Reading Pays...Literally

It is THAT time of the year. The time of year when weird things start happening like pigs coming into the library to check out books...yes, it really happened.

No, seriously, it's that that we wind down and reflect over the accomplishments of the year. We look back at how far we've come and the goals we've met. It really has been a phenomenal year!

This was a year of firsts.  For the first time since I have been the librarian, I had a student receive over 500 AR points in one year.  This student read 44 AR books and passed every test with a 98% average. She read over 3,000,000 words this year on top of maintaining an amazing academic record! She was awarded a $100 check courtesy of the Boston Mountain Reading Incentive Grant at our annual Honor Banquet. I am very proud of her!

The others that have met their AR Goal for this semester were able to leave the school environment, step out on the town and celebrate.

What was our goal?  The goal for my readers this semester was to take 10 AR Tests with a 90% average.

What was the prize?  Each student who met this goal was awarded a $20 check and was treated to dinner at Umami's Japanese Steak House and Hibachi Grill, again courtesy of a Boston Mountain Reading Incentive Grant.  See, reading pays!

I got to take a great group of students with me on this final big event for SSHS Library.

Many interesting things happened at Umami.  For example, our Hibachi cook must have a)  been called in second string or b) been in training.  Poor fellow!!! Every trick he tried was a disaster.  He dropped cooking utensils on the floor and cracked eggs when they weren't supposed to be....It was so much of a disaster that he ended up dumping a glass full of coke on one of my student's laps, completely soaking the poor guy!  

The restaurant staff was very apologetic, and it wasn't long until we were able to laugh and joke about it.  Needless to say, lunch was an adventure!

You know that kid. The one whose nose is always in a book, whether a class lecture is going on or a ball game is being played right in front of them.  As a librarian, I love to see a kid that wrapped up in a good book.  As a teacher, it frustrated me at first, but most of the time when I called on them, they could recite whatever it was I had just said. Amazing!  My husband was that kid at this very high school many years ago. 

Well, I had that kid with me on this trip.  As we were all finishing up our meal and commenting on how full we were, one student had already grabbed his book.

 Later, as students wandered around the shopping center, ready to spend that $20 that was burning a hole in their pockets, I saw this same student sitting outside of a store front waiting on some friends...you guessed it, reading a book!  I wish I had thought to take a picture!

 On our last stop, we got ice cream from Sonic and yet again, with his book ever handy, this student was once again wrapped up in the story at hand even with the hustle and bustle of carhops and traffic and teenage discussions.

 For those of us that love to read, we understand.  We understand the thrill of securing book two of a trilogy from the library just as we've finished the first.  We understand that you need to take a book with you wherever you go because you never know when you will catch a little down time. We understand how a good book can entice you away from the real world...

These student readers are my kind of people! They are the ones whose book recommendations I can't wait to check out on Amazon. They are the ones that help plan book clubs and who help me point struggling readers in the direction of a book they might like.

In closing, we have one last book club to wrap up the year and then I will be signing off until the Fall.  One hint about our fall theme...it will involve SUPERHEROES and it will be EPIC!

Until next time,

Amy Hutto, LMS
South Side High School

Best Last Line of a Book Ever

First off, it has to be said...the last line in this book shall go down in the "Last Liners Hall of Fame."  The reader does indeed audibly gasp at the shocking final turn of events and Anya's reaction to them:

"Father forgive me for this and all these things I've done (p. 354)." 

-Anya Balanchine in All These Things I've Done

Chocolate mafia. Fretoxin poison. Win Delacroix. The year 2083.

For our April book club, I chose All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin from the Arkansas Teen Book Award nominee list from 2012-13.  The book is the first in the Birthright trilogy, followed by Because It Is My Blood and In the Age of Blood and Chocolate.  The debut book in this trilogy I found to be deliciously indulgent, and I think my book clubbers would wholeheartedly agree.

It was only right that for this book, we should have a chocolate party.  

Chocolate fountain---Check!

Nutella Cheesecake---Check!

Brownies---Check!

Chocolate Fudge Cake---Check!

Students were able to indulge themselves in every kind of chocolate delicacy (POISON FREE) and work with their groups to imagine what Anya Balanchine's Facebook page would look like. Who would her friends be?  Scarlet, Win, Gable, Yuji. What would her religious status be?  Catholic...kinda. Or her relationship status?  It's complicated.  If Scarlet posted on her page, what would it say?  You should come over later so we can study our lines : ) What would her status say at the beginning of the book? There's this new kid at school, he's...eh cute.  Scarlet has given up on him, so he's mine. The middle? Nana is gone...must be strong for Natty and Leo.  The end?  Ready to bust out of Liberty and take care of Natty. Each group had a different aspect of her imaginary Facebook page to work on.  The students did a great job discussing and working together on this activity.

After we worked on those for a bit, I had someone from each group come forward to participate on a guess the name of the candy bar game.  Each person was blindfolded and fed pieces of popular candy bars. Our winners scored 11/12!

So could you live in a world where chocolate was contraband?  Maybe you could if you were a Balanchine and your family was intertwined in the bloody and sometimes cruel world of the chocolate mafia.

The waiting list for the sequel is long.

Very long.

As librarian, can I cut to the front of the line? : )

Until next time,

Amy Hutto, LMS

South Side High School

To Infinity and Beyond: An Astronomer's Tale

Bee Branch, Arkansas...that's a cute name for a town, but most people have no clue where that is.  But for one woman, growing up in it's wide open spaces and under it's magnificent night sky caused her to become enamored with the mystery of the universe and the science behind it.

Amber Straughn, a graduate of South Side High School, turned her dreams into reality.  Now an Astrophysicist at NASA, she is currently working on the development of the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Telescope.  This new device that she describes as a "giant transformer" will have the capacity to gather data that was previously unattainable. At 100x more powerful than it's predecessor, this telescope, when launched in 2018, will bring answers about black holes, colliding galaxies, and star formation that will change the world of science as we know it.

Currently our 8th grade Science students are completing a unit on Astronomy.  After talking with our Science teacher, Mrs. Tresse Glover, we decided this would be the perfect time to bring Amber in via Skype, have her describe what she does and how she got there, and let the kids ask any burning questions they had about space. Questions ranged from "Do you believe there is life beyond our planet?" to "Do you ever get to come back to Arkansas?"  to "What is the time frame for star formation?"

This opportunity to collaborate proved to accomplish both Science and Library Media standards, as well as remind students from this small town that all they need is a dream and a plan to reach for the stars.

This small town, and this small school, can in fact be a launching ground for such great things.

Until next time,

Amy Hutto
SSHS Library Media Specialist
Bee Branch, AR
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