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| Hey, wait a second...that guy looks suspiciously like our very own Dr. Gennes, math teacher extraordinaire! |
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Natalie Cummings reacts after spelling "gobo" correctly to win the 63rd annual Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee on Saturday at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC in Lawrenceville. Emily Laurore, left, came in third and Marcus Huetter came in second.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/washington/canonsburg-student-wins-pittsburgh-area-spelling-bee-going-to-dc-680663/#ixzz2ObILzIdf |
Hey CMS readers. If you weren't able to join us for our Cover2Cover book club meeting on Tuesday, March 5th, you really missed out. Lots of fun was had by all, and oh yeah, there were snacks!
We started our meeting with a snack, mixing tears (aka water) and blood (aka strawberry syrup) into milk (aka milk) from a cow named Viola to make a magical elixir. Read the book. You'll understand! We also found Kendra’s stash of foil-covered chocolates.
as if being 12 3/4 isn't bad enough, my mother is running for president! by Donna Gephart
Well, the reviews are in…Natalie told me it was “really good!” and Kate said “it’s really exciting right up to the end!” Given the fabulous student reviews, I had to read this Donna Gephart book during Spring Break.
Natalie and Kate were right! Kudos (Kudos. K-U-D-O-S. Kudos.) to Gephart. This book is another winner.
As if Vanessa Rothrock doesn’t have enough to contend with already - Preparing for the upcoming spelling bee by endlessly spelling out words; Worrying about tripping over her huge feet, while praying that her other body parts will catch up; Being followed everywhere by a huge bodyguard (and I mean EVERYWHERE!); Realizing that the cute boy she’s been crushing on is actually a neanderthal (Neanderthal. N-E-A-N-D-E-R-T-H-A-L. Neanderthal.); Worst of all, Vanessa is starting to feel like she has to make an appointment to see her mom, the one person she needs most of all. Her mother has been busy dealing with her work as the Governor of Florida.
And now her mother is running for President of the United States. Not only does Vanessa worry that she’ll never see her mother again, what if something bad happens to her? As Vanessa begins receiving threatening (Threatening. T-H-R-E-A-T-E-N-I-N-G. Threatening.) notes at school, it looks like her fears may prove to be very real! Somebody has to do something, and it’s looking like that someone will have to be Vanessa. But does she have the courage to do what needs to be done to protect her mother? And will her mother understand and forgive her? Well, you don’t expect me to tell you, do you? You’ll have to read this book to find out.
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Everything changes for Maxwell Kane the summer before his 8th grade year when Freak moves in down the street.
Max, who is in the learning disabled class, describes himself as a Butthead who doesn’t have a Brain. Max is a big kid who does his speaking with his fists and his feet. It doesn’t help that he looks like his father, Kenny “Killer” Kane. Since Maxwell’s mother is dead and his father is in jail, he lives in the basement with his Grim and his Gram.
Max is bored, hanging out in his back yard one summer day, when he notices a moving van parked down the street. Soon after, he sees a “weird-looking little dude” about two feet tall with a twisted body, waving his crutches around and yelling at the movers. Max soon discovers that while the boy’s body is crippled his brain is not. He is a genius! When the new kid spots Max, he demands that he identify himself and goes on to shoot him with his crutch saying “die, earthling, die!” So while it doesn’t look like the start of a beautiful friendship, in no time the two are inseparable.
With Kevin riding on Max’s shoulders, the two start having adventures together as Freak the Mighty. They go on a quest to rescue fair maidens and slay dragons. It turns out to be a really cool summer. But not all fairy tales have happy endings.
X-Isle by Steve Augarde
Set in a future where massive floods have buried cities and towns underwater and only those on the highest ground have survived, XIsle tells the story of a supposed island oasis run by charismatic Preacher John. Boys are selected to live on the island when their families trade valuable goods to give their sons and young brothers a chance to sail on the Cormorant and live with Preacher John and his crew. The island provides a hopeful future away from the drowned society they reside in with their families and friends.
All is not what is seems for the boys once they arrive on the island. The promised advantages are replaced by cramped living quarters and slave labor. The boys are forced to work for Preacher John, a self-righteous religious fanatic looking to collect as much wealth and valuables as possible. Preacher John's crew watch over the boys and make their lives miserable.
XIsle focuses on a boy name Baz and explores his trials and tribulations as he and the other group of boys trapped on the island try and figure out a way to escape. There are moments of hope and moments of tragedy as the David vs. Goliath story moves along. Funny situations give way to sometimes brutal consequences.
The characters in the book speak in an English accent which at times can be confusing for the reader. Overall, I would say the book is pretty predictable but does have some exciting twists and turns. If you like "me against the world" stories, then you probably will enjoy XIsle by Steve Augarde. Not up to "Lord of the Flies", "Lost" or "Hunger Games" standards, but not bad.
Mindblind by Jennifer Roy
Open File: C:\My Files\Books_I_am_glad_I_read\Mindblind.avi(Date:8/4/12)
Mindblind is 14-year-old Nathan Clark’s story. As a boy with mild Asperger’s, he experiences life in 2 worlds.
One is his “Aspie” N-world where he often disappears when a word triggers a memory that he has stored in his brain, like a computer file. His best friend, Cooper, says he’s like a zombie when it happens. In his own N-world, Nathan creates and solves mathematical formulas and he isn’t forced to interact with people and “hangout” with other teenagers.
But Nathan can’t always live in N-world. Sometimes he has to be a part of the outside world where it seems that people want to “fix” him. In the outside world, he has to worry about things like the clothes that he wears and whether he has crumbs on his face.
People often call Nathan a genius, but he “knows” that technically, he isn’t one. When he was younger, he read in a book that “a genius is a person who has accomplished something outstanding with his or her talents.” Since he hasn’t made an impact on the world yet, Nathan knows that he isn’t an official “genius”…yet! And so his quest to become one begins.
While on his quest for genius, Nathan also has to deal with the normal stuff, just like everyone else. His dad just doesn’t get him, he has a crush on his band-mate, and he’s not sure if he’s ready to share his songs with the world.
Nathan is relatable and funny. Read Mindblind to see if he succeeds in his quest for genius.
