScrMs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P91xcYScrMs</a></div>
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Banana piano!</div>
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<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-49423437988497297752013-10-30T12:24:00.001-05:002013-10-30T12:24:48.773-05:003D Print Your Heart OutWe have a new library, and we have a new toy to go with it: a 3D printer! <br />
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(A 3D printer, for those of you not in the know, prints objects in three dimensions. It prints using a plastic filament that comes in spools; the plastic melts and is reformed into objects that you create using online software like <a href="http://www.sketchup.com/">Google Sketchup</a> or <a href="http://www.blender.org/">Blender</a>.)<br />
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Lizz attended a Maker's Space workshop last spring, and since then, a 3D printer has been high on our list of Things We Want. When the new library opened, we did some online price comparisons and discussed the possibility of the purchase with our school director. We were soon allowed to get a 3D printer--so long as the first thing we printed was a cat.<br />
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No problem.<br />
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We selected the <a href="http://store.solidoodle.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=79">Solidoodle</a> 3D printer, 3rd generation, based in part on the recommendation of our summer student worker, who has one of his own and boasted of the ease with which he could make iPhone cases and keychains for his friends. The Solidoodle is bare-bones and industrial-looking, but it's affordable and we liked how clearly you could see the way it was put together and the way it worked. We ordered two 50-foot spools of plastic filament, one black and one white.<br />
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We were very excited when it arrived in the mail.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solidoodle: Made in Brooklyn, NYC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't it beautiful?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnNtHIITUOK-rEnWlwlG6YJW9wyj7dI-LksSc5sq7lUHdeCoZovLt8cMUeGYoLMILr4JI-L7AHZQKGv2K94bXNTXWdy20H2ZWxQ_ujOxMNlSvJhqaGlfQ04V1dVgFtCfJEKa3La4VgXw/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnNtHIITUOK-rEnWlwlG6YJW9wyj7dI-LksSc5sq7lUHdeCoZovLt8cMUeGYoLMILr4JI-L7AHZQKGv2K94bXNTXWdy20H2ZWxQ_ujOxMNlSvJhqaGlfQ04V1dVgFtCfJEKa3La4VgXw/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean knows how to use instructions.</td></tr>
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We tried it out immediately. It took some tinkering, and some 3D printer fails, but eventually we got our first object (the director's requested cat) printing away. Lizz did some research and realized hairspray could help the plastic stick to the base; eventually we raised the temperature of the bed for even more successful printing, sans hairspray.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ic590Bmk4bcoDkDaxVc9HCggsM5iiC38NcVqmUKp9SJMUc0RMz4Kv08tJ9lnduE_82H2sLtNhzKnWBEgdWHIt25Fj_8yCRRrmwxwl5tgMhvUjEMBFFAf_kTozVB5f4PL561EvyByN4U/s1600/DSC_0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ic590Bmk4bcoDkDaxVc9HCggsM5iiC38NcVqmUKp9SJMUc0RMz4Kv08tJ9lnduE_82H2sLtNhzKnWBEgdWHIt25Fj_8yCRRrmwxwl5tgMhvUjEMBFFAf_kTozVB5f4PL561EvyByN4U/s1600/DSC_0067.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spool of plastic filament attaches to the back of the printer; the extruder pulls the filament, heats it to melting point, and squeezes it out again (kind of like a toothpaste tube) to build layers of plastic that eventually become the final product. The 3D printers is connected to a laptop with software the directs the printer's movements. The software shows the number of total layers, the number of layers currently built, and an estimation for how long the print job will take. The heat bed is 8 inches by 8 inches; most of our 3D objects take between two and five hours to complete.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSFEDRN3_7ttHVYysCa_SRLtOaUgdXqqWUhyphenhyphenejsAWzxDF1JuD35NTIMJwPlqGmfrK4uKMxPgBtTViDgpT3xWvqMKfz0gY7JUnnEWahD8ZxxIcglfNjwF-gBF5nU5vyS2lgAHRqIrS2Fg/s1600/DSC_0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSFEDRN3_7ttHVYysCa_SRLtOaUgdXqqWUhyphenhyphenejsAWzxDF1JuD35NTIMJwPlqGmfrK4uKMxPgBtTViDgpT3xWvqMKfz0gY7JUnnEWahD8ZxxIcglfNjwF-gBF5nU5vyS2lgAHRqIrS2Fg/s1600/DSC_0066.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The base of the Upper School Director's plastic cat.</td></tr>
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When we have the 3D printer going, students will stop and watch it for minutes on end. It's been the showcase of library open houses, prospective student tours, conferences, and curriculum night. We've mostly printed goofy objects using files found in free galleries online, but we've had a few students print original objects as well. That's how we've promoted the 3D printer: Anyone who designs an original object can print it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimlcMBgdTz2Hv_3FyywTc1RUpEdfopM-C6alpXOPu2q6JUbMZi5eUb9UOX2bk2m8lsxzKA5Kb_FdAMSHF_T2REst6UAYn41kbFK9IFGT7QN1yHrE_kgh_QqxH_tqRV_r-pf4B5tt82vw/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimlcMBgdTz2Hv_3FyywTc1RUpEdfopM-C6alpXOPu2q6JUbMZi5eUb9UOX2bk2m8lsxzKA5Kb_FdAMSHF_T2REst6UAYn41kbFK9IFGT7QN1yHrE_kgh_QqxH_tqRV_r-pf4B5tt82vw/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students minds are blown as Sean demos the 3D printer.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9ANjORZL4Yhux81_OTqFptg6q8Nd0uM8j_FD_Lrc-635LZfc5Xkc7y8wM2gvOpmQKgjlNhujBjOWs4z4hovfSamsggWZSN4vc3Ey8NeCN8kCeKSwB6AEQaPuI5cDuA0TXtjiBqBXdx0/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9ANjORZL4Yhux81_OTqFptg6q8Nd0uM8j_FD_Lrc-635LZfc5Xkc7y8wM2gvOpmQKgjlNhujBjOWs4z4hovfSamsggWZSN4vc3Ey8NeCN8kCeKSwB6AEQaPuI5cDuA0TXtjiBqBXdx0/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student watches an original design take shape.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-WhmugTJjk8S3NIAWQ4HCVHzhJjA-mcwCercobwzjtW8uP0-LomVSTyT6UO_efK2jH5O3bbCwuvABQjg_NXg4vKltsOEo3pONGERgp3kaCqAwrbccANn3A6tX9VEbLKyUJBfrFavXRk/s1600/DSC_0213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-WhmugTJjk8S3NIAWQ4HCVHzhJjA-mcwCercobwzjtW8uP0-LomVSTyT6UO_efK2jH5O3bbCwuvABQjg_NXg4vKltsOEo3pONGERgp3kaCqAwrbccANn3A6tX9VEbLKyUJBfrFavXRk/s1600/DSC_0213.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a t-rex head mounted like a wall trophy.</td></tr>
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We have a few classes express interest for future lessons as well, with the Video Game Design and Development class planning to print the digital characters they're currently designing for their video games. Curriculum connections are especially obvious with the science (3D models of molecules and body parts) and art (3D models of sculpture and ceramics) departments.<br />
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We have great plans for the 3D printer. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6v3nfLmAWqa8twb92WEdDPFZYltPhHFHgu71mdqO_7FZ-C9B8dslPe3-YtrTNl3Kpt9lpfERztJXDK2529mp2rTZDOLAwmbXvYp8_lyYQY-Nkvr7B5xErgeZg9mtEn-w8OsmrF4uvPHA/s1600/DSC_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6v3nfLmAWqa8twb92WEdDPFZYltPhHFHgu71mdqO_7FZ-C9B8dslPe3-YtrTNl3Kpt9lpfERztJXDK2529mp2rTZDOLAwmbXvYp8_lyYQY-Nkvr7B5xErgeZg9mtEn-w8OsmrF4uvPHA/s1600/DSC_0122.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D octopus fail; the base came unattached from the heat bed, causing the plastic <br />to spill all over the place before we finally noticed and killed the print job.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjVTfRcrnFcIkbayC7RBFty-YyH8O6VWxJtTyJHN0TNPl96bKEcJAuh-5FHAw7bf_nDHoDktSpTYZx3A9SiVy64-Yapf3TOePAhbr-GykoEoZCrkkrG0S-T5kDNYVQAAsU3gvv_EEG90/s1600/DSC_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjVTfRcrnFcIkbayC7RBFty-YyH8O6VWxJtTyJHN0TNPl96bKEcJAuh-5FHAw7bf_nDHoDktSpTYZx3A9SiVy64-Yapf3TOePAhbr-GykoEoZCrkkrG0S-T5kDNYVQAAsU3gvv_EEG90/s1600/DSC_0125.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A successfully completed 3D octopus waves "hello."</td></tr>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-13217381980859337502013-10-15T13:41:00.002-05:002013-10-15T13:41:41.987-05:00Our First Library Author VisitA few weeks ago, we got an email from <a href="http://addendumbooks.blogspot.com/">Addendum Books</a> in St. Paul. They were looking for a school to host a visiting young adult fantasy author, and were we interested? <br />
