Welcome Back to School! & Twilight and Harry Potter!

News@School Live!
YAY!....it's a new year and i'm so excited to see all the new kids coming to MHMS!!...Welcome 6th graders AND welcome to any transferring 7th and 8th graders.

MHTV is advertising for applications for the new crew NEXT week in all the lunches...check out the stage steps for your app & make sure to get yours! a big part of the interview process of hiring new MHTV crew is did the student listen and follow directions as given on the MHTV show. did the student follow directions, fill out the application fully, get a parent and teacher signature, and turn it in on time? these are all things we examine before we choose which kids to audition. last year we had almost 100 kids working with MHTV..it's a vital part of the murray hill middle school community. how do we do the TV show every day and how is it a best practice of technology integration? check out our News@School Live! check it out!

NEW Books in the Media Center!
we always try and have the latest hot book or series for you our dear customer! and we have the 4th of the Twilight Series ...Breaking Dawn...!!
Twilight fans.....Ok, you know...it's killin me! i haven't read it yet because as SOON as i got it from Amazon ....all 4 copies! i turned them back around and had Mrs. Black quicky send them to get processed so YOU could check them out! it was Soooo tempting!! i think i may have to just break down and buy my own copy...but you know how i like using the library but the HCL waiting list for Breaking Dawn is still at 10+. so if you haven't read it yet...we've got them!~ ok...here's a pic from the movie! i'm sorry...i'm a Jacob fan....readers...COMMENT TIME...is Bella a Mary Sue?
don't know what that means? here....a Non-Twilight fan friend of mine wrote in their blog recently
"And to all the Twilight fans, educate yourselves on Mary Sues. Bella is a Mary Sue, Edward is a Gary Sue. It's Mary Sue land I tell you! [link] Read Wiki's article. And understand the concept."

sounds harsh, right? i hate to say it but i see some truth in it and Mrs. Singleton and the book club and i will be talking about Marysues and fanfiction this year! we may even blog or wiki about it
...but Twilight series?
it's still a good read!!!...
the movie coming out around Thanksgiving sounds good, too!


And have you heard? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been delayed!
"Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that it has moved back the release date of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. The sixth installment of the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise will now open day-and-date domestically and in the major international markets on July 17, 2009. The announcement was made by Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. In making the announcement, Mr. Horn stated, “Our reasons for shifting ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment."

My theory is that it has something to do with that Warner has no big tentpole movie next summer after Justice League fell apart. Oh and the Stephenie Meyers blog says it's NOT Twilight's fault!

***August 15, 2008***

Movie News Flash!

So, many of you have heard that the release of the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, has been moved from this Thanksgiving to next summer. First and foremost, please know that this schedule change has absolutely nothing to do with Twilight, me, or Summit Films (so enough with the imdb death wishes, okay?). This is Warner Bros. decision, and it was not motivated by anything Twilight-related.

Now for the good news! Though we're all sad to have to wait for Harry Potter, this open spot at the theater creates a cool opportunity. The good people at Summit were thrilled to let me know that now Twilight fans are going to get their movie three weeks earlier than scheduled. That's right—Twilight will be released in theaters November 21st! Let the merry-making commence!

--Stephenie

Whatever, i want both! Twilight and the Harry Potter movie!! and the sooner the better!~
~Ms. Jones
Ok..... comments peeps! you know we like comments!!!

Experience a "Metamorphosis!" Summer Reading@HCL

Mr. John Jewitt visits from the Howard County Public Library to share the details of the summer reading game: Experience a "Metamorphosis!" to our 6th graders.

He also did some booktalks from the middle school list that i talked about in my last post! Featured in the booktalk but not on the list:
Phineas Gage : a gruesome but true story about brain science by John Fleischman.









From the HCL Summer Reading Website:
"Welcome to Metamorphosis.
Our goal is to keep you reading this summer. Your goal is to earn book bucks!

Instructions
For each hour you spend reading, book review you write, or library event you attend, you will earn five book bucks. When you have earned 50 book bucks, come in for a prize. When your account total reaches 100 book bucks, come back in for another prize. And when you have earned 200 book bucks you will receive one more prize plus your username and password for the finishers' auction. Keep earning additional bucks - the more bucks your earn, the better your chances in the finshers' auction.

