Happy Holidays!

Today is the last day of school before Christmas holidays begin, and I hope everyone has a fun and enjoyable vacation.

School (and the library) will start up again on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007. See you then!

PRHS Senior Boys Basketball

The senior boys basketball team schedule is as follows:

January 9th, HOME vs. Advocate, 7:00pm

January 11th, HOME vs. CCA, 4:00pm

January 15th, AWAY vs. Tatamagouche, 5:00pm

January 25th, AWAY vs. Amherst J. V., 7:00pm

February 6, AWAY vs. Musquodoboit, 4:30 pm

Want to use Google more effectively?

Sick of getting 2.3 million hits, none of which are what you really want?

Want to find more precise results, or search more than one search engine at one time?

Well, it's your lucky day! I have given this presentation about searching the internet to a number of classes here at the high school and received feedback from teachers that they, too, found it helpful. So I'm putting it out there for anyone at PRHS (and elsewhere) to look at.


Finally...

A wonder of the web - Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is fantastic! It has become one of my favourite internet tools since I learned about it last year. What it does is allow you to save links to webpages that you can access from any internet connection, which is a whole lot better than just having a Bookmarks or Favorites folder on your computer (because you can only access those bookmarks from that computer). All you have to do is create a free account and start posting (adding) websites.

Take a look at what the PRHS library account looks like.

When you post websites you can also add tags, or descriptive words to help you find that website later in your del.icio.us account. For example, if you added this blog to your del.icio.us account, you might use the tags "PRHS," "library," and "blog." I currently have 90 items in the PRHS library del.icio.us account and my tag cloud looks like this:



The bigger the tag in the tag cloud above, the more posts I have tagged with it. Also, if you click on one of those tags, perhaps "astronomy," you will get a list of all the websites that I have tagged with the word "astronomy." You can also bundle the tags, which basically makes folders that contain all the posts that contain a particular tag or set of tags. If you go to http://del.icio.us/prhslib/space it is the bundle of all the posts that contain the tag "space."

You might have noticed that anyone can look at the PRHS library's Del.icio.us account and its contents. Although I am the only one who can add more websites, anyone can access the links themselves, which is great for student projects (like the grade 9 project on space) because it is accessible from any internet connection.

So, if you are interested in making your own del.icio.us account, go here to get started.

Enjoy!

Grade 9 space project

Below are links to some helpful websites about space (also found at http://del.icio.us/prhslib/space):

• Solar System Exploration homepage - a NASA site.
• Windows to the Universe - find information on Earth, the solar system, and other astronomical entities.
• Lunar and Planetary Institute - go to Resources on the menu bar to find "Exploring Mars" and "Exploring the Moon" sites.
• CSA - Canadian Space Agency
• Chandra Field guide to x-ray sources - a Harvard site that provides clear overviews of astronomical entities like white dwarf stars and supernovas.
• National Science Teachers Association - links to space websites.
• NASA ISS EarthKam
• Astronomy magazine - links to brief overview articles.
• Astronomy websites - from Librarian's Internet Index.

If you have any questions or comments about these sites, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Fantasy books - virtual display

Pendragon: The Merchant of Death by D. J. MacHale

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby: he is going to save the world. And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.
If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning. - from the publisher.

Pendragon website.


The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, Aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. People whisper the story of her mother, the "witchwoman", who allegedly cast a spell on the king so he would marry her - and then died of despair when their first child was a girl. But no one knows Aerin''s destiny. From dragon-killer to defender of Damar, she will become a true hero, and wield the power of the Blue Sword, Gonturan. - from the publisher.



Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Doomed to - or blessed with - eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a starnger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune. - from the publisher.

About Natalie Babbitt.


The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Lyra Belaqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar Pantalaimon always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle--a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: She alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle. - from the publisher.

This is the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

His Dark Materials series website.

Read a review.

Author's website.


Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift. When I cried inconsolably through my first hour of life, my tears were her inspiration. Shaking her head sympathetically at Mother, the fairy touched my nose. "My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying child."
So begins this richly entertaining story of Ella of Frell who wants nothing more than to be free of Lucinda's gift and feel that she belongs to herself. For how can she truly belong to herself if she knows that at any time, anyone can order her to hop on one foot, cut off her hand, or betray her kingdom - and she'll have to obey?
Against a bold tapestry of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella''s spirited account of her quest to break the curse is a funny, poignant, and enchanting tale about an unforgettable heroine who is determined to be herself. - from the publisher.

Read an interview with the author.

Basketball Schedules

The basketball schedules for the junior and senior teams are now posted here.