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Yes. Yes, we were very interested.<br />
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We were also immediately impressed with Addendum Books, which we hadn't heard of (they've been in business about a year) but which seemed to be attracting some very high-profile authors: Holly Black, Jay Asher, Libba Bray, Patrick Ness, Lois Lowry, and many others. What's unique about Addendum is that it is a young adult bookstore--not a bookstore with a young adult section, not a children's bookstore that carries some young adult titles, but a bookstore (albeit a small one) devoted entirely to young adult literature. For this reason alone, we were instant fans.<br />
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Addendum's visiting author this time was <a href="http://www.cindachima.com/">Cinda Williams Chima</a>, author of two young adult fantasy series (<i>The Heir Chronicles</i> and <i>The Seven Realms</i> series). Cinda would give a presentation about her writing and Addendum would provide books for our students to purchase and for Cinda to sign. After a couple weeks of emailing back and forth, we had thirty students (mostly ninth graders) ready to participate and Cinda scheduled to come over a Thursday mid-morning lunch break. <br />
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The big day arrived. Lizz and Sean and I had made our first visit to Addendum the evening before, to purchase a couple copies of Cinda's books for the library (one of which would be raffled off to one lucky student during the event). We spent the morning setting up tables and chairs for the event, and we were surprised to find that we were a little nervous! Eleven o'clock arrived; Cinda was late! The students were restless. Lizz tried to keep them focused while I waited at the door for our author to arrive. Then she did arrive! And she plunged right into her presentation and everything was wonderful! Several kids in the audience were genuine fans of Cinda's work; you could see the excitement on their faces. The kids asked great questions at the conclusion of Cinda's talk (our favorite query was about killing off your characters, a la <i>Game of Thrones</i>). And even though the lunch break was next (kids love lunch), several stayed after to talk to Cinda, buy books, and get them signed.<br />
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Author visit success! And it looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship with Addendum Books. </div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-90410124984526390352013-10-08T14:40:00.000-05:002013-10-08T14:40:03.084-05:00We're Back! With a Brand New Library!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Apologies for our long absence! We've been renovation and rebuilding our space to create a brand new library, and it is beautiful.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kE-LgyBQn4vW9X_8wnwmi0yzQMhlT_IBXIZfaFbbEQV4ayJuLj_wTOjGBcIDU_b7OizM17NN-5MjtKP59rtvdLzyxusHy95IItS5HuuNhnh5kohZfFrtcEkyy7ZAIRd7NYSQx_1ByAs/s1600/DSC_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kE-LgyBQn4vW9X_8wnwmi0yzQMhlT_IBXIZfaFbbEQV4ayJuLj_wTOjGBcIDU_b7OizM17NN-5MjtKP59rtvdLzyxusHy95IItS5HuuNhnh5kohZfFrtcEkyy7ZAIRd7NYSQx_1ByAs/s1600/DSC_0068.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new library reading room; we are particularly fond of the big turquoise chairs.</td></tr>
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In case you forgot, here's what the library has looked like for the last thirty years:<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old library: lots of dark wood and undefined, poorly used space.</td></tr>
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In redesigning the library, we wanted to take into account how we were using the space, and how we wanted to use the space. The library has always been a popular spot, with classes meeting there and students working in the library all day. But there was no separate space for quiet study. Our reference desk was a glorified desk, with table shoved against it to make it big enough. Our offices were separated from the library in another room, making it hard to observe what was going on in the library and hard to get work done without being interrupted by the many people who would wander through during the day. When multiple classes wanted to use the space, they fought for enough room to work separately, and when they worked together there was little space for anyone else in the library. Originally built in 1980, our thirty-year-old library was simply not able to fully function as the collaborative, common space that is today's school library. </div>
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So we wanted a library that did reflect how our teachers and students use the library. Last year, we attempted to create a "classroom" space off to one side by moving and rearranging shelving and tables. In the new design, two actual classrooms were built into the library for that exact purpose. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKB0W2LGV_c5Q6qEwKxjDWgue3c7x1j9iUsLahXfYdrCYsJpcLRLsQKD78i6djzd6P2m6s02pXbRHgzp-0RmngmQHR2-hqbRIzKeIwplSyeaORfi5K7sqwcsR2squsaI4Jcs-kO8O88To/s1600/DSC_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKB0W2LGV_c5Q6qEwKxjDWgue3c7x1j9iUsLahXfYdrCYsJpcLRLsQKD78i6djzd6P2m6s02pXbRHgzp-0RmngmQHR2-hqbRIzKeIwplSyeaORfi5K7sqwcsR2squsaI4Jcs-kO8O88To/s1600/DSC_0074.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Danielson Room features a glass wall for light and visibility.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_dnkU02N-SbJCqfXiQqyLjLPOZzqaU5nWkpxmrOBcUBdpZ6r4r_cjhzamJG3mzLiB4-agafzYV2byUxKa0cSxJjB2zGQ153VODjS3Ej2Vj_XKUhivcqaOpibqtG5cevLXlZlrYCw8Us/s1600/DSC_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_dnkU02N-SbJCqfXiQqyLjLPOZzqaU5nWkpxmrOBcUBdpZ6r4r_cjhzamJG3mzLiB4-agafzYV2byUxKa0cSxJjB2zGQ153VODjS3Ej2Vj_XKUhivcqaOpibqtG5cevLXlZlrYCw8Us/s1600/DSC_0075.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whiteboards line the walls of the Danielson Room while our portrait of Abe Lincoln oversees all.</td></tr>
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The Danielson Room (above) is a dedicated library classroom. Two walls of whiteboards, two projectors, and tables and chairs for more than thirty mean we can teach two sections of classes in this space, which is set apart from the rest of the library by a wall of glass doors and windows. During tutorial blocks, this rooms fills our need for quiet study space. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2tHlyeWkpTLiZ6z0ON-y9bJMOdjABwNW1-OVOPjStru_1NhNNEcOeJ4-8ea27OwdBL8dV0RyvN_Xwppl3NcTPGz8oNMf6ecBzLX7VIygRMD8F4uzA9puAHiT01kTjdUNhCGN1Z3-i1Y/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2tHlyeWkpTLiZ6z0ON-y9bJMOdjABwNW1-OVOPjStru_1NhNNEcOeJ4-8ea27OwdBL8dV0RyvN_Xwppl3NcTPGz8oNMf6ecBzLX7VIygRMD8F4uzA9puAHiT01kTjdUNhCGN1Z3-i1Y/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The media classroom has whiteboards lining the walls, four projectors, and a large screen TV.</td></tr>
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The Melamed Media Studio (above) is a classroom designed for our media arts classes: computer science (new this year!), digital filmmaking, and music technology. The classroom is chock-full of projectors, plus an interactive large-screen TV for presentations from teachers and students.</div>