You can read anything!
You may read books, magazines, graphic novels, newspapers, and websites. You may also listen to audio books. Check out a list of books developed by Howard County Library's teen specialists in conjunction with the Howard County Public School System. You may earn book bucks for up to six hours of reading each day.

To get started, register at the information desk at any Howard County Library branch. We'll give you all of the materials you need to get started: a reading log, a review card, your first five book bucks, and a starter prize!

The auction runs through Tuesday, August 12. Curious about book bucks and becoming a better bidder? Attend our workshops (with link to "Be a Better Bidder" events on evance) to learn more about software and strategies to place your best bids in the Metamorphosis Auction."

Cool Books for Hot Summer Reads!

YAY!! it's that time of year again! Wow, did that year go fast, too! ...the Media Center is trying to get back all of its books and you're already thinking of going "downy ocean" and reading a book on the beach! (ok, so maybe that's what *i'm* thinking of! LOL) anyway the Media Specialists in collaboration with the public Librarians of the Howard County Library system ....created the:
2008 Recommended Summer Reading List for Middle Schoolers!!!
See you, book in hand, at the beach! (or pool, or park, or deck, or boat...you can read ANYwhere!) Woo hoo!!
Download the PDF version of this list on our Wiki here!

Oh! and parents! there's also an adult book list for your reading

Museum of Underwater Archeology Visits!

MHMS Media was pleased to arrange a visit from the director of the Museum of Underwater Archeology. Mr. Kurt Knoerl visited and worked with 6th grade students for a hands on introduction to the investigation, scientific method, and the fun of submerged archaeology.

This interactive lesson show students how underwater archaeological sites are found, mapped, and plotted.

What kind of equipment is used in scuba diving. How scientists use their senses under black water to discover shipwrecks and artifacts.





Students also learned how to use mylar film and a pencil to write underwater!
For more pictures go to our school's Smugmug Digital Photo Gallery!

Thank you Mr. Knoerl for visiting our school and working with our AWEsome kids

Go On a Walkabout - a Multi-Lingual Virtual Tour of MHMS

Go on a virtual tour! A student written and produced video virtual tour of our school in English, Spanish, Korean, and Urdu using the Flip Video camera.


Virtual Tour in English




Virtual Tour in Spanish




Virtual Tour in Korean




Virtual Tour in Urdu


for supporting information about the grant project visit our MHMS Teacher Tech Wiki

a MICCA funded grant by

Beth Singleton, GT Resource Teacher & Gwyneth Jones, Media/Technology Specialist

Many Voices, Many Stories, & Many Lands

Storytelling & Folklore Unit for Grade 6 English

a Canadian storyteller & Author "virtually visits" our school....

From his Blog:
"Dale Gilbert Jarvis is the Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, a storyteller, author and performer. Dale sits on the Board of Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada, is the founder of the St. John's Storytelling Circle, and serves as president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival, Inc."

After meeting Mr. Jarvis through the Storytelling Guild I belong to in Second Life he agreed to collaborate with us for this unit, sharing folktales and stories from his recently published collection The Golden Leg and Other Ghostly Campfire Tales. The unit started with the usual background information about what things make a folktale, legend, and urban legend. After that introduction, the students came into the Media Center with the results of their story mining homework where they ask their family what stories they heard of as a kid or in the neighborhood where they grew up.

From TeacherTube: Storyteller and noted author Mr. Dale Jarvis adapated and retells folktale from India. In the story, Death creeps into Paradise, and steals away a boy from his sister.

"Gilbert Sapwood" aka Dale Jarvis tells an Irish folktale in the Dakota Playhouse in Second Life.

---

Storytelling in Action!

Teachers & Media Specialists: for more information about this Unit see our Wiki for all the lesson plans, handouts, storytelling links and more!

Celebrate Pi Day! π

From GT Teacher Beth Singleton and her talented film crew: Learn about Pi from a class of rowdy kids who do not know their Pi from their pie.

Created by the MHMS Advanced Film Production Team.


'Cause c'mon...who doesn't like π?