Towel Day Winners

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Towel Day activities last week! I hope you had fun doing the quiz.  We got some interesting answers, so I thought I would post the correct ones here:

Towel Day Quiz

1.  How many books are there in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy?

     Answer: 5

2. What is a Babel Fish and how do you use it?

    Answer:  A little yellow fish you put in your ear that enables you to understand all languages.

3. Name four uses for a towel according to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

    Any four of the following:

    1. "You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta"

     2. "you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V"

    3. "you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon"

    4. "use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth"

    5. "wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat"

    6. " wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter           Beast of Traal".

    7. "and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough"

4. Volgon's _______________ is the third worst in the world.

    Answer:  Poetry

5. The answer to the Great Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is ______________.

     Answer:  42

6. When did the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy first appear and in what format?

    Answer:  1978 on the radio

7. "The ships hung in the sky in much the same way _______________ don't."

     Answer:  Bricks

8.   "Don't _______________."

       Answer:  Panic

And the winners are.....

Teachers' Quiz:   Ms. Rachel Sleight

Student Quiz:      Liam Gabert

Having a towel:   Joyce Voluntad

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

The Calm Before the Storm

Hey everyone,

Exams and the crazy flurry of finishing off the year is just around the corner.  We thought that just before the storm begins, we'd have a few fun days at the library, so this is what we have lined up for you:

May 25 - Towel Day
May 26 - Play Day
May 27 - Chill-Out Day

Read on to find out more about each day.

Monday May 25 - Towel Day

Help celebrate the life and work of  Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG), by bringing a towel to school.  As the HHGTTG states:

“A towel, ... is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”  

So we remember Douglas Adams and his genius by carrying a towel around all day on May 25th.  If you'd like to find out more about how this started, check out the Towel Day website.

Prizes!

If you do bring a towel with you on Monday, be sure to check in at the high school library to be entered into a draw for a cool Towel Day prize.

You can also complete this Towel Day Quiz to enter a second draw for a 50 AED gift certificate to Candylicious.  Deadline is Monday May 25 at midnight.  Winners will be announced on Tuesday during Play-Day.

EDITED:  Sorry, Candylicious does not do gift certificates, so the prize will be a Starbucks certificate.

Douglas Adams 1952-2001

Tuesday May 26 - Play Day

Forget all your worries and come and play in the high school library at lunch time!  There will be play-dough, K'nex, boardgames, and popcorn!

 

May 27 - Chill-Out Day

The high school library will be transformed into a peaceful (and quiet) retreat at lunch-time, complete with low lighting, peaceful music, and a very short demonstration of relaxing yoga poses and breathing.  You can either participate, or close your eyes for a few minutes to rejuvenate your mind and spirit.


Hope to see you all each day next week!

Ms. Susan

Lego Creations

I can't believe how fast this past month has flown by!  We had our Book Week activities, followed by our two-week spring break, and then full swing back into things with the science fair this week! 

I hope you have had a chance to read some of the new titles highlighted in the last post.  The new books continue to be displayed on our shelves. 

Here are some of the great Lego creations made by you during book week. Can you guess what book scenes they are?

 

 

 

Cheers,

Ms. Susan

 

 

 



 

NEW BOOKS!!!!

Just in time for Book Week and D.E.A.R., we now have over 160 new books for you to borrow!

Graphic Novels
We've substantially increased out graphic novel section with over 40 titles that range from the superhero genre, to graphic adaptations of classic novels, to stand-alone, award-winning titles:  These are just a few:

 

 

 

 

 

 Fiction
We ordered books across the genres, including many new mystery and science-fiction titles, such as:

              

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Fiction

A few non-fiction titles have also been added to our collection, including these popular books on style and guitar playing:

 

 

 

 

Reference and Study
And last but not least We've also beefed up the reference collection with titles related to research, writing, literature, and public speaking:

We hope you all have a chance to come in and browse through the new collection, there is something here for everyone. 



Cheers,
Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie








 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21092956-popular

Destiny now available at school, at home, and on the go!

We are so excited to share the good news with you - Destiny is now available outside of school to every student and staff member!

What this means is that not only do you have access to your library account anytime, you also have access to some powerful research tools to help you with projects and homework.

