Mid Semester Book Check Outs!
It is the time of year where we again see a rise in our checkouts in the library. We love this as it is invigorating to talk with teachers and students about new books we’ve ordered or received. Additionally, we get the chance to do booktalks for classes. Ms. Kehe and I both think the best part of our jobs is talking books and making recommendations to students.
She recently has had the Grade 6 classes in to check out books. Additionally, students got to do a Scavenger Hunt in the library working with Ms. Ekstran’s class. Students were challenged to find books based on things they know about genre and authorship. They then had to run around the library trying to find the books. It was definitely a fun activity and cool way to get to know the library.
At the same time Mr. Mees and Ms. Walsh brought in their classes to get a book for students to read as part of their at home reading. This is always a book of their choice and something hopefully that doesn’t seem like an extra task but enjoyable. As a department, and with the library’s support, we always encourage students (and parents) to take 30 minutes out of their day to do some pleasure reading. We would love it if this was a book, but we also know that sometimes reading a newspaper or magazine can be just as enjoyable. The goal is to stretch our minds and give our eyes a break from technology.
If you are looking for a great book, we always try and recommend a couple of books a week that we’ve read or you can look at previous issues of this eNews and see some of our past recommendations. Lastly, just stop on by and we will chat books with you and get a recommendation for you. Have a great weekend.
Your friends in the Main Library
Ms. Kehe’s Recommendation
The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones (Adult-Dystopian)
To protect themselves from the deadly miner ticks, most people lived in enclosed areas in the future. Wealthy individuals, however, spend a great deal of money to explore the long-forgotten beauty of unspoiled nature in the wilderness beyond the zone. Under the supervision of highly-equipped and specialized adventure companies, groups explore the wilderness. Among the tourists we follow are Wes, a tech mogul, Marta, the wife of a drug lord, and Eddie, the girlfriend of a rock musician. As the trip unfolds, it quickly becomes a nightmare with numerous twists and turns. Dystopian fiction fans will enjoy this book.
Bell’s Recommendation
I love a good mystery. This book is one of those mysteries. A Sanatorium is a place where those who were suffering from tuberculosis went to hopefully recover. Unfortunately, this outbreak in Europe between the 18th and 19th centuries killed nearly a third of all people who contracted it. (Wikipedia Contributors, “History of Tuberculosis,” Wikipedia). Now this Sanatorium has been upgraded to a high-end resort in the mountains. People there got snowed in by an avalanche, and mysteriously, someone died. Our lead detective who was on break from her work ends up having to take charge. Things get worse, way worse as the history of this particular sanatorium comes to light. If you like gruesome mysteries, this is it.
Technology Tip
MUO.com (Make Use Of…) is a website that focuses on tools that already exist but we may not be using some of the most powerful elements of those tools. For a long time, I have complained that most people just don’t know how powerful Microsoft Excel (or for our purposes Google Sheets) can be in our day to day lives. Finally, the people at MUO did exactly what I wanted, the article is called ‘The 8 Best Uses of Excel in Daily Life”. Check this article out, my two favorite uses are for budgeting – use this on a very regular basis and for data visualization. I really try to make data come alive with tools like Google Sheets. Have a look and see if you can incorportate some of these great tools. While you are there take a look at some of their other articles on tools we all use but may not be leveraging for success.
Digital Citizenship Corner
We talk a lot about being Good Citizens and how it is the same thing as being a good digital citizen, but what does that really mean? At ISB our technology standards come from ISTE (International Society for Technology) in Education, which are used globally to ensure students receive the skills necessary to be successful in this world. They have been at it for over 20 years. Richard Culatta is the CEO and here he is explaining how we can frame our Digital Citizen instruction positively.