Battle of the Books Update
Progress Chart is Up in the Dual Credit Room!
"Yes, I finished this book!"
"Yes, I took the quiz!"
"Yes, I turned in 5 questions!"
I have also posted your BOTB team member's email addresses so you guys can stay in contact with each other, ask questions, discuss books, etc.
Next Meeting Tuesday, January 26th, at 8:00 am in the library!
YAK Fest with BOTB Authors on Saturday, January 30th!
If you've never attended YAK Fest, make plans to stop by on Saturday, January 30th, at Central High School. The day starts at 10am with an opening General Session in the auditorium where all 25 authors are introduced, followed by the keynote speaker, Julie Murphy (author of Dumplin'!) , After that, you will have a chance to choose the breakout sessions (each one is around 45 minutes, in a classroom setting) that you want to attend. Most sessions feature 4 authors on a panel, answering your questions and telling whatever stories they might feel like sharing with the group! At any point throughout the day, you can go visit the "Escape Hatch" to get author signatures, take a picture with an author, or just hang around and chat one-on-one with them. The day is come-and-go, so you can leave whenever you need to.
Kimberly Derting, the author of The Taking, and Sharon Cameron, author of Rook will also be there, among many other superb Young Adult authors! But since we have 3 of our BOTB authors at YAK Fest this year, lets make sure we get their three books read before January 30th, so we can enjoy the experience of meeting them even more!
The last session will be finished by 4:15, and you can stay until 5 if for any additional book signings you didn't get earlier.
If you would like to attend, but need a ride, I (Mrs. Flynt) can give a ride to 6 students in her minivan. You have to reserve a spot in advance, and agree to meet in front of Fossil Ridge at 9:30 am. If you are not here by 9:35, you've missed your ride! Please call or text me at 469-471-1468 if you're running late or anything so we don't sit around waiting for you if you overslept and can't make it on time. If you ride with me, I'll be leaving at 3:30.
If you can get your parents to take you and pick you up, just have them drop you off in the back courtyard entrance of Central High School. Then head for the auditorium where the General Session starts at 9am. Oh, and there will be food trucks on hand if you'd like to purchase snacks or your lunch out there.
Hope to see many of you guys there! It would be fun to get to hang out with some of our teammates throughout the day, so email or text each other so we can all meet up.
Read Any of the 12 Books, in Any Order!
EXPERT Study Notes Over One Book
Write your 5 questions/answers for each book
Keep sending me your Google Slide presentations for each of the books. You need to write 5 questions per book. You should have one question per slide, followed by the answer on the next slide. If it is easier for you to write your 5 questions on notecards, I will accept that as well.
Additionally, as you finish a book, come take the short 10-question quiz in my office. Remember, if our team has more than 12 active participants as we get closer to the competition deadline, then these quizzes and questions will help me decide who will be the top 12 readers who get to compete.
Competition Date and Details
Guys, believe it or not, we have SIXTEEN schools competing in the North Texas Book Battle this year!!! That is DOUBLE the number of schools that competed last year! That means we are going to have to work hard to keep our winning trophy from last year!
Since we have so many more schools, and wanted to keep the competition all in one day like last year, we've had to make a few adjustments. This year we'll be using the Barnes and Noble Southlake (same 2 areas upstairs), as well as the Southlake Town Hall (2 rooms), and also the Southlake Library (on the bottom floor of the Town Hall building). These locations are conveniently located within walking distance of each other. You'll have to pay close attention to the schedule and make sure you are in the right place at the right time for your battles.
In order to get all these rooms booked at the same time, we had to be flexible with our date, and take what we could get, while working with the different field trip "black out" dates for some of the schools that are competing. The date we were finally able to nail down is Thursday, May 26th, 2016. That gives us plenty of time to get our reading done, but it is also very close to the end of the year (finals will be that next week). You'll have to plan ahead and prepare for your final exams accordingly. Also, for our Seniors (Adam for sure, any others?), you'll have to plan ahead as well. There might be senior activities that week, since it is the week before your graduation on May 28th. If you have a final exam scheduled for May 26th, we'll need to talk to your teachers in advance, and make arrangements for you to take your final early or on Friday. Please communicate way in advance with your teachers, so they are not surprised by this at the last minute. I will be more than happy to talk to them as needed, or offer to monitor you in the library as you take your final exam at an alternate time.
The competition will last all day. We will most likely board the bus here around 8am, and pick up the Central and Keller teams like we did last year. We will be staying until the very last battle, whether we are in it or not. Depending on how the day goes, the last battle might be as late as 4:30, so we might not return to the school until 5:30. You will all need to make arrangements with your parents or friends in advance if you need a ride from the school back to your house.
You will need to bring either a sack lunch, or money to eat lunch that day. I would suggest at least $10. I will provide some light snacks and juice boxes to get you guys through the day, when you'll likely have some back-to-back battles with no break in between.