LIBRARY ILLUMINATIONS
Mission Valley JR/SR High School Library News
In This Newsletter...
Get the scoop on these stories.
- Let It Snow.....
- Library "Retires" the Circulation Desk
- Book Clubs Meet to Discuss In Cold Blood and Al Capone Does My Shirts
- Junior English Research Begins
- THE BIG READ Comes to Mission Valley
- New Books
Let It Snow, Let It Snow.......(but keep the hand sanitizer and tissues handy)
Circulation Desk Has "Retired"
Senior High Book Club
The Mission Valley Book Club met January 11th to discuss In Cold Blood, the non-fiction accounting of the 1959 Clutter family murders in Holcolb Kansas. Fifteen students, faculty and staff participated in the discussion. Foods that might have been popular with a rural family like the Clutters during the the late 1950's were served before the discussion began. This included strawberry gelatin, chocolate "one-bowl" vinegar cake and lemonade. The chocolate vinegar cake and its variations were commonly made from shelf staples, requiring no eggs, milk or fresh items. The recipe appears below for those who are curious and have these staple items on hand.
Vinegar Cake
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1t. baking soda
½ t. salt
3 T. cocoa
1 T. vinegar
1T. vanilla extract
1 c. warm water (or coffee)
6 T. vegetable oil
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix dry ingredients together. Make a well in dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Mix well. If the batter isn’t very loose, add just a bit more warm liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get a thin batter. This will make a very moist cake.
3. Pour into an 8 or 9 inch square pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool and dust with a little more cocoa. Serves 16.
Per serving: 141 calories, 5 g fat, 0 mg chol, 1 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 152 mg sodium
Seventh Grade "Breaks Out" Al Capone
Junior English Research is in Full Swing
Students in Mr. Stucky's Junior English classes have started the process to complete their research paper. Mrs. Niland, librarian, visited the classes on January 7th to review the research process and highlight the resources, both print and electronic, available in the MV Library. Resources highlighted included:
- Print version of many titles in the Greenhaven Press Opposing Viewpoints series
- Kansas State Library Card access to many research databases online
- Online access to Reader's Guide Online for periodicals, with several of the indexed titles available in the print version in our library
- CQ Researcher, both online and print versions
- Access through Mrs. Niland to the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library catalog and interlibrary loan through Kansas State University
Students may use most of these online databases with their home internet connections using the passwords given to them by Mrs. Niland. These sites are available through the links on the Mission Valley Home page. The rough draft of the paper is due February 15th.
Join Us For the BIG READ
The Mission Valley school community is invited to join Topeka, Wichita, other Kansas communities and other communities across America in the National Endowment for the Arts - THE BIG READ reading of F. Schoot Fitsgerald's The Great Gatsby. Follow part of Jay Gatsby's life in the 1920's in the book which was considered one of the best literary documents of the Jazz age. It was published in 1925, has about around 200-240 pages, depending on the published copy read. The Misson Valley English Department and the HS Library together have about 28 copies which will be distributed to Senior High Book Club members during February as a "Book Club Bonus" selection.
The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library will host many public activities related to THE BIG READ during February including a fashion show of the 1920's clothing, speakers, book clubs, and gallery displays as well as numerous copies of The Great Gatsby available for check out for Shawnee county residents. Visit www.tscpl.org for a detailed schedule of events.
The Heir Chronicles by Cinda Williams Chima
The series follow the adventures of three boys--Jack, Seph, and Jason--who each go off in search of talismans to save an underground society of wizards and magical people.
Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson
Recounts the twelve day pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Gates of Paradise by Melissa De La Cruz
In the final installment of the Blue Bloods series, the young vampires of Manhattan must make terrible sacrifices.
Coming soon.....details on how to use Freader, a free e-book service available through the Kansas State Library.
Rose Niland, JR/SR High School Librarian
Email: rniland@mv330.org
Website: www.mv330.org
Location: 12913 Mission Valley Road, Eskridge, KS
Phone: 785-449-2297