May Book Club

We had our last book club of the school year on Wednesday, which also was the last book club for Dr. Bell and Dr. Baird as they head into retirement. Ms. Melinson wondered, with Dr. Bell’s retiring, how will we know when to start Book Club next year?

For Dr. Bell’s final recommendation, he discussed The Last Lawsons by Jason Hinojosa’s (who happens to be the new English teacher). He said he enjoyed the different narrative devices used and that it offered good psychological insight into family drama.

Dr. Baird reminisced abut his history of reading (fitting for a history teacher). He said he wasn’t a big reader as a kid, but started reading a lot of novels in college, which led to historical fiction and biographies and encouraged an interest in history.

Ms. B started a lively discussion when she said she thinks summer reading should be for classics and books you don’t have time for during the school year and not for racy beach reads. Dr. Bell thinks that people should read the classics when they’re young and then reread them later in life, which many agreed with.

Anny talked about reading The Dark Prophecy and Lord of Shadows, which is centered around the Edgar Allen Poe poem “Dreamland.” Heloise read All the Light We Cannot See and loved it, calling it “amazing.” And she learned a bit of history from it!

For all the books we talked about, check out our Goodreads page!

Week in Review: Cupcakes are fun!

The countdown is on as we head into the last week of school!

On Monday, Sean, who is a cook at Hawk’s Restaurant, visited with 6th graders who are doing cooking for their passion projects. He showed them how to ice cupcakes and answered cooking questions.

On Tuesday and Thursday, Ms. Melinson began summer reading book talks for the incoming 7th and 8th graders. Students are given a list of books to choose from and a corresponding activity sheet. Summer Reading will be available online soon.

On Wednesday we had our last book club of the year, which you can read about here.

On Friday the library was host to the Career Day Panel, which concluded the Senior Seminars. The panel consisted of parents and alum who offered insight into their careers.

Friday also featured a Glass Knife informational meeting for 8th graders who are interested in joining next year.

Week in Review: Busy Edition

The library was back in action this week after being closed for most of the last two weeks for AP testing–just in time for Senior Seminars!

The Senior Seminars began this week and the library was host to some of these interesting and informative presentations: Financial Literacy with Mr. Talamantes, What to Take to College with Mrs. Talamantes, Forensic Case Studies with Ms. Dozier and Mr. Himes, College Research with Ms. Melinson, and Famous Supreme Court Cases with Mr. Strumpfer.

On Tuesday we had music in the library with the Middle School Jazz Band, High School Jazz Band, and High School Concert Band as they prepare for the Forum Music Festival competition.

On Thursday Ms. Nellis’ AP US History class was in to get research materials for their end of the year project. Students chose topics they previously learned about in class that interested them and could be expanded into a presentation that Ms. Nellis might use in her AP US History class next year. Topics include the U.S. reconstructing Japan after World War II, eugenics and DNA affecting the Civil Rights Movement, and how television affected US viewership of the Vietnam War.

On Friday we had a special lunch, the First Annual Raffle Lunch with Dr. Bell, where we celebrated Dr. Bell’s impending retirement. A group of former students and colleagues along with current students and colleagues gathered to celebrate Dr. Bell who has been “Bringing Back Smart” to Country Day for many years!

Week in Review: AP Edition, Part 2

It’s been another quiet week in the library as students finish up their AP exams. On Friday, Mr. Neukom and his students dressed in their finest finery (including Swiss flag pins: in honor of Mr. Neukom wearing them each year, his students decided they’d wear them, too, this year) before embarking on their final AP test, European History. Mr. Neukom also led an inspiring cheer (his final cheer, as he’s retiring at the end of this year) as one last bit of motivation.

Wednesday was the last day of classes for seniors and at lunch time, they announced the colleges they’ll be attending. Afterwards, we all watched and cheered at Alexa’s signing to play volleyball at Wellesley. Later, students and faculty took pictures wearing their college gear.

Bonus puppy:

Alan brought his German Shepherd puppy back for another visit featuring lots of belly rubs!

Week in Review: AP edition

It’s been unusually quiet this week as AP testing has taken over the library.

However, the quiet was more than made up for on Thursday when we had a full day of classes in for research. Starting in the morning were Ms. Nellis’ 9th graders researching European Colonialism in America.

For the rest of the day, we had Ms. Little’s 6th graders in working on their Passion Projects.

The library will have limited hours next week as well as students continue taking AP tests, but we’ll be back in full force the following week with Senior Seminars!

(Last) Week in Review

We’ve been moving right along this week as we head into the last month or so of school!

On Monday Brandy presented during our Leadership Lunch series. She talked about why she loves her church and the many roles she plays in it.

The 6th graders returned at the beginning of the week to continue their research for their passion projects. Check out some of the topics they’re researching!

On Tuesday we had a Speakeasy en Espanol, with students from Doctora Portillo’s class reading poems in Spanish.

Also visiting this week were Ms. Lyon’s and Mr. Kuipers’ 7th graders, who began looking at sources for their China and Japan cultural projects.

And to cap off National Poetry Month, Thursday was Poem in Your Pocket Day. Students with poems in their pockets (or their head or their phone) were rewarded with a piece of candy.