Fall T-shirts

We just wrapped up our fall t-shirt program. We broke out a pile of stencils, fabric paint and fabric markers and turned 13 kids (great number for a Halloween-y program!) loose, just to prove, once again, that they are far more creative than I will ever, ever be. With Halloween party music going in the background, the kids turned out some pretty cool shirts! Check some of them out below!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Beige

Finished Cecil Castellucci's Beige a few nights ago. Probably wouldn't have picked this one up on my own, but a teen put it in my hands, literally. (Thanks Nia!) Enjoyed this one a good bit more than I thought I would. It's the story of a young Canadian girl, Katy, who has been raised by her single mom and hadn't seen her dad, a legendary punk rocker, since she was quite small. Katy is a bit of a neurotic, type A personality, quite reserved and likes everything in it's place. Needless to say dad is nothing like that, so when Katy is sent to a spend a few weeks in L.A. with him while her mom is on an archaeological dig in Peru, they don't exactly hit it off. The other people that Katy meets, a girl her age named Lake, also the daughter of a punk rocker, and a couple of boys, Leo, the drop-dead gorgeous type, and Garth, the awkward, slightly nerdy type who seems to be a punk rocker wannabe, aren't exactly the types that Katy would choose to hang around with either. Lake has been bribed to hang out with Katy (talk about demeaning!) and promptly nicknames Katy, Beige, in reference to her first impressions of Katy's personality. Katy struggles to get through the couple of weeks, with hope that it would all be over soon, but then she gets the news that a few weeks is now going to be the entire summer. At first I thought that the characters were going to be predictable, but I found them quite engaging and the story pretty compelling. Katy's parents are both recovering addicts, so there are drug references, but the references are to the consequences, especially long term. Nothing objectionable for older middle schoolers or high school students.

Enjoy!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Living Dead Girl

Read Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl over the weekend. If you've watched the news accounts of young women who had been kidnapped as children and lived, seemingly out in the open, with their kidnappers for years and wondered why they didn't seem to run or try to get help, this book might help you to appreciate the situations that they were probably in. It's a very disturbing and unsettling book, but a compelling read, that you can't put down once you start it. Scott does a remarkable job of conveying the horrific things that Alice, the narrator and main character, has experienced without being graphic. Nonetheless, this one is definitely not for middle schoolers, although if an parent were to read it, it might help them in talking to a younger child about abductors. The book puts you inside Alice's head as she realizes that her abductor is probably going to kill find a new younger girl to abduct and kill Alice. She sees how her abductor has manipulated her, but still doesn't see a way out that she believes won't endanger her family. Another book on a similar topic, that is just as compelling, but a good bit less horrific is Elaine Alphin's Counterfeit Son. For the right reader, I recommend both very highly.

Mario Kart Tournament Update

Another nice afternoon with a great bunch of kids. Only 15 in the tournament today (I think the really nice weather kept some people outside today) plus the usual extras there for the side and board games, but that meant we had time to do double elimination for the first 2 rounds so everyone got more chances to play. Our big winner today was Joe W with Chase S pulling out a second place finish. Thanks to Andrew for his help setting up, Nick for his help cleaning up, both Andrew and Nick for keeping the popcorn coming (did anyone eat lunch before they came?), and Ameer and Brandon for providing a little ukulele music in the background. I don't know, you just don't hear enough ukulele music anymore. Anyway, if you missed it, pics below.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - The Hunger Games

Finished Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games late last night. Wow! I see why this one has been so popular. It's set in a futuristic country, taking up what's left of North America after several natural disasters and wars. There is a central government area where all of the power and money are, and 12 outlying districts where the people live under oppression and in severe poverty. There had been a 13th district, but after they led an unsuccessful attempt at an uprising, the entire district was destroyed to set an example. Now, as a reminder of the uprising, the central government holds the annual Hunger Games, where a boy and girl from each district are chosen at random and put into a cordoned off area to fight to the death, with the last child left alive winning fame and fortune for him or herself and a year of extra supplies for their district. The people in the districts are forced to treat the games like a festival, and to watch it being televised. I won't give away more of the plot, but I will say that it's well-written and compelling reading. I put myself in the hold line for the sequel, and I very seldom read more than one book in a series. Enjoy!

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Discordia

Just finished Dena Salmon's Discordia: The Eleventh Dimension. Young Lance suddenly finds himself in another world. Is he somehow in the on-line game, Discordia, that he spends most of his spare (and not-so-spare) time playing? If he's not in the game itself, is it a world modeled after the game? Or that the game is modeled after? Is he hallucinating? Why is his online gaming friend there with him? And most importantly, how do they get back from wherever they are? I found the book a little disjoint in the beginning, but a few chapters in, it started to flow better and drew me in more. Not bad, but I liked Conor Kostick's Epic better as a book for and about gamers and gaming. There's some gory, but not really graphic violence, but otherwise nothing objectionable for middle schoolers.

Enjoy!

Spa Day - Girls Day In

Didn't know how this was going to fly when it was first suggested, but as it turns out, we'll definitely be doing this one again! I cut off registration when we hit 40, and most of those folks showed up. We had herbal teas and flavored sparkling water. We had brewer's yeast and yogurt facials, and the good old cucumber slices on the eyes. We had a rosemary steam treatment. And of course, hair and nails. Too bad my yoga instructor didn't show. After nearly 2 hours, we had to chase the last of the girls out so we could get cleaned up, a definite indicator of success! Everyone had a blast. Look for this one again over the winter. If you missed it, pics below.

Brawl Tournament Update

Wow! Great turnout for our first video game tournament of he school year! We had 39 in the tournament, and more who just came for the side games and ambience. Congrats to our winners - Jeremiah H was our big winner with Ben pulling out 2nd place. A big thank you to my ace clean-up crew as well. I'd still be down there packing up systems without them. Thanks also to Alex B for helping to keep that first round running relatively smoothly.

If you missed it, pics below..

Dance Program Pics

We just wrapped up an encore of this summer's dance program. A big thank you to Debbie from Always Time for Dancing in Lemoyne for pinch-hitting at the last minute for Mandy and doing a fabulous job! Everyone had a lot of fun. And what a difference over the course of just an hour! If you missed it, pics below.

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath

Recently finished Steven Goldman's Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath. I really enjoyed this one! The main character is high school junior, Mitchell Wells. Mitchell is sort of a nerd - good GPA, clean discipline record, only one real friend, David, a total of one, sort-of-date back in 7th grade, and a popular younger sister. Right at the beginning, David tells Mitchell (at lunch, very matter-of-factly) that he's gay. Mitchell doesn't think things should really change between them, and doesn't want them to, but he can't figure out what he should be saying or doing around David. This is woven throughout the book. Several side story lines are also thrown in. Mitchell and David make a somewhat inappropriate Claymation video in a graphic arts class, and when he can't quite choke down the assigned English class book, The Grapes of Wrath, Mitchell decides to submit it instead of the required paper, drawing some really loose, wild connections to the book. When the English teacher leaves in the middle of the next class, and is then gone on leave, Mitchell thinks that perhaps his film got him administrative trouble. While all of this is going on, there is also behind the scenes setting up of prom dates through intermediaries, and Mitchell suddenly finds himself with not one, but two, girls trying to get him to take them. The characters are believable, likable and funny. When Mitchell finally goes before the headmaster to decide his fate regarding the film, I laughed out loud. Yes, there's a bit of mature subject matter, but it's handled remarkably well. Not appropriate for younger middle school kids, but fine for high schoolers and probably older middle schoolers. If you've ever felt out of place in school you'll relate. Enjoy!