Project LIT at Spring Harbor

I am so excited that we have a Project LIT Book Club chapter at Spring Harbor this year! I have been following Project LIT on social media for years and this year with our lunch schedule allowing time for clubs I knew we could get it going! We have over 40 students participating in our first read and have 22 students who are part of our leadership committees.  Our design committee came up with several logo designs and the above one is the winner.

For those that don't know... Project LIT is a national, grassroots literacy movement, a team of dedicated educators and students who work together to:

• Empower our students as readers, writers, and leaders
• Promote a love of reading in our schools and communities
• Support and inspire one another as we improve our practice and pedagogy
• Read, discuss, and celebrate books that make our students feel seen, heard, affirmed, and valued
• Nurture authentic reading identities by increasing access to high-quality books, building community, and fostering a sense of belonging
• Develop our cultural competence and expand our thinking, regardless of individual starting point
• Amplify voices and stories of students and educators of color
• Advocate for literacy policies and practices that will build lifelong readers
• Champion young people and books that reflect their lived realities, communities, and identities
• Rewrite the narrative about which texts and authors are deemed worthy of academic study
• Create as many positive literacy experiences as possible

You can learn more by following this hashtag linked to Twitter (#ProjectLITBookClub) that highlights what Project LIT book clubs are doing. Here is the original Project LIT Twitter account to follow as well.

We have also chosen our first book and are patiently waiting for the copies to arrive so we can start reading!  Our first book is Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar. We posted about our book selection on our social media accounts (see below for our Social Media accounts and please follow us!) and she responded to us! Everyone in the club was pretty impressed and excited to see that she replied to us:

It's been a bit of a slow start, but we are excited to finally get going! Thanks to the SHMS PTO for providing the money for us to get our books!

Please follow us on social media:

Twitter @SHMS_ProjLIT

Instagram @springharbor_projlit

TikTok @springharbor_projlit

We Celebrate Banned Books Week and the freedom to read what we want!

 

Books Unite Us Censorship Divides Us is the theme again this year for Banned Books Week and could not be more true in our world today. As you probably have seen in the news there are concerted efforts across the country to restrict access to books written by Black authors, LGBTQIA authors, and books with themes talking about racism or sexuality. And it's not just fiction being banned or challenged, books that are researched and presenting history and facts are also included. 

We encourage our students to read all books, and if they come across a book that they may not like, may not agree with, or may make them uncomfortable, to stop reading and find a different book. Not every book is for every family or student. But the book is for someone and we need to have access to books for all students. 

If you are interested in learning more about the current surge and coordinated efforts to ban books from schools and school libraries here are some things to read:

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision protecting students first amendment rights.

From PEN America - Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools

From the American Library Association: Voters Oppose Book Bans in Libraries

From the American Library Association: Information on Banned Books Week that includes links to banned book lists.

Information on Intellectual Freedom from the American Library Association

Bring on 2022-2023 School Year!

We have had a really great start to the school year at Spring Harbor! 

As summer was ending the "corn kid" was all over the place on social media.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are missing out! But you can take a look at this libraries interpretation of the corn song which is amazing. 

One of the benefits of our schedule this year is that our students have many options during their hour long lunch/recess. One of those options is to come to the library!  We have been packed with students all lunch and recess long with over 50 students signing in yesterday (9/6). It is so amazing to see students coming in to check out books, to sit and read, and to see the library as a comforting space.  

As we get more new furniture in this year (we just added 2 booths) and continue to add to it in the next few years, we hope the library becomes more of a go-to space for students. 

What I read last school year

In the 2021-2022 school year, I started sharing the book(s) I was currently reading/listening to and all the books I read during the school year on the library slideshow I have displayed on the TV in the library.  This was a way to show students what I was reading as well as to keep me accountable for reading.  Audiobooks have been one of my favorite ways to read this past year, as I have a bit of a commute to and from work and listening to a book makes it much more enjoyable!

