shmoop!

Have you checked out shmoop yet? Take a look at http://www.shmoop.com/ and I think you'll find you can use this site today for many of your classes. There are study guides for bestsellers and literature, poetry, US History, Civics, Biographies and Music. If you need a timeline for the making of the U.S. Constitution, the theme to Eclipse or the lyrics to Purple Haze, shmoop will help you. I showed it to Mr. Morrison yesterday and he used it for one of his classes that same day. Wow - it doesn't get better than that.

Grooveshark Online radio

I have used online radio websites, but I just found a new one I really like, Grooveshark. You can pick songs and make your own playlists from their vast library. Check it out, I think you'll like it. http://listen.grooveshark.com/

Death in the library

After the Veteran's Day assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 10th, I was in the hall watching students return to class. I saw a flash and thought someone had a laser pointer. "It's a bird!" someone cried out. The bird flashed through the door. Wow, was it fast. I didn't see it fly into the library, but many did. Immediately I thought, how are we going to get it out? Several teachers and students searched for the bird. Finally Mr. Groce found it dead, lying on a chair in the back. A quick death in the library, so sad - a first for me and I hope the last.

Matt de la Pena's visit to CHS

On Friday, October 16th, author Matt de la Pena visited the CHS library and talked to Mr. Morrison's 2nd block English class and a few students from Mrs. Gemeinhart's Creative Writing class. He shared about the writing process and his experience writing Mexican Whiteboy, the book everyone read. Mr. de la Pena grew up in National City, the setting for Mexican Whiteboy, near San Diego and now lives in Brooklyn where he continues to write and teach. We all had a great time visiting and getting to know this fun, interesting young adult author. Matt de la Pena shared with me after his talk that he really enjoyed his time at CHS and liked how all the students had read his book.

Thanks to North Central Regional Library for bringing Mr. de la Pena to our area.

My new favorite book!

"[The Hunger Games] is a violent, jarring speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense . . . I couldn't stop reading." --Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly.

That pretty well sums up what I thought about a great book that I just finished reading by Suzanne Collins; The Hunger Games. The story is set in Panem, a nation that lies in what is left of North America. To help control its citizens and keep the districts in line, the Capitol holds the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death for the boys and girls selected from each of the twelve districts. The main characters, Katniss and Peeta, the two chosen from the twelvth district, fight for their survival with the other twenty-two contenders.

The Hunger Games is my latest favorite book. It's the first of a trilogy and I am so impressed, it's a fun and non-stop, can't-put-it-down read. The second book, Catching Fire, is just as good and I can hardly wait to see what happens to Katniss and Peeta. Scholastic's website promoting the books includes video interviews of the author and fun interactive simulation games - be sure to check it out.

Summer's over soon

Well, I for one have mixed emotions about school starting because this summer has been so much fun. I went to Alaska on a cruise, enjoyed Whidbey Island, traveled to Idaho and biked the Hiawatha Trail, spent precious time with my three beautiful daughters and husband, visited a ton of friends at an awesome reunion, and read a lot! However, I am so excited about school starting! It's my favorite time of year and a fun time of new faces, books and ideas. Hopefully we're all rested up and ready to begin the 2009-2010 school year. See you on August 26th!

Summer Reading

I recently learned about a new website called DailyLit. After a quick sign-up, you can receive complete books in installments via email or RRS. The have over 1440 books, most are free. I looked in the Women's Fiction division and they include many popular titles including Emma, Jane Eyre, and Little Women. In the Science Fiction section are many titles we have in our CHS library including Little Brother (a new book this year), Frankenstein, Flatland, and The Time Machine. DailyLit would be a great way to continue your reading over the summer. You can check it out at: http://www.dailylit.com/.