Summer Reading

Hey, Greyhounds!  Have you heard the news?  You've got a chance to be a MILLIONAIRE!!!

Sound good?!!  Maybe too good to be true?  Well, you're right...I'm not gonna give you a million $'s.  BUT you can give yourself the potential to earn a million dollars by participating in the Millionaire Club this summer.

Did you know that if every student enrolled in a HISD school read 5 books over the summer that would equal more than 1,000,000,000 books!  That's a lot of books!  I'm trying to imagine how much space it would take to house a million books.  The JMS library has about 14,000 books...so we might be talking about someplace the size of the Astrodome.  Wow!

Check back here for more information about what you have to do to become a Millionaire....coming soon!

What's going on?

Sorry it's been so long since I updated the blog!  There's been so many cool things happening in the library that I forgot.

For starters, we've added over 1600 books to the JMS library!  We've doubled the number of books in Spanish and the graphic novels.  We've added e-books!  You can find the link on the JMS library webpage..the User name is "Johnston" and the password is "greyhounds."

The Johnston Name that Book team won 2nd at the preliminary and DISTRICT rounds!  That's quite an accomplishment.  This team of 6 students collectively read over 2 million (that's right MILLION) pages and over 327 books!!  Stop by the Library and see the gorgeous trophy!!

Two of the media students, Steffannie and Zoe won the American Association of School Librarians' Video Contest with their 3 minute video entitled "Think, Create, Share & Grow the JMS Way!"  It was so much fun to work with these students and to see their hard work rewarded.  Because of them, we'll get to add more books to the library collection and the Media class gets another FLIP camera.  Check out their video on SchoolTube or at this link: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learning4life/involvement/studentvideo.cfm

Oh, I almost forgot!  Three students won books for their participation in the Library Web page "Secret Sports" object contest.  Congratulations to Cameron, Tasha, and Dominique!!

Listen to a Life Contest

Like to write?  Know somebody who's been around awhile?  Want to get a chance a winning a new computer?  If you answered "yes" to all of the above you should check out this great contest I just learned about.

You don't have very long to get your entry together...deadline for entries is March 31.  So hurry up and get to work!

Let me know if you decide to enter....I'll put your picture on the library TV....I promise!

Virtual Author Webcase - March 7, 4:00 p.m.

TEEN TECH WEEK is coming.....March 7-12!

Here's info. about one of the exciting events sponsored by the Houston Public Library.

If you've read Shiver or the 2nd book in the series, Linger, you'll definitely want to check out the March 7 virtual author visit with Maggie Stiefvater.  Come to the JMS library right after school on Monday and we'll connect and see what she has to say.  You may even have a chance to ask her questions.

Disclaimer:  Neither of these books is available at the JMS library due to content more appropriate for high school age readers.

Free Access to Teen Health & Wellness through Dec. 15

Hey, Greyhounds!  You've heard a lot about bullying or "harmdoing" this school year.  Here's your chance to find out more.  Until December 15, you have free access to the Teen Health and Wellness.  This site is written for 6 -12 graders and includes topics like Diveristy, Family Life, Food & Nutrition, Friendship & Dating, Green Living, and much, much more!

All you need to do is go to teenhealthandwellness.com and type in SLJTeen for the user name and password.

If you find this site helpful, let the library know!

You Are What You Read

Have I mentioned that being a librarian is the best job in the WHOLE world!  It is and one of the most fun parts about what I do is finding new books to read and talk about. 

Here's a great opportunity for you to do that, too.  Scholastic has started a new ONLINE book club, called "You Are What You Read."  (I love the title, don't you?).  All you do is go to http://youarewhatyouread.scholastic.com/ and create an account.  Once you do, you'll be able to see what the books that other folks your age recommend.

Too much fun!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.....HAPPY READING!

Night Fall Scary Stories Writing Contest

Like to write?  Like scary stories?  Check out this contest sponosored by Lerner Books.  If you're successful, you'll get your name used as a character in a novel.  Sounds pretty cool, to me!   

Here's the rules from the website:
After reading Thaw—Lerner's free Night Fall™ eBook—we want YOU to become an author and create a creepy ending to a scary story just like the tales told in our new Night Fall series.


Taking cues from horror films and video games, Night Fall™ is high-interest, contemporary, horror fiction that is perfect for teen readers. Featuring YA themes and a highly accessible reading level, each story features teenagers from a small New England town called Bridgewater. Strange and awful things happen in Bridgewater, and readers will be lucky to escape with their sanity.

The winner of the Night Fall™ Scary Story Writing Contest will win all of these fantastic prizes:
 - Two complete sets of all six books in the Night Fall™ series—one for the winner and one for the winner's school library
 - Editorial advice in a letter from the editorial director of Darby Creek
 - The winning story will be published on the Lerner Books Blog
 - The winner's name will become a character in an upcoming Night Fall™ novel .

HURRY - the deadline for entries is Oct. 31!