To access Destiny from a home computer, go to https://cisad.follettdestiny.com. You should get to a page that looks like this:

From here, click on the "CIS Library". Do not sign in on this page where it says "District Users". It will not work.

After clicking on "CIS Library", you will arrive at the general search page.  From here, you can search the catalogue of books available in either library, but you won't be able to do anything else unless you log in.

You can log in by clicking on the button at the top right corner of this page.  This is what you will see:

Every student and staff member has been assigned a username and password.  The username is your first initial and your last name (eg. skaiser).  If that doesn't work for you, it's probably because there is another student in the school with the same first initial and last name.  For these situations, we've made the username the full first name and the full last name (e.g. susankaiser).  Give that a try, and if you still can't get on, come and see us in the library.

Everyone's password starts with a 'P' and ends with your 5 digit student number or 4 digit staff number. (e.g. P00000).  Students, this is the same number you would use for powerschool. If you don't know it, come and ask us.

Once you've signed in, you should see this screen:

You'll find some handy links to both paid and free databases, as well as a link back here.  At the top, you will find the Catalog and My Info tabs as well.

The My Info tab gives you a snapshot of your account.  You can see what books are checked out to you, what books you've put holds onto, and what books others have recommended to you.

From My Info, you can also recommend book titles to others and view the complete history of all the books you've every checked out from either CIS library.

And finally, we come to the catalogue tab. 

This is where you can search, not only through the books that are actually in the library, but also through vetted websites and  paid and free databases. 

Have a look at this short video to explore how to search in Destiny.   The information about www.goFollett.com does not apply to us, and there may be a few small differences in the services we as a school have purchased, but overall, the information is great.

 



 

But wait!  There's more!  You can take Destiny with you wherever you go with the DestinyQuest mobile app.  You can download it for free from iTunes or the Playstore.  Add our URL to access our site (cisad.folletdestiny.com), then sign in with the same username and password.  Most of the same great features are available on the mobile app.  Here's a short video to get you started:

 

 

 

 

 

You'll be hearing a lot more about Destiny and how to use it in the coming weeks. Feel free to come and ask questions! 

 

We hope you enjoy exploring!

 

Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan

Congratulations to the TRW winners!

We like to thank everyone who participated in Teen Read Week activities last week. Hope you enjoyed them! 

Congratulations to our winners in the week long competition:

First prize winner was Tristan Cooke, who won a 100AED gift certificate to Dalma Mall.
Second Prize winner was Rosamund Barlow, who won a 50 AED gift certificate to Marina Mall.

The results of the Divergent Day Dart competition are:

First place:        Junaid
Second Place :  Ea
Third Place:      Jeremy


NEW BOOKS!!!!
Thanks to a very successful Book Fair by Book Worm, we were able to pick up heaps of new books for the library, including the next installments in several of our series.  Stayed tuned for news of these hitting the shelves as we process them.


Cheers,

Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan




 

Get your TRW submissions in!

Hey Everyone, today's your last chance to get all your submissions in for the various TRW activities.  The more you submit, the more points you collect, and the student with the most points will win our grand prize!

It was great to see all the faction colours yesterday. Here's a photo of our dauntless librarian, Ms. Maggie:

A very big thank-you goes out to Mr. Chris Handforth and his merry band of volunteers for organizing and running today's game of Capture the Flag, with the Divergents vs. the Olympians. Judging from the smiling and sweaty faces we saw after the game, you all had a lot of fun!

We hope you've been having fun throughout the week, and we'd like to invite you to join us for TRW wrap-up tomorrow (Friday) at lunch in the library. There will be some treats for all of you, and we'll announce the grand-prize winner.



Cheers,
Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan




 

Teen Read Week Starts Sunday!

Hey Everyone,  we are very excited about Teen Read Week, which starts on Sunday. This year's theme is

Turn your Dreams into Reality @ your library

We invite you to start the week by having a look at the great books we have on display that may help you turn your dreams into reality.  Whether you have specific careers in mind, or are looking for direction, we're sure you'll find something to read to assist you.

Olympus day, Divergent Day, and a game  of  Capture the Flag will round out the week, and of course, what celebration is complete without food!  Pop into the library every lunch time to see what's happening.