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We also have two study rooms for about five students each. We're not reserving these rooms; they're being used on a "first come first served" basis. The highlight of these study rooms is the whiteboard paint, so students can literally draw on the walls. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsTSaA9I3PfNt6ygbuu8U-Uv2I2mqXytw05TnG1iIVaC5cVp6uFfyHuZpi1SHmBH98ag7TRbudx3uvnLHhJSuqIsj0fSsiNrcOuTnYSdLKOBJRn27kCSJ2uXEADmnyhQ5qfJPo5m3sYQ/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsTSaA9I3PfNt6ygbuu8U-Uv2I2mqXytw05TnG1iIVaC5cVp6uFfyHuZpi1SHmBH98ag7TRbudx3uvnLHhJSuqIsj0fSsiNrcOuTnYSdLKOBJRn27kCSJ2uXEADmnyhQ5qfJPo5m3sYQ/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our two new study rooms, with the giant projector for the Carlson Commons between.</td></tr>
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<div>
Our new reference desk is a work of art. Conceived by the architects who designed the new space, the reference desk is multi-tiered with lots of workspace. There's a separate desk for the self-checkout station (complete with fancy book drop slot and cart, ooh la la) and our patrons are meant to walk between the two and interact with us anywhere, anytime. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnE1G_xlMi5D_zjzp73lIFAsnxWzK7ZHm5q5MK-b0ZBvQ1yLW3nipTjrKRx544Zn_-eQ2et-hdp7Dd5zL-2G9Uudwwv2I3ETRLMRBLf4CGDtSiuxr42szzyHkpmRldUbtANJlleOB-kQ/s1600/DSC_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnE1G_xlMi5D_zjzp73lIFAsnxWzK7ZHm5q5MK-b0ZBvQ1yLW3nipTjrKRx544Zn_-eQ2et-hdp7Dd5zL-2G9Uudwwv2I3ETRLMRBLf4CGDtSiuxr42szzyHkpmRldUbtANJlleOB-kQ/s1600/DSC_0101.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helping students and teachers at the new reference desk.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-gmGags5L_6VkTLGubRYmzWFmfuyLNnd259p4U5iLrJPJKVdmGoFkcpp7l5pde8nyLgVfkC3-nd6i42mx3k5LrpEgnJ7wLAYuu2YjBAGyUxjVz9E5bsD9V2iLbyc3A6ioZ_lFFs9RJw/s1600/DSC_0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-gmGags5L_6VkTLGubRYmzWFmfuyLNnd259p4U5iLrJPJKVdmGoFkcpp7l5pde8nyLgVfkC3-nd6i42mx3k5LrpEgnJ7wLAYuu2YjBAGyUxjVz9E5bsD9V2iLbyc3A6ioZ_lFFs9RJw/s1600/DSC_0080.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean plays with the scanner at the reference desk.</td></tr>
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Since we have a 1:1 laptop program for all our students and staff, the library is also home to tech support for those laptops as well as for projectors, smartboards, and other technology that teachers use in the classroom. The new space has a workroom and a "genius bar" type of desk for our fantastic tech, Gary, to work at and be more present in the space.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pr2K5lnE1UaKMkWhyPy2sMQg5jRHtJswH7-X0AGzxmx0kG7nxZGObYuxeAj-wTmZQWskHbpcj98ttiIOxHww7Nerlfc4hkIMGkQPPPiXrgaEQtLuebYs3URNZHqZGRemI5vBFWAjGvQ/s1600/DSC_0083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pr2K5lnE1UaKMkWhyPy2sMQg5jRHtJswH7-X0AGzxmx0kG7nxZGObYuxeAj-wTmZQWskHbpcj98ttiIOxHww7Nerlfc4hkIMGkQPPPiXrgaEQtLuebYs3URNZHqZGRemI5vBFWAjGvQ/s1600/DSC_0083.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary at the new tech bar, with the workroom behind him.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jqFrrZ7Vo7toVsZVlePTkxPTNlXD22hz0njMJOY7KngvMr1OMJ1IjjdgQd-3AFfbpCD0LWsmAjd-uHPq3OPecwpCsU-qPl0XxwzMgXT0KQqaxBX6vnmsbK0j-XPdc9njIhX2iAkMoKI/s1600/DSC_0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8jqFrrZ7Vo7toVsZVlePTkxPTNlXD22hz0njMJOY7KngvMr1OMJ1IjjdgQd-3AFfbpCD0LWsmAjd-uHPq3OPecwpCsU-qPl0XxwzMgXT0KQqaxBX6vnmsbK0j-XPdc9njIhX2iAkMoKI/s1600/DSC_0086.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary repairs a record number of laptops at once.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_X6G3aclO0Wtzagxd61A1lYq7C_eb_ykPWBZ6ypQLq1iHpnZ9qpjJ5HtZNqMkbTogDiZLy3TDXpgQVcV2QyF1civ9gHdZrXkSF2Ysiql4dlJRtAiQAPi-pLh8bPNO-wuOFC4EWzVy9g/s1600/DSC_0192.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik_X6G3aclO0Wtzagxd61A1lYq7C_eb_ykPWBZ6ypQLq1iHpnZ9qpjJ5HtZNqMkbTogDiZLy3TDXpgQVcV2QyF1civ9gHdZrXkSF2Ysiql4dlJRtAiQAPi-pLh8bPNO-wuOFC4EWzVy9g/s1600/DSC_0192.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary's son visits and shows us to write on the windows.</td></tr>
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We also have a craft table which features, at the moment, our brand new 3D printer (more on that in later post!). We kept the old library card catalogs and use them to store office supplies (one on each side of the craft table)--and to add just a touch of tradition to our new sleek modern library.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HXtLsahK26qVkEFgzw-rRixJ527axgoKqDtFuH-BobLWtloO6bDCQ2mZdAl1lGIOxPegvndDoAJVXCzvs42eC7l8qr57Hu0fxJAjINMDUfaI4P5eHEB10_fWOeVyj6LdYLv4qpqWiFM/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HXtLsahK26qVkEFgzw-rRixJ527axgoKqDtFuH-BobLWtloO6bDCQ2mZdAl1lGIOxPegvndDoAJVXCzvs42eC7l8qr57Hu0fxJAjINMDUfaI4P5eHEB10_fWOeVyj6LdYLv4qpqWiFM/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The craft table with the 3D printer; the workroom and our new office are behind.</td></tr>
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And what of the books, you ask? Despite appearances to the contrary, we have all our old books. But the shelf space is considerably more compacted, on new white metal shelves, with room for the collection to grow.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccCWMtseKMnRmAL2BrUB7CXLq3attWJmSUIMuOlLQA0hd2gt3O8bJJlG215fgPlVhfaaZOCqLzDJSFtpPX-ix3JZaPBtF520edCG3Yi4qgEJqXBlnf4RZImSMTZ4pAljJeFyqGDNHd6w/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccCWMtseKMnRmAL2BrUB7CXLq3attWJmSUIMuOlLQA0hd2gt3O8bJJlG215fgPlVhfaaZOCqLzDJSFtpPX-ix3JZaPBtF520edCG3Yi4qgEJqXBlnf4RZImSMTZ4pAljJeFyqGDNHd6w/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new stacks.</td></tr>
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There's also a cozy little reading area tucked behind the shelves, with single desks at the end of each shelf for quiet individual study.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxu0sBX8Fvkxtjc-X5t0NbYdK1rJSa63qkWzY0HG6hCXQhC1_62tTL9Z1XOJaMrXQDuXkO46MOI3ZHzTzpYFbmf4vSF7hoO1cRxKIlKPkzqv55svNXVdGbR2Ma39JBYJybDidNN4piFes/s1600/DSC_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxu0sBX8Fvkxtjc-X5t0NbYdK1rJSa63qkWzY0HG6hCXQhC1_62tTL9Z1XOJaMrXQDuXkO46MOI3ZHzTzpYFbmf4vSF7hoO1cRxKIlKPkzqv55svNXVdGbR2Ma39JBYJybDidNN4piFes/s1600/DSC_0072.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This little nook behind the stacks has already been adopted by our Library Club.</td></tr>
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The library is on the second floor of this wing of the school; below us, the science wing also underwent a renovation and redesign. The two physics classrooms moved up to join us in the library wing, and the floors are connected by a common space called the Carlson Commons which features an impressive staircase with stadium seating and a giant projector screen.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarYAaGmFdLbE7WIPbWtM616pU-pRC2a73bnTkEwX2ZhEkS8R1bXPzl4Bk4MvRUsC33kjicKfwWOWK8ZJIoRCqKVnA7IM6NS9gfd8n5c3CdnhZWzpE4AZYz40Ktvmg3pWhTXHbagp_HC8/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarYAaGmFdLbE7WIPbWtM616pU-pRC2a73bnTkEwX2ZhEkS8R1bXPzl4Bk4MvRUsC33kjicKfwWOWK8ZJIoRCqKVnA7IM6NS9gfd8n5c3CdnhZWzpE4AZYz40Ktvmg3pWhTXHbagp_HC8/s1600/DSC_0217.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Carlson Commons as seen from the science wing, downstairs below the library.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-RqgByJj8PxJRdOngKYJ3Uy0lU_wxJmywTaTakMcq_pYdAk4P8e_7SQWP42yylqmZBChh_u7lwZBHD0hphnQLIQHARRU0Kio0O04c97jTAth9zfYilVrp1p68hyVAf8Jt5qtHitnaFM/s1600/DSC_0089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-RqgByJj8PxJRdOngKYJ3Uy0lU_wxJmywTaTakMcq_pYdAk4P8e_7SQWP42yylqmZBChh_u7lwZBHD0hphnQLIQHARRU0Kio0O04c97jTAth9zfYilVrp1p68hyVAf8Jt5qtHitnaFM/s1600/DSC_0089.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The staircase has become a popular place for students to work and hang out.</td></tr>
