New Moon Jeopardy! Sign up now to attend

Remember Twilight Jeopardy? It was fun and competitive and not quiet AT ALL. With the New Moon movie release later this month our celebration will be held on Friday, Nov. 20th. Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? This year you will compete according to your chosen team. AND, there will be more Twilight themed prizes to give away.

Want to attend? Drop by the library and find out how you can come! Lunch is provided.

It's TEEN READ WEEK!

We're starting the celebrating a day early because we just couldn't wait (and because there is no school next Friday.) Want to see what's going on? Visit our Flickr page to see what we're doing each day.

• Tuesday, Oct. 20th - a BOYS ONLY pancake breakfast
• Thursday, Oct. 22nd - a SKYPE book discussion on The Hunger Games with another middle school
• Every day - hot chocolate and cookies served in la cafe' du faucon bleu
• Get "caught reading" and your name may be drawn to create your own READ poster like the celebity ones in the library
• Start accumulating points now and set a goal to attend the READ-IN on April 16th. This is an ALL DAY in-house field trip in the media center. There will be lots of activities to keep yourself occupied. No riding on a stinky bus. Earn a point each time you:

-submit an accepted book review for the Destiny catalog

-read a SC Jr. Book award title from the current year

- attend a special event in the media center (book discussions, Manga meetings, pancake breakfast, New Moon Jeopardy, etc.

Hunger Games Skype Discussion Back by Popular Demand!

If you are attending the next Hunger Games discussion, you don't have long to wait! We will meet on Thursday, September 24th at noon. Lunch is provided. If you have a discussion question, post it below. Just click on "Comments"and post your question.

We won't have time to discuss all of the questions, but if we don't get to yours, you can continue the discussion right here after we meet.

The Cafe' is Open

The media center staff is excited to show off the
Cafe' du Faucon Bleu (Cafe of the Blue Falcon).
Each Thursday throughout the lunch periods
students can gain access to a limited number (16) of passes that will allow them to bring their lunches in and play board games. On the wall in the background, a new 32 inch LCD TV now resides. During some Crunchin' Munchin Gaming Luncheons we will play Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader on our new Wii system!

The new SPLAT (Students Planning Literacy Activities Together) committee is planning events, contests, and promoting literacy throughout the school. These students will be plan and do everything from promoting books with sidewalk chalk to sponsoring a field trip. More information and activities will be posted as they occur.

smlibrary now on Twitter and Delicious

Follow the Sullivan Middle School library Twitter updates and keep up with the activities and events planned for the coming year. Plans include gaming, student planned activities, reading clubs, Skyped events, and of course, the New Moon Jeopardy challenge planned for November!

We haven't forgotten academics either. You may now subscribe to the library's Delicious account. Need a tool, information, or a search engine? Or maybe an e-book or fun game?

Both accounts are just getting started but lots more will be added soon.

Hunger Games Conference Book Discussion

Thanks to 9 exuberant 8th graders from Sullivan Middle and some terrific 7th and 8th grade students at Sims Jr. High School in Union, SC, we held an engaging video conferenced book discussion with SKYPE. The topic of this discussion was The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Students led the discussion and brought up questions about characters, politics, social problems, love, and self-examination.

On a personal note, this is one of the most engaging books I've read for a long time. The sequel, Catching Fire is coming out in September 2009.

Have you read The Hunger Games? Would you like to continue the discussion? Post your comments here.

If you attended the virtual discussion please help us by filling out the survey.

Current Events - Rap Style

Do you think news is boring? As an IB student you should keep up with what's going on in the world. Maybe you would like to but don't have time to watch TV news or read a newspaper, or even check the news online. Not a problem! Now you can subscribe to The News in Rap at http://vimeo.com/user806127.

Poetry Month in April Coming Up Fast!

It's almost that time again! Time for a poetry special event. We usually sponsor an all day drop-in to write and perform poetry. Help me plan something different this year. Let's plan it around the lunch periods and have students come in to perform. What are some of your ideas? We can bring in a stool and bright lights and refreshments. How will we go about sharing our poetry with each other? Get your creative juices flowing and send me some ideas!

Where is the Pike?

Our stuffed fish is taking the "fish philosophy" seriously. He has either been fish-napped or left on his own. He is 1)choosing his attitude by not accepting boredom but by becoming world famous. (at least famous in our school community, but it's a start) 2) He is definitely playing. Have you seen the photos of him at the public library and Winthrop Lake? 3) From the conversations heard around the school he has been successful in making someone's day by creating new energy throughout our school. 4) He is present, or here for us. Even though he's not physically in the media center right now, he is making his presence known!

So, now we have received 4 photos of his changing whereabouts and notes that do not indicate any mistreatment. In fact, we are beginning to think he is having such a good time that perhaps he doesn't want to come back! What do you think? Do you think you know what he is up to? Why? What will make him come home? What is he thinking? Send in your comments and ideas by clicking on the "comment" button below.

6th Grade Book Lunch Coming Up Soon!

Come sign up to participate in the book lunch on February 5th, 2009. We will read and discuss Swear to Howdy, by Wendelin Van Draanen. This is a popular book that includes hilarious situations, friendship, sibling rivalry, and sadness. All you have to do is sign up, take a quick survey as an anticipation guide, read the book, and do one of the activities. Of course, you have to show up for lunch on Feb. 5th! I will provide the pizza, drinks, dessert, and discussion.

One of the activities is to comment on this blog entry about the book. Don't know what to say? Here are some ideas: What do you think makes a good friend? or Why do you think the author wrote this book? or What was your favorite part of the book and explain why. You can keep the discussion going by checking the comments.

Not coming to the book lunch? You can still read the book and respond by submitting your comments.