book awards

A couple of weeks ago during my Friday book talk with the freshmen I shared about Sherman Alexie's new book, "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian". I predicted then this book would get a lot of attention. Well, guess what? I was right! Alexie just received the National Book Award's prize for young adult literature and received $10,000 for being the winner. The CHS library has two copies of his book, a semi-autobiographical story of a American Indian at an all-white school, and they are flying off the shelves. Apparently CHS students think this book is a winner also.

End of the quarter woes

Last week was the end of the first quarter at Cashmere High School. On Friday I observed a lot of students in the library working on their projects and homework. As they freaked out and begged for more time on the deadline, I thought of some study habits I try to keep (yes - I'm still going to school, now I'm working on my master's degree). So, if you don't mind, here we go with Mrs. H's "How not to freak out at the end of the quarter" list.
1. Start way before you think you need to.
2. Pace yourself, do a little everyday. Don't put it off any longer - just do it.
3. When working at the school computers, DO NOT SIT BY YOUR FRIENDS! They always will distract you and you won't get as much done.
4. Things happen, so be ready for unseen problems like: the electricity goes off, the printer's ink runs out, the printer paper runs out, the teachers you need is gone, the Internet goes down, your email won't open, your project partner doesn't show up, or your computer crashes. Be prepared! Save your work on a thumb drive and get your project done early in case something goes wrong, it probably will.

What are we reading at CHS?

I looked at the top books circulated from the C.H.S. library since the beginning of school and here they are:

Being by Kevin Brooks

Boy2Girl by Terrance Blacker

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (Third book in the series, comes after Twilight and New Moon)

Demons of the Ocean by Justin Somper (First book in the Vampirates series)

Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (another vampire book by a very young author)

If you are looking for a good book, try these popular titles. We can reserve them for you too, just ask. Mrs. H.

Friday's book talk

Every Friday I have been going into Mrs. Gemeinhart's 9th grade English classes and book talking five books. Since I am attending the WLMA conference this week, I chose to make this quick little video for those students. If any student leaves a comment on what book they are currently reading and how they like it, I will put their name in a hat for a special drawing. Please make sure your name is in the comment if you want to be eligible for the drawing, Thanks, Mrs. Hightower

Attention Global Studies students

Global Studies students - make a comment on my blog. Tell me what you learned about our CHS databases and receive a prize on Friday!!!

Mrs. Hightower

(sorry, this offer is expired - watch for more bribes in the future)

On the road with a good read

Over the past few days I have been listening to this fantastic thriller, Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz. I hardly can wait to get in my car each day and find out what is happening to Odd, a young man who has been "blessed" with a sixth sense. If you don't think you have time to read, check out a book CD from the public library. Listening while driving provides a great way to read another book, just don't get too caught up in the story. You may have to pull over during intense parts, so please drive safe!

family connections

Over this Labor Day weekend I went to a family reunion in Sun River near Bend, OR. While I was enjoying my family I started a family website using myfamily.com. Over the past week members of my extended family have joined and added their photos and comments. If you need a place to keep in touch with you family, I would recommend this easy-to-use website.

books to movies

Last night my book club gathered to watch the Masterpiece Theatre production of The Women in White, our last month's book. (see July 30th post) With anticipation we settled in with our little plates of snacks and began the movie. Soon you could hear groans and exclamations of, "that wasn't in the book", or "I don't remember that", or "was that in the book?". As we watched over the next two hours all of us were disappointed at the liberties the producers took in their interpretation of "our" book. The story line took off in another direction, the characters changed and blended into new people, the plot varied and basically wasn't like the book in many ways. While I have to admit reducing a five hundred page book into two hours must be difficult, I don't know why producers have to change the story line so much, especially sensationalizing the basic plot. It was very distressing to all of us. I haven't seen too many movies that I liked as well as the book, and last night's viewing solidified my opinion that books are better than movies!

