The Hobbit comes to the big screen

When Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien first published The Hobbit in 1937, I'm sure he didn't foresee a movie version being made in 2012. The movie premiers this Friday, December 14th, and I'm sure many Lord of the Rings followers are very excited about seeing the first of a trilogy of films adapting Tolkien's famous book. To learn more about the film visit http://www.thehobbit.com/.  See you at the movies!

John and Hank Green

On Thanksgiving my nephew Troy introduced me to some new interesting web offerings by popular young adult  author John Green and his brother Hank. Together they make up the "Vlogbrothers" and host a variety of educational videos and websites that many young adults find fascinating, including my nephew. Check out this website to see what I mean: http://johngreenbooks.com/. 

Their "Vlogbrothers" site is hosted on YouTube (sorry, blocked at school), but you can watch it at home: http://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers.
They claim they're  "Raising nerdy to the power of awesome", I love it!
                                         

photo: John (right) and Hank Green on Tour © Elyse Marshall (borrowed from Google images 11/25/12)

M.T. Anderson visits CHS Libray October 9th, 2012

The afternoon English classes enjoyed a visit from author M.T. Anderson. He talked about his books, Thirsty, Burger Wuss, Octavian Nothing and Feed and shared with the students about his experiences as an award winner author.

Does your face (book) need cleaning?

I was listening to ABC news on October 19th and this segment got my attention. Many CHS students are applying to colleges and scholarships now and they need to keep these suggestions in mind. Take a look at the seven easy steps to help you clean up your online profile and do it today!

Social Media Can Hurt Your College Bid - ABC News#.UIgwUv-S328.email

READ eBooks online today!



Click on the VIA logo to go the our new eBook collection!

 Did you know you can now access a collection of eBooks online? Cashmere schools recently subscribed to VIA and you can access it through any online device. There is a variety of books plus a collection of social studies and science titles that can help you with your school work.

The user name to the high school's collection is: mackinncesdhs
The password to the high school's collection is: ncesd171



There also is a free reader app you can download:

I hope you take advantage of these books. Take a look and you might find something you like. Remember to ask me for help if you need any, Mrs. H.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

I don't know why, but this song by The Platters comes to mind today as we face more Smoke Days at Cashmere High School.  Hang in there Bulldogs, it will get better!

Welcome back to the CHS Library!

I hope you had a great summer and are ready to hit the new 2012-13 school year running.

My summer included a cruise to Alaska, a fun trip to the Washington coast, camping at Lake Chelan, and spending time with my family. One of my granddaughters lives in Seattle, so she gets to visit us more often than the other two who live in New York. She's starting to enjoy looking at books, it's never too early to begin reading.

I hope you had a chance to read some books also this summer. I finally read James Dashner's The Maze Runner, the 2012 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award winner, and I can see why so many Washington state students voted for it.

Be sure to check out our new books and the 2013 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award nominees. Let me know you read this blog and I'll give you a Smarties!

Summer Reading!!!

What are you going to read this summer? 

My granddaughters enjoy books and "read" everyday. They are learning important concepts about stories, setting, plot, characterization, beginning, middle and end, illustration, vocabulary and more. Doesn't that sound just like your English class? You need to practice reading to establish and keep up your skills. So, please take time to read this summer. Avoid the summer slide! Grab a book off your shelf, buy a best seller, download a book to your Kindle or Nook, or go to the local public library and check one out. You'll come back in the fall ready to go and your reading skills intact.

For some ideas of what to read this summer, check out this list of recommended books for the college-bound or the Shmoop Summer Reading list.

What are we READING?

I looked over recent library records and put the top books CHS has been reading in this graphic word cloud I designed through Tagxedo. Click on this link to check it out yourself and make some word clouds. They can be saved and inserted into a presentation or document or shared online. Have some fun!

The VCR that never goes obsolete!

Holly Star and Bob Lenz presented at this morning's assembly and brought an encouraging message to our CHS students. Bob's talk on being Valued and having Courage and Respect challenged us all. I hope you had an opportunity to listen to these great people.

PS: They both will be at the middle school tonight, so you have another chance to see them.

National Poetry Month - April!

April rolls around again and once more it's Poetry Month.

