Living Wax Museum PSA:

Living Wax Museum

The library staff is so excited about our upcoming Living Wax Museum events. On Friday, Nov. 9, we will begin our festivities with our annual book character parade presented by Pre-K,K, 1st, and 2nd graders. The parade will signal the opening our of Living Wax Museum in the gymnasium. The 3rd grade exhibits will come to life from 1:00 p.m.to 1:35 p.m. followed by the 4th grade exhibits from 1:40-2:15 p.m. All exhibits will feature browsing and the historical "wax figures" will come to life when a crowd member pushes their button. Can't wait to see what great things we can learn at the ECS Living Wax Museum. See you there.

The Great Mystery Food Box Challenge

We wrapped up an interesting research unit on the Food Plate and nutrition by hosting our very own Mystery Food Box competition with our 2nd graders this week in library class. After studying what makes up the food plate, the different food groups, and servings needed in each group, students were placed in groups and given a mystery box. The box contained items from each food group. Students were given seven minutes to build a food robot with only one item per food group. After the competition, students were required to explain the robot while detailing the group each food belonged in. It was a messy, fun time of learning.

Research, Research, Research

With the shift to common core standards, we are using our library time even more this year for research projects. Currently, 2nd graders are studying nutrition, 3rd graders Evansville history, 4th graders energy, and 8th graders will begin the Holocaust next week. It is interesting and exciting for me to uncover new tools for these subjects. My favorite part of it all is watching students

as young as 2nd grade working together to learn new things while employing the very basics of research. It is never too early or too late to learn something new.

Here We Go Again!

Well, here we are again. The 2012-13 school year is underway and we are excited to begin the year with STAR testing all students in grades 1-8 to see how their reading has progressed throughout the past few months. Beginning of the year testing validates even more to those of us in the literacy community the value of summer reading. Students who spend time reading during the summer seem to have a bit of an edge over those who take a hiatus from books. The 2012-13 year brings with it some new and exciting plans for the library/media center. The year's first big event will be our fall book fair. The fair is Sept. 18-21 and will be held at both North and East Campuses in conjunction with our Grandparent's Day Celebration. In November, we will have our first ever Living Wax Museum. We look forward to our students learning about important figures in history while using their talents in reading, writing, and acting. The big event is scheduled for Nov. 9.

Currently, we are taking orders for our new ECS Library Shirts. The shirts are on sale between now and Sept. 1. Sign ups are located in the ECS copy room. Hope to see many people supporting our library by wearing these shirts.

Busy Times, Busy Times.....

April and May seem to pass in a blur for the media center staff. We host one of our two largest events in April, work hard to finish all research projects, and begin our yearly inventory. During it all, we find extremely cherishable moments as we see students having fun, families fellowshipping, and, in it all, God showing up. Our Spring Literacy Week came to a successful end with the raising of over $3,000.00 for the Henryville School Library Reconstruction fund, a book fair that brought in over $7,500.00 in sales, and a highly attended Family Literacy Reading Luau that had families doing everything from a fun photo booth to competitive A.R. testing. In the midst of these activities, we completed the fourth grades' second cooperative project where they wrote puppet scripts, learned the basic of puppeteering, and performed shows for Kindergarten and Pre-K students. Well, 2011-2012 has been quite a ride; and, hey, I wouldn't change a thing! Thanks for all your support of the media center.

Thoughts on The Hunger Games

Recently, the series The Hunger Games has been a hot item both in the theater and in our library. A few parents have asked our opinion and recently, Miss Foltz, an ECS teacher, read the first book and wrote the following review:

The Wages of Lying

I just finished reading "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. A student asked me, "What did you think of it?" I told her that I would need to think about it for a while. Any book that is thought provoking has value in deliberation, so I present this spoiler-free opinion below for discussion.
When someone asks me about a book, one of the first thoughts I have is how the book made me feel? I definitely felt adrenaline. The characters were emotionally gripping. Some scenes were strikingly horrific. At the end, I felt hopelessness for the future of the characters. Suddenly, I realized why.
Everyone lies and no one repents. Each of the named characters lies to others. The first eight characters that are named in the book lie to at least two others. (Well, we have no record of Prim or Madge lying, but they don't have much time to talk.)
Lies always lead to destruction. The fall of Panem is well foreshadowed. No society built on lies can survive. History has demonstrated this. The conscience craves truth. Governments should be designed for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. So, what will happen to those who believe the lies of the government. What will happen to those who don't believe, but have nowhere else to turn for truth. In one of history's most ancient epic poems, Iyyov said that those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. The second thing I think about is how I like the book. "Hunger Games" is a fantasy book because the few explanations given for the grand technologies are dubious. Several of the technologies have macabre implications. The gene puddle of the closed society has other disturbing potentialities.
Thirdly, I thought about a student reading the book. The book poses but does not answer questions about obedience to authorities, honoring parents, expectations of leaders, emotional responses, personal modesty, purposeless existence, rationale for killing, conformity to public opinion, and the consequences of lying. Students who have the discernment to strive to answer these questions could benefit from reading this book.
My final conclusion is that I will finish the series so that I can use it as a discussion starter. I will probably not reread it due to the lack of profound articulation of applicable truth. I think "Hunger Games" is a thought provoking, gruesome fantasy about the wages of lying on a personal and national level.