MakerSpaces in Education

Thank you to the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School district, Long Island School Media Association (LISMA), and Mepham's Alumni Association for helping to finance our MakerSpace, because like the title of this video suggests, everyone is a maker, but not everyone has access.

#whyiwrite

Why do you write? This is the question posed down in the learning center on the bulletin board. You can add your own answer to the board by picking up a marker and adding it to the butcher block paper. The answers are varied and unique. Maybe one will speak to your soul. #whyiwrite

Bulletin Board in Learning Center

Kate Karyus Quinn

Kate Karyus Quinn

Young adult author, Kate Karyus Quinn, will be visiting us for our National English Honor Society Induction ceremony on Tuesday, April 19th. She has penned four novels, Down with the Shine, Among the Shadows, (Don't You) Forget About Me, and Another Little Piece.  

About the author from her website:
Kate Karyus Quinn is a chapstick addict with a love for live theater and a BFA from Niagara University to prove it.

After growing up in the suburbs of Buffalo, NY, Kate left her hometown for Southern California and film school, where she earned an MFA in Film and Television Production from Chapman University.

After finishing her degree, she moved with her husband to Knoxville, Tennessee. However, she recently made the move back home, with her husband and two children in tow. She promised them wonderful people, amazing food, and weather that would... build character.

Kate is first and foremost an avid reader and unapologetic booknerd. Although, she mostly reads YA and romance, she often samples different genres in her constant search for the next great read.

Literary Circle: Eleanor and Park

Literary Circle Book Selection

The next literary circle will take place on Thursday, April 14th after school in Room 232. The book discussion will be on Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Eleanor, 15, is the new girl at school and bullied because she's overweight and dresses in a flamboyant manner. Park is a half-Korean boy who has lived in Omaha, Nebraska, all his life but still feels like an outsider. This is a story of first love, which very slowly builds from the first day Eleanor sits next to Park on the school bus. First they ignore each other, and then they slowly become friends through their love of comic books and 1980s alternative music. Park is the only good thing in Eleanor's life. Her home life is a miserable exercise in trying to stay out of her abusive stepfather's way, and finding new ways to wear the same clothes repeatedly since there is no money for anything extra. Park adores everything about Eleanor, and she finds refuge at his house after school with his understanding parents. Things finally explode at Eleanor's house and Eleanor and Park's relationship is truly tested.

Dear Poet

Image Source

The Academy of American Poets for National Poetry Month 2016, presents Dear Poet, a multimedia education project that invites young people in grades 5-12 to write letters in response to poems written and read by seven of the award-winning poets who serve on the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors: Linda Gregerson, Juan Felipe Herrera, Jane Hirshfield, Marilyn Nelson, Alicia Ostriker, Alberto Ríos, and Anne Waldman.

Students—to participate in this year’s Dear Poet project, watch the videos here (scroll down) of Chancellors reading and discussing one of their poems. Then, write them a letter in response and send it by post or email to the Academy of American Poets, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038 or dearpoet@poets.org by April 30, 2016. Please include your name and the name of the poet to whom you’ve written. We will consider all letters for publication on Poets.org in May 2016. And our Chancellors will reply to select letters of their choosing.

My Weekend is All BOOKED!

Library Bulletin Board

National Poetry Month

The Academy of American Poets founded National Poetry Month in April 1996 with an aim to:

• highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets,
• encourage the reading of poems,
• assist teachers in bringing poetry into their classrooms,
• increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media,
• encourage increased publication and distribution of poetry books, and 
• encourage support for poets and poetry.

One way that we are celebrating here at W.C. Mepham High School is by reciting a short (45-second or less) poem over the PA system each Monday and Friday morning during the month of April. 

You can also follow the thousands of National Poetry Month celebrations taking place using #npm16 and follow the Academy of American Poets on Twitter @POETSorg.