Weeks in Review: November 27th-December 15th

We’ve hosted and accomplished quite a lot during these weeks between the Fall and Winter breaks here at the Matthews Library.

Upon return from our week off, the Sophomores delved right into work on their research projects. With support from Ms. Melinson and Ms. Leavy, many made remarkable progress, with a few seeming to finally understand that they would indeed need to both research and write in order to produce a research paper.

Ms. Melinson organized a beautiful and sweet birthday celebration for Ms. Z-S, complete with a delicious berry pie, several adorable mushroom-themed gifts, and matching aprons for the whole library department.

Ms. Perla met with the Juniors at lunch to preview what will come for them with the post-Country Day planning that senior year entails.

That Tuesday, alumni Kaeleigh and Alyssa Valverde met with the BFFs over a tasty lunch. The sisters talked about life after Country Day, the importance of finding a college that works for you over getting the name brand experience, and the challenge of balancing work with school.

Mr. Comer’s Latin classes performed a Toga Walk on Wednesday. If fashion really is cyclical then we can’t wait for these bad boys to come back into vogue.

We hosted a leadership lunch on Wednesday as well. Imani and Jackie presented about their internship with Breakthrough Sacramento’s Substance Abuse Awareness and Policy program. They gave a similar presentation about the dangers of drugs and alcohol on teens at the Elevate Youth California Conference in October.

Ms. Melinson’s advisory returned to their traditional delicious donuts for their meeting on the last day of November.

For Be a Banana Week students and staffulty filled a kindness box with positive anecdotes, vibes, and experiences.

On Monday December 4th we got a visit from Ruby absolutely rocking a new sweater. Some students hunkered down and got a lot of homework done while others spent a bit more of their unstructured time in the library socializing. Students also weighed in on the topic of favorite meals on the Room of Requirement’s whiteboard. Did they miss any noteworthy meals?

English 10 performed scenes from the play Twilight by Anna Deavere Smith on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Octagon lead a roundtable on college admissions in the Room of Requirement, and Ms. Parrish outfitted her cubicle with absolutely incredible gingerbread house themed decorations.

We hosted High School Book Club at lunch on Wednesday. For a summary of what we talked about check out this post.

That Friday, the sophomores had a workday aimed at helping them to complete their research projects, due only a few days from then.

During the final week before winter vacation the Matthews Library remained ever-full of students, stressing and socializing alike.

On Wednesday the 13th of December the Sophomores submitted their *almost* final drafts to Turnitin, a website service which checks for plagiarized and AI-written text. The sophomores then had until Friday to correct any issues caught by Turnitin. Over the next few days, they flooded our office for support from Ms. Melinson to address the concerns Turnitin flagged. As of midnight on Friday the Sophomores should be complete with this intensive research and writing assignment. We can’t wait to read what they’ve produced! Stay tuned for updates on their progress towards presenting their research in the new year.

Ms. Perla hosted another C-Day meeting for the Seniors at lunchtime on Wednesday. As seniors complete their application submissions and those who applied Early Decision begin hearing back from schools, we wish them the best of luck. This process isn’t easy, but you’re almost there!

After school the IDEA committee convened along with students who attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) and adults who went to the People of Color Conference (POCC).

On both Wednesday and Thursday Ms. Melinson prepared tea for the High School students in our offices. Jaq went a bit of an untraditional route by putting a piece of fudge in his hot water to create a “chocolate bomb,” but everyone else enjoyed our selection of teas.

The Santa Paws gift deliverers stopped by our doors on Thursday morning. Lucky us!

Ms. Melinson’s advisory enjoyed Mochi donuts and cookie decorating on Thursday. Double the treats for double the fun! Throughout the week, the students added kind notes and mysterious hints to secret envelopes addressed to another student in the advisory. The secrets were revealed on Thursday!

Mr. Comer lead his Latin classes (and a few volunteers) on a bout of Saturnalia caroling that included a much-enjoyed stop at the Matthews Library.

Both the Matthews and Winters Libraries put up some wintery displays that you can check out below! Ms. Z-S brought some chocolate treats for staffulty to enjoy, and we were honored with a visit from Baby Z. We hope you have a joyful vacation full of laughter, good food, and reading galore. We’ll see you in the 2024!

December Book Club

Ms Melinson accidentally read the fourth book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series called Before We Say Goodbye, but it was still good and it can stand alone. The series is about a Japanese cafe where you can time travel but with some very specific rules such as a strict one about returning before the coffee gets cold. She also talked about a bunch of books that people might want to read over break. Some that are back in the library are Heartstopper, Imogen Obviously, and Killers of the Flower Moon. Warrior Girl Unearthed is the sequel to Firekeeper’s Daughter. Poet Nikita Gill has a new book of poems, These Are the Words, her first one written for a young adult audience. Guardians of Dawn: Zahra has a beautiful cover and it’s been described as Sailor Moon meets Cinder. Jess read a fantasy, He’s Haunted. Dylan read a book that Mr Cunningham recommended called Third Class Superhero. Gabriel is reading the Summer I Turned Pretty books and watching the series. Rachel is reading a book in AP Biology, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, that is both interesting and very sad.

We started talking about gift books (ones you want and ones you give). When Chloe said the book she likes to give is the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Princess Bride, Rachel said that is the book she would like to receive (so we hope the hint was taken;-) She would also like any of the Terry Pratchett books that she hasn’t read yet. She has received and would give the whole set of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Imani would choose the Maze Runner series because she was a Percy Jackson kid and would like to see the other popular series from back then. Noor likes to give the Penguin Clothbound Classics or the Oxford World’s Classics because they have good introductions. Dylan would want to receive the Hunger Games series because with the new movie out, so he needs to catch up. 

A lively discussion followed about what are the worst books to receive as gifts. An SAT Prep book, an outdated dictionary, a textbook for a class you’re not taking, “How to Make Your Bed,” an anger management book, and a puberty book from your parent topped our worst list.

Click here if you’d like to peruse all the titles recommended or discussed in Book Club!