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<div>
The grand thing about the new library is that our students have been using the space almost exactly as we designed. The lightweight furniture can be moved and rearranged easily for group work and for after-school events. Teachers are reserving the Danielson Room on a daily basis, and the study rooms are almost never empty. The Carlson Commons staircase is the heart of the new space--we've held faculty meetings and grade meetings here, used the space to screen current events like the Nobel Conference, and it's become a popular space for students to work or just hang out. </div>
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We really love our pretty new library. </div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-50564951326568639602013-04-23T09:02:00.001-05:002013-04-23T09:02:28.093-05:00Library Club Bookstore Crawl<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">(This is a catch-up post. The now-in-progress renovation and related construction kept us too busy to post events as they came and went. We'll try to make up for it and post regularly throughout the rest of the school year.) </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">This year, our Reading Club has morphed into the Library Club--their aims and goals are not different (they still want to talk talk talk about books), but the location where they hang out--the library tech center--is now much more central to their club identity. They decorated their space with artwork and they even made a blanket to keep cozy. It didn't last, because of the renovation, but they enjoyed having a space of their own and we enjoyed overhearing their conversations (their heated debate about the best hideouts during a zombie apocalypse was a highlight).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The Library Club was very active this year. They co-wrote a novel during November's National Novel Writing Month (it was a complex fantasy/sci fi tale told from multiple points of view, still in progress), created a "Blind Date with a Book" display for Valentine's Day (covering the titles of books with decorated paper), met with visiting author Jennifer Miller (<i>Year of the Gadfly</i>), and planned a Bookstore Crawl. The Bookstore Crawl was the highlight of our year. We visited three independent Uptown Minneapolis bookstores (<a href="http://www.magersandquinn.com/">Magers & Quinn</a>, Booksmart, <a href="http://www.onceuponacrimebooks.com/">Once Upon a Crime</a>), independent record store <a href="http://treehouserecords.blogspot.com/">Treehouse Records</a>, went out for lunch, and used public transportation to get around.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Library Club browses the upstairs rare book section at Magers & Quinn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Library Club (ok, sometimes they're still the Reading Club) signs a bookstore <br />
guest book with their signature philosophical cow cartoon. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For a few of our students, taking the bus was their first time<br />
using public transportation in Minneapolis</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">The kids had so much fun (and spent so much time at each bookstore--this turned into an all-day excursion) that we have every intention of making the Bookstore Crawl an annual or even biannual Library Club event. </span>Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-68777981996917573202013-04-15T11:29:00.000-05:002013-04-15T11:29:00.263-05:00Minnesota Historical Society<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Vollkorn; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">(This is a catch-up post. The now-in-progress renovation and related construction kept us too busy to post events as they came and went. We'll try to make up for it and post regularly throughout the rest of the school year.) </span><br />
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One of the highlights of this year was our first quarter field trip to the <a href="http://www.mnhs.org/">Minnesota Historical Society</a> with three sections of sophomore U.S. History classes. The goal was to help the students do archival research on a local topic of their choice so they could physically interact with their primary sources.<br />
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Inspired by the Historical Society's US-Dakota War exhibit honoring the 150th anniversary of the war, one of our Social Studies teachers assigned her classes a local history project. The classes came into the library for a tutorial on searching the museum's online archives to request the materials they wanted before the field trip; topics ranged from Sister Kenny to Eugene McCarthy to gangsters to Vietnam War veteran art therapy. The librarians at the Historical Society's archives were extremely helpful in organizing this field trip and making sure there was a a box of primary sources waiting for every student.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A student pours over newspaper clippings about gangsters in Minneapolis and St. Paul.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We provided document cameras so students could record sources for later study.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few students were even brave enough to try the microfiche machines.</td></tr>
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They also, of course, got to explore the museum's exhibits and generally pretend to be gleeful little kids again instead of surly, too-cool teenagers.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5DkgIrxOcgPLO5s1ORuy1sQyPX3gH69W3hg53gfK5Lj6wpvruinX6thB0WQnuNdYOjfH021tSuFr95z3VdMMN8nkHniRH4e9GS1lXsfiUIiNwGWJAq0t5tQifXW6wpKYgkb17_M8VBI/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5DkgIrxOcgPLO5s1ORuy1sQyPX3gH69W3hg53gfK5Lj6wpvruinX6thB0WQnuNdYOjfH021tSuFr95z3VdMMN8nkHniRH4e9GS1lXsfiUIiNwGWJAq0t5tQifXW6wpKYgkb17_M8VBI/s1600/DSC_0102.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students pretend to be farmers plowing fields...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and coal miners down in the mines.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students document references in the US-Dakota War exhibit.</td></tr>
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After the field trip, we conducted a survey of the students to gauge their experience with archives and primary sources. <br />
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We were THRILLED.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVl4VfW8J2dKTneAaHdpnOT33nUr__yUQG3EcS4ZbAaChOCQsuBXW1b86GMOavcemx4Q6fvlvX67sumJ-SbBjfhnK80YXbMSBQl5ObwUdu45PkAsed-vfpIyxhUzzJ8tbOr4aI6gbv95E/s1600/MNHS+summary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVl4VfW8J2dKTneAaHdpnOT33nUr__yUQG3EcS4ZbAaChOCQsuBXW1b86GMOavcemx4Q6fvlvX67sumJ-SbBjfhnK80YXbMSBQl5ObwUdu45PkAsed-vfpIyxhUzzJ8tbOr4aI6gbv95E/s1600/MNHS+summary.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/blakeschool.org/file/d/0B9kMKuq6_sVXaHBfZXQyRGZkYzA/edit?usp=sharing">here</a> to see the data in more detail.</td></tr>
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Student papers were vastly superior to previous years, and the students showed a real and lasting interest in their topic over the course of their research and throughout the writing process. Physically handling their primary sources, seeing original documents in real life and working directly from the sources made a big difference for most students. Hopefully, the success of this field trip means we can do this every year. <br />
