Mix It Up Day Celebration

Today was National Mix It Up Day. The idea behind the day, an effort promoted by Tolerance.org, is to get teens to move outside their cliques and comfort zones in order to break down some of the social barriers between people in schools and society. Highland celebrated in a number of ways. The peer helpers did a fabulous job organizing activities and getting students to socialize during lunch with new people. Many teachers mixed it up during the day by teaching different classes and getting the opportunity to interact with students in new ways. The school's social workers did a great job organizing the day.

In the library, we celebrated by hosting a story corner where Mrs. Heaser and Mrs. Tanguay shared Umberto Eco's The Three Astronauts with visiting classes. The book tells the story of three humans and a Martian who discover that although they may speak different languages and have very different appearances, they have much in common underneath it all. There is also a display of fiction books that deal with themes of tolerance, respect, and awareness of other cultures in the Learning Center. Check it out!

Zen and the Art of Faking It

When I was at the ISLMA (Illinois School Library Media Association) Conference in Springfield, IL, a week ago, I picked up a couple of advanced reader copies from a publisher in the exhibit hall. One of the books was Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick. I started reading, and I got pulled into the story right away.

San Lee is new to the school and looking for his niche. After going through the pros and cons of a number of different possible identities, he becomes an accidental Zen master. He falls in love with Woody, a folk-singing beauty who he is paired up with for the social studies project. I REALLY liked the characters in this book. All of them, even the adults, were really interesting and managed to have depth. The book was written with a great sense of humor and heart.

I know many Highland students have read and enjoyed Sonnenblick's first novel, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. Those people will definitely want to check out Sonnenblick's latest.

Image Citation
"Zen and the Art of Faking It Book Cover." Online image. Jordan Sonnenblick. 11 Nov. 2007 .

November Book Club Meetings

The next book club meetings are quickly approaching. Any interested students are welcome to join the discussions at any time.

*The 6th Grade Lunch Bunch will be meeting to talk about The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis on Thursday, November 29. The book is one of the nominees for the 2008 Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Program.
*The 7th Grade Lunch Bunch will be meeting to talk about Number the Stars by Lois Lowry on Friday, November 30.
*The 8th Grade Lunch Bunch will meet to talk about Hope was Here by Joan Bauer on Thursday, November 29.

A special thanks to Mrs. Heaser for helping to select the list of choices for the upcoming meetings.

Using Databases

Databases are really valuable research tools. Students at Highland have a selection of databases that are designed especially for middle school students.

This screencast tutorial will walk you through how to use EBSCO's Middle Search product. It includes magazine articles, newspaper articles, reference materials, and multimedia. Check out the video and let me know what you think. I created the screencast using a free product called Jing.

Rush to Read "Kicks Off"

Highland students will again have the opportunity to participate in the Rush to Read program.
I am a big fan of getting something FREE for doing what I like to do anyway, read!

Students, here is what you have to do to participate:

• Read four books and write a summary/review for each of the books
  
• Turn in your reviews in the Learning Center by the end of January
  
• Receive a voucher for two free tickets to a Rush home game!

Questions? See Ms. Wyatt or check out the informational poster in the Learning Center.

Image Citation
"Arena Football at Kansas City." Wikimedia Commons. 27 April 2007. Wikimedia. 13 Oct. 2007 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Arena_football_Kansas_City_wide_shot.jpg

Welcome Mrs. Heaser!

For the next two months, Cherie Heaser will be working and learning in the Highland Learning Center as a student teacher. She's a student at the University of Illinois. We are fortunate to be the final stop of Mrs. Heaser's student teaching placements. She's already had experience at the high school level and in a K-8 building. This is the first time we've had a student teacher in the Highland Learning Center. It is sure to be a great adventure!

Next Book Club Meetings Announced

The Lunch Bunch Book Clubs kicked off successfully in September. We have three book clubs at Highland, one for each grade level. At the end of the first meetings we selected our books for the next meeting.

Here is the information about our next meetings:

• 6th grade will be reading Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs. Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 1 during 5th period.
• 7th grade will be reading Silent to the Bone by E. L. Konigsburg. Our next meeting will be Friday, October 26 during 4th period.
• 8th grade will be reading Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 31 during 6th period.

Any interested Highland students are invited to participate. See Ms. Wyatt to sign up and get a copy of the book.