What the cool kids are reading....

This SCJBA nominee is actually the third book in a series though the reader can understand events with no prior knowledge. 

I found this book interesting but overall felt the plot was a bit underdeveloped.  The mystery begins with the murder of Lord Inaba.  Everyone is baffled as to how someone could sneak into his castle, slip unnoticed into his heavily guarded room and murder the king in his sleep.More mysterious is the bloodstained origami butterfly left behind.  When 14-year-old Seikei (a Samurai in training) and his sponsor, Judge Ooka, investigate the murder, they find themselves  treated poorly by the royal court.  What secret are they hiding?

Faced with a journey that includes great physical challenges, intrigue, and danger, Seikei is ready to prove himself worthy of the title of "Samurai" - even if it means losing his life in the pursuit of justice and honor.

     Students who enjoy Japanese culture, ninjas, shoguns, and samurai stories will enjoy this mystery/adventure.  I feel that the companion books should be read in order for the reader to really connect with the text.  This genre is rapidly gaining popularity with young teens.

Monday, April 16, 2007

 

Poetry Alive is a performance group based out of Asheville, NC.  They use acting to help students become engaged with the text - specifically, poetry.  They truly are a phenomenal group.  Poetry Alive presented to our school on March 27th.  Our students had a great time participating in the poetry re-enactments!  This podcast is an excerpt from the 7th grade presentation.  A special thanks to our two engaging performers - L'Tanya and Brad!  

 

 

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Leonardo was a very talented young actor ar a very young age.  He has completed a lot of goals in his life that people have only dreamed about.  He was born on November 11, 1974 and started his career at the ripe age of thirteen years old appearing in a Matchbox Cars commercial.  I learned that DiCaprio was named after the famous Leonardo DaVinci.  He was in a lot of T.V. shows also before his movie career took off.  He was in "The New Lassie," "Santa Barbara," "The Parenthood," and "The Outsiders."  He then started working in movies.  Even though most of them were not big hits, some movies he starred in were "Critters III," "This Boy's Life," "What's eating Gilbert Grape," "The Quick and the Dead," and "The Basketball Diaries."  He got his first big hit when he starred as Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet." Then he went from there to hit the big times with  "Titanic," "The man in the Iron Mask," "The Beach," and "Catch Me if You Can."  Leonardo was a very interesting person to read about. I really enjoyed learning some new things about him.  He has accomplished so much, and his career has just now begun.                                     By:  Samantha Harley

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

   - A book so important, it should be required reading for all students in middle school - Russell could not believe how much his life changed when he started Parkland Middle School or Darkland (which is what everyone else called it).  Not only does Russell feel deserted by all of his friends, he also has to deal with being stalked by the scariest, meanest bully in the entire school.  Would you put up with being beat up and tormented every day?  Well, Russell decides he’s not going to, either!  He teams up with two other seventh graders who are also being harassed by bullies.  Soon they devise a plan to begin an “underground” publication distributed to the student body on the school’s network server.  The letter, called The Revealer, details other students’ experiences and how they have been teased and mistreated by bullies at Parkland Middle.  When the letter is sent to the student body and they begin reading about how terrible students feel when other people tease them and the way it destroys lives, suddenly being a bully becomes very uncool and not acceptable.  Russell, Catalina, and are actually able to make a difference…that is, until they falsely accuse a student of cheating in their newsletter.    

     When their principal finds out about their letter and the student’s father threatens to sue for slander, she restricts the entire school body’s Internet access.  Just when Russell, Elliot, and Catalina find acceptance, they again are the outcasts - the ones responsible for everyone losing their Internet privileges.  At first, Russell feels beaten.  He then makes the decision to not go down without fighting.  He has a plan - though it’s risky, he knows he must be brave and be willing to reveal even more secrets than before.  Can Russell win back everything he has lost?-  

     The Revealers is a thought-provoking book that will engage readers until the end.  Even if you have never been bullied, we all can identify with some aspect of these three seventh graders’ lives.  This book should be read by every teacher and student.  It will make teachers think twice about dismissing “harmless” teasing and will cause students to think about the way they have treated their fellow classmates.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Kelly Clarkson was born in Burleson,Texas on April 24th,1982. She showed musical talent while still very young. Her parents divorced when she was six. Her father then moved to California. Later on her mother remarried. She graduated from Burleson High School in the year of 2000. Growing up she worked many different jobs such as an amusement park singer, waitress, and drug store clerk. In 2002, Kelly and one of her friends left their hometown and moved to California, where she started making contacts. Then all of the sudden her life began to fall apart. First her apartment burned down, and then her car got towed. She spent several days at a shelter before deciding to return to Texas and stay with her mom. Shortly afterwards, her best friend Jessica Huggins signed her up for a new competitive T.V. series. Kelly was one of the 11 finalists from Dallas, Texas. She worked hard to keep her voice fit for competing. Kelly soon made the top ten competitors. On September 3,2002 she was voted the the first ever "American Idol!" She signed a recording contract with RCA for $1 million. Kelly's first hit single arrived in stores September 17th of that year. Her first album was released October first, less then a month later. So that's the story of Kelly Clarkson's life.

By:  Brittany

Tuesday, March 20, 2007