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<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-30234740679615328942013-04-08T10:31:00.001-05:002013-04-08T10:40:42.193-05:00Make Reading a Hobbit(This is a catch-up post. The now-in-progress renovation and related construction kept us too busy to post events as they came and went. We'll try to make up for it and post regularly throughout the rest of the school year.) <br />
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For our winter break program, we capitalized on the new movie adaptation of <i>The Hobbit</i> and went all-out Tolkien. With renovation deadlines looming, <i>The Hobbit</i> wasn't quite as extensive a program as <i>The Hunger Games</i> or <i>Harry Potter</i>, nor is <i>The Hobbit</i> as popular as those more modern adventures, but we had an extremely clever tag (we thought) line for this program: Make Reading A Hobbit! We also appear to have an H-theme going on, so bully for us! <br />
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Our <i>Hobbit</i> program contained the same sort of passive program that's been so far successful for us--quizzes, trivia, coloring contests (using J.R.R. Tolkien's original illustrations as inspiration), and drawings. We had, as always, great fun buying prizes thanks to the plethora of <i>Hobbit</i> merchandise available for sale. We also utilized our whiteboard for some <i>Hobbit</i> fun: "What's your worst hobbit?" (we love puns) and a Gollum-drawing contest. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gollum drawing winner (we were really impressed)</td></tr>
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Tuesday's tutorial featured a riddle contest, using the famous riddles from Bilbo Baggins' show-down with Gollum as well as a few old chestnuts gathered online. There was a small turnout for the riddle contest (mostly our Library Club members) but that allowed us to really let the students take their time in thinking out the answers to the riddles (they are clearly not used to thinking so literally!) and then to shower prizes upon them. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that is Elvish on the whiteboard behind our Riddle Contest winners.</td></tr>
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Thursday's tutorial featured a "Second Breakfast" (with starving students hovering impatiently around us while we laid out baked goods and little oranges) and a showing of the 1980s animated <i>Hobbit</i>. <br />
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<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-19076974333331134522013-04-03T11:13:00.001-05:002013-04-03T11:14:02.480-05:00Where's the Library?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Wow, we haven't posted anything since October! That just goes to show how busy we've been this year. Our library is undergoing a major renovation and the entire school year up until now has been dedicated to preparing for construction. We've had countless meetings about shelving, about what the new reference desk is going to look like, about how the new media classroom will be used, about how we want the cabinets in our new offices to look. We've debated endlessly the best way to pack 10,000 books into boxes, and where to store them for the summer, and how to arrange them when they're unpacked again. When the construction deadline was moved up from the end of the school year to spring break, we sprang into high gear with a solid month of weeding, desperate pleas to return books, inventory, the physical packing of the 10,000 books, and the packing and moving of our offices from our spacious library to an itty bitty conference room. Whew!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Takin' out the trash; gettin' stuff done.</td></tr>
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Our biggest project, of course, was the actual packing and moving of our collection. We closed the library completely to students and staff and dedicated a week for packing. We did this ourselves, with the help of parent volunteers, using boxes provided by the moving company that was also packing and moving the science wing below us. We divided the library into sections--graphic novels, fiction, nonfiction 001-399, nonfiction 400-899, nonfiction 900s, reference desk materials, yearbooks, and magazines (we have large bound editions of LIFE and American Heritage magazines from the 1940s and 50s). We packed the boxes in shelf order to make it easier when we unpack. Filling the boxes was occasionally a tricky problem, though--book sizes, especially in the arts and history sections, vary greatly! We worked in three-person teams: One person removed the books from the shelf and handed them to person number two, who made sure the box was filled completely and in shelf order. Person number three taped and moved the boxes as we went, and made sure empty boxes were labeled properly (with color-coded tags reading "fiction box 5" or "400-899 box 23") and close at hand. Using this method, we packed almost 10,000 books in less than three days. Our final breakdown was as follows:<br />
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<li>10 boxes of graphic novels</li>
<li>32 boxes of fiction</li>
<li>6 boxes of yearbooks</li>
<li>28 boxes of magazines</li>
<li>57 boxes nonfiction 001-399 </li>
<li>75 boxes nonfiction 400-899</li>
<li>100 boxes nonfiction 900s</li>
<li>1 box reference</li>
<li>plus an additional 10 boxes of various workroom materials and odds and ends (board games, workbooks, books that were returned late that will need to be shelved when we unpack, etc.)</li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizz and Sean pack the fiction collection</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">When all the books were packed, we had a big room full of empty shelves with stacks of hundreds of boxes lining the walls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">The boxes were moved to the gymnasium, where they will be stored until the new library is completed in the fall. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">While we packed out offices, the movers took down the shelving, removed all the furniture, and stripped the library bare. The library's last official act took place the day before spring break, when we used the space to collect the laptops from the freshmen and sophomore classes for repairs and reimaging over spring break.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">Now, with break over and school back in session, the construction company has put up a wall where the hallway to the library used to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: normal;">We won't see our library until school starts again until August, when it will look very different and be much improved!</span></div>
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Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-89557980239270886472012-10-26T10:05:00.000-05:002012-10-26T10:05:14.866-05:00School Starts with a New LookBooks are circulating. Students are running around carrying laptops and huge athletic bags. Sure signs that the school year is under way--in fact, the first quarter is almost over already! The library got a bit of a reorganization over the summer, and it has been received well. Students now have ample room to spread out and work. It is stunning how uncluttered a space can feel with just a few shelves shuffled and removed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuS8vIyQmAmT49sjVQxxZt-3O7DwQmvj28ZVGmAt_0xRcXJuhkgufD7NxyqB8QnvKEEAQm8sHExRRBV82MieqpamDLIJMB1D83etiooObFjuu_1ai3SYXgqWiVGzEGYN4xCdnYXLoF_Yc/s1600/DSC_0386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuS8vIyQmAmT49sjVQxxZt-3O7DwQmvj28ZVGmAt_0xRcXJuhkgufD7NxyqB8QnvKEEAQm8sHExRRBV82MieqpamDLIJMB1D83etiooObFjuu_1ai3SYXgqWiVGzEGYN4xCdnYXLoF_Yc/s400/DSC_0386.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the front of the library to the back. The big difference from last year: tables have been reoriented and our central unit of shelves has been removed. The space is feels bigger, airier, and more unified.