March in the Library
2018
Battle of the Books
This March brought many things; unpredictable weather, the beginning of a new trimester, and DMS’ second annual Battle of the Books! Students nominated their favorite books, and the top 8 books went head to head in March to determine DMS’ ultimate favorite book of 2018! The matchups for Round 1 were Harry Potter vs. Number the Stars, The Hunger Games vs. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Wonder vs. The Outsiders, and Everything Everything vs. Hatchet. The judges, members of DMS’ Library Squad, had to read two books in ten days and decide which book would move on to the next round. Round 2 saw Hatchet vs. Number the Stars and Everything, Everything, vs. The Hunger Games. The competition was intense, but in the end Number the Stars and Everything, Everything made it to the final round. There they were greeted by the previously eliminated Wonder, the student choice to be resurrected and compete in the final round. Although the final round judge had read Wonder many times and thought the characters and plot were fantastic, and was impressed with the unique plot of Everything, Everything, she was won over by the plot twists, love, and bravery shown in Number the Stars. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is the DMS Battle of the Books winner for 2018!
March Makerspace: Legos
In March, a handful of students came together for an epic quest: building the Capital Building out of 1,032 tiny Lego bricks. It took over three hours of work and coming back for multiple days of building, but in the end, the product was pretty impressive! The Lego Capital Building is now on display in the library.
Collaboration With Teachers
In March, Ms. Lackner's 7th-grade science students spent a week in the library researching animal adaptations. Students reviewed how to cite their sources and avoid plagiarism, as well as added subscription databases searching and website evaluation to their research toolbox.
Ms. Ascenzo's 8th-grade students came to the library for a book tasting: students had the opportunity to briefly dip into a variety of different books to try out genres they might not usually look at.
Book Reviews
Obsessed: : A Memoir of My Life with OCD by Allison Britz
Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.
But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.
It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.
Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.
Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.
But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.
It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.
Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.
Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school--you can't fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malu (Maria Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School's queen bee, violates the school's dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.
The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malu finally begins to feel at home. She'll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!
The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles a group of like-minded misfits at school and starts a band, Malu finally begins to feel at home. She'll do anything to preserve this, which includes standing up to an anti-punk school administration to fight for her right to express herself!
Look Out For
- Spring vacation!
- The next makerspace will be Tuesday, April 24th. We will be making paracord bracelets.
- MCAS! Don't forget to charge your Chromebook!
For Teachers
We're into the final trimester! What do you have in the next few months that I can support you on? Book your library time for final research projects now!
As you may know, EasyBib EDU is ending its run this summer. We have decided to move to a new subscription citation tool when this happens. We will begin using NoodleTools starting in the 2018-2019 school year. Access is available now if you'd like to take a look. I'm happy to answer questions or go over it with you. More information to come!