Banned Books, Contests and more…

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star-trekThe library has been busy this fall with classes, teacher workshops, and contests and trivia!  We celebrated Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, conducted Banned Books week trivia contests, ran a Halloween candy counting contest and held a Maker exploration with Little Bits!

Congratulations to the winner of our Banned Books contest, Xinyang Wang,  and our Halloween contest, Ian Blair and Pierce Rollison!

The last month we have held three lunchtime Debate discussions to have civil discussion of the issues in the debates!  Joindebate us on November 9th for a post-election wrap up discussion at both lunches.

Check out our current display of Presidential cartoons from history, too!

Welcome back!

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Welcome back, Chaps!   Mrs. Foote, Mrs. Clifton and Mrs. Lloyd want to welcome you back to the library!  Come check out what’s new!

ngc learning commons1–New furniture in the NGC Learning Commons, thanks to the advice of our Interior Design classes and the support of PTO!   Hope this will make the space more comfortable and useful for you!   It includes a new  area called the Story Bar, where you can have small snacks (at student request!) or check out bestselling books!

–New Business Incubator — The Business Incubator is home for our new “Shark Tank” Business Incubator class.  Check it out as you pass by or sign up for the class next year!apps

–New apps on iPads — If you check in the Self Service app, under “Reference” there are many research apps for you.  Connect to research sites easily by using these apps.  Also check out shortcuts to the library catalog and EasyBib right on your home screen.

We are here to help you–whether you need something good to read, a calculator for Physics, color printing, or research help!  Let us know how we can help you.

Congratulations, Seniors!

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A little “nerd” advice from the library as you move out into the world!

  1.  Don’t forget to read.  The world is wide and long and deep.  Learn more about it.
  2.  Bring your curiosity with you.
  3.  Ask for help when you need it.
  4. Librarians are good at providing help.  So are libraries.  They are safe sanctuaries when you are peaceful and when you are lonely, and when you want to meet people or when you want to be alone.
  5. Be open to learning.   We never stop learning.
  6. Don’t judge yourself for what you don’t know.  Just try to find out.
  7. In college, if you need to know something/anything — don’t forget librarians are there just to help you.
  8. Work with integrity.   Honor the work of others, and honor your own integrity.   It matters.
  9. Find out what is your passion and what makes you tick.  There’s a world of learning around that.
  10. Remember you are loved.  Someone, somewhere loves you.  Not for your success or achievement, but just for who you are – the way you think or talk or smile.  And remember, your Westlake Family loves you.

Congratulations!  Whether your journeys are quiet or large, be the best version of yourself.  Safe travels!

 

Author Asher Price coming April 28th!

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thThe library will be hosting Austin Statesman writer Asher Price, author of the new book entitled Year of the Dunk, on April 28th during 3rd period!   He will be speaking to English classes and basketball students, but other students are welcome to attend.

In Year of the Dunk, Asher Price writes about his decision to “train” himself to dunk a basketball in his 30’s.  Along the way, he explores physics, genetics and the history of basketball in his humorous efforts to train himself to successfully dunk the ball.

Besides publishing books, Asher Price is the environmental reporter for the Austin American-Statesman, writing about water, endangered species and politics in Central Texas.

The library will have some of Price’s books available for sale and autographing!

New computers are here!

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new computer new computer3We are thrilled to say that our computers in the main library were replaced last night thanks to our amazing Tech team who came in after school to swap out all the computers!

You should find much faster speeds with the new machines — and we are all about you getting your work done more easily.  Let the library staff know if you have any problems!

Welcome Veronica Roth!

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Vernoica Roth flyer twitWe are so thrilled to welcome Veronica Roth, author of Divergent, who is coming to WHS  March 8!

Come by and meet her or get a book autographed from 8-8:40 next Tuesday in the NGC Learning Commons!

There are books for sale in the library, and you can bring your own book for an autograph if you also purchase one!  Check at the front desk for order forms!     veronica roth

Curious about the Divergent series and the reasons behind it?  Check out Veronica’s Tumblr here!

What does creative look like?

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Last week–students and teachers got to try their creative skills in making Valentine’s cards, light up cards, and valentine'scollages.  It was a great way to relieve some stress with some hands on art!  We used old book pages, date due stampers, batteries, copper tape, stickers, and more, but the main ingredient was creativity.  One of the hits was light up Valentine’s cards.

valentine's light upIf you want to know how to make a light up card, check out these instructions below.  It’s easy and all you need is some copper tape, a small battery, and a little LED light.

Thanks to those of you who participated!

 

Welcome back!

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New Year, New Books!

Check out new titles from Holly Black, Marie Lu, Rainbow Rowell, Scott Westerfeld, and Leigh Bardugo!  Rainbow Rowell’s book Fan Girl was a hit. Her new book Carry On is a creative riff of Harry Potter and fictional heroes.   And we can’t wait to read Leigh Bardugo’s newest series starting with Six of Crows, which is set in the same world as her Grisha Trilogy.   Check out our new books table at the front of the library or ask at the front desk!

Six-of-Crows carry on the-darkest-part-of-the-forest

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Join us for Hour of Code!

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Come play during the national Hour of Code tomorrow in the library!  Be one of 10 MILLION students around the world learning coding this week!

codingLook for the designated computers(or use your iPad) and take the self-paced coding challenge to build your own Minecraft or Star Wars Game.  Even if you’ve never tried coding, grab a friend and try it out with the easy drag-and-drop tutorial.

Or if you are more advanced already, try out the JavaScript or Python tutorials on code.org.

We will have a prize drawing for those who participate!  Click here to get started!

 

Why join?  Check out this video.

Give thanks for libraries and support WHS!

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bookfair imageWe need you!    The library will be holding an in-store and online bookfair through Barnes and Noble in Sunset Valley over the Thanksgiving break from November 28-December 2!

Use our code 11755709 when you check out in the store, or online at bn.com/bookfairs.   If you find yourself out shopping over the Thanksgiving break, even if you get a snack from the café in the bookstore, you can use our code for credit.  It also works for toy purchases, music, and other items in the store.

The store will have a table with required reading from the English department, as well as “recommended reading” selected by other WHS teachers. (list of titles here).   Part of the recommendation for the new SAT is to read more nonfiction, and the social studies department has suggested great titles for you that will be in the store.

On Wednesday, December 2nd, come by the store for special events!!  We will have student art in the café, and the WHS Chamber Women choir will be performing!  We will have free gift wrapping all day on Wednesday, too, and donations for the gift wrapping also go to support the library.

The library will receive a portion of the proceeds for all of these events, and it’ll help us support you with lots of new books!  P.S. We have flyers at the library front desk if you need the code or a reminder!