AP Literature
Students in Mrs. Worthington's and Mrs. Weir's AP Lit classes continued the research process by using their preliminary research to ask questions and document answers, take notes from peer-reviewed and varied sources, create citation resources, and properly format their papers in MLA format. This activity helped many students understand the importance of paraphrasing and how to easily and efficiently write a college-level argumentative research paper from start to finish.
BVEF Grant
Thanks to BVEF, BVN Library received a grant for musical instruments, audio equipment, sound mixing equipment, and the results were impressive immediately! Many students would come to the library throughout the day to play and practice music and students in the library always enjoyed the ambiance. A few students started spending lunch in the library singing and improvising. It was awesome to see their interests and talents and we were happy to create a safe space in the library where they felt seen, valued, and supported. These students would pick a song, find it online, and just start singing and playing! Some of the songs are popular American music, but if you watch until the end, you'll see Anya sing some famous songs in Hindi and Punjabi. I asked Sid how he knew the songs and he shrugged and said he could just "feel it". Watch this video to see a compilation of sweet jams in the library thanks to the amazing talents of our students and the generosity of BVEF! ENJOY!
ELA 11 Podcasts
Students in all ELA 11 classes began a research project where they selected a topic, worked in small groups to research the topic using library databases, and then wrote a script and recorded a podcast. Students spent time in the library finding articles for and against their claims, comparing their findings to their group members, and creating a cohesive plan for how to share what they learned with their classmates via audio. The results were really good! Click here, here, and here for a few examples!
Girls Garage
After winning the Women's Giving Circle Grant two years ago, Girls Garage continued this year. Using grant funds from BVEF, we purchased beginning soldering kits and tools and members of the Girls Garage club devoted themselves to learning to solder! Every member of the club learned to solder, remove solder, repair bad joints, and they all created motorized "jitterbugs" during club time! This activity empowered the girls to step outside their comfort zones, learn things together and support each other while participating in a characteristically male-dominated activity.
Credits:
Created with an image by Syda Productions - "technology, mass media and people concept - woman with microphone and laptop computer reading text from papers and recording podcast at studio"