October Leaves Wondering What New Learning November Brings

Easy to Access School Databases
   Tech Tip of the Week
Did you know that our library collection includes numerous databases that can be accessed at school and at home?

 When at home, students open Google Drive and open the library homepage. Enter a word in the search box to access databases.

Databases in Action

    Students in Global II are putting Napoleon on Trial.  Was Napoleon Bonaparte a great leader or patriot or was he a power-hungry dictator? Students are conducting research and assuming a role from a cast of historical characters that will testify at the trial.  Teacher Librarians are collaborating with the classes to show students how to effectively search for information and create a bibliography.

Makerspace Notables

      Hats Off to Mr. Staffaroni's class on Makerspace clean-up. Using class notes, reading notes, and outside sources, students determined how to best represent one or more aspects of President Wilson's presidency. When they were done, the makerspace was left ready for the next class to use.

       Sophomores in English class read and annotated William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." Then they came to the makerspace to create a 3D depiction of an image that is important to the story as they dig deeper into the symbolism in the story.

Students in American Studies are making children's books to explain Henry David Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience."

Somewhat Virtual Book Club Meets-

 November 6, 2019, at 6 p.m.

      The book club is discussing Dear Martin by Nic Stone and New Kid byJerry Craft. Check out copies at the NCHS library and get in on the conversation. Dear Martin is about an African American high schooler headed for an Ivy League school who becomes a victim of racial profiling. New Kid is about a new kid at school who struggles to fit into a school culture, which is not very diverse. He is one of the few students of color at his new school and must learn to navigate this new school culture.

Scary and Not so Scary Sightings

     Students in the Child Development class brought scary and not so scary visitors to the library on Halloween. Trick or Treaters paraded around the library giving New Canaan high schoolers the treat of seeing their costumes.

School Spirit-ual Learning

Tech Tip of the week
Did you know that our library collection includes 26 digital magazines? The following 3 minute video tutorial shows you how to access and search them.



Here is the complete list of digital magazines:

• Aperture
• Architectural Digest
• The Atlantic
• Automobile Magazine
• Car & Driver
• Elle Decor
• Esquire
• Food Network Magazine
• Forbes
• GQ: Gentleman's Quarterly
• Horse & Rider
• Kiplinger's Personal Finance
• Mother Jones
• Motor Trend
• National Review
• The New Republic
• The New Yorker
• Reason
• Rolling Stone
• Scientific American
• SLAM
• Vanity Fair
• The Week
• Wired
• Bon Appetit
• Poets & Writers

We also have print magazines, and a database (National Newspapers) that features:

• The Christian Science Monitor
• The Boston Globe
• The Hartford Courant (include archives going back to the 18th century)
• The Los Angeles Times
• The New York Times
• The Wall Street Journal 
• The Washington Post

and, even though it is a magazine rather than a newspaper, 

• The Economist

Inquiry and Innovation
We've had a busy few weeks in the makerspace!

• Mr. Stevenson and Ms. Greco's Global History II students designed monuments to highlight the achievements of Enlightenment thinkers
• Mr. Stevenson's AP Psych class built brain models
• Mr. Forcucci's U.S. History students examined the impact of imperialism
• Ms. Arastu's and Ms. Rothschild's Global History I students examined the anatomy of ancient civilizations

A few non-makerspace projects were launched as well

• Ms. McLellan's Chemistry students analyzed the chemical dangers of vaping to create public service announcements

• Ms. Cohen and Mr. Quinn's American Studies class started working on their first junior research paper

History Reads

To examine U.S. involvement in war, Ms. Rothschild's U.S. History class checked out fiction and nonfiction books for history reading groups. Offered a selection of 25 books to choose from, students "voted" for their top choices and formed reading groups around themes of interest. Our offerings follow. 

Somewhat Virtual Book Club

Our book club (virtually) met with two schools in South Carolina on October 10 to discuss a fast paced high school mystery novel called "One of us is Lying" by Karen McManus. The book's plot twists surprised all in attendance, which is saying something, since we have an impressive cadre of mystery readers.

Our next selection is "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone with a companion graphic novel recommendation, "New Kid", by Norwalk-based author Jerry Craft, whose children attended New Canaan Country Day (in case you know the Craft family).

Techxperts

The class of 2023 is full of innovative maker enthusiasts! We have several students who are contemplating becoming Techxperts. Throughout the day, students visit the makerspace to tinker with their chosen specialties, including virtual reality, 3D printing, electronics, robotics, and computer building, and Raspberry Pi.

Book Displays 

Ms. Mabee is a display master! The library features enticing book displays everywhere. Please take note, and check out a book!

We've added virtual book displays to the announcement screens throughout the building. Focusing on what to read next, our slides feature recommendations for follow-up reads to books that circulate widely at New Canaan High School. 

Autumn Leaves Library Full of Activity

Tech Tip of the Week
Have you tried Google Voice Typing? This tool can be used to capture ideas as you speak them. Make sure to check for corrections that may need to be made.



Business as Usual
The library is a hub of student activity.



Global I
Freshmen continue to explore the Essential Question: Is Geography Destiny? They learned about strategic Boolean search strategies when researchers combine keywords with operators or modifiers, such as AND, NOT, and OR to get effective search results.  Students also learned how to access the NCHS Library databases to find evidence to support their point of view and properly create a bibliography using database entries.



Students Wondered, Investigated, Synthesized, Expressed and Reflected (WISER Research Model). By using this model, students could frame their thinking about their research on the Essential Question. Students first read the articles: "The Geography of Poverty" by Geoffrey Sachs, and "No, a Nation's Geography is not its Destiny" by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Then students researched and close read articles through the lens of analyzing information to either support the claim that geography is destiny or that it is not. Students took notes to support their point of view and expressed their ideas in an essay. They reflected on the process in order to set goals for the next time they do research.





Keep on Reading NCHS!
Students have been checking out books that are hot picks or Vide books. These are books that have either won awards, been best sellers or come highly recommended by other students.  Of course, students have access to a wide range of free choice reading.





Makerspace: Design Thinking Integration into Curriculum

Superstar students in Mr. Haag's astronomy class created 3D constellations to demonstrate that our perspective of constellations is specific to our location. If our location changes, then our "view" of the constellation will change also.