The school website will be getting revamped over the next little while since it is out of date, but until then feel free to refer to this page for basketball schedule updates.

Also a reminder that PRHS is hosting the Division 4 boys' volleball provincials this weekend (December 1-2). Make sure to catch a game or two!

A wonder of the web: Worldmapper

Worldmapper is a website out of the University of Sheffield in Britain that has dozens of beautiful and fascinating maps of the world - dozens because the cartographers (people who make and study maps) mapped the world according to things other than geography and political boundaries. Below is a screenshot of their homepage, and note the different looks of the maps:

Click on the image above to view the Worldmapper homepage.

Don't look like your usual maps of the world, do they?

This site currently has 227 maps of everything from Land Area to Tourist Destinations to Cars Exports (check out how massive and distorted Japan is!) to Forest Loss. Each map is linked to a descriptive webpage that outlines exactly what the map is about and contains a PDF poster that contains further information and can be printed out and displayed. Check it out!

New Orca Soundings books

Six new Orca Soundings books have come in the library, much to the delight of some students who have read all of the other OS books in the library! Wow.

Saving Grace by Darlene Ryan

Chill by Colin Frizzell

Tell by Norah McClintock

Battle of the Bands by K. L. Denman

Charmed by Carrie Mac

Home Invasion by Monique Polak


Check them out in the New Book display in the library.

A wonder of the web: LibraryThing

LibraryThing has become my new favourite internet toy, and it does some really interesting things with books.

First of all, people from all over the world log on and enter books that they own or that they have read into their "library," or personal collection of books. They also use tags in order to help find their books, like Flickr uses tags for photos. You can look at the tag cloud for PRHS's account to see what tags can look like.

After people have entered books into their libraries (and there are now over 8 million books in LibraryThing), LibraryThing can do some analysis and find out things such as:
- how many people own a certain book
- what books you might like based on what you've already got in your library or a book you've already read - this is the Book Suggester feature.
- and what books you might NOT like if you enjoyed a particular book - this is the Book Unsuggester.

I also use LibraryThing to generate those lists of new books that you see on the right side of this page if you scroll down.

What do you think of LibraryThing? Leave a comment and let me know!

If you liked the Spiderwick Chronicles, you might like...

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer












The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke











Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper











A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle











The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau











Inkheart by Cornelia Funke










Search the catalogue to see if they are checked in at the PRHS library.

Adventure books - virtual display

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Set in an imaginary past where giant airships rule the skies, Airborn is the story of Matt Cruse, the 15-year-old cabin boy of the 900-foot luxury airship Aurora. Hundreds of feet over the Pacificus Ocean, Matt fearlessly performs a dramatic rescue to save an old man from his crippled hot-air balloon. Before he dies, the stranger tells Matt about the fantastic, impossible creatures he has seen flying through the clouds. Matt dismisses the story as the ravings of a dying man, but when a beautiful, bold girl arrives on the Aurora a year later, determined to prove the story true, Matt finds himself caught up in her quest. But can he and Kate solve the mystery before pirates, shipwreck and frightening predators end their voyage forever? - from the publisher.

Read a review.

Visit the Airborn website.

Crispin: the cross of lead by Avi

"Asta's son" is all he's ever been called. The lack of name is appropriate, because he and his mother are but poor peasants in fourteenth-century medieval England. But this thirteen-year-old boy who thought he had little to lose soon finds himself with even less -- no home, family, or possessions. Accused of a crime he did not commit, he has been declared a "wolf's head." That means he may be killed on sight, by anyone. If he wishes to remain alive, he must flee his tiny village. All the boy takes with him is a newly revealed name -- Crispin -- and his mother's cross of lead.

His journey through the English countryside is amazing and terrifying. Especially difficult is his encounter with the juggler named Bear. A huge, and possibly even mad, man, Bear forces the boy to become his servant. Bear, however, is a strange master, for he encourages Crispin to think for himself.

Though Bear promises to protect Crispin, the boy is being relentlessly pursued. Why are his enemies so determined to kill him? Crispin is gradually drawn right into his enemies' fortress where -- in a riveting climax -- he must become a different person if he is to save Bear's life and his own. - from the publisher.

Read a review.

About Crispin on Avi's website.

Iceberg by Clive Cussler

Crawling into the heart of an iceberg, Dirk Pitt discovers the charred remains of a lost luxury yacht, its crew, and its owner, an Icelandic mining magnate. Missing is its secret, priceless cargo.

