Mrs. B is reading...How to Survive Middle School

How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart

David Greenberg plans to be the next Jon Stewart but he first has to figure out how to survive Harman Middle School.

David produces his own show TalkTime and posts the videos on YouTube. His best friend Elliott used to help him with the show, but they had a falling out. Now David has to figure out a way to deal with:
        6.        Middle school (much scarier than it sounds!)
        5.         His best friend gone girl-crazy
        4.         A runaway mom who has no phone!
        3.         The threat of a swirlie on his birthday
        2.        A terrifying cousin
        1.         His # 1 fan, Bubbe (his Jewish grandmother)
1/2.        And Hammy, the hamster who’s determined to break David’s heart

David makes a new friend, the peppermint-smelling Sophie,while dealing with all of his issues. She loves David’s videos and shares them with a few friends, who share them with a few more friends. Before David knows it, TalkTime has gone viral and David is an internet superstar! You’d think he’d be thrilled, but instead he finds himself asking “What good does it to be famous online when in real life, I go to a school where all I am is ‘Lameberg’?”

Read How to Survive Middle School, and then join us at the January meeting of Cover2Cover to talk about the book and balancing an online life with a real life.

Cover2Cover Is Back!

Cover2Cover, our school’s book club, meets throughout the school year to discuss books. Anyone is welcome to join. We all read the same book and then get together to discuss it, participate in activities related to it, and have fun! Most meetings are after school. We will discuss How to Survive Middle School at the first meeting, which will take place on January 25th. If you are interested in joining Cover2Cover, have any questions about Cover2Cover, or need a copy of the first book, see Mrs. Barbarino.

That Sound You Hear is Learning!

The lmc was abuzz with the sounds of learning on Thursday when some of the Hurricanes paid a double visit to the Library Media Center. Some students were working on their energy presentations for Mr. Colbert and Mrs. Killmeyer, while others were typing scripts for book interviews for Ms. Paddick. Love it!

Big Mac Readers Wiki

Have you ever read a book and wanted to let other students know what you thought about it? Well now here’s your chance! Starting today, CMS students can submit book reviews for the Big Mac Readers wiki. The book review form is available on The CMS_lmc wants to hear from you! page of this blog.

Mrs. Wright’s period 11 class will be trying it out this week. Once their reviews have been approved, they will be posted on the Big Mac Readers wiki.

Mrs. B is reading...Uprising

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

“Do you know what it is like to work in a shirtwaist factory? In the wintertime, I’m there before the sun comes up, and if the boss wants to make me work until midnight, he can do that. What could I do to stop him? I’m just a girl. Just one girl. I can work, day in and day out, hour after hour at the sewing machines, and then at the end of the week if he decides he doesn’t want to pay me for all my work, what can I do? He can make all sorts of excuses--‘Oh, I had to charge you for the use of the sewing machine--for the electricity to run it--for the needles that broke....’ He can make up any excuse he wants, but if he doesn’t want to pay me what I’m owed, he doesn’t have to. What can I do? I’m just one girl.”
-Yetta

Yetta, a Russian immigrant along with hundreds of other immigrants, works long hours under awful conditions at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Yetta decides to join the fight for fair treatment and better working conditions by becoming a member of the newly formed labor union. Yetta joins the union members on the picket line and ends up meeting Bella, another immigrant who had to put up with the terrible working conditions in order to send money to her starving family in Italy. Jane, daughter of a wealthy businessman, leaves her privileged world in search of real meaning in her life and also joins the workers on the picket line. The three girls become close friends.

The strike ends in time, though little is resolved and working conditions are not much better. Yetta and Bella are back at work and Jane is visiting the factory on a fateful day in March 1911 when a spark from a careless worker’s cigarette starts a catastrophic fire. The fire ends up being one of the worst workplace disasters in history. Many do not survive.

Uprising is based on true events that took place during the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory strike during 1909-10 and the major fire that happened there on March 25, 1911, that resulted in the deaths of 146 workers. Yetta, Bella and Jane are fictional characters but the story of their friendship and empowering desire to make a difference brings the events to life.

Mrs. B is reading...Chasing Vermeer

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, illustrated by Brett Helquist

“Dear Friend: I would like your help in identifying a crime that is now centuries old.” This simple anonymous letter left on the doorsteps of three different residents of the same town kicks off a complex mystery involving the theft of a Vermeer painting. Classmates Petra and Calder come together and find themselves at the center of this international art scandal.

A series of coincidences, unanswered questions and secret codes are a central part of this story which is part mystery, part puzzle and part adventure. Petra and Calder must put all the pieces together without knowing who can help because everyone is under suspicion. And they are racing against the clock so they can find the thief before he goes through with his threat and destroys the valuable piece of art.

This is a fun, slowly-unfolding story with lots of twists and turns.

Supernovas@theCMS_lmc

The Supernovas are finishing up their week in the lmc.  They have been planning their dream vacations and researching many exotic locales!