Week in Review: Finals edition

High Schoolers took their finals during this short and sweet week. Though not pictured (but easy to imagine), the library was was equal parts loud and crowded (before and after testing) and quiet and sparse (during testing). In between finals, students snacked on goodies in front of the library. Our resident library dog, Quaffle, stopped by for a visit on Tuesday to receive pets and ear scritches. On Thursday the Glass Knife held their annual retreat where they planned and discussed all things book-related.

Week in Review: Week of Review

 

This week began with Mrs. Eustace’s Dystopian elective in on Monday for a Noodle Tools refresher before researching apocalyptic topics like disease, mutually assured destruction, mind control, and nuclear war. On Tuesday Mrs. Eustace was back, this time with her 8th grade English class. Students presented on topics relating to Of Mice and Men, such as the Great Depression, farm workers, Dorothea Lange, and the Dust Bowl. On Wednesday, the Dystopian elective returned for more ominous researching. During lunch, Bella presented for the Leadership Lunch series. She spoke about advocating for decriminalizing sex work, why it’s important, and how she became interested in the subject. On Wednesday and Thursday Ms. Monahan talked to the 8th graders about their Digital Portfolios. Also on Thursday, Mrs. Jacobsen held a pizza-fueled study session in preparation for next week’s finals.

Bonus:
Our friend Luigi popped in for a visit on Thursday to show off how big he’s getting!

January Book Club

Welcome back! We had our first Book Club of the new year on Wednesday, featuring our weather-appropriate hot apple cider and brownies. Ms. Melinson started the discussion by sharing Barack Obama’s end of 2018 list of favorites, including favorite books. She also shared some popular books that were back in the library including The Astonishing Color of After, Crazy Rich Asians, and Far From the Tree. Ms. Melinson mentioned she started reading Joan Didion’s Where I Was From over break and found it to be helpful for inspiring Sophomore Project topic ideas. Ms. Melinson talked about a cool bookstore she visited called Crawford’s Bookstore on Freeport Blvd., which led to a discussion about bookstores. Josh talked about a bookstore he went to in Colorado and Grace mentioned her connection to Beer’s Books downtown.

Ms. Batarseh reviewed Future Perfect by Country Day alum Victoria Loustalot and mentioned that it was forthcoming. She also read Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming and found it fascinating. Becca started reading Middlemarch, a book she discovered via the SATs. She says it’s great, but kind of hard to follow due to the large cast of characters. Alyssa read Never Wake over break and loved it.

Mrs. Eustace read several books over break, including The Babysitter’s Club graphic novel, El Deafo, Fake Blood, The Inquisitor’s Tale, and the memoir Educated, which talks about the value of education and being well informed. Josh, our resident Tolkien super fan,  read the Dictionary of Middle Earth and the Atlas of Tolkien, which features maps of Middle Earth. Sarina read People Like Us, which she liked, but found something off about the writing.

Doctora Portillo asked if anyone read The 57 Bus, which she described as being “really good.” Grace talked about exchanging books with her friends on Christmas and receiving the Lin Manuel Miranda delight that is G’Morning, G’Night: Little Pep Talks for Me and You.

To learn more about the books we talked about, check out our Goodreads page!

Week in Review: Scientists in the Field

This week saw the kick off our collaborative Scientists in the Field project for 6th graders. Sixth graders in Mrs. Eustace’s English class and Mrs. Bornmann’s Science class are learning about scientific field work for a subject of their choice, which will culminate in a showcase presentation. On Monday, students skyped with Dr. Desley Whisson of Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Whisson is a scientist in the field of koala habitats and behavioral research.

On Tuesday, 6th graders returned to “shop” for a Scientist in the Field book. The series of books were set up around the table bookstore-style where students could peruse books arranged by topics. On Wednesday we held our monthly Book Club, which you can read about here. On Thursday Mrs. Eustace returned, this time with her 8th graders, who were working on research for their Of Mice and Men presentations. We ended the week with Mr. Crabb’s class in for their Sophomore Project work day accompanied by a roaring fire.

Bonus:

Grace’s adorable puppy, Luigi, visited us again!

Middle Schoolers made bookmarks for 2nd graders during Middle School Community Service last day before break and Ms. Melinson delivered them on Monday.