Arnold's Media Center

750,000 Word Readers

2011-03-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hi Rams Readers,

There are approximately 100 Rams in our school who have read 750,000 words already this year! Congratulations! For all your hard work, we will be celebrating your accomplishment on April 22 at 2:00 in the cafeteria. We'll be watching a movie (not sure which one yet) with refreshments for you to enjoy. We're waiting until after CRCT so that you won't be missing class so close to testing time.

Be looking for your invitation from your homeroom teacher after Spring Break.

I'm so proud!

Mrs. Bridges

School Supply Machine

2011-03-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Did you hear? Arnold now has a machine in the Media Center that sells school supplies. Yea!

Pencils - $0.25

Mechanical Pencils $0.50

Pens $0.50

Notebook Paper $0.75

Bring your own quarters!

New Websites for Student Use

2011-03-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone out there,
I am making an attempt to make this blog more useful to you. I am going "out there" and finding some good sites for you to use when you are doing research or homework. Some of them will require a password that you can get from me in the Media Center if you are using them away from school. Others will be wide open. Wish me luck because there are so many great websites out there - I may get lost and never make it back!

But if I do find something, I will put it in the list at the top right-hand side of this page. You should be able to click and go right to the site!

Please send me suggestions of great educational sites if you have them.

Thanks,
Mrs. Bridges

Something fun to use!

2011-02-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

Do you know what a booktalk is? A booktalk is when someone tells you a little bit about the book to entice you to want to read it.

Well, I am at a training today and saw that there are booktalks in iTunes! How cool is that! I'm going to figure out how to get these to where we can see them from here. Hmmmm.....any ideas out there for how to do that???

Where has the time gone?

2011-02-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

Has it really been that long since I posted something? Please let me apologize for that. I hope to be posting much more often and putting up links to sites that will be useful to you in research as well as other areas of your life.

News:

Our Reading Bowl teams scored 220 points in the competition that took place on January 29th at Blackmon Road Middle School. It wasn't enough to win it all, but I think we did pretty well. Everyone on the team scored some points for Arnold. Way to go guys! Our party will be coming soon - may this Thursday.

We earned a lot of money with the bookfairs (2)we had so far this year. I've been able to keep the shelves stocked with new titles that everyone has been enjoying, and I purchased some new book sets for each of the grades. We do have one more bookfair coming up in late April after testing. Save your money so you can get some great books for summer reading!

I got the new Reading Bowl list today for the 2011-2012 school year so my readers can start reading now! Just kidding - if you start now, you will forget all you read by next year for sure. Here are the titles:
1. Connor, L. (2008). Waiting for normal.
2. Draper, S. (2010). Out of my mind.
3. Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer.
4. Sonnenblick, J. (2010). After ever after.
5. Erskine, C. (2010). Mockingbird. New York, NY: Philomel.
6. Lin, G. (2009). Where the mountain meets the moon.
7. Alvarez, J. (2009). Return to sender.
8. Haissen, C. (2009). Scat.
9. Philbrick, R. (2009). The mostly true adventures of Homer P. Figg.
10. Baskin, N. R. (2009). Anything but typical.
11. Wiles, D. (2010). Countdown.
12. Pearsall, S. (2008). All shook up.
13. Korman, G. 2008). Swindle.
14. Angleberger, T. (2010). Strange case of Origami Yoda.
15. Klise, K. (2009). 43 Old Cemetery Road: Dying to meet you.
16. Clements, A. (2009). Extra credit. New York, NY: Atheneum
17. O’Conner, B. (2010). The fantastic secret of Owen Jester.
18. Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games.
19. Berg, A. (2009). All the broken pieces.
20. Anderson, L. H. (2008) Chains.

These look like some really delicious titles and I can't wait to dig into them!

What a busy start to school!

2010-11-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hey Rams,
Let me first apologize for not updating the blog more often. It has been a crazy start to the school year in good and not-so-good ways. Arnold has more kids here than I have ever seen in this school in the past five years. I think it's great because it means we're doing a good job at teaching you guys and more students want to come here! We also received a grant from the Department of Defense (the government) for podcasting. It came with Smart Boards, a laptop, a class set of iPods - the touch screen kind, a video camera, a remote control response system, and many assessories! The teachers involved are going to be making podcasts on some of our Georgia Performance Standards. You'll find them at www.mcsdpodcast.net. There will be podcasts and vodcasts from all over our district so please check back often to see what they've got.

