Books, school supplies, new clothes and now a calculator? The cost of attending high school keeps going up and we would like to help! Every student enrolled in a math class at Boyd may be asked to bring a TI 84 plus calculator or a TI Inspire to class with them. You can purchase one if you like, or we can check one out to your student for the year. We require a parent permission slip to be signed before your student can check a calculator out because the replacement value is $114.00. (You can download a permission slip under the “More” tab and then click on “Forms”). The student will be responsible for replacement if lost or stolen.

Benefits of checking out a calculator from the McKinney Boyd Library:

    o   Free to student unless lost or stolen (requires a signed parent permission slip)

    o   We have the TI 84 plus available for check out.

    o   Calculator will have current operating system

    o   Student shows responsibility by “borrowing” the calculator and returning when finished using

    o   Student may keep the same calculator until they graduate from Boyd or leave our campus 
         (students are required to renew the calculator each spring)

Purchasing your own calculator:

    o   Student owns the calculator and can download personal programs to the operating system. They can keep their personal calculator updated with a system that they can download from their teacher

    o   Student can choose to purchase a TI Inspire instead of the TI 84 plus, (more helpful for Calculus)

    o   Student can keep and take to college

    o   Student shows responsibility by owning and keeping track of the calculator

    o   Calculator costs vary depending on model, age and where you purchased. You can find second  hand calculators on Ebay, Craig’s List, and garage sale for a fraction of the retail sales price. Don’t purchase any calculator that has been etched with a school serial number or school information on it!

 

What is HAC?

Is this some kind of computer spy thing like HACK? What the heck is it? We all hear about it…we see it in the “Quick Links” on the McKinney ISD Website but what is it?

Ask the 447 students who have come in to the library to get their HAC passwords and they will tell you exactly what HAC is. It is a lifeline to UIL activities and the difference between participation and non-participation in those extra-curricular activities. HAC stands for Home Access Center and it is a place a parent or student can go to check grades. Passwords are mailed to parents at the beginning of the school year and then grades are posted online by teachers as they come in. HAC is a great tool for tracking student progress and every six weeks, it becomes critical that all students participating in UIL activities be held to a standard of 70% or better to stay in their chosen activity. The passwords are a  combination of numbers and letters and can’t be changed. We advise students to put the passwords in their phones to remember them. The procedures for checking grades online are as follows:

Log into mckinneyisd.net

Choose “Quick Links” and scroll down to “Home Access Center (HAC)”

Walking out of the house this morning, I could feel the fall chill in the air. Leaves are starting to fall, the heaters are turning on and soup pots are coming out of the kitchen cabinets. This is the perfect time of year to climb into your favorite chair and spend a few hours with a good book! There are some great titles hitting the bookshelves this fall for adults and students alike. A few that we look forward to are listed below.

Winter of the World: Book Two of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett.

If you had the pleasure of reading Follett’s Fall of the Giants, you will enjoy this second installment of The Century Trilogy. This historical fiction novel promises to continue right where the last book left off. USA Today says about Fall of the Giants, “It’s a book that will suck you in, consume you for days or weeks…then let you out the other side both entertained and educated." This is one of the more popular adult reads this season.

The Casual Vacancy: by J.K. Rowling

The much awaited new novel by Rowling is a departure from the Harry Potter series and will appeal more to adults. People Magazine writes, “A vivid read with great, memorable characters and a truly emotional payoff…Rowling captures the humanity in everyone, even if that humanity is not always a pretty sight."

Reached: by Ally Condie

This gripping conclusion to the Matched trilogy is expected out in mid-November. According to Entertainment Weekly, this #1 New York Times best seller is “the hottest YA (young adult) title to hit bookstores since The Hunger Games."