MHS Library Orientation 2015

Hey Mepham Pirates! Are you new to Mepham High School? Part of the Class of 2019? Welcome! We are so glad to have you. Click here to view our library orientation video. It is a virtual tour of your fabulous library in just six minutes. Questions? Swing by and ask the librarian!

#bookface is Back!

Ms. Desmond's (formally Ms. Schiulaz) Photography II class came to the library last Friday for a lesson on perspective. See the results below.  Last year, her class took a field trip to the Mepham High School Library in honor of #bookfacefriday. See the photos here. 

Who cares about Banned Books?

In recent years, the majority of the most frequently challenged books in libraries have been Young Adult (YA) titles. Six YA titles were on the list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2014, according to the American Library Association.

"Young Adult books are challenged more frequently than any other type of book," said Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee. "These are the books that speak most immediately to young people, dealing with many of the difficult issues that arise in their own lives, or in the lives of their friends. These are the books that give young readers the ability to safely explore the sometimes scary real world. This Banned Books Week is a call to action, to remind everyone that young people need to be allowed the freedom to read widely, to read books that are relevant for them, and to be able to make their own reading choices.”

Here is a list of Books Challenged or Banned in 2014-2015. The good news is that we have most of these books right here in your school library for you to check out.

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, September 27 - October 3

iPad Reference Bar

Thanks to a generous donation from the Class of 1954 (read all about it here), the school library was able to purchase 6 iPad Airs along with MacLocks rotating and tilting iPad enclosures. We have just unveiled Mepham's iPad Reference Bar. Each iPad is engraved, "Gifted to Mepham High School by the Class of 1954."

Brand-spanking new iPad Reference Bar

Students checking out our new iPads

The purpose of these iPads are to check email, use Google apps for Education, check the weather, look up a word in the online dictionary, quick calculations, and so many other applications. They best part... They are just for you!

Landscape View

Teachers - They're Just Like Us!

Us Weekly is just one of the many magazines we subscribe to. Us Weekly gives you the latest top entertainment news, fashion tips, and celebrity photographs. One recurring section is "Stars - They're Just Like US," in which celebrities are featured performing everyday activities, from pumping their own gas to grocery shopping.  

Often times when students see teachers in places other than the classroom, they are aghast.  Teachers live outside these walls!?! It's true. And now we have the pictures to prove it. When you are passing by the library, make sure to stop at our bulletin board - "Teachers - They're Just Like US!" 

Welcome Back Pirates!

Mepham's new MakerSpace debuts this year.

Ahoy mateys! We want to extend a very warm Pirate welcome to our new ninth grade students, the Class of 2019! We've been swabbing the deck in the Mepham Library preparing for a fine 2015-2016 school year!

Sail ho! Mepham's MakerSpace is about to debut this year! A MakerSpace is a DIY creation place for a students and faculty to gather, to build, to invent, and to learn. Students and faculty will have access to littleBits, 3Doodler, a button maker, Cricut Explore, modeling clay, building materials and more. Our Mepham MakerSpace was made possible thanks to two mini-grants (Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and Long Island School Media Association). 

Shiver me timbers! Have you seen the new layout of our school library? If me hearties are having trouble navigating the waters just ask your cap'n (the librarian!) for help! We'll show you around the ol' poopdeck. The classroom side of the library is currently transitioning into our new Mac lab.

Classroom side of library

The main seating of the library now contains more tables (taken from the classroom side) and houses our Chromebooks. This side, when not being used for classes, is free to be used by students. 

Main seating area side of library

We heard you pirates! Our 17 desktop computers in the reference section are now solely for student use during free periods and lunch. No classes will be allowed to reserve this space. It is just for you!    

Reference section of library

These desktop computers are reserved for student use. 

Something missing arrrrrr? We took out our old photocopy machine. Students can scan in their hard copy document(s) and turn them into PDFs and send the document(s) directly via email or to their My Documents folder via the Black and White Lexmark Scanner and Printer instead. 

Yo-ho-ho! Are you following the school on Twitter? You should be. We are @MephamHS!

Have a great year Mepham Pirates! 