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKSoRJmcVnbPV2RZBzmRnyvDQsAal1EfCmGMsyynxH77W8alT5s_ObI2Rkc7JlFzM9jgzozqMDMLpSUCTDfg06WMxP-GlGGaX6U6u5nnkDhwZhPShqYPYO0IJsnmmqrl4iAbAuFZMN7M/s1600/DSC_0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEKSoRJmcVnbPV2RZBzmRnyvDQsAal1EfCmGMsyynxH77W8alT5s_ObI2Rkc7JlFzM9jgzozqMDMLpSUCTDfg06WMxP-GlGGaX6U6u5nnkDhwZhPShqYPYO0IJsnmmqrl4iAbAuFZMN7M/s400/DSC_0387.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stacks: all the books are on the same side of the library now, with two short shelving units replacing three tall ones that we passed on to teachers over the summer. We have a clearer line of sight to this side of the library now, and the short shelves serve as our new book display space.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiilsOO9B8j4SE_RDJ4m_Kd8U1sCSeRiCU5Ci1LuPGMkij83cIkhW1OxNiNeTJKB25XLM4xjflCPozNHPA9-mCQXyyqrcMbN5Okk9tZ11vxXSWbKuN2z4BaELerl_435Jt-ddTMnbJnsE/s1600/DSC_0391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiilsOO9B8j4SE_RDJ4m_Kd8U1sCSeRiCU5Ci1LuPGMkij83cIkhW1OxNiNeTJKB25XLM4xjflCPozNHPA9-mCQXyyqrcMbN5Okk9tZ11vxXSWbKuN2z4BaELerl_435Jt-ddTMnbJnsE/s400/DSC_0391.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This rear area of the library was cleared of all its shelves, including the large unit built against the back wall. Tables were moved into this space to create a "classroom." It's a bit separated from the rest of the library, and we can project against the white wall, making it easier to give instruction to visiting classes. </td></tr>
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How did we do it?<br />
<ol>
<li>Combine little collections: Yes, it makes sense for many institutions to have a professional collection and an oversized collection and loads of other collections. But the statistics show that this model does not work for the students here. Rather than getting rid of all these resources we just changed things up a bit. Now the non-fiction collection is home to reference, oversized books, and all of the other smaller collections. In time this will show if the materials were not being used because they couldn't be found or because they do not match the needs of the curriculum. </li>
<li>Give prominent space to things we want students to find: The last three summers the fiction has moved. From the shelves below windows where students were forced to pitifully crawl and search for the perfect novel, they originally moved on to a real wall with room to grow. But this year, fiction has been honored with the best wall in the library. With the reference not needing space, the fiction collection now is right next to the reference desk.</li>
<li>Take the advise that your boss gives you: Right before school started the director of the school requested that we move a shelf that has been in the middle of the library forever. For classes it provides a physical division of space. The plan was to move it for workshops, then have it back before school starts. That was until it was moved. Suddenly the library felt twice as big, and a teacher took the huge shelf to his room the day before school started. A win for all. </li>
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Almost a full quarter into the school year, students are still trying to figure out how the library got bigger over the summer, and the librarians are so happy with how the space flows and is being used.</div>
Lizz Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02777905468490867518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-76213593346011530622012-10-08T13:20:00.000-05:002012-10-08T13:20:45.919-05:00Harry Potter Revival Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone</i> was published in 1997, a whole year before most of our current class of freshmen were born. Our students have therefore lived most of, if not all of, their lives surrounded by the Harry Potter phenomenon, and so they are born fans of the boy wizard. And now that J.K. Rowling has a brand new non-HP book out, we figured it was an ideal time for a Harry Potter Revival Week. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMw6lu27BnNFNuJI4AzW07AxZuCDV0S8LBJ2wLCI4evNebZYhfAsQkl1HVhVIC9tTeYTzUulTKZiwQpZF53WGPM3NVF8ClITFszqPE2Qmr8Uer4DmWnhBje2FFGKuyWNIsGEGwa1VW9O8/s1600/SIGN+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMw6lu27BnNFNuJI4AzW07AxZuCDV0S8LBJ2wLCI4evNebZYhfAsQkl1HVhVIC9tTeYTzUulTKZiwQpZF53WGPM3NVF8ClITFszqPE2Qmr8Uer4DmWnhBje2FFGKuyWNIsGEGwa1VW9O8/s400/SIGN+1.jpg" width="257" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_948qKFEH4ItSvu-SDVfjO_aaK1-R9JsuHrom-KlD4p1CeZKDxrirNHKCP54JL5NAgV9XwKn1NoXnu4uwkZdV3lXQv39H2qyfU6MdQ0Lkbq_FEO3xFa_KPD_sg7Zl_sI3brSULU1EZ0/s1600/SIGN+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_948qKFEH4ItSvu-SDVfjO_aaK1-R9JsuHrom-KlD4p1CeZKDxrirNHKCP54JL5NAgV9XwKn1NoXnu4uwkZdV3lXQv39H2qyfU6MdQ0Lkbq_FEO3xFa_KPD_sg7Zl_sI3brSULU1EZ0/s400/SIGN+2.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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Along with signs and posters, we made a video using the website xtranormal.com (robot-like animated versions of Napoleon and Queen Elizabeth debate the finer points of a Harry Potter book vs. a non-Harry Potter book) to promote our HP Week and its various activities:<br />
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Monday's tutorial featured Harry Potter Jeopardy using a site we found online and our new <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Wireless-Eggspert-2-4/dp/B001ZMZK7A/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1349466806&sr=1-2&keywords=eggspert">Eggspert</a> device.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCz4TqpDh3CKz3KzuFE8NDqa9vZrdA8AqCD-2M7swU23bORJVoQsWDisa6AlEDNDdvDtmQYEM1Ctu2-wJm4TmpMQEC4mhtukQ_MmCTDcZeJRF-L-hDeJKIDgyVvxRZn6I8a6iqx1WsCA/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCz4TqpDh3CKz3KzuFE8NDqa9vZrdA8AqCD-2M7swU23bORJVoQsWDisa6AlEDNDdvDtmQYEM1Ctu2-wJm4TmpMQEC4mhtukQ_MmCTDcZeJRF-L-hDeJKIDgyVvxRZn6I8a6iqx1WsCA/s400/DSC_0005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HP Jeopardy participants examines their prizes of Bertie Bott's All-Flavor Beans<br />
(actual flavors include grass, earthworm, dirt, vomit, earwax, and boogie). </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZ-lzS9o_HY2aQvFarUJODecvnVaSzInfDbc-lcVmPzcdeJzHnbZA2kudwHeRd5hyorx0ri0OM0Q1bAkbEibbKAphUv3cBOilaH7Cr9319QRoj67gtMq5JEy636hy5SpS4mG0pG5LR8A/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcZ-lzS9o_HY2aQvFarUJODecvnVaSzInfDbc-lcVmPzcdeJzHnbZA2kudwHeRd5hyorx0ri0OM0Q1bAkbEibbKAphUv3cBOilaH7Cr9319QRoj67gtMq5JEy636hy5SpS4mG0pG5LR8A/s400/DSC_0007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Harry Potter Jeopardy winner brandishes her new pen-wand.</td></tr>
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On Tuesday, Lizz brought in a lovely little golden snitch that she had made which we hid for a "seek the snitch" challenge. It took interested students two whole days to find it; now it hangs from the ceiling in the library to enchant anyone wise enough to look up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBHyNnZR8L7UzC88y-He96-mlwy73sxgx5OlY_sTlTnXhvGsxPo9sqhyphenhypheneY86RoBSdU3dKhq-eXnXGLh8087te7Yw4-uAuT9f0Y85WoxLorpBMiBRxWta7UPeO9_mmpbNO65Zll1RGrA4/s1600/DSC_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPBHyNnZR8L7UzC88y-He96-mlwy73sxgx5OlY_sTlTnXhvGsxPo9sqhyphenhypheneY86RoBSdU3dKhq-eXnXGLh8087te7Yw4-uAuT9f0Y85WoxLorpBMiBRxWta7UPeO9_mmpbNO65Zll1RGrA4/s400/DSC_0011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dedicated students who hunted down the hidden golden snitch.<br />
Their rewards were Hogwarts House bookmarks.</td></tr>