Targeted for death, Dirk Pitt goes under cover in Iceland to get to the heart of a secret plot that threatens the world! From a lethal party in Reykjavik to a deadly visit to Disneyland, he races to stop a ruthless international conspiracy before it's too late.


Into thin air by Jon Krakauer

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin the perilous descent from 29,028 feet (roughly the cruising altitude of an Airbus jetliner), twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly to the top, unaware that the sky had begun to roil with clouds...

In this definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest, Jon Krakauer takes the reader step-by-step from Katmandu to the mountain's deadly pinnacle, unfolding a breathtaking story that will by turns thrill and terrify. - from the publisher.

Read a review.

Animated flyover of Everest on Discovery Channel website.



Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Peterson.

Don't even think of starting this book unless you're sitting in a comfortable chair and have lots of time. A fast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold but the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger. Discover richly developed characters in the sweet but sophisticated Molly, the scary but familiar Black Stache, and the fearless Peter. Treacherous battles with pirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerse the reader in a story that slowly and finally reveals the secrets and mysteries of the beloved Peter Pan. -from the publisher.

Read a review.

Peter and the Starcatchers website.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is upon us, so check out these sites to learn more.

Did you know that some Nazi prisoners of war (PoWs) and Jewish refugees were kept in the same camp near Fredericton, NB? CBC Archives - Conflict and War has links to dozens of CBC audio and video clips relating to both World Wars, the Holocaust, women in war, and other conflict-related topics.

Canada Remembers allows you to search for clips of veterans speaking of their experiences, including Mr. Alexander McInnis from Port Hawkesbury.

Veterans Affairs also has summaries of lots of different battles like the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the disastrous Dieppe raid.

We Were There, a project of Library and Archives Canada, tells the stories of people who experienced World War One first-hand, including a nurse, an infantry soldier, and the Minister of Militia.

The Virtual War Memorial is a registry of over 116,000 Canadians who died serving their country and often includes information on where they are buried. This is a big help if you are searching for memorial or burial information on a relative - I found out where my great-great-uncle is buried just by knowing his first and last names and where he was born.

Finally, listen to Terry Kelly's song A Pittance of Time, or watch the video.

New book of the week: B for Buster

Nicknamed after his hometown of Kakabeka, Canada, Kak dreams of flying with the Allied bombers in World War II. So at 16, underage and desperate to escape his abusive parents, he enlists in the Canadian Air Force. Soon he is trained as a wireless operator and sent to a squadron in England, where he's unabashedly gung ho about flying his first op. He thinks the night ops over Germany will be like the heroic missions of his favorite comic-book heroes. Good will vanquish evil. But his first time out, in a plane called "B for Buster," reveals the ops for what they really are--a harrowing ordeal. The bombing raids bring searchlights . . . artillery from below . . . and night fighters above hunting to take the bombers down. One hit, Kak knows, and "B for Buster," along with him and his six crewmates, could be destroyed.

Kak is terrified.

He can't confide his feelings to his crew, since he's already worried that they'll find out his age. Besides, none of them seem afraid. Only in Bert, the slovenly caretaker of the homing pigeons that go on every op, does Kak find an unlikely friend. Bert seems to understand what the other men don't talk about--the shame, the sense of duty, and the paralyzing fear. As Kak seeks out Bert's company, he somehow finds the strength to face his own uncertain future. - from the publisher

Read a review.

About the Canadian Bomber Squadrons.

Remembrance Day virtual display

And no birds sang by Farley Mowat.

In July 1942, Farley Mowat was an eager young infantryman bound for Europe and impatient for combat. This powerful, true account of the action he saw, fighting desperately to push the Nazis out of Italy, evokes the terrible reality of war with an honesty and clarity fiction can only imitate. In scene after unforgettable scene, he describes the agony and antic humor of the soldier's existence: the tedium of camp life, the savagery of the front, and the camaraderie shared by those who have been bloodied in battle. - from the publisher.

Author Spotlight at Random House.

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The sky is falling by Kit Pearson.

During World War II, thousands of British children were evacuated to Canada. Many would spend the war years in the homes of complete strangers. In her award-winning novel for middle readers, The Sky Is Falling, Kit Pearson tells the story of one war child whose Canadian visit was far from happy. Norah has no wish to leave her village home in the English countryside. And she certainly doesn't want the responsibility of looking out for her five-year-old brother Gavin. When it becomes clear that the wealthy Toronto widow who sponsored the two siblings really only wanted a boy, Norah retreats into a secret world of books and truancy, deserting Gavin to the overbearing attentions of his newly appointed "Aunt Florence." - from the publisher.

