M A R C H – A P R I L 2 0 1 3

Read, Imagine, Discover and Learn

@ THE SJP LIBRARY

IMAGINE Teaching your

Students to Write Smart

In addition to providing an online citation

generator for students, EasyBib also

offers a School Edition featuring a

number of helpful research and writing

tools. Using the School Edition, students

can learn how to correctly site 59

different types of resources, find links to

authoritative information, organize their

notes to create an outline, and then even

write and save their paper.

I set up a trial subscription and

introduced EasyBib School Edition to the

juniors in Ms. Tutela’s Psychology class,

who were researching different psycho-

logical disorders. In my presentation, I

encouraged the students to expand their

research horizons beyond Google and

use all of the tools provided on the

EasyBib site to organize their research

and then incorporate what they learned

into their paper. To model good

research techniques, I chose a psycho-

logical disorder (Seasonal Affective

Disorder) and showed the class how

easy it is to find great information using

the resources here in the SJP Library.

I hope our students will appreciate the

advantage of using EasyBib for all of

their research projects and learn to

“write smart!”

READ Dystopian Novels

The vampire craze has come to a close in the world of young adult fiction.

Now, dystopian novels starring strong female characters seem to be all the

rage. From Katniss in The Hunger Games to Cassia in Matched, young

women of the future are rebelling against their dystopian societies in a

quest for freedom and individuality.

The members of the SJP Book Club are intrigued by this popular genre,

which actually existed long before Suzanne Collins concocted her ultimate

reality competition in which the young citizens of Panem compete to the

death, always hoping that the odds will be in their favor. During their middle

school years many of our students probably read Madeleine L’Engle’s A

Wrinkle in Time (1962) or The Giver (1993) by Lois Lowry. Some ambitious

readers may have even tackled George Orwell’s classic, 1984 (1949).

(continued on page 4)

READ, IMAGINE, DISCOVER AND LEARN MARCH-APRIL 2013

2

DISCOVER New Social Media

VHS SPOTLIGHT: AP ECONOMICS

This year, the most popular Virtual High School course

has been AP Economics. Five SJP seniors and two

juniors are enrolled in this challenging class. The VHS

Collaborative offers many sections of this advanced

placement class. According to the description in the

catalog, “Economics is a social science which

addresses how society allocates (distributes) limited

resources (e.g., goods and services).” The AP

Economics students have the option to take the AP

Micro Economics exam and/or the AP Macro

Economics exam.

A primary objective of the course is “learning the

basics of economic concepts and examining how

business has an effect on how the economy operates.”

Throughout the year, the students have learned the

“economic way of thinking” and grappled with a variety

of thought-provoking economic situations. They have

studied supply and demand, the global economy, fiscal

policy and consumer behavior among other topics. (continued on page 4)

What piques your (P)interest? Have you heard of the virtual bulletin board that connects people through their common interests (or should I say “Pinterests”)? I read a great article on this relatively new social media site in School Library Journal (Very Pinteresting! by Kate Messner, July 2012) and was inspired to start an SJP Library Pinterest page.

Teachers and librarians in schools across the country are finding inventive and creative ways to use Pinterest with their students, collecting book reviews or book trailers, posting classroom ideas and lesson plans, or simply bookmarking favorite websites. Pinterest is a great tool for promoting reading and sharing resources.

Like on Twitter, pinners can follow other people’s boards and collect followers for their own, as well as re-pin posts from other members. The SJP Library Pinterest page currently has 14 followers and is following 12 other pinners, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Magazine, and a number of other libraries.

Pinterest encourages people to “collect and organize things you love.” All posts are image-based, but include links to the corresponding websites and may also contain descriptive captions of not more than 500 characters. Pins are organized on individual boards. To date, I have created 14 boards. Some are just for fun like Library Cats or Novel First Lines. Others, like Web 2.0 or Shakespeare, are informational. Still more, promote what is going on in the SJP Library.

Please click the Pinterest button on the SJP Library website and explore my various pinboards. Perhaps you too will be inspired to set up an account and start pinning today!

LEARN How the Economy Works

Siwei Yu, Keyi Xu, Nannan Sun, Lotus Xu

READ, IMAGINE, DISCOVER AND LEARN MARCH-APRIL 2013

3

Book Club Update

The SJP Book Club recommends:

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

A Portrait of Jane Austen by David Cecil

Buyology by Martin Lindstrom

The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking

Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens by Jane

Dunn

In May, we will discuss Uglies by Scott Westerfeld,

ending the 2012-2013 SJP Book Club season as we

began with a page-turning dystopian adventure.

Scrabble Tournament

Congratulations to our Scrabble Tournament finalists. Anamaria Ronayne and

Gianna Scioletti competed in the final round before April vacation. The game

was close, but Gianna pulled off the victory with a score of 291. She won the first

place prize, a $25 iTunes gift card and Anamaria received a $15 Dunkin’ Donuts

gift card. Both girls were awarded boxes of Mrs. Walkins super chocolate cake

mix cookies. Thank you to everyone who participated in the tournament! We

look forward to hosting the tournament again next year!

On March 27, 2013, the Book Club held a Free Choice

meeting. At Free Choice meetings we talk about a

variety of books, each member recommending one or

two favorite titles. In March, we focused on non-fiction.

Four faithful members attended the meeting. At the

beginning of our conversation we were diverted off topic

by a spirited discussion of several beloved fantasy

novels. However, when I described how I often like to

read non-fiction books about topics I become interested

in like the Golden Age of Hollywood, dream

interpretation or handwriting analysis, and then asked

the girls what non-fiction subjects pique their interest,

they recommended some great reads.

READ, IMAGINE, DISCOVER AND LEARN MARCH-APRIL 2013

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Dystopian Novels (continued)

Many of these novels, like The Hunger Games, are replete with

mythological influences. Suzanne Collins was inspired by the

myth of Theseus and the Minotaur when writing her popular

trilogy. Katniss and her fellow dystopian heroines all embark

on the classic hero’s journey just like Theseus and other

characters from ancient mythology. One Book Club member

enjoys reading dystopian stories because, “they take me to an

alternative universe where everything is different, but society’s

goal is the same. They show me the horrors that can happen

when humans attempt to create a perfect civilization.”

For our final 2012-2013 meeting, the Book Club will end as we

began. In September, we read Divergent by Veronica Roth and

for our meeting on May 1, we will sample another best-selling

dystopian series, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.

If you are intrigued by this thought-provoking genre of teen

literature, check out the list of Best Dystopian and Post-

Apocalyptic Fiction compiled by Good Reads.

AP Economics (continued)

The VHS Collaborative offers an expansive curriculum of high

quality classes. Senior, Pei Lun Li feels that “AP Econ is a well-

organized and prepared class for students who want to

challenge themselves.” When asked what he liked about his

online course, he said, “It’s a fun trip to stocks and trades.”

Nannan (Katherine) Sun also benefitted from taking AP

Economics. She said, “AP Economics class really helps me a

lot on understanding the role of government in the monetary

system and how society can do better to bring people a more

beneficial life. The class gives students an early awareness of

how the economy works in the world.” They both feel prepared

to take the AP Exam in May.

The Virtual High School program provides wonderful academic

opportunities for our students in all areas of study!

On Friday, April 5, the Class of 2016 traveled to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts for an Art/World History field trip. If the ninth graders are curious about some of the artwork they encountered, they might consult a number of helpful titles in

the SJP Library.

Top: Zekai Song and Siwei Yu

Bottom: Pei Lun Li and Nannan Sun