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Wednesday's tutorial was devoted to our Hogwarts classes program. We recruited several teachers to play Hogwarts professors and instruct students in Divination (tea leaf reading using astrology charts), Care of Magical Creatures (looking at the Greco-Roman origins of the mythical creatures in the HP books and debating which creature would win in an imaginary battle), Charms (translating Latin-based spells), and Potions (chemistry). We also had a Sorting Hat, selections from the Hogwarts library, and a Bertie Bott's All-Flavor Bean tasting station. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pIG5Ak05CH1VNS5vS51WhTOvcgnP4zqQvUkb_qUwpQ7D5Ea1ru9zyNrfW70vq2b2kc2OpKkRcjw34JTObpEpZArI_sYuCEkc_TdSFpr6bkzg4jBvLoSews9t_4onW7GuNy7RxQac7DU/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pIG5Ak05CH1VNS5vS51WhTOvcgnP4zqQvUkb_qUwpQ7D5Ea1ru9zyNrfW70vq2b2kc2OpKkRcjw34JTObpEpZArI_sYuCEkc_TdSFpr6bkzg4jBvLoSews9t_4onW7GuNy7RxQac7DU/s400/DSC_0020.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new Hogwarts student is thrilled to be sorted into Gryffindor. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76Ip39UNT8jHSfpSPQERdVW5LvwMGi2rdtYpb7abFkvr0QVXKfe_-0c-jZYx8Qboh-ZD27yOD_Zdxvpjdr-tt4LLgojqdXv6CB0kDILpLlm1c83cLepUjMW18TwHjpu8zZE8zzQgyUno/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76Ip39UNT8jHSfpSPQERdVW5LvwMGi2rdtYpb7abFkvr0QVXKfe_-0c-jZYx8Qboh-ZD27yOD_Zdxvpjdr-tt4LLgojqdXv6CB0kDILpLlm1c83cLepUjMW18TwHjpu8zZE8zzQgyUno/s400/DSC_0019.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hogwarts House buttons, generously provided by a new teacher who held a<br />
Harry Potter fundraiser event at her previous school.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkr4l3sWr_EtQ_NqkWYSQGichpRIJrX-SRFnazJ768uVnzBOx-T8zkR185PQeAPqfjd95qAi2qZFXuYRbBbpIUrXLgtrMVD8SsJqIE5oL4Kby_1uQ34hIhH5aRAfdLWXYvTOLDG9sai8/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkr4l3sWr_EtQ_NqkWYSQGichpRIJrX-SRFnazJ768uVnzBOx-T8zkR185PQeAPqfjd95qAi2qZFXuYRbBbpIUrXLgtrMVD8SsJqIE5oL4Kby_1uQ34hIhH5aRAfdLWXYvTOLDG9sai8/s400/DSC_0034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two student prepare to duel with wands and Latin-based spells.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4O6LiV8KX1cVObSWSpStg6iiONugSaGfmFMniy1nciPnsQ0JAE_OnN-T7h6_A_CrZ4wwAfzB6Bo8t2MVAu07Z4u1zKhlfTEIp8sVIEV-nUjMtNcks4dISF-tbwj7SqSyigav9sNc-1c8/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4O6LiV8KX1cVObSWSpStg6iiONugSaGfmFMniy1nciPnsQ0JAE_OnN-T7h6_A_CrZ4wwAfzB6Bo8t2MVAu07Z4u1zKhlfTEIp8sVIEV-nUjMtNcks4dISF-tbwj7SqSyigav9sNc-1c8/s400/DSC_0027.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Divination student tries on Professor Trewlaney's glasses during tea leaf reading.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3NxreZ1kRRIxTgE0-n9llvZ3XczNIsdb9OkccGrcshlrknFbcnpwkJhPiJvlB_LcMBVRR-oM3YamP-_xXMf5a4NtNwOMYBXyspVjOoM-VxTmi2qEsBmmVRoDyrSy1TVXeRNr3QCNlBI/s1600/DSC_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3NxreZ1kRRIxTgE0-n9llvZ3XczNIsdb9OkccGrcshlrknFbcnpwkJhPiJvlB_LcMBVRR-oM3YamP-_xXMf5a4NtNwOMYBXyspVjOoM-VxTmi2qEsBmmVRoDyrSy1TVXeRNr3QCNlBI/s400/DSC_0037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which would win in a hypothetical battle: chimera or sphinx?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdv02z6_KDqlZIM8R4iLhLOUq1repsHhf8dIPdMWYkG2Kc4O-_ZZ2t-YjQKy9kyYL1JyZjaPz7enkgxDgB_15adx_4wW55kKYLmtT8y5JAzjK3Z1YdEtgyzh8Zn249PeESQ8LSf2N9Tc/s1600/DSC_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGdv02z6_KDqlZIM8R4iLhLOUq1repsHhf8dIPdMWYkG2Kc4O-_ZZ2t-YjQKy9kyYL1JyZjaPz7enkgxDgB_15adx_4wW55kKYLmtT8y5JAzjK3Z1YdEtgyzh8Zn249PeESQ8LSf2N9Tc/s400/DSC_0042.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Downstairs in the Potions classroom, colorful fires burn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hogwarts library includes the Marauder's Map, catalogs from Borgin & Burkes and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Harry's acceptance letter from Hogwarts, and the program from the Quidditch World Cup--all contributed by the same wonderful teacher who brought the Hogwarts House buttons!</td></tr>
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Thursday was the last day to take our <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/blakeschool.org/file/d/0B9kMKuq6_sVXdzRwWnAzRXBvSjQ/edit">Harry Potter O.W.L. exam</a> (pen wands were awarded to those who received a grade of "Outstanding"), and Friday we promoted Harry Potter read-alikes such as Lev Grossman's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman/dp/0452296293/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349713486&sr=1-1&keywords=the+magicians">The Magicians</a></i> which features a fantastic "Harry Potter goes to college, parties like a rock star, and discovers Narnia" storyline. All in all, Harry Potter Revival Week was a magical success (Get it? Magical? Hee hee).<br />
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A few days later, we received our two new copies of J.K. Rowling's <i>The Casual Vacancy</i>; they were checked out almost as soon as they were cataloged. We're very eager to hear what Harry Potter fans think of this completely Muggle-oriented new book!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wands and beans--our Harry Potter shopping list<br /></td></tr>
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Lizz Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02777905468490867518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-60227168664164970372012-06-27T13:46:00.000-05:002012-06-27T13:46:08.358-05:00Book Bags for Summer ReadingLizz and I spent all year promoting recreational reading and promoting library programs. We didn't want to stop just because school was out for the summer. So we initiated a new summer books program: Book Bags for Summer Reading!<br />
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For the first time, students and staff were invited to check books out for the summer. We made themed bags based on genre or subject and invited people to custom-make their own bag. We aimed for five or six books per bag; some people (our favorite people) took ten or twelve books--or even more than one book bag!</div>
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Bags were reserved with the name of the student or staff member on book bag tags that I made in PhotoShop. Tags also showed what the bag's theme was--science fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, books by a certain author, books in a series, etc.</div>
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Lizz and I spent an entire day putting themed bags together, and had a wonderful time and got completely carried away.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ordered something like 200 bags. We didn't use them all, but that was not for lack of trying!<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books for the Steampunk Book Bag</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books for the True Crime Book Bag</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books for one of the Mystery Book Bags</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We allowed students and staff to browse through the bags at their leisure and to pick and choose from multiple bags as they built their own book bag. We even took it upon ourselves to make bags for a couple of our frequent library users who didn't come in on their own. We promoted for two weeks with signs and a stop-animation video that we made, and had of week of actual check out. We kept careful records of who had checked out what books, and made sure everyone knew that books were due during the first week of the 2012-2013 school year, and that fees would apply if books were not returned.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Science fiction and fantasy were very popular (especially dystopias--we had four bags of sci fi dystopian books) and a lot of our newest arrivals went out the door for the first time. <i>The Game of Thrones</i> series was also frequently asked for; we even went out to Barnes and Noble and bought another set! We made a few very specific book bags that were reserved almost immediately: "Classics and Classic Spin-Offs" (<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> with <i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> and the like), "The Plague!" (fiction and nonfiction books about plagues and diseases), "Books with Titles that Relate to Food," etc. We had an almost equal mix of students and staff--just a few more students. Building bags on the fly based on personal interest of the reader turned out to be relative easy, since making the themed bag had provided us with an excellent refresher of the books in our collection. </span><span style="background-color: white;">By the time all the students and teachers and staff had gone home for the year and the building was empty, we had checked out over 200 books in nearly 50 book bags.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> That's a lot of summer reading, and we were pretty damn proud of ourselves.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tagged, bagged, and ready for summer reading!</td></tr>