Do yourself a favor and take time to meditate on a poem sometime in April - you'll find reading poetry might just relax or refresh you. Here's a good place for some poetry ideas, the Academy of American Poets.

Common Sense Media

I just became aware of Common Sense Media , a site dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, it provides trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.

Here's what they believe in:

Our 10 Beliefs
We believe in media sanity, not censorship.
We believe that media has truly become "the other parent" in our kids' lives, powerfully affecting their mental, physical, and social development.
We believe in teaching our kids to be savvy, respectful and responsible media interpreters, creators, and communicators. We can’t cover their eyes but we can teach them to see.
We believe parents should have a choice and a voice about the media our kids consume and create. Every family is different but all need information.
We believe that the price for free and open media is a bit of extra homework for families. Parents need to know about the media their kids use and need to teach responsible, ethical behavior as well as manage overall media use.
We believe that through informed decision making, we can improve the media landscape one decision at a time.
We believe appropriate regulations about right time, right place, and right manner exist. They need to be upheld by our elected and appointed leaders.
We believe in age-appropriate media and that the media industry needs to act responsibly as it creates and markets content for each audience.
We believe ratings systems should be independent and transparent for all media.
We believe in diversity of programming and media ownership.

What do you think of the movie?

Thursday night on March 22 at midnight the Hunger Games movie will begin its presumably long local showing, so what do you think about it? Please tell us your thoughts on the movie compared to the book. For local showings and information, click here.

VOTE for Evergreen Young Adult Book Award now!

It's time to VOTE for the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award for 2012! If you have read at least two books from the ten nominees, you are eligible. Pick up a ballot from Mrs. Hightower or vote online at: http://tinyurl.com/Evergreen2012

You must vote by Thursday, March 15, so do it now!
Here are the ten nominees in case you have forgotten:

Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Maze Runner by James Dashner "The 2012 Winner!"
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
North of Beautiful by Justina Headley
We Were Here by Matt de la Pena
Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Malice by Chris Wooding

What are you reading?

My granddaughter Siobhan likes to "read" her books now and will spend a long time pondering the words and pictures. Her favorites are animal books. What are your favorites? A candy bar to the first ten students who repond back with their favorite kinds of books. Is anyone out there?

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Have you seen this award winning short video sure to tug on the heart of any book lover? My cousin sent me the link on Facebook this morning and I had to share it with you, I hope you enjoy it!
Feb. 27th update: Last night this film won an Oscar for Best Animated Short! I knew it was special from the first time I saw it. It's worth looking at again now.

More than books @ your library!

Did you know you can test for your food handlers card at the CHS library? You can even prep for the test by taking the Washington State food worker course. The link in on the library page and you can get your card by paying online after the test with a debit or credit card. Mrs. Swanson's Nutrition, Fitness and Foods class was in today and took the test - they have to pass the test before they can cook in her class, so they were all motivated to pass. Have a good time cooking!

Promote reading with teen video contest!

I recently received this press release from the Washington State Library:

OLYMPIA . . . Are you a teen who aspires to be the next Steven Spielberg or Spike Lee? Do you love to make fun, cool videos? Here is your chance to put that cinematic creativity to good use and help promote reading and libraries at the same time!

The “2012 Teen Video Challenge” is a national video competition now underway. Its goal is for more teens to get involved with reading and their public library's summer reading program. The contest ends March 9, 2012.

The Washington State Library is partnering with the Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) to promote the video contest. To take part do the following:

1. Go to "Own the Night" Teen Video Challenge 2012.
2. Create a 30-90 second video that encourages teens to read and use libraries this summer. Include your interpretation of the 2012 CSLP teen slogan "Own the Night."
3. Explore the "Resource for video creation" page for additional ideas and information.
4. Entitle your video: "2012 TVC-WA-Unique Name." Please choose a unique name that does not include your real name (example: 2012 TVC-WA-J. Smith-Krpton123)
5. Upload your video to YouTube.com or Vimeo.com.
6. Fill out Model Release form and Entry form .
7. Mail completed forms by March 9, 2012 to:

2012 Teen Video Challenge
Washington State Library
6880 Capital Blvd S
PO Box 42460
Olympia, WA 98504

Winners will be announced by CSLP in spring 2012.