SWJH Media Center
Week of September 21-25
Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year!
The school year has been very busy so far in the Shakopee West Junior High Media Center! With the new devices, media center orientations, book check-out, and special presentations, the media center has been a hoppin' place! Please come and see us to experience the wide variety of furniture and collaborative atmosphere we have. We would love to assist you with password/device issues, research and printing needs, as well as your book selection process. We are here to help you!
Green Screen Room in Action!
Three gentlemen have been busy after school creating some stop-motion videos in the green screen room. Even if they are not using the green screen, this room allowed them the quiet space they needed to create a really cool video using simple Legos. This creativity is so admirable! Great job, students!
Spanish Camp Teaser...
Concordia Language Villages out of Bemidji, Minnesota, came to visit all of the Spanish classes a week ago. After wheeling our new furniture out of the space, they facilitated various games and dances with the groups and promoted the camp that all Spanish students are welcome to attend in March. Even Mrs. Link showed some of her awesome moves! The theme this year is Authentic Cuba. They can attain information from their Spanish teachers.
Media Center Orientation Scavenger Hunt
All 7th grade English classes rotated through the media center on a scavenger hunt the first week of school. Students became familiar with the new furniture, media scapes, green screen room, and the makerspace. One of the questions even had students introducing themselves to Mrs. Kealy, our media assistant. Students seemed to enjoy the activity.
West Junior High Media Center Policies...
- Students may check out two books at a time for a duration of two weeks.
- Students may renew books at any point during those two weeks, even without the book in hand.
- Students may come to the media center with a signed pass from their teacher.
- The media center is open Monday - Thursday from 7:00-3:30 and Fridays from 7:00-3:00.
- Although we are consistently ordering the latest books, we understand that we may miss some published books for a specific series or a book that is not part of a series. We ask that you come and see us at the circulation desk or fill out the recommendation from at the bottom of the newsletter.
eBooks are Ready to be Checked Out!
Did you know that we had an eBook collection? You simply need to go to MackinVia.com; go to West Junior High, Shakopee; type in your student ID and your regular school password. Once you are there, search away for a book that interests you by author or genre. Our collection is rather small, but we are slowly adding to it every year. We should have over 400 titles by the end of first semester.
The 2015 Fall Scholastic Book Fair is Quickly Approaching...
The Scholastic Book Fair will take place in the Shakopee West Junior High Media Center the week of November 16-20. Many new titles will be available as well as old favorites in paperback. The fair will coincide with parent Teacher Conferences that are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-7:30 p.m. Come and see us for some great reads and a fun environment. Below are just three of the many books that will provide an enjoyable reading experience:
Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm
From the groundbreaking and award-winning sister-brother team behind Babymouse comes a middle-grade, semi-autobiographical graphic novel.
Following the lives of kids whose older brother's delinquent behavior has thrown their family into chaos, Sunny Side Up is at once a compelling "problem" story and a love letter to the comic books that help the protagonist make sense of her world.
By sister-bother team Jennifer and Matthew Holm. A 200-page, full-color graphic novel in the vein of Raina Telgemeier's Smile.
Following the lives of kids whose older brother's delinquent behavior has thrown their family into chaos, Sunny Side Up is at once a compelling "problem" story and a love letter to the comic books that help the protagonist make sense of her world.
By sister-bother team Jennifer and Matthew Holm. A 200-page, full-color graphic novel in the vein of Raina Telgemeier's Smile.
All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1) by Ally Carter
A new series of global proportions -- from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.
Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:
1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.
Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.
Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:
1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.
Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.
Adrift by Paul Griffin
Five teenagers. One boat. Who will come back alive?
Matt and his best friend, John, only came out to Montauk for the summer to make a little extra cash and then head back home. A seemingly basic plan for two guys from Queens.
And then Matt meets Driana.
Because it’s always about a girl, right?
The girl leads to a party, the party leads to a boat, which leads to being adrift at sea with three rich kids who have no clue about how to navigate a boat, let alone actually survive.
Matt and John are used to creating stability in unstable situations, but Matt’s busy falling in love at the worst possible time, and John can rub people the wrong way when he’s focused on survival. Driana is trying to keep the peace, but her friends JoJo and Stef aren’t making it easy. The longer they are out there, the lower everyone’s reserves of mental and emotional strength, which is a problem since the biggest mistakes can happen when people are tired and hungry and have no hope.
How far will each of them go to survive?
And what happens when old tensions and past ghosts rise to the surface?
Matt and his best friend, John, only came out to Montauk for the summer to make a little extra cash and then head back home. A seemingly basic plan for two guys from Queens.
And then Matt meets Driana.
Because it’s always about a girl, right?
The girl leads to a party, the party leads to a boat, which leads to being adrift at sea with three rich kids who have no clue about how to navigate a boat, let alone actually survive.
Matt and John are used to creating stability in unstable situations, but Matt’s busy falling in love at the worst possible time, and John can rub people the wrong way when he’s focused on survival. Driana is trying to keep the peace, but her friends JoJo and Stef aren’t making it easy. The longer they are out there, the lower everyone’s reserves of mental and emotional strength, which is a problem since the biggest mistakes can happen when people are tired and hungry and have no hope.
How far will each of them go to survive?
And what happens when old tensions and past ghosts rise to the surface?
What books/eBooks would you like to see in the Shakopee West JH Media Center?
Mr. Finke, Media Specialist
Shakopee West Junior High Media Center
Email: bfinke@shakopee.k12.mn.us
Website: http://www.shakopee.k12.mn.us/domain/345
Location: 200 10th Avenue East, Shakopee, MN, United States
Phone: (952) 496-5752
Twitter: @ShakoJHMedia