May Book Club…Summer is Almost Here!

As we count down the last school days until summer break, we had our last book club of the school year. Though our group was small, the discussions were lively and fueled by brownies and iced tea (a cheery summertime beverage!).

Ms. Melinson kicked off the discussion with a book she recently read that one of her friends described as “kind of like Fargo,” which was The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. She said she really enjoyed it—it reminded her a lot of Forrest Gump.

Anny and Luca both enjoyed reading the first book in Rick Riordan’s new Trials of Apollo series, The Hidden Oracle. While we tried to steer them from spoiling the plot for us, both Anny and Luca agreed that this book is one of Riordan’s best, and they particularly enjoyed the humor woven throughout the story.

Everyone shared a few titles they wanted to read over summer; the overall theme seemed to lean towards fantasy and adventure (so much “walking!”), science fiction, and Harry Potter! With the new Potter book on the horizon (well, it’s really a script, and it comes out July 31), we’re all tempted to reread the entire series. There’s a rumor that we may have a Harry Potter Book Club some time next year, but don’t tell anyone.

For a complete list of books recommended during Book Club, check out our Goodreads page here!

 

Your Week in Review: Senior Seminar Edition

This week the Seniors attended their Seminars, and we were delighted to have a few of them in Matthews Library: Mr. Schroeder gave some great advice about writing resumes and interviewing for jobs, and Mr. Talamantes talked about financial literacy. Next week, Ms. Melinson will host a seminar about college libraries and research.

Monday we had the first meeting of the Political Puzzles club, where Blake led a preliminary discussion about all things politics! The group also talked about the goals of the club and set up meeting dates for next year.

Tuesday we hosted a lunch for 8th Graders that were interested in joining The Glass Knife and/or Medallion. Current staff members talked about what it was like to work on the publications, what work nights were all about, and we had an abundance of pizza!

On Friday the campus was a flurry of activity! On the Lower School side, there was a farewell party for Mr. Repsher, where the community came together to wish him well on his retirement. And on the other side of campus…The Glass Knife was hard at work on their final deadline before the book goes to print. We can’t believe the school year is almost over; distribution day is right around the corner!

Your Week in Review: Thursday Was Bumpin’!

Ah, the final week of AP testing in the library! We had limited hours of operation this week as High Schoolers finished taking their exams. Pretty sure we speak for everyone when we say TGIF!

Thursday we didn’t host any AP exams, so we had…everything else! Ms. Melinson had Summer Reading book talks with the 6th Graders; Gabi, Miles, and Nicholas talked about their Spring Break trip to Cuba during Leadership Lunch; Ms. Melinson and Doctorà Portillo led a discussion group about race, where participants had a positive space to discuss their ethnic and racial backgrounds and what they know of them. They hope to have future meetings and offer a safe, friendly space to discuss this topic.

Wednesday we had the Faculty Raffle lunch, where Ms. Melinson cooked up a Spanish tapas feast (with a special gluten-free dessert made by Ms. Ryan!) to the delight of our winners. After Spring Break, we asked our faculty to tell us what books they read, and participants were entered into our raffle. This year’s winners were Dr. Whited, Ms. Myers, Ms. Nellis, and Ms. Covey!

 

Week in Review: AP Edition

It’s been pretty quiet in the library this week: AP testing is upon us… dun dun dun! The library was primarily closed this week (and will be next week as well). Despite having limited hours of operation, we still managed to have a few exciting things happen outside the library.

Ms. Melinson’s boyfriend, Sean, who is a cook at the fabulous Hawks Restaurant, visited on Monday to do a cooking demonstration for a few of the 6th Graders who having cooking-related topics as their Passion Projects. Sean showed them how to make cream cheese frosting, ice a cake, and gave them some great tips about not setting a kitchen on fire (and if you do, how to put it out!). The ladies did a fantastic job icing those cakes, and we’re pretty sure that they tasted just as good as they looked!

Since Ms. Melinson’s advisory was unable to meet in their usual cozy library spot on Thursday, they met outside, had ice cream and blew some bubbles. That’s right. It was a bubble frenzy!

Free Books!

Sync Audiobooks for Teens is giving away 30 free audiobooks to anyone who wants to download them this summer. Beginning today, they’ll be giving away 2 free audiobooks each week. Go to their website http://www.audiobooksync.com to download.

Every Thursday through August 11, they will post two free titles for you. You’ll have a week to download them.You can also sign up to have them email or text you when the books are ready for download. Who doesn’t love books? Especially when they’re free!