Marvel Comics – The Untold Story ------a NY Times bestseller

Ice – The History of the Ice Business

Everything Bad Is Good For You  - Author Steven Johnson shows us how today’s pop culture is actually making us smarter.

The Age of Jackson – by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. – This book won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1945.

Turning’s Cathedral  -  by George Dyson – The Origins of the Digital Universe

Seeing in the Dark by Timothy Ferris – How Amateur Astronomers are Discovering the Wonders in the Universe

The Cuckoo’s Egg – true espionage story that reads like a novel. 

Coaching Confidential – Inside the Fraternity of NFL Coaches

Earth in the Balance -  by Al Gore

The Eighty-Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts – if you liked the book or movie Seabiscuit, you’ll enjoy this

In Disguise!  Undercover with Real Women Spies  - by Ryan Hunter

A Black Hole is Not a Hole –  great scientific explanation geared for laymen

AND FOR THOSE WHO PREFER LOOKING AT THE PICTURES:

Island – a picture book of the Galapagos

Animal Poetry   

Tarra and Bella

Wild Horse Scientists – we are the Broncos after all…..

 

Friday morning we had a joyous and very special holiday edition of Unplugged. Our special populations joined some of our frequent performers in a very touching holiday sing along. The party started before school and went until third period. Every child had a chance to perform their favorite holiday song for a group of parents, peers and teachers that had gathered to share in this celebration.

We have some great holiday box set ideas to satisfy any teen on your list! The following sets are some of the most checked out books on our campus. To check out reviews of these and any other holiday picks, go to www.barnesandnoble.com.

The Crank Trilogy by Ellen Hopkins

This Trilogy includes the books Crank, Glass, and Fallout. Contains all three novels by Ellen Hopkins, written in free verse, that follow Kristina Georgia Snow's path to drug addiction, efforts to turn her life around, and eventual failings as a daughter, mother, friend, and recovering addict, then in Fallout, the three teenage children of Kristina try to cope with the consequences of their mother's addiction to crystal meth and its effects on their lives.

The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth's Divergent series is well on its way to becoming a publishing phenomenon! Perfect for holiday giving, the hardcover box set contains two #1 New York Times bestselling books, Divergentand Insurgent: The Special Edition, plus "The World of Veronica Roth's Divergent Series," a 48-page bonus booklet of interviews and insights from the author, playlists, discussion guides, quizzes, faction manifestos, and more.

House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

This popular box set follows sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird as she settles in at the House of Night, a finishing school dedicated to training fledgling vampires to become productive adults. A series of murders targeting human teens is traced back to the school, forcing her to think about the connections that still exist between her old and new worlds.

Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Step back in time with the Shadowhunters with this collectible hard cover boxed set of theNew York Timesbestselling Infernal Devices trilogy. Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment. The Shadowhunters of the Victorian Age delve into all of these—in addition to darkness and danger in this trilogy.

Life As We Knew Trilogy by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The set includes Life As We Knew It, The Dead and Gone and This World We Live In. What happens on earth when a meteor hits the moon, throwing it out of orbit? The three stories are told first from the viewpoint of a teenage girl, next from the viewpoint of a teenage boy, then from both as they struggle to cope in a new world.

Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

From the wonderful landscapes of the Shire and Lothlorien, to the stark and sunless land of Mordor, the courageous Hobbits pursue their quest, bearing the awesome Ring of Sauron, the Dark Lord! This epic trilogy takes up where The Hobbit leaves off, tracing the legend of the One Ring, found by Bilbo in the Goblin's cave, to its final destruction in the Crack of Doom.

The Matched Series by Ally Condie

Includes the books Matched, Crossed, and Reached. The stories follow Cassia as she begins to lose her faith in the Society when she is mistakenly paired with two different men during the selection of her ideal mate, and her decision of which man to choose leads her to leave the Society in order to work with the rebel group the Rising.

The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner

The series includes The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trails, The Death Cure and The Kill Order. Mark and Trina struggle to survive as modern civilization is destoryed by sun flares and mutating diseases in this exciting, fast paced series.

Unwind Trilogy by Neal Shusterman

The stories follow three teens as they embark upon a cross-country journey in order to escape from a society that salvages body parts from children ages thirteen to eighteen.

7:45 am…the sound of the McKinney Boyd Drumline echoes through the rotunda and pounds into our heads and our hearts. This is our cue that something big is about to take place outside our library doors. We head out those double doors and make our way through a sea of students, all forming a circle around the Bronco logo in the center of the rotunda. I glance up and see another circle forming above us on the second floor. Down the hall in both directions, more students are making their way to the circle and forming a line that extends all the way to the gymnasium! What is all this pomp and circumstance for you ask…this is for one lone student who had the courage and the talent to take her all the way to The Cross Country State Competition this weekend. Did we mention that she is a FRESHMAN!! Aaliyah Miller was the solo qualifier and is representing  The Boyd Cross Country at State for the first time in Bronco history. The entire school celebrated with her as she kissed the bronco and followed the parade down the hall and out the door. This, my friends, is what Bronco spirit looks and feels like!

During the past week, the Boyd Student Council has been selling bracelets that allow students to wear a costume to school today to celebrate the holiday! The Student Council will be donating the funds raised to one of their many charities.

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."

What a fun and memorable day in the library! We began our Friday morning with “Unplugged” and featured the very talented vocals of Elijah Fleming. Crowds gathered and we began seeing flashes of silver walk by the circulation desk followed by a distinctive clanging of bells. With further investigation, we discovered hundreds of homecoming revelers! Boys wore arms full of sparkly ribbons and notions and girls had 5 times the goodies, pulling on their necks and dragging under their feet! Some have teddy bears, some light up and all are a celebration of the McKinney Boyd Homecoming 2012.

Elijah Flemming performs for Friday Morning Unplugged as crowds gather to enjoy his amazing vocals.

Brandy Smith, Whitney Kornely, Mackenzie Wells and Lindsay Caudill show off their mums.

Dalton Ortiz, Luke Janc, Luke Penny and Jake Blackwood show arms adorned with ribbons and trinkets!

Author Ellen Hopkins Visits Boyd!

We had an exciting afternoon the other day with a visit from popular author, Ellen Hopkins. To the teens who have read her work, she is a rock star. We gave away tickets on a first come, first serve basis for students interested in attending and ended up with close to 100 students packed into the library for the presentation.  Hopkins has a real connection with teens and writes with an honesty and frankness that resonates with readers. Her subject matter is difficult but as she puts it, “Someone had to write about these subjects”. Hopkins drew from personal experiences with a drug addicted family member when she decided to write “Crank”. This wildly popular novel shows the unfortunate consequences as the main character battles the demons of drug abuse. Crank led to a follow up book and eventually a calling for Hopkins as she began writing about difficult subjects such as teen pregnancy, abuse, adoption, homelessness and suicide. The stories are told in poetry with the detail extending even to the shape of the paragraphs reflecting the action being described. When asked what message she could leave for our students, Hopkins replied, “Consider the consequences of your decisions as they could affect you for the rest of your lives. Things you do now will have an effect on you at 33 and even 43.” The presentation concluded with book signings and an autograph meet and greet.