2011 Here we come!

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Break with a Book

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Mepham Treasure Missing!!!

We are looking for a plaque that hung over the library doors over 70 years ago in dedication to William S. Christy. If anyone has any information on its location, please contact Ms. Stack at (516) 992-1532. This image taken of the 1939 Library Club under the direction of Miss Doris Moyle, librarian and club advisor, appeared in the first edition of the Treasure Chest.

From the Mepham Handbook, September 1942

The following regulations pertain to the main library and should be observed at all times.

1. A student who is deficient in more than one subject may not visit the library between the hours of 8:40 A.M. and 3:05 P.M.
2. A student may spend but one period per day in the main library.
3. Pupils go to and return from the library promptly with no loitering or conversation in the hall.
4. The student librarian has the same authority as the librarian while in charge of the library and deserves the same respect.
5. You are not permitted to go to the library to study something that you could study just as well in study hall. You should take only the notebook or book needed to do your assignment to the library.
6. The customary library atmosphere of peace and quiet should prevail at all times.
   
   WHAT WOULD MISS MOYLE THINK OF THE LIBRARY NOW!?!

Scholastic Book Fair

UPDATE: Our book fair was a big success! With your donations we were able to purchase over 200 books for kids in need this holiday season!

Our fifth (yes, fifth!) annual Book Fair will be held from Monday, November 29th - Wednesday, December 1st in the school library. Proceeds will be used to buy books for children’s charities, the school library, and to support activities of the school’s chapter of the National English Honor Society (NEHS), such as our annual author visit. On Monday, November 29th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, the book fair will feature a special Family Night in conjunction with the monthly PTA meeting. Parents, students, teachers, families, and the school community are invited to attend.

Unmask the Heroes

If you stop by the library before December 22nd check out the new bulletin board and "Unmask the Heroes." Twenty teachers have posed behind masks. Can you tell who is under those masks? The student(s) to get the most answers correct wins a prize! Come by the library before December 22nd to enter.

Our DESTINY

The Mepham High School Library Catalog has a whole new look! It's called Destiny Quest. Teachers can now create resource lists for their projects. Resource lists can include books we have right here in the library, teacher-approved Websites, and even articles from databases we subscribe to. Students can log in and create their own book lists too. Anyone can view the 10 Ten Books that circulate in our library and check out our new arrivals. You can also view what books are available in Calhoun, Kennedy, Merrick and Grand libraries. What is your "destiny"?

The Jolly Roger

To my surprise a pirate has taken up residence in our library by way of a very genrous donation from Mr. William H. Tschirhart (Class of '44). Legend has it if you rub his booty (the treasure chest that is) you will have good luck all day long. Is the legned true? You be the judge!

The NEW and IMPROVED Orientation Video

Our library orientation video has been updated. Check it out!

New Online Databases 2010-2011

All our databases can be found on the Mepham H.S.Website under the Library tab, click on Online Resources or go to this direct link https://owa.bmchsd.k12.ny.us/owa/redir.aspx?C=6e6bf65d4e25441ab20bb213838fdc99&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.bellmore-merrick.k12.ny.us%2flibraryresources%2fmepham.html. The passwords and usernames for all our databases for 2010-2011 are in the school library. NOTE: Some of the interfaces have changed (most notably Gale Student Resource Center and Gale Opposing Viewpoints) so the format might look different on a few of these databases, but rest assured they continue to provide the same great information).

Bitstrips for Schools Bitstrips is groundbreaking web-based software that engages students in reading and writing using a medium they love – Comics! Our easy, fun and social tools empower any student to create amazing comics, and provides an exciting new way to teach your curriculum. Great for making political cartoons!
NOTE: In order to use this database Shari Stack needs to set up individual teacher accounts. Once you have an account, you will set up your class list and students will be given a unique classroom code and individual password to log in. If you are interested, please see Shari Stack.

Current Issues: Health (H. W. Wilson) From eating disorders to food safety, from alternative medicine to cloning, from euthanasia to travel and health. This is a resource to enrich your understanding of issues at the leading edge of health and medicine.

Welcome Class of 2014!

We are officially open for business... The school library is open from 7:30 AM until 3:30 PM, unless otherwise posted. All students are welcome to use the library during any free period, lunch, or after school. A photocopier is available for student use at $.10 a copy. All freshman will sign in at the Circulation Desk upon arrival during 5th period. Students will respect each other, the faculty, and staff. Students will respect the library resources and equipment.

Borrowing Materials... Books may be taken out for 3 weeks. Books may be renewed twice. Reference books and books on reserve do not circulate. Periodicals may be taken out with the permission of the Librarian. There is a $.05 per-day charge for overdue books.

Closed ... temporarily!

The Mepham High School Library will be closed on Tuesday, September 7 and Wednesday, September 8, 2010. We will reopen on Monday, September 13, 2010. The reason... Destiny... our new library automation system (otherwise known as the OPAC, also known as the computer program we need to check out books)!

