Motto and Mission Statement

"Language is the dress of thought; every time you speak, your mind is on parade."
-- Dr. Samuel Johnson

"Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back."
--Chinese Proverb




The Reading Nook

  • The 2010 Newbery Medal winner is "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books. Twelve-year-old Miranda encounters shifting friendships, a sudden punch, a strange homeless man and mysterious notes that hint at knowledge of the future. These and other seemingly random events converge in a brilliantly constructed plot.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon" by Grace Lin, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers. A rich tapestry of stories, both original and traditional, transports readers to a fantastic world where Dragon joins Minli on a fortune-changing quest.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg" by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. This rollicking yarn, presented through the voice of 12-year-old Homer, uses humor and pluck to mitigate the horrors of the Civil War.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company. On the eve of the 20th century, 11-year-old Calpurnia awakens to new possibilities, and through her evolving relationship with her naturalist grandfather, learns to think like a scientist. Kelly’s rich, evocative language captures Callie’s distinctive voice and lively observations of the natural world.
  • 2010 Newberry Honors Book: "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hoose reveals the true story of an unsung hero of the Montgomery bus boycott. Hoose’s work stands out for its creative approach to narrative biography. Colvin’s own recollections are merged seamlessly with the narrative voice, providing a uniquely personal view of Colvin and the Civil Rights Movement.

Monday, April 19, 2010

April 16, 2010 - "scour"

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day

scour \SKOW-er\ (verb)

Meaning: 1. to move about quickly especially in search
*2. to go through or range over in or as if in a search

(* Indicates sense illustrated in the example sentence.)

Example Sentence: "Then came the excitement of trying to locate the fallen quail, and now the dog became a major partner, for he scoured
the terrain this way and that.…" (James Michener, Texas, 1985)

Did you know?

There are two verbs "scour" in English. One means to clean something by rubbing it hard with a rough object; that sense, from the 14th century, probably derives via Middle Dutch and Old French from a Late Latin verb meaning "to clean off." Today’s "scour," however, dates from the 13th century and is believed to derive via Middle English from Old Norse "skūr," meaning "shower" (it also shares a distant relationship with our word "shower"). Many disparate things can be scoured. For example, one can scour an area (as in "scoured the woods in search of the lost dog") or publications (as in "scouring magazine and newspaper articles").

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