Hopewell High School Library Blog

Tommorrow, April 22 is Earth Day!  Earth Day is a day designated to celebrate and save our planet.  Take some time to learn what has been done and learn what you can do to save the earth.  

Learn about Earth Day
www.earthday.net
www.earthday.gov

Act on Earth Day
www.pittsburgh Cares.org
www.dcnr.state.pa.us 

Check out the disply in the library to learn about the earth, what has been done to help save the earth, and what you can do to save the earth.  See the brochures in the display for some fun and easy Earth saving ideas.  Some of the books on display include:
 Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen
The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
Green Chic: Saving the Earth In Style, by Christie Matheson
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore
Going Green, by Kris Hirschmann
Energy Alternatives, edited by Laura K. Egendorf
The Weather Makers:  How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth, by Tim Flannery
The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Earth Day sign by Lacee and Haylee
Earth Day brochures by Nadia, Amber, Lacee, Haylee, and Mrs. Busch

Spring has sprung here in Western PA, meaning seniors have one thing on their mind — senior projects!  The written portion has already been turned in and it’s almost time for presentations.  While seniors are tying up loose ends, underclassmen need to be planning ahead for any projects that are due soon,  because the library will be closed.  Closed meaning no reference passes, no passes in the morning, no, you can’t just run in and get a book or print something.  

Starting this Thursday, April 23, 9th period, the library will be closed to students.  Here is the schedule:

Thursday, April 23 — Closed Pd 9
Friday, April 24-Friday, May 1 — Closed
Monday, May 4 — OPEN
Tuesday, May 5-Thursday, May 7 — Closed
Monday, May 11 — OPEN –End of senior projects

So remember, underclassmen, be sure to plan ahead on any projects due between now and May 7.  Please see Mrs. Busch with any questions and remember you can always check the weekly library schedule on the Library’s homepage.

This Thursday, April 23, is said to be William Shakespeare’s birth and death date.  It is debateable whether his birhtday is actually on April 23, but it is known he was baptized on April 26.  He would be 445 years old this week.

To honor him this week, check out the display in the library.  It contains biographies, his works, criticisims on his works, encyclopedias, dictionaries, quote books, audio books, and fiction books based on his works.

Some of the fiction based on his works include:

Ophelia: A Novel, by Lisa Klein — Ophelia tells of her life in the court at Elsinore, her love for Prince Hamlet, and her escape from the violence in Denmark.

Something Wicked, by Alan Grantz — Based on Macbeth, Horatio Wilkes seeks to solve the murder of Duncan Mackae at the Scottish Highland Games in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Romeo’s Ex: Rosaline’s Story, by Lisa Fiedler — Sixteen-year-old Rosaline, who is studying to be a healer, becomes romantically entangled with the Montague family even as her beloved young cousin, Juliet Capulet, defies the family feud to secretly marry Romeo.

The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It, by Lisa Shanahan — Fourteen-year-old Gemma Stone struggles to understand her shifting emotions as her older sister plans her wedding, she overcomes her nerves and tries out for the school play, and she gets to know one of the most notorious boys in her class.

Dating Hamlet: Ophelia’s Story, by Lisa Fiedler — Ophelia describles her relationship with Hamlet, learns the truth about her own father, and recounts the complicated events following the murder of Hamlet’s father.

ATTN FACULTY MEMBERS!  Looking to expand your professional knowledge?  Want to get some new ideas on differentiated classrooms, achievement, or Moodle?  Stop by the library and visit the Professional Collection.  The collection is located in the “Periodical Storage” room right past the circulation desk.  When searching in the catalog, resources in the professional collection are denoted with PRO in the call number.  When visiting the professional collection, you will also see the library’s video collection.  I am currently in the process of cataloging all the of videos, which may take a while longer.  

If you have any resources you would like to donate to the library’s professional collection, please do!  It will be wonderful to share your resources with the rest of the faculty.  Also, I am willing to catalog any videos you are storing in your room to share with the rest of the school.  

Some of the titles in our PRO collection include:

• Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching, by Carol Ann Tomlinson
• What Do I Do When…The Answer Book on Assessing, Testing and Graduating Students with Disabilities, by Susan Gorn
• Up From Under-Achievement:  How Teachers, Students, and Parents Can Work Together To Promote Student Success, by Diane Heacox
• Using Moodle:  Teaching with the Popular Open Source Course Management System, by Jason Cole & Helen Foster
• Fair Isn’t Always Equal:  Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, by Rick Wormeli
• Moodle Teaching Techniques:  Creative Ways to Use Moodle for Constructing Online Learning Solutions, by William H. Rice IV

The library Webpage will be polling the school (both students and faculty) on random questions.  Got an opinion?  Share it!  Let the world know how you feel.  The polls are at the bottom of the library homepage.  

The current poll is “Who has it the hardest?”  You can choose from freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors, teachers, or parents.  After the poll closes, check the results on the poll results page.  A new poll will be posted approximately every week.