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<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-59727097519488985252012-05-18T14:06:00.003-05:002012-05-18T14:06:52.062-05:00Weekly Displays: Bee BooksWe have bees! Recently, one of our grade deans came up with the idea to purchase beehives for the school. He recruited a student, who spread the word to a math teacher, who spread the word to a teacher in our department, and then we became completely obsessed--more so when the hives were installed right outside the library windows!<br />
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The Environmental Science class helped build the hive enclosure:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Environmental Science class at work with the library wing in the background.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See that globe in the window behind the students? That's one of the library windows!</td></tr>
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Interested students and teachers (and Lizz) were on hand when the hives were delivered:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They delivered the bees at night because that's when bees sleep! Who knew?</td></tr>
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And now, nearly every day, one of us is likely to be seen peering through the enclosure and watching the busy bees at work:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizz watches at the bees as I take photos of her through our very dirty library windows.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of two beehives and a few of the 6,000 bees.</td></tr>
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And of course we had to do a display of bee books:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3U2P0WC-dpGLSAX88i4q-5dZvUxi9NAWf9PgKatTbVJdlvRjtq09fx6QuL-NBOJ7k4kl-BF630Bo4QAZsiUiiGf_8jElg41atKU-4vI25mmlKctKRI6HayHRQzBGG0SSM1bsi5A9WvOY/s1600/DSC_0126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3U2P0WC-dpGLSAX88i4q-5dZvUxi9NAWf9PgKatTbVJdlvRjtq09fx6QuL-NBOJ7k4kl-BF630Bo4QAZsiUiiGf_8jElg41atKU-4vI25mmlKctKRI6HayHRQzBGG0SSM1bsi5A9WvOY/s400/DSC_0126.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I highly recommend <i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i> and the entire Marry Russell series by Laurie R. King.</td></tr>
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Bees must have been buzzing in the school consciousness for some time; we had no problem putting together a display about bees, insects, and books with "bee" in the title. And this wasn't even everything in the catalog: <i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clan-Apis-Jay-Hosler/dp/096772550X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337367055&sr=1-1">Clan Apis</a></i>, an educational graphic novel about bees; <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Girl-Kicked-Hornets-Nest/dp/0307454568/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337367168&sr=1-1">The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest</a></i> (sequel to <i>The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo</i> and <i>The Girl Who Played With Fire</i>); and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Robbing-Bees-Biography-Honey--The-Seduced/dp/0743250222/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337367252&sr=1-1">Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey</a></i> were all checked out. Other fiction tie-ins included <i>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</i> (a Sherlock Holmes spin-off) and <i>The Secret Life of Bees</i>. We had four books additional books that focused on bees and the history of honey, and of course I couldn't resist adding an old VHS copy of episode three of David Attenborough's documentary <i>The Secret Life of Plants</i> called--you guessed it--"The Birds and the Bees." </div>
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<br /></div>Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-42515270110625781362012-04-24T08:46:00.000-05:002012-04-24T08:46:06.381-05:00The Shifting ProjectOur project to weed our library and rearrange our space continues with an exciting development:<br />
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Empty shelves!!!<br />
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After spending an invigorating day doing manual labor (carrying loads of books counts as manual labor in library land), we managed to shift enough of our remaining books to have THREE! EMPTY! SHELVES! We have big plans for this new space. When the shelves were full, this area of the library was pretty much out of our line of sight. The shelves are tall and close together--it's hard to tell if there's kid desperately looking for a book over there. So we want to get rid of the big empty shelves and replace them with these three lower shelves that are currently on the other side of the library:<br />
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These low shelves currently hold the 900s, so we'll have to do more shifting to keep the books in correct Dewey order. But clearing the shelving from this alcove will allow us to create a dedicated classroom space here, which we currently lack. We'd love to remove the shelves from the wall, too (currently the oversize books, which we'd like to integrate with the rest of the collection) and get some fancy whiteboard paint to make that an interactive space.<br />
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We still need to weed the 900s, which is a very big project, but we're getting closer to our vision of a cohesive, welcoming library space that works for groups of all sizes.<br />
<br />Kali Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15875012173042812690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5289986112744109261.post-37350259014652254202012-04-17T15:56:00.001-05:002012-04-17T15:56:59.928-05:00Harry Potter Survives!When the final Harry Potter movie was released there seemed to be a general fear in our library that we would no longer get to talk about this magical world. The common Harry Potter references, like attempting to edit the school's Wikipedia page to boast about Quidditch matches or wearing a Hogwarts school uniform, have been spotted all year. Then this appeared:<br />
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One poster in a very public space and the chatter of spells and Hogwarts started again. Two days later this pops up:<br />
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For librarians, it is great news! Let us revel in renewed Harry Potter interest! Now students are talking about the books, movies, and Pottermore. But what's with the posters? One theory is an underground Harry Potter club. We will enjoy the conversations and wait patiently for more signs (and an invitation to join Dumbledore's Army).Lizz Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02777905468490867518noreply@blogger.com0