Quick Check-in

Hey all--

So, it turns out I'm going to be having surgery just before Christmas (Dec. 19th).  I will out on medical leave until at least January 23rd.  At least I'll have plenty of time to read! ;)

I'm almost done with a new book I snagged from the Olenick order.  Look for that review in a few days!

Also, if you search for Everyday Magic by Emily Albright or That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson on Barnes & Noble or Amazon, you might read a little snippet from someone you know! ;)

Speaking of SLJ, I have my next assignment, which I'll read after finishing my current book.

I decided to organize the yearbooks today (Counseling has commandeered the computer lab for Naviance and we don't have a single class in the Library today--say what?!?!).

Check this out:

That's my Dad (Class of 1974), me (Class of 1998), and my cousin Kaleb (Class of 2020)!
#bleedblue

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Borden Murders by Sarah Miller

I have always had an interest in this famous double murder in our neighboring state of Rhode Island.  I've even visited the historic sites in Fall River.  I heard about this new book, geared for young adults, and added it to our wish list.  Thanks to the Denise Madera Olenick memorial fund, we were able to purchase it.  It went on display with horror for Halloween week, and then I snagged it.

Many people know some variation of the jump rope rhyme--
Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks
And then when she was done (or when she saw what she had done)
She gave her father forty one

Andrew and Abby Borden, Lizzie and her sister Emma's father and stepmother, were brutally murdered with an axe or hatchet in August of 1892.  The accused murderer was none other than Lizzie herself.

Often, Lizzie is portrayed as a teenage girl.  In reality, she was over thirty and her sister Emma much older.  The two sisters shared a home with their father and his much younger second wife, along with their housekeeper Bridget (for some reason called "Maggie").  There was strife in the family.  Lizzie and Emma often refused to eat with their stepmother, either eating at different times or in a different part of the house.  They were angry at their father for using part of their inheritance to buy a home for Abby's family members.  These facts were used against Lizzie in her trial.  Lizzie also faced rumors and gossip used as evidence.

In the end though, Lizzie was found not guilty in court.  She continued to be tormented though, in the press and in public, for the remainder of her life.  She even changed her name, to Lizbeth, in an effort to hide from her past.  Her dying request was to be buried at her father's feet, and she left $30,000 to the Fall River Animal Shelter.

I like the way the book is written, much like one of my favorite books, The Murder of Helen Jewett.  It is told in narrative, with facts from court records, newspaper stories, interviews, and letters.

The Borden murders have never been solved, if one believes Lizzie is in fact innocent.    

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what your read #whhs #read
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review corner of The Rostrum

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Gemina by Kaufman and Kristoff

Yessssss....

I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Gemina since I read the first book in the trilogy Illuminae.

Wait, where is my review for Illuminae? Well, there isn't one.  I read Illuminae for another purpose.  You're going to have to infer what I mean by that. ;)

It is a necessity to read Illuminae before reading Gemina.  My mind was BLOWN in reading the first book.  It was BLOWN EVEN FARTHER by this one.

The Hypatia is heading toward the Heimdall, pursued by BeiTech assault ships.  BeiTech intends to eliminate all witnesses to the events of Illuminae.  The Heimdall jump station is their only hope.  Really, read Illuminae!

Meanwhile, the residents and crew of the Heimdall are blissfully unaware of the Hypatia and the BeiTech disaster.  It's party time in fact.  Young Hanna and her junior officer boyfriend are planning to "celebrate" afterwards.  At this time, a gang of ruthless killers, who may or may not be allied with BeiTech, secretly board, unleash an army of snake like aliens, and take over the ship.  It's up to Hanna to save the Heimdall, the Hypatia, and the universe as our characters know it.

What ensues is a cat and mouse game of who is tricking whom.  Mind STILL BLOWN.

Both Illuminae and Gemina are told in an absolutely non-traditional fashion.  Diary entries (written and sketched), surveillance camera transcripts, chats, texts, interviews, and the ship's on-board computer accounts are just some of the means of telling the story.  The book actually must be turned this way and that to read it in some places (I have heard it's not possible to read the book on an electronic device unless the auto-rotate is turned off, FYI).  It is a strange but awesome conglomerate of fictitious memoir, trial stenography, programming language, teen romance, sci-fi, and modern electronic dialogue.

I am happy to say Gemina has been added to the WHHS LMC collection.  It will be on display next Monday for our new book display.  Thank you to the Madera-Olenick families, as Gemina and the other new books were purchased with the Denise Olenick Memorial funds.  

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Love to read?  Love to write?  Submit a book review to The Westie Review corner in The Rostrum.  I am co-advisor to both!
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. :)

I'm bacccckkkk!!

I have finished my responsibilities for Nutmeg 2018, after emailing off my ranking order of the 22 books that made the cut to be on the final list.  We have one more meeting, when our chair will announce the official 10 nominees (and 2 alternates, in case a publisher can't get a suitable number of paperbacks in time).

Soooo....here's to the return of my book reviews!

Very soon I'll be publishing my review of Gemina!

I am still reviewing for School Library Journal, one book per month.  I am happy to announce the WHHS LMC will be subscribing to SLJ, so now you can read those reviews in print!

I'm also very excited to be representing West Haven at the Connecticut Association of School Librarians conference Tuesday!

See you all very soon!

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Love reading?  Love writing?  Submit a book review to The Westie Review corner in The Rostrum!  I'm co-advisor to both!

Opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W. :)

Please Vote! WHHS vs. ND This Week!

The WHHS v. ND Game/Soderman Bowl is up for game of the week on both WFSB and WTNH. 

Please vote!

Game of the Week on WFSB

http://www.wfsb.com/category/318372/big-3-on-3#WNPoll153669

Game of the Week on WTNH
http://sportzedge.com/2016/09/09/vote-for-our-high-school-football-game-of-the-week-2/​

We are ONLINE! Follett Destiny has come to WHHS!

I'm thrilled to announce the WHHS LMC FINALLY has an online catalog.  Along with Bailey and Carrigan, we now have Follett Destiny!

Thank you to Mrs. Lynch, who worked for TEN YEARS to bring this program to West Haven!

To access the catalog:
whschools.follettdestiny.com

For students, your sign is firstnamelastname and your password is your lunch number.
For teachers, your sign in is firstnamelastname and your password is your paycheck number (you may need to add leading 0s).

We are sooooooooo excited for this change!

GAFE Google Apps for Education Summit

( I know it's called G Suite now, but old habits...)

I spent the weekend with a ton of other educators from CT, MA, NY (and more) who have a passion for Google like me.  Mrs. Porto and I represented West Haven at the Summit and I LEARNED SO MUCH.  I thought I knew Google pretty well before, but seriously, I know so much more now!

I live tweeted from the Summit @RamblingsLMS.  Please check out my Twitter feed to see some of the amazing things!

If you are an educator, please get yourself Google Certified and attend a Summit!