Scholastic Bookfair is Here!

2010-03-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
Today and through next week the Scholastic Bookfair is here in the back of the Media Center. There are some great books to choose from this time. Here are some titles that might interest you:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw and Dog Days
Big Nate: In A Class By Himself
Killer Pizza
The Lightning Thief and others in this series
The first three books in the Twilight Series
I So Don't Do Mysteries
The Princess Plot
39 Clues #s 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
and many more!

There are also posters, bargain books, and more pens and pencils than you could shake a big foam finger at!

Remember we'll be here for the whole next week. We take cash, checks (you have to spend the whole amount it's made out for and you can make them out to AMA), and credit cards (from your parents).

I can't wait to see what kinds of great things we'll get with the money raised at this bookfair!

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Bridges

News and Overdues...

2010-03-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hey Rams!

Just blogging to give you an update on how our awards for overdues turned out. We started the day with about 739 overdues and ended that day with 600! That was an awesome turnout for my Awards for Overdues Event. I want to do more events like this but I need some ideas so if you have a great idea for a Media Center Event, just let me know!

I'm also happy to report that AMA's Media Center is now down to about 450 overdue books. That's a great jump from having 740 just a few short weeks ago.

Announcement:
Arnold Media Center will be hosting a Scholastic Bookfair from Thursday, March 18 to Friday, March 26! I've got a small preview of books that will be available for purchase at the bookfair so come down to the Media Center to have a look. See below to see when your Language Arts class will be coming to shop:

Thursday, March 18 - Preview Day
Friday, March 19 - Team 601
Monday, March 22 - Team 602
Tuesday, March 23 - 7th Grade
Wednesday. March 24 - 8th Grade with Braddock
Thursday, March 25 - 8th Grade with Reynolds
Friday, March 26 - Open to all

I'll be handing out flyers for it this week so look for them to come out in your homeroom. And if you spend $20 or more, you can enter your name to win a gift certificate to spend at the bookfair before it leaves!

Come see us!
Mrs. Bridges

Awards for Overdues!

2010-02-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

Guess what everyone?! Today, you can be awarded for being delinquent! If you have an overdue book, bring it into the library and you get a prize.

At the beginning of Wednesday, Arnold's Media Center had 735 overdue books floating around. Let's see how many overdue books we can bring in today. I'm hoping for at least 25% of the overdues to come back today.

Check back later to see the results!

Mrs. Bridges

Close but....

2010-02-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Not this year, I guess. We had fun though. All the students got to compete in three rounds each and most everyone got an answer correct. We held our own while we were competing, and there were some really tough questions! We'll miss those 8th graders on next year's Reading Bowl team, but I know we'll be a tough team to beat next year with all of the 6th and 7th graders coming back to compete again.

Team Members, look out for news about our celebratory Pizza Party in the next few weeks!

In other news, this is Partners in Education (PIE) Week. We should take a minute and thank those businesses that support us throughout the year. Our partners are Kennon, Parker, Duncan and Key Realtors, and the Columbus Research Foundation. They help with rewards, celebrations, certificates, and Shop with a Teacher.

Thank You, PIE's, for your continued support. You help make school a fun and rewarding place to come to each day.

Mrs. Bridges

Wish Us Luck, Sharp Minds and Fast Thumbs!

2010-01-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, our noble Reading Bowl members will gather at Midland Academy to take on the other middle schools in a fierce competition. It will show who read their books most carefully and whose thumbs are the fastest.

We had some great t-shirts made and the students are really pumped about them. Look for the team members to be wearing them on Friday in preparation for the Bowl.

Wish us luck!

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome back Rams and Happy New Year!

If you haven't already, take a moment to stop and think. Think about all the great things that happened in the last year. Did you make a new best friend? Did you make the Honor Roll for the first time? Did you make a project in school that you were really proud of? Now, think about all the things that might not have been so great in 2009. Maybe you lost someone close to you. Maybe you let your grades slip more than you (and your parents) wanted. Maybe your reading habits were not what they should have been.

