A CANOPY OF KITES !

Just as soon as the daffodils break through the snowy earth, chemistry teacher and kite nut, Rachel Wentz comes to the Media Center and hangs over 40 kites for student enjoyment and information. If you haven't been in yet, even if you have seen them in years past, it's time to become acquainted with the new additions, the fighter kites --- read on my friend, there is more.

Students study quietly beneath a canopy of kites

Fighter kites have been around for centuries, particulary in Asian and East Indian cultures. All ages fly them. Contests abound and the winners are considered a type of hero.

Fighter kites may look pretty harmless when you first look at them, but just like in real life, it's the little guys you have to watch out for. In the hands of the right handler they can be lethal in a battle of" winner take all. " Yep, the winner walks away with the loser's kite.

"I suck at kite fighting," Wentz comments, remembering a kite she lost last year in battle , " but I really like the challenge of developing my skills."

There are a couple of ways to prevent your competitor from winning: You can block the wind by  his kite and cause it to drop, or "slice and dice" it with a ground glass impregnated string attached to your kite. 

Miss Mayne has samples of the ground glass string on a large spool on the counter in her office, "I'm not apt to give out samples, but it's real cool to carefully run your fingers on the line and imagine the damage it could cause."

It's not the cotton kite string of your childhood. Miss Wentz calls the string "the old tendon cutter" referring to the finger damage experienced by fliers who don't properly protect their fingers.

There is a great deal to know about kites and we have plenty of the best kite books available in the Media Center for your use. Thanks for all your hard work Miss Wentz!

FINI !

Finally, the Media Center painting project has come to a close. In reality, it was painted three times in some spots. When the school was first built they painted it with oil-based paint, which yellowed over time. In order to put latex paint on oil based it had to be covered with a white primer first. That's why Joe the Painter became somewhat of a fixture here - white base, color, second coat.
Miss Mayne really threw a complication in by asking him to paint dark grey on ductwork and columns to turn them into architectural features. (Lotso taping on Joe's part), Given grey and white as her only choices, it was her version of jazzing things up a bit.
 Next step wall hangings in the form of a Pottery Barn hanging system for the photo and ceramics classes above the backpack cubbys. Stay tuned! The Media Center is an evolving place! 

New Media Center Paint Job Adds Sophistication

ALMOST DONE ! 

In spite of lots of interruptions, side jobs, family events, and illness, Joe the Painter is just about done in the main area of the Media Center. Most teachers and students haven't let the paint racks, equipment, smell, or misaligned furniture divert them one whit. 

Mrs. Jarvis shows students how to analyze an author's life to extract
meaning from their works

They continue to do research, check out books, and meet each other in the Media Center for group work. Students especially have adapted and learned how to live in the most workable space available at the time. We thank you for your patience and perserverance. Hang in there, it's almost done!

IT WILL BE LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED . . .

So when will the Media Center be back to normal? Good question. There's an old adage that "Life is what happens when you are making other plans."  Joe the painter isn't AWOL, he has had a death in his family. As soon as he is back we will push forward with the Media Center painting and renovation.

 Meantime, 15 PCs and 2 laptops have been reconnected for your use. We still have the DVD and CD carrel open for movie viewing, and the conference room is completely painted and ready for use. Oh yeah, when was the last time you checked out a book? We just put over 200 new books on the shelves!

There are still ways to get your studies done if you are persistent!

DID SANTA BRING YOU A BOOK?

Of course he did! Before you go home for the holidays check to see if the book you were interested in has come in this last Follett book order, excuse me, Santa order. For those of you involved in the 30 Book Challenge this is going to be a real treat. There are 139 new books now and 50 back-ordered and coming in every day. We have completely processed them and they are ready for check-out.

After you're bored with your new Christmas games, read, READ, READ!

Come back to the workroom by Miss Mayne's office and look at the books before we put them away tomorrow.We have a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books for your reading pleasure. Come on now, don't forget; make sure to bring your student I.D. card.!

THE HOBBIT : IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE!

Come listen to a lively, unabridged storytelling of THE HOBBIT by professional narrator Bob Inglis. This man is one of the best storytellers I've ever heard --- and I started out having many starts and stops with the book; but it's different when there's a "word actor" on the other end of your brain.

There are seven audio-tapes which cover the entire book; one will be played every day after school  at 2:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. in the Media Center Conference Room starting this coming Wednesday. Now you can really find out if the book is better than the upcoming Christmas break movie . Contact Miss Mayne for futher details.

PUZZLE OUT CHRISTMAS IN THE MEDIA CENTER 

Now that the weather is getting colder, students are wandering into the Media Center during their free time to see what's new. What's new right now are two different Dowdle Christmas puzzles waiting to drive you and your friends crazy - - - ( that makes a total of three Christmas puzzles that we have set out for the month of December).  One of them is of Alpine, yup, the places you will see are the places where some of you live. The second is a puzzle of Jerusalem during the time of Christ. It shows all of the important places and events in Jerusalem where major events occurred in the life of Christ, all the way from his birth to his death on Golgotha. It is truly amazing that folk artist, Utah Valley phenom Eric Dowdle, hasn't run out of interesting ideas yet, and he's still a pretty young guy. So come, enjoy! You will find the puzzles on the tables nearest the checkout desk, ready to work on.

An enlarged version of the Dowdle Jerusalem Puzzle

A photo of  "our" city of Alpine during Christmas, past and present.