You'll be able to collect tokens for participating in the various activities throughout the week.  Students with the highest token count will have their names added to a draw for a grand prize (to be announced).

For  complete details, click below:

 

 

Looking forward to lots of fun next week!

 

Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie

 

 

 





 

Teen Read Week Coming Soon!

Teen Read Week (TRW) is almost here!  From October 12 to 16, we'll be participating in the global initiative aimed at exciting you about reading.  There is so much to be excited about!

This year's TRW theme is Turn Dreams into Reality@your library, and we'll be showcasing some great books to help you do just that.  We'll also have competitions, lunchtime activities, prizes, and fun throughout the week.

Stay tuned - details coming shortly!

In the meantime, you can find more information about what TRW is and how it's celebrated here.

Welcome!

Welcome to all new high school students, and welcome back to everyone returning!  It's wonderful to see you all.

We wish you a very successful school year, and hope that you will make the library your own this year. There will be plenty of activities and events throughout the year (and some of them even involve food!).

As you know, this first week has been busy getting all of you outfitted with your textbooks and doing all the admin stuff. By next week we'll be full speed ahead and will let you know about our new books and upcoming events.  Stay tuned!


Cheers
Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan







 

Towel Day

We are so pleased to be celebrating the work of Douglas Adams on May 26, Towel Day!  Worldwide, Towel Day is actually celebrated on May 25, but since we have a holiday that day, we'll do it on Monday.

So, what is Towel Day, and why celebrate it?

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has this to say about the towel:

“A towel, ... is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”  

Douglas Adams fans started towel day shortly after his untimely death on May 11, 2001 as a way to commemorate his life and work.  It started at the grassroots level, but over the years Towel Day has become a universe-wide celebration.

So bring your towel to school on Monday May 26, and we'll enter your name in a raffle to win cinema tickets. There are two pairs of tickets to be won!

Also, join us in the library at lunch time to watch Douglas Adams/Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy videos and enjoy some snacks.  See you there!

 

Britannica School and ImageQuest now available!

We are so excited to present to you our newest resources, Britannica School, and Imagequest!  These two databases open a whole world of information for all CIS students, and can be accessed at school and at home, from any of your devices. Watch the following video for a tour of Britannica:

Over the next few weeks, all of the school's computers will have direct links to Britannica.  You can use the links on our databases page or on the CIS website to access it from home or a personal device. The password can be obtained from your teacher or from us here in the library. After signing on for the first time on any device, you will not have to log on again to the site.

However, if you wish to save articles and images as favourites, you do need to create you own "My Britannica" account.

If you have any questions about Britannica school or ImageQuest, please come and see us in the library. we'd be happy to help you!




Cheers,
Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie










 

300+ Mind Expanding Documentaries

Mr. Ryan just came across this collection of documentaries related to a wide range of subjects, and we thought it was worthwhile sharing it with you.

"On this list of mind expanding documentaries you will find different viewpoints, controversial opinions and even contradictory ideas. Critical thinking is recommended. " -Social Consciousness

There is a wide array of videos on topics ranging from Ancient Civilization to the Digital Revolution, with  politics, science, arts and literature sandwiched in between.

A permanent link has been created on the Homework Help page of this blog.

We hope you will take advantage of this wonderful, free, resource.


Cheers,
Ms. Susan and Ms. Maggie






 

Check out our new books!

Over the past few weeks, the library has acquired almost one hundred new books.  You may have seen us unwrapping them - they were all individually packaged!  All of them are now available on the NEW Fiction or non-fiction shelves.

We concentrated our new book acquisitions on building up our non-fiction section, and we have some great titles on a wide range of subjects.  Whether you are studying the French Revolution, the Great Depression, Shakespeare or Biochemistry, or many other subjects, we have the book for you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did sneak in a few of the newest fiction titles as well, including the Barcode Rebellion and the Barcode Prophecy (to complete the barcode series),

 

 

 

 

 

a couple of new dystopian young adult books,

 

 

 

and the complete sci-fi series The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell:

 

 

 

 

 



Great titles, great stories and a whole lot more!  We're sure you will find something you love, so come check it out...

 

 

Ms. Maggie and Ms. Susan