Back at school 2007-08

Well, I'm back at CHS and it seems like I never left for the summer. It's weird how almost twelve weeks can feel like only one. It's fun meeting the new students and trying to remember the returning student's names. Each fall brings a fresh start for everyone and this year is no exception. So, get out your new backpacks, supplies, and prepare for a new beginning of a great school year.

Virtual environments

Have you participated in a "Multiuser Virtual Environment"? This could be site like Club Penguin or Second Life. Did you know Second Life has over Seven Million users! The virtual world grows by the minute and I worry about what it is doing to our interpersonal skills, our face-to-face communication, and our brains in general. I realize social networking probably isn't going away, but when people spend millions of real dollars in a virtual environment I get concerned. Online user's avatars (their virtual online personalities) allow people to live in their fantasy world as another person, often very much unlike themselves. Is this healthy? My gut feeling tells me it is not good. Why are we so drawn to the virtual world? As someone who has her feet pretty close to the ground, I realize I probably don't understand the appeal. I would like to know however, I guess a trip through the Matrix is in order. See you on the other side. . .

keeping up on my reading and failing miserably

I have tried to read a stack of books from my library this summer and have only gotten through three of them so far. Between my master's classes and yearbook camp I just haven't had a lot of free time. However, I did enjoy reading Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz. This historical novel set in Japan in the late 1800's tells the story about Toyo, a son of a samurai. As his father tries to teach him bushido, the way of the warrior, Toyo learns to adapt the old with his new love of baseball. This book really kept my attention and I don't even like baseball - a big "thumbs up"! Another book I enjoyed and I think you will to is Lucy the Giant by Sherri L. Smith. Lucy, a huge fifteen year old girl from a small Alaskan town runs away from her abusive father and cruel classmates and joins up with a crabbing boat crew who accepts her as an adult. Lucy's character captivated me and I think you'll love her too. Again, this books receives a big "thumbs up". Not everything I pick up to read I finish, as in the case of Clay by David Almond. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this dark psychological thriller set in England, but I found myself putting this one down and never finishing it. However, you might enjoy this book about Davie and his new friend Stephen who can form figures out of clay and bring them to life. Eventually they create Clay, a man-sized figure that eventually turns into a monster that only Davie can stop. This book might not be for everyone, but I think some of you might really enjoy getting into this twisted, dark novel. Whatever you do, Keep Reading!

My book club, "The Inklings"

Tonight I get to go to my monthly book club meeting. We try to read one "classic" book a year and this month's book, The Woman in White by Wilke Collins, certainly fills that requirement. Collins, a contemporary and friend of Charles Dickens, wrote this novel in 1859 and origianally published it as a weekly serial. Considered one of the first mystery novels ever written, it kept my attention despite it's length (over 500 pages!). I really look forward to meeting my friends and talking about our current book. We've been meeting together for over six years and truly it's one of the highlights of each month. I encourage you to form a group and read a book together. You'll be surprised how much more you'll get out of a book when you discuss it with your book club.

Summer reads

Between life and my master's classes I haven't had a lot of time to read this summer. However, I did managed to finish Eragon the other day and look forward to the second book: Eldest. Summer nights seem to get me in the mood for fantasy reading and these books by Christopher Paolini allowed me to travel to another time and world without leaving my home. If you haven't picked up a good fantasy book lately, why not give it a try this summer? I think you'll be glad you did.

my next entry!

Have you ever wondered how a computer's mouse arrow moves around inside your computer? I just learned of a web site that magnifies the screen lens to reveal how it works. Check this out! http://www.1-click.jp/ I'm sure you'll go away totally amazed to see the actual workings of this mechanism.

I hope you're enjoying the summer. School will start before you know it, so have some fun in the sun while you can.

Getting started

Welcome to my first blog entry for the 2007-2008 school year. I know, you all are having a great summer vacation, but I am in graduate school and this is my homework. I hope to use this blog for a place to let students and staff know about new books and technology at the CHS library. For now I just want to get started and get this set up. Watch for further entries and be sure to comment if you want to. I hope I get back to this soon.

Mrs. Hightower