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 19, 2010 - "frog-march"

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day

frog-march \FROG-march\ (verb)


Meaning: to seize from behind roughly and forcefully propel forward

Example Sentence: "When the patron became loud and belligerent, a hulking bouncer swiftly pinned him in a half nelson and frog-marched
him out the door."

Did you know?

There are a couple variations of the "frog's march" used to carry off an unruly person. The first involves carrying the person face downward by the arms and legs; when this is done by four people each holding a limb, the person's body resembles a stretched out frog. In another version the person is carried off by his collar and the seat of his pants, again giving the image of a frog but this time with limbs uselessly flailing about. These ways of moving a person gave us the verb "frog-march" in the late 19th century. The verb was also extended to cover more general, less frog-like, methods of removal, such as forcing the intractable individual forward with arms held in back or at the sides.
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