Well, aren't you in luck! It is now 2010, which is not just a new year, but a new decade as well. Out with the old and in with the new. Time to clean out your room and make plans for a better 2010 - even if your 2009 was good, things can always get better!

A few things you need to know:

1. All books checked out before the Christmas Break are now overdue. Please bring them to turn in or for renewal the next time you visit the Media Center.

2. Congratulations to those people who are already Reading Millionaires! We have around 40 of them and their pictures are posted by the office. We also want to congratulate those 100 or so students who have reached the 500,000 words goal for the first semester. These students are on track to read 1 million words by the end of the year. All of these students will get to enjoy a Coke and some cookies in class in the next week or so.

If you are not in the above mentioned group, it's not too late! Come see myself and Mrs. Vinyard for some book suggestions and you'll be well on your way. It takes time to read, but if you find a character or a story that you relate to or that you are intersted in, it starts to seem like there's not enough time to read! I believe that there are books out there for every type of person and reader, you just have to give reading a chance!

3. Our Reading Bowl Team is gearing up for competition this month. The books have been read and the team is actively becoming experts on their assigned list. Practice is being held and we're hungry for competition. Look out middle schools! Arnold's ready to win!

Check back with us next week for a new post and hope for snow tonight!
Mrs. Bridges

3 Days 'Til Christmas Break!

2009-12-16T06:47:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!
It's Wednesday morning and we've only got three more days of school until we're out for Christmas Break. Yee Haw!!! That means you'll have two uninterrupted weeks full of free time for reading. What could be better?! Santa coming to bring you new toys and games? Or enough candy and deserts to make your teeth rot? No way!! Books. That's what you want. If Santa would stuff some new novels in my stocking, that would make my Christmas complete. Now if I could just get someone to come watch my kids.....

Since Arnold students are allowed to take home books over the holiday break, please make an effort to come by and pick out something good that you'll take the time to read while you're away from school. We've got so much to choose from: fantasy, historical fiction, science fiction, dramatic fiction, realistic fiction, and some great non-fiction titles as well.

Like I said, come on by and pick up some books to read in your free time over the holiday. You won't regret it.

Be safe while we're gone and we'll see you in the new year - 2010!

By the way, all books will be due the day we get back from the break, Tuesday, Jan. 5.

Merry Christmas,
Mrs. Bridges

Gobble Gobble!

2009-11-30T07:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome back from a refreshing fall break! I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings and put some thought to what you are truly thankful for. Some things I thought of were: a healthy family, food in my belly and some time to read a good book!

Over the break, I read The Rising Star of Rusty Nail by Lesley Blume and it was fantastic! Set in Minnesota in the 1950's, this small town has a couple of girls who are talented at playing the piano, and they also happen to be arch-rivals complete with practical jokes and snide remarks. Providing lots of humor and a mysterious Russian "Commie", this inspiring story will keep you wanting to read more!

Come on down to the Media Center and turn in those books you finished over the Thanksgiving Break. Many exciting adventures await you in these stacks of books we have. See you then!

Reading Bowl Members: I have a meeting off campus tomorrow afternoon so I won't be able to be here for our Reading Bowl Practice. Keep reading and we'll take our Big Test next week. Please come talk to me about conflicts (basketball tryouts, etc.) and we'll work something out.

Mrs. Bridges

Calling All Reading Bowl Rams!

2009-11-02T07:41:00.000-08:00

Hey Reading Bowlers,
Don't forget we have our meeting for practice tomorrow (Tuesday) from 3:30 to 4:30. I'll have the buzzers out and maybe a treat (if you're lucky and I remember!). So bring your books and your brain for our first official practice competition. I can feel the excitement in the air already!

In preparation for practice with the buzzers, play a couple of rounds of Thumb War tonight against a strong opponent. This should be helpful in developing a strong, fast thumb reaction.

See you tomorrow!
Mrs. Bridges

Books, Books, and More Books!!!