So, here is what I ended up reading/listening to from July 2021 to June 2020:

I really enjoyed all of these books, some more than others.  I do wonder sometimes if reading a book or listening to a book could sway how much I enjoyed it. Listening to The Firekeeper's Daughter I was able to hear how some of the Native words were pronounced - the same is true for listening to I Must Betray You. And I really appreciated this about these books and found the experience of listening to them very enjoyable. I read The House in the Cerulean Sea and the characters came so alive in my mind while reading. I heard from others who listened to the audiobook that the reader did voices for all the characters and made them come alive... but I wonder if listening to it will ruin my interpretation of the characters.  As readers, we make choices in how things are pronounced if we don't know how it is pronounced, and on how we think characters are saying the dialogue the author has written for them. So, while audiobooks are an interpretation of a text done by a reader/voice actor, reading the book allows you to use you to do the interpretation on your own.  This might be why I really do enjoy listening to audiobooks of nonfiction - mostly memoirs or autobiographies read by the authors, because there is less characters to interpret. 

Free audiobooks start now!!!

Every week starting April 29, 2021 and ending the week of July 29, 2021, AudioFile is giving away FREE audio books through their Sync program.   

More info about how to get the books is here - you do need Sora to get them... this page walks you through how to set that up.  You need to sign up with an email address to get the books, and the sign up is on the linked page on he right side. 

Here are all the titles and the weeks they come out.  Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to get FREE audiobooks!!!

Poem in your pocket day!

Today is Poem in Your Pocket Day.  You can read more about it through that link and how to participate.  I'm participating today by sharing one of my favorite poems... "anyone lived in a pretty how town" by E.E. Cummings.

What I love about this poem is the use of the parentheses, the way that "anyone" and "nonone" are characters, but also can represent anyone in general. The language is very clever and this poem alwqays makes me smile and also makes me a bit sad. 

anyone lived in a pretty how town
by E.E. Cummings

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did.

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

Favorite books from SHMS staff members

As we wrap up National Library Month we wanted to share with you that we are all life long readers! 

Here are some of our favorite books or the best books we read so far this year.

Ms. Mack shared 2 great books!

"One of my favorite books I've read this year is The Project. This young adult novel follows a young woman trying to get her sister out of an exclusive AND elusive group known as The Unity Project. This novel had suspense, mystery, and family drama. I'm so impressed with the quality and diversity of YA literature out there today!" 

Her second favorite book is Anxious People by Frederik Backman -- "I laughed, I cried, I love this author!"

Mr. Ropa

"My favorite book of all time is A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold. But I'm reading Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, right now."

Ms. Leuthold

"The best book I read this year was Untamed by Glennon Doyle! It was so empowering and I love reading about other people's stories."

Mr. Olson 
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Ms Tiffany

The best book Miss Tiffany read this year was Becoming by Michelle Obama. 

FYI, we just got two copies of the YA version of this amazing book!  Let Mrs. Schmitz know if you want it because it's not in the system yet!

Mr. Sean (for those of you who don't know him yet, he is our 6th grade Science/Math sub for Mr. Kruska)

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings: "The magic system was cool."

Ms. Waite 

"I really enjoyed reading Matthew McConaughey's book GreenLights. It is about joys and challenges - it's lessons - and how to deal with challenges so that we can catch more 'green lights.'"

Mr. Debertin

"I LOVED the Scythe trilogy. Interesting characters set in an original dystopian future."

 

Mr. Bobb
He really enjoyed the book Crash and recommends it for all you 6th graders if you have not read it yet!

Ms. Barrett and Ms. Harper had the same answer

Ibram X. Kendi's How to be an Antiracist 
"The author explains both how to be an antiracist individual and how to create systemic change."

Ms. Gilmore
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski

"It was my favorite because it helped me understand how stress works and that if we don't complete the cycle then we carry that energy with us until we find a way to let it out. If we don't find a healthy way to let stress out then it can come out in unhealthy ways. Also, there are 2 parts to stress that we need to address, both the reaction we are having to stress and the stressor itself. We can't do the second until we do the first. This book taught me there are multiple ways to complete the stress cycle and it's different for every person, we all need to take the time to find out what works for us. We also might use multiple strategies at a time or different strategies for different situations."

Nurse Marie

Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

Ms. Salas shared several of her favorites!
"The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry- The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. I love how intertwined the stories are and figuring out how they connect.

