nchslibraryinfo: Early October: We Need YOUR Input!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Early October: We Need YOUR Input!

It is time to choose look-alike costumes for spirit week and we are inviting you to help us decide what we will be.

Check back in two weeks to see pictures of us in the winning costumes!

Constructed a tool
for measurement in science

We have been very busy with on-going research projects and new ones that are being introduced. We are excited to be collaborating with the new members of the various departments and continuing the great work that has been on-going with veteran colleagues. This week we have begun working with American Studies (AMSTUD) on their junior research paper focused on the Bill of Rights and its place in contemporary society. Increasingly, the products of students' intensive research is including artifacts rendered in the makerspace. This week Ms. Patrizzi's Global II classes created representations of the many faces of absolutism and Ms. Steidl's students furthered their exploration of character complexity with their layered, symbolic constructions.

Nearpod student learning report

BYOD has enabled us to present our library lessons in a way that is interactive with the students. Using Nearpod we are able to collect instant feedback on students' understanding of the steps of the research process and their ability to access the array of resources the library supports.

NCHS makerspace has a 3-page spread
in School Library Connections.

The reach of the library program is being extended by our independent study STEAM initiatives. The TechXperts and Maker Majors (M2) met for a luncheon last week to kick off these programs for the 2016-2017 year. We are so pleased to see so much interest from students in all four grades who each bring unique experiences and talents to our library offerings. By joining one of these programs students are committing to their own learning as well as to supporting the learning of their classmates through service at the TechXpert desk, facilitating project work in the makerspace, or teaching workshops to interested students and teachers.

Lots of independent reading is happening and new book displays appear regularly. We are opening October with two new displays. One pairs books from our collection with national month-of-October observations. The other is a display of book recommendations featuring the Science Department. From fiction to non-fiction, military to sci-fi, serious to light-hearted, they managed to find something for everyone. We are very grateful that they so enthusiastically participated in this initiative. Stay tuned to see which department we feature next! We continue to expand the ways in which students can access the library collection. By downloading the Destiny Discover app (also available in Google Play) and inputing the NCHS library information, students can access over 1,000 eBooks, and 130 audiobooks from our collection. There are so many ways students can take their reading on the go!

#SWVBC 10/5/2016

On October 5th, at 6PM NCHS students met with us both face-to-face in the library, and virtually from home to connect with book clubs from James Caldwell High School in New Jersey and Paul M. Dorman High School in South Carolina to discuss Some Boys by Patty Blount. The author joined us online for the entire hour, helping us better understand her motivation for writing the book. Our Somewhat Virtual Book Club meets on the first Wednesday of the month to discuss a pre-selected book. The November selection is I Will Save You by Matt de la Pena. To learn more, Contact us at contact@nchslibrary.info.

Club Fair 2016

The 2016 Club Fair was a huge success. The library advises four co-curricular groups:

Maker Majors
Techxperts
S.T.E.A.M. Club
Somewhat Virtual Book Club (see above)

Our first S.T.E.A.M. club meeting, which includes both Techxperts and Maker Majors, will take place on Wednesday, October 26th at 2:15 PM in the makerspace. We will select officers, clarify our mission, establish expectations, and provide sweets to eat.

Bob Ross fans abound at NCHS!

Bob Ross. Did you know he was a thing? It turns out that many students find his voice soothing and his majestic landscapes calming and centering. Many times during the day clusters of students gather to study and work on projects and display Bob Ross painting tutorials in the background as they work. We must admit, on a particularly frenetic day when we are running back and forth to many different classes, a couple of minutes watching Bob Ross and his fan brush nudge a weathered cabin to emerge from a cluster of pines is rather palliative. And, the library has a revolving collection of oil paintings on display!