Summer Reading 2015: Every Hero Has a Story

Image Source

We are pleased to present the W.C. Mepham High School Summer Reading Program. Summer should be filled with joyful times, and we hope that reading will be an important part of your child’s summer plans.

Students entering Grade 9 are required to read one of the books on the list. While all of the books on the list clearly have literary merit, some may be suitable for more mature students. Therefore, we urge you to carefully review the list and to help your son or daughter make a selection that is appropriate based upon his or her interests, age, reading level, and maturity. To assist students in making their book selections, the Mepham High School website will have short summaries on each book. Students who are having difficulty choosing a book should ask their teachers, a librarian, or the English Department Chairperson for help. All students will be assessed on their summer reading in September.
Students entering Grades 10 – 12 are required to read the book(s) listed below for the grade level they will enter in September. This approach to summer reading will enable students and teachers to start school with meaningful, focused discussions. The “common read” format will help to increase participation and create a community of readers on each grade level. Through whole class discussions and lessons, students will have the opportunity to thoroughly analyze the text and to exchange ideas and opinions. Additionally, the required text will add value to the summer reading assessment as a springboard exercise to the school year.

Please note, students entering Senior Experience and Advanced Placement English courses will also be given a writing assignment to complete over the summer.

Enjoy the summer with a good book!

Incoming Ninth Grade (E1) 

Alexie, Sherman - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian 

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only Native American is the school mascot. While this book is not a graphic novel, it does contain several inspiring illustrations.

Defoe, Daniel - Robinson Crusoe 

In 1659, after becoming the sole survivor of a shipwreck, Englishman Robinson Crusoe lives on a deserted island for more than twenty-eight years.

Hoffman, Alice - Green Angel 

Haunted by grief and by her past after losing her family in a fire, fifteen-year-old Green retreats into her ruined garden as she struggles to survive emotionally and physically on her own.

Lupica, Mike - Million-Dollar Throw 

Eighth-grade star quarterback Nate Brodie's family is feeling the stress of the troubled economy, and Nate is frantic because his best friend Abby is going blind, so when he gets a chance to win a million dollars if he can complete a pass during the halftime of a New England Patriot's game, he is nearly overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed.

Mortenson, Greg & David Oliver Relin - Three Cups of Tea 

Traces how the author, having been rescued and resuscitated by Himalayan villagers after a failed attempt to climb K2, worked to build schools that would benefit the young girls who were forbidden an education by Taliban restrictions.

*Three Cups of Tea is not to be confused with Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition, which is a special adaptation for younger people.

Murray, Liz - Breaking Night 

Liz Murray, who was homeless at the age of fifteen and had drug-addicted parents, reflects on how she overcame obstacles and eventually attended Harvard University.

Swanson, James L. - Chasing Lincoln’s Killer 

Recounts the twelve-day pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, with a discussion of Abraham Lincoln as a father, husband, and friend that examines the impact of his death on those close to him.

Incoming Tenth Grade (E2)

Salinger, J.D. – The Catcher in the Rye 

An adolescent boy, knowing he is about to be dropped by his school, spends three days and nights in New York City on a quest for self-discovery.

Incoming Eleventh Grade (E3) 
and Incoming Eleventh Grade Advanced Placement (11AP)

O'Brien, Tim – The Things They Carried

Related stories, linked by recurring characters and an interwoven plot, recreate an American foot soldier's experience in the Vietnam War.

Incoming Twelfth Grade (E4)
and Incoming Senior Experience 

Gladwell, Malcolm – Outliers: The Story of Success 

The author explores why some people are high achievers and others are not, citing culture, family, and upbringing as possible reasons some people are not as successful as others.

Incoming Twelfth Grade Advanced Placement (12AP)

Alvarez, Julia – In the Time of the Butterflies 

Gives a fictionalized account of four sisters in the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of General Trujillo.

Foster, Thomas C. – How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Presents a discussion on how to understand symbolism in literature, discussing the appearance of journeys, eating, drowning, rain, violence, sex, illness, geography, Christ figures, and other signifiers, and how to see patterns the way literature professors do.