*The Shades of London Series by Maureen Johnson- The Name of the Star, The Madness Underneath, The Shadow Cabinet

I love mystery books in which I have to try to figure out what is happening and who is doing it.

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engl

I like that the setting is a futuristic society. It reminds me of The Giver.

Ms. Kruger

"My current favorite book is Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson (the audiobook is particularly good because he narrates it and has the best narrating voice!!). I love it because it's written in a way to help people who are not experts on astrophysics to understand this topic, and to particularly make sense of a variety of phenomena in our universe. There's also a younger reader version of it called Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry.

Ms. Murphy

One of the last books she read and recommends is The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein.

Ms. Krahn

"Hmm I think the best book I have read so far this year would be the Lunar Chronicles series."

Ms. Schmitz

There are two books that really stick with me that I have read this year.  One is King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender.  The story is just beautiful and has really stayed with me. It is about hurt and friendship and loss and knowing and speaking your truth... all I could think after I read it was what a beautiful book it was.

The other book is When They Call You a Terrorist: A story of Black Lives Matter and the Power to Change the World (adapted for Young People) by Patrisse Kahn-Cullors. This is a memoir from one of the women who started the Black Lives Matter movement.

National Tell a Story Day

Today is National Tell a Story Day and so I wanted to challenge you all to tell a story... 

Last year during our initial shut down, Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature from the Library of Congress, started something he called Write.Right.Rite.  He posted video challenges each week, calling on young people to use their imagination and writing skills to do something creative.  

Here is one of his challenges, to write a newspaper headline. Watch the quick video, or watch some of the other videos from this series if you scroll down the page linked above, and try another of his Write.Right.Rite challenges.

Library memories

As a kid I used to love going to the public library.  I grew up in Stockton, California, and my local library was the Margaret Troke library, pictured above. I had forgotten the name of it, but a quick Google search for libraries in Stockton, CA quickly reminded me of it!  My mom would take my siblings and I to the library on a regular basis and sometimes I would beg and my mom would take me and my friends there. I remember getting my library card made me feel so special! When I went there I would always go to the same section in the children's book area - Beverly Cleary books and Lloyd Alexander.  In my memory of this time I always checked out a Lloyd Alexander book from The Chronicles of Prydain.  We have these books in our library, and I highly encourage them if you like fantasy stories! Going to the Troke library was always a treat and is something I remember very fondly from my childhood

My school library I remember as being very small and not going there often with my classes.  I went to Elkhorn Elementary School that in this most recent picture from their website (shown below) looks very similar to when I went there over 30+ years ago. 

I don't remember the library there being like the libraries in schools I know today.  And, as I have said before, there are so many more books out for kids today that I imagine the Elkhorn School library is much better stocked then when I was there. I recall checking out Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities many times and never reading more than a page... because that book was not written for elementary students! So, now you know why I loved the public library... they probably had more funding than the school library to buy new books for kids.  

Your school libraries today in MMSD are hopefully getting your more relevant books and books you want to read and that reflect who you are as well.  I'm always open for suggestions of books you want to read, so send them my way!  

One student, 8th grader Devon Wells, shared his favorite library memory... it was when he scared me half to death in the library!  One day when it was really quiet in the library and no one but me was in there, Devon came in without me seeing him.  I was engrossed in something and focused on my computer when out of nowhere he shot up and scared the bejesus out of me!  That is his favorite library memory... but not really mine, as he really scared me 😂.

Books with LGBTQIA+ characters, themes, true stories and/or histories

To celebrate National Day of Silence today, April 23rd I want to highlight some of the amazing books out there that celebrate, highlight, and tell the stories of the LGBTQIA+ community.  

If you have a book you like to recommend, please let me know!  

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

I am J by Cris Beam

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin

Rick by Alex Gino

George by Alex Gino

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Pride: Celebrating Diversity and Community

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

A Queer History of the United States for Young People 

Every year there are the Stonewall Book Awards, including the Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award that goes to books that have exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience. You can find this year's awards here, and find past years awards linked on that page as well. 

We have many more titles that celebrate the LGBTQIA+ experience, lives, and history in our library so don't hesitate to ask for more and I can get you a list!