My Favorie Summer Reading Book

My favorite summer reading pick from this year's ninth grade summer reading list was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's about sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who accidentally becomes a contender in the annual Hunger Games, a grave competition hosted by the Capitol where young boys and girls are pitted against one another in a televised fight to the death. And the best news is that Book # 2, Catching Fire is available and Book # 3 (the final one!), Mockingjay is coming out on September 1st!

Mepham's Class of 2010

"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!"
- Dr. Seuss

Learn, Create, Share @ Your Library!

Libraries are chock-full of tech toys like CDs, DVDs and computer games, and they're a great place to get connected to homework help, research resources, gaming, music, the Web and more. Stop by your school library or visit our Website during Teen Tech Week, March 7 – 13!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Every year, many students come in to the library requesting a biography on Dr. Seuss. We hand them a book on Theodor “Ted” Seuss Geisel. Then we get the question: “Who’s this?” This is Dr. Seuss, and he wasn’t a real doctor. He was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to German immigrant parents who made their living brewing beer. Before his mother married, she worked in her father’s bakery and would recite the baked goods in a chant to the customers. As a child, when Dr. Seuss could not fall asleep, his mother would recite these chants to him. Later Dr. Seuss would credit his mother “for the rhythms in which I write and the urgency with which I do it.” Dr. Seuss attend Dartmouth College where he became the editor in chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth's humor magazine. When caught throwing a party, he was fired as editor, but still contributed as “Seuss.” This is the first record of his using the pseudonym Seuss, which was both his middle name and his mother's maiden name. For more information on Dr. Seuss check out his biography or visit his interactive Website.

Have You Inked Lately?

Teen Ink is a national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos and forums since 1989. According to their Website, students must be age 13-19 to participate, register and/or submit work. This magazine is distributed through classrooms by English teachers, Creative Writing teachers, Journalism teachers and art teachers around the country. Teen Ink magazine offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens and has the largest distribution of any publication of its kind.
Teen Ink has NO staff writers or artists; they depend completely on submissions from teenagers nationwide for their content. They offer teenagers the opportunity to publish their creative work and opinions on the issues that affect their lives - everything from love and family to teen smoking and community service. They have published more than 45,000 teens.
So, what are you waiting for? This is another great opportunity to have your work published.

Writing Contests

Every year several Mepham High School students have their work written published, whether it be poems, essays, short fiction pieces, etc. How do they get published? They simply enter writing contests. We have an entire webpage devoted to writing contests taking place all over our country. How do you get to the writing contests page on our Website? Go to the W.C. Mepham High School Website, click on the "Departments" tab at the top of the page, and then click on "English," next click on "Student Resources," finally click on the link for "Writing Contests." Hardcopies of all contests are available in the Learning Center (Room 203). What are you waiting for? If you have a piece of writing that you think is worthy of publication submit it TODAY!

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Wordle

According to the Wordle Website, "wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends." I created the wordle above in a few minutes. Try it for yourself!

NEW DATABASE: Global Issues in Context

Global Issues in Context (Gale) offers international viewpoints on a broad spectrum of global issues, topics, and current events. Featured are hundreds of continuously updated issue and country portals that bring together a variety of specially selected, highly relevant sources for analysis of social, political, military, economic, environmental, health, and cultural issues. Each of these gateway pages includes an overview, unique "perspectives" articles written by local experts, reference, periodical, primary source and statistical information. Rich multimedia - including podcasts, video, and interactive graphs - enhance each portal. Use Browse Issues and Topics, Country Finder, Basic Search or Advanced Search to explore the database.

Happy Birthday MLK!

In the U.S. we celebrate the birthdate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, which is January 15. In your school library we have created a display to honor the memory of MLK. Some of the books include I Have a Dream: The Story of Martin Luther King by Margaret Davidson and My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. by Coretta Scott King.

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The Mepham Minute

Have you seen The Mepham Minute yet? OK, we know it is actually longer than a minute, so perhaps the title is a little deceiving. For those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, go to the Mepham High School Website (under News & Announcements) and click on “The Mepham Minute.” This is a relatively short monthly news program featuring the happenings and events around our school. During the first episode, host Senior John Coen, posed the question— “What does it mean to be a Mepham Pirate?” Your answers were worth every minute. Viewers can also participate in the poll on the right-hand side of the webpage. Spoiler Alert: The next episode will take you to new speeds.

Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year! Goodbye 2009, and hello 2010! This is a good time to reconnect at your library. Midterms are coming up at the end of this month and we want to remind you that your school library is an excellent place to get resources. What type of resources might you need to help you prepare for those tests? You might need textbooks, graphing calculators, or reference tables. You can make photocopies and do not forget to use the student cabinet for materials such as graph paper, lined paper, index cards, etc.

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