Week in Review 3/11-3/15 and 3/18-3/22

The Ides of March came and went, and we in the Matthews Library managed to avoid any backstabbing betrayal. Hopefully you’ve had the same luck!

On Monday March 11th, while our students had the day off, Ms. Melinson attended an orange-themed and exciting virtual conference hosted by the Association of Independent School Libraries (AISL). Among other excellent presentations and workshops, Jerry Craft, author and cartoonist of the New Kid series, spoke. The organizers sent out a fun package of goodies for each participant to open before each new activity throughout the day.

We hosted a leadership lunch on Wednesday March 13th. Siri spoke with Ishaan and Katie about her internship with the Green Schools Action Coalition (GSAC) which is working to help schools in the Sacramento area move toward carbon neutrality.

Thursday saw the return of donuts to Ms. Melinson’s advisory. How delicious!

That Friday, Ms. Perla hosted a C-Day meeting to help the Juniors further prepare for college application season.

On Tuesday the 19th, The Octagon hosted a roundtable discussion in the quiet room about artificial intelligence and its uses (and misuses) in education. Then on Thursday Mr. Unti, Ms. Monahan, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Melinson had their own conversation about integrating AI into education.

We got very lucky on Thursday because Ruby visited Ms. Melinson’s advisory.

Siri led a Model UN meeting on Thursday that included a Kahoot! quiz.

Jon Chad, cartoonist and author (also Ms. Kahn’s husband), visited our 3rd through 5th graders on Thursday the 21st. The Solvers, his most recent book series, follows three superhero kids who use the power of mathematics to save the day. He spoke with the students about his journey in the world of graphic novels and led them through several engaging cartooning activities around math concepts that the students have been learning. Ms. Melinson prepared a beautiful picnic lunch for him and Ms. Kahn to enjoy in between his delightful sessions with the students.

Spring has finally sprung, and we here in the Matthews Library are beyond excited for reading in the sunshine. If you’re anything like Ruby though, you might be more prepared for a nap. Either way, have a wonderful weekend Country Day!

Weeks in Review: 2/26-3/1 and 3/4-3/8

We were a librarian down the last week of February and never felt more aware and grateful of everything Ms. Melinson does to keep this ship afloat.

Mr. Wells and Mr. Comer’s US History classes stopped in for some learning about databases, primary and secondary sources, and annotations. They’re gearing up and getting started on research for their final paper, an essay on a topic of interest to them from the late 20th century. Students are looking into some interesting areas of research, including the rise of Surrealist art following WW2, the significance of the famous boxer changing his name from Cassius Clay to Mohammad Ali, and the lavender scare of the 1950s.

Tuesday was the 100th day of school, so we got to witness an adorable parade circling our library.

At lunch on Wednesday the Black Student Union hosted their Living Legends panel here in the library. The event shone light on a few of the remarkable Black leaders we have here in the Sacramento community, including Rob Archie, the owner of Urban Roots; former basketball star and current coach David Ancrum; Lynette Hall (’99), the Community Engagement Manager with the City of Sacramento. The panel was moderated by Sundiata Dumisani of the BSU and Dr. Christian Bradford.

Friday was our favorite library event of the year, Read Across Country Day! We built a blanket fort in the Bermuda Triangle, cleared away all the tables to make room for cushy comfy reading spots, and offered tea and hot cocoa to all our patrons. Then, from 2-2:15 everyone on campus dropped what they were doing to read for pleasure. Huzzah for the celebration of reading and all the joy it can bring!

Throughout the day, we also caught sight of Waldo in some fun locations. Did you see them anywhere, Country Day?

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This Monday, we finally got our librarian back, so if you heard celebratory whoops, now you know the source. The APUSH classes joined us on both Monday and Tuesday for the kick off of their own spring project, also looking at databases, historical source classifications, and article annotation.

Tuesday we held High School book club, so if you’d like to know more about what we discussed be sure to check out the post about it here.

Wednesday was the C-Day meeting for Juniors. Ms. Perla spoke with them about narrowing down which schools they will be applying to come Autumn. Apparently 45 schools is too many.

On Thursday, the Candy Fairy appeared to deliver sweets to all the advisories who sent us selfies of them reading during the all school read on Read Across Country Day. Click through the slideshow to see some of our readers in action!

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Happy Friday, Country Day, and happy International Women’s Day! We hope the students appreciate their three day weekend. You could always check out one of our thousands of books authored by women to celebrate the important contributions women make in our society.

March Book Club

We held Book Club on a Tuesday this month as part of our secret library agenda to Throw You Off Your Rhythm, Country Day! Not really, there was just a college counseling meeting already scheduled for this Wednesday and a Leadership Lunch next Wednesday, and we simply could not wait any longer to hear what books our club read over their mid-winter break.

Ms. Melinson delivered a book recommendation from Mr. Cunningham (book pictured above) titled The Five Lives of Hilma Af Klint. It is a graphic novel biography of the Swedish artist and mystic, Hilma Af Klint. Ms. Melinson herself was so intrigued by its vibrant colors and unique subject matter that it’s been added to her TBR pile, and will very likely find its way into the Matthews’ collection shortly. Ms. Melinson went on to talk to us a little bit about poetry, as Poetry Month is coming up quickly. She recommended the poets Mary Oliver, Sarah Kay, Phil Kaye, Ada Limón, and Langston Hughes.

Jess read Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds, a time-loop romance with tragic consequences. She spoiled it a bit for us, but we’ll spare those details. Suffice it to say, Jess enjoys a happily ever after in her romances.

Suketa read the magazine article “The Mountains of Pi” by Richard Preston. It is the true story of two brothers who build a supercomputer out of mail-order parts in order to calculate the most digits of pi ever calculated.

Jordyn did not finish Vagabonds! because the narration style did not suit her fancies. Instead, she dove into Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, and is enthralled by the quick world building and witty characters.

Radha is reading Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else, by Jordan Ellenberg. She describes it as a cocky author’s view of the world.

Mr. Comer read Philodemus’ On Anger over break, and has also been thoroughly enjoying Usagi Yojimbo, a graphic novel collection about a rabbit swordsman who also appeared in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

Rachel is enjoying her read of The Princess Bride in spite of the marked differences between the book and the beloved classic movie.

We also discussed the possibility of getting student book recommendations up on our slat wall displays, which has been done in the past. Look forward to seeing more of those in the library moving forward!

For a list of all the books discussed at High School Book Club over the years, see our Goodreads page here!