2009-10-27T11:38:00.001-07:00

Hey Rams,
I am so happy to announce that we have finally received the order of books we have been so patiently waiting on! There are exactly 124 books in this shipment and they include many fantasy selections such as:
The Icemark Chronicles and Blade of Fire by Stuart Hill
Larklight and Mothstorm as well as Starcross by Philip Reeve
Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
The 4th and 5th in the Ranger's Apprentice Series, The Battle of Skandia and The Sorcerer of
the North by John Flanagan
The 4th in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Series, Outcast by Michelle Paver
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series called The
Alchemist, The Magician, and The Sorceress

There are also some great fiction selections:
Maggie Bean Stays Afloat and The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn
Meg Cabot's Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls: Moving Day and Party Princess
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

If you like historical fiction, you might like:
Nick of Time by Ted Bell
A Tugging String by David Greenberg

Some great non-fiction titles I'm excited about are:
The Library Book by Maureen Sawa
You Can't Read This by Val Ross
Ghost Towns and Haunted Hotels by Sarah Parvis
Into the World of the Dead by Michael Boughn

Of course I could go on and on since I just love new books, but I'll stop there. Come down here and see these new books for yourself. You might just feel the way that this person does when you see them:

"Haunted by the ghosts of the books I haven't read. Poor uneasy spirits, they walk and walk around me. There's only one way to lay the ghost of a book, and that is to read it."--Christopher Morley, The Haunted Bookshop

What a great quote! And it's perfect for this Halloween season.
So don't be haunted by book ghosts; lay them to rest by reading as many books as you can!

See you in the Media Center,
Mrs. Bridges

Did You Miss Me?

2009-10-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Hey Rams,
I was out of school on Thursday and Friday last week attending a conference for Media Specialists and Librarians down at the Trade Center. It is called GaCOMO which means the Georgia Council of Media Organizations. I went to numerous informative sessions that taught me so many interesting things so that I could come back to school and teach them to YOU (and the other teachers, too)! There were so many classes on all the FREE web 2.0 software that is out there for everyone to use. One session I especially enjoyed was called "Animoto" and they showed us how to use this site to make short videos. It is so easy. You can use your own pictures, videos and music, or you can use all of their material on the site. Click here for a demonstration of what I quickly threw together this morning. It's about our Media Center.

http://animoto.com/play/uCJL71dJKyfYVZnn0jHGXQ?utm_campaign=share_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_email

You can create your own account if you want to make some cool videos. Go to http://www.animoto.com/.

Unfortunately, I left all my notes from the conference at home so I'll have to post information later about other things I learned.

OH- I did get to see two children's authors while I was there which was so COOL! One was named Carmen Deedy and the other was Toni Buzzeo. They were both wonderful speakers and storytellers. See more about them at their sites http://www.carmendeedy.com/ and http://www.tonibuzzeo.com/.

Keep reading (and then let me know what you really liked),
Mrs. Bridges

Join Arnold's Reading Bowl Team

2009-10-05T06:36:00.001-07:00

Reading Bowl Starts Tomorrow!

Hey Rams,

I am starting to meet with Arnold students who are interested in being on our Reading Bowl team. We'll meet every other Tuesday until December when we will start meeting every Tuesday in preparation for the competition to be held in late January. Come by the Media Center for a parent permission form. See the link below to see how this fun competition got started.

http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/hrrb/

The collection of 20 books that we are reading for the competition have been nominated to be the Georgia Book Award book for middle grades. We will vote in February for our favorite book, and we'll anxiously wait for the results to come out in early April to see which of these fantastic books will be the winner!

Here's the list of nominated books that our Reading Bowl team is reading:

Saving the Griffin by K W Nitz

Trading Places by C Mills

Uprising by M P Haddix

The Wednesday Wars by G D Schmidt

Bearwalker by J Bruchac

Billy Creekmore by T Porter

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by M D Hahn

Do the Math: Secrets, Lies and Algebra by W Lichtman

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by S Fleischman

Feathers by J Woodson

Football Genius by T Green

Greetings from Nowhere by B O’Connor

Hiroshima Dreams by K Easton

Leepike Ridge by N D Wilson

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by E Berlin

The Rising Start of Rusty Nail by L M M Blume

Someone Named Eva by J M Wolfe

The Sorta Sisters by A Fogelin

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous by S C Crowley

Elijah of Buxton by C P Curtis

So come to the Media Center tomorrow after school from 3:30 to 4;30 to hear more about this exciting competition and how you can be a part of our team!

Mrs. Bridges

ebridges@mcsdga.net