March in the Library
2019
Battle of the Books!
March brought the 3rd annual DMS Battle of the Books! The top 8 nominations competed to become DMS' 2019 favorite book! The Round 1 matchups were Fish in a Tree vs. The Wednesday Wars, Smile vs. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown, Out of My Mind vs. The Outsiders, and The One and Only Ivan vs. Auggie and Me. The Round 2 matchups were The Outsiders vs. Auggie and Me, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown vs. Fish in a Tree. Fish in a Tree and The Outsiders made it to the final found, but by popular vote Out of My Mind was resurrected and joined the two finalists in the final round. In a dramatic upset, our 8th grade final round judge chose Out of My Mind as the 2019 DMS Battle of the Book winner!
March Makerspace: Photo Editing with Pixlr
In honor of the Dedham Reads Together book How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery, March's makerspace activity was creating an animal mashup using Pixlr. Students learned about photo editing and manipulation while creating their own unusual animal creation.
Teacher Collaboration
7th grade Science students completed their big research project on animal adaptations.
6th grade Social Studies students spent some time in the library at the beginning of the month to get started on their New Kingdom Pharaoh research. 6th graders learned how to find specific information in print sources, used a LibGuide to guide their research, and reviewed how to use NoodleTools to cite their sources.
Ms. Cummings 6th grade English students' began a unit on teen activism. Students worked on reading nonfiction texts and taking organized notes.
Building Bridges
In March, DMS hosted Building Bridges. Building Bridges is a series of photographs and corresponding interviews of people who have come to the United States as immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers from all over the world. The exhibit seeks to challenge damaging myths and stereotypes about immigrants and refugees as a way to prevent bullying and hatred towards this marginalized group of people. Our exhibition of Building Bridges was made possible by the generous support of the Dedham Education Foundation - Nancy Bradley Memorial Fund and brought to DMS by DHS school nurse Jennifer Atkins. Almost every single middle school student came to the library with a class to explore the Building Bridges exhibit.
Book Reviews
From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Meno
Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy-a.k.a. Sahil's twin brother? Dream come true x 2.
When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it's Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she's fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.
Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she's got is not the one she's scripted. But will it be enough?
When mystery man N begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it's Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she's fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.
Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she's got is not the one she's scripted. But will it be enough?
-From Goodreads.com
A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni & Tristan Jimerson
Archie, a snarky genderqueer artist, is tired of people not understanding gender neutral pronouns. Tristan, a cisgender dude, is looking for an easy way to introduce gender neutral pronouns to his increasingly diverse workplace. The longtime best friends team up in this short and fun comic guide that explains what pronouns are, why they matter, and how to use them. They also include what to do if you make a mistake, and some tips-and-tricks for those who identify outside of the binary to keep themselves safe in this binary-centric world. A quick and easy resource for people who use they/them pronouns, and people who want to learn more!
-From Goodreads.com
Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild by Catherine Thimmesh
Roughly a thousand years ago, an estimated 23,000 pandas roamed wild and free through their native China. But within the past forty years, more than fifty percent of the panda’s already shrinking habitat has been destroyed by humans, leaving the beautiful and beloved giant panda vulnerable to extinction. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds—poaching, habitat destruction, pollution, human overpopulation, and global climate change—the panda is making a comeback. How? By humans teaching baby pandas how to be wild and stay wild.
-From Goodreads.com