Teen book review.

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Turned away: the World War II diary of Devorah Bernstein by Carol Matas.

January 9, 1911: A letter arrived from Sarah, again tucked in with the mail from Uncle Nathaniel.

Chere Devorah,

Our worst fears came to pass. Three huge bangs on the door. Maman ran to my room and told me to keep the door closed and not to come out. Within minutes she came back and sank down on my bed weeping. "They've taken him," she said. "To Drancy. Arrested."

I can barely sleep anymore. I keep hearing that pounding on the door. Sometimes I feel the sound will explode in my brain. Chere Devorah, what is wrong with the world? I don't understand any of this. Do you?

Your loving cousin, Sarah.

The letter from Uncle Nathaniel told of being arrested, but little else, except another question about how the visas are going. I could hear Mommy crying from her bedroom. - from the publisher.

Carol Matas' website.

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Hana's suitcase by Karen Levine.

In 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan, marked Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, and "Waisenkind"--the German word for orphan. In a suspenseful journey, Fumiko, the center's curator, searches for clues to young Hana and her family. -from the publisher.

Hana's Suitcase website, including an interview with George Brady.

Watch a TV clip about Hana's suitcase.

Listen to the radio documentary that inspired this book.

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Winning the Ridge: the Canadians at Vimy Ridge, 1917 by N. M. Christie.

"On April 9th, 1917, for the first time in the war, all four Canadian Infantry Divisions attacked side by side. Their capture of the 'impregnable' German bastion of Vimy Ridge brought instantaneous, world-wide recognition. For the first time in the war, the Allies had won something tangible.

"With the capture of Vimy Ridge, the reputation of the Canadian Corps as the most effective fighting machine on the Western Front, and of Canada itself, was sealed." - p. vii.

Many historians point to the Battle of Vimy Ridge on Easter Monday, 1917, as the beginnings of Canada's national identity. With almost 11,000 casualties this identity came at a high price, and Vimy is the site of the only Canadian National Historic Site outside of Canada's political boundaries.

Read more about Vimy.

Watch veteran eyewitness accounts of Vimy.

Read about the Vimy Memorial in France.

Watch a Historica Minute vignette about Vimy.

New book of the week: Night

Night by Elie Wiesel recounts the true story of his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. When he was a young teenager, Wiesel and his family were taken from their home in Transylvania and sent to Auschwitz, where he and his father are separated from his mother and younger sister. Wiesel then spent many months as a prisoner before the Allied troops liberated his camp.

The following excerpt tells of his trip to Auschwitz crammed in a train's cattle car with almost one hundred other people:

"Lying down was not an option, nor could we all sit down. We decided to take turns sitting. There was little air. The lucky ones found themselves near a window; they could watch the blooming countryside flit by.

"After two days of travel, thirst became intolerable, as did the heat.

"... There was still some food left. But we never ate enough to satisfy our hunger. Our principle was to economize, to save for tomorrow. Tomorrow could be worse yet."

Night is available for borrowing from the PRHS library.

Reviews written by teenagers: Review #1, Review #2.

Book's website.

Websites that help you to...evaluate other websites!

The 5 W's of Cyberspace - the best of the bunch and easiest to understand.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

New Fiction books

Just some stuff I wrote by William Bell.

Wild orchid by Beverly Brenna.

Speaker for the dead and Xenocide by Orson Scott Card.

Deconstructing Dylan and Sudden impact by Lesley Choyce.

Book of broken hours and Forever’s shadow by C. B. Doherty-Wayne.

Pure by Karen Krossing.

B is for Buster by Iain Lawrence.

Esther by Sharon E. McKay.

The year of secret assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty.

Alice, I think, Miss Smithers, and Alice MacLeod, realist at last by Susan Juby.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by Michael Rosen.

Truesight by David Stahler.

Thirst by Catherine Taylor.

Shattered and We all fall down by Eric Walters.

Double helix by Nancy Werlin.

New Non-fiction books

Tundras by Erinn Banting.

Hockey’s hottest players by Arpon Basu.

Genetically engineered foods by Karen E. Bledsoe.

Canada’s First Nations: Nunavut and evolving relationships
Conflicts, changes & Confederation, 1770-1867
A nation is born: World War I & independence, 1910-1929, all edited by Dr. David Bercuson.

Weird facts about Canadian hockey by Peter Boer.

The complete history of costume and fashion from ancient Egypt to the present day by Bronwyn Cosgrave.

Remembrance Day by Jill Foran.

Decoding life: unraveling the mysteries of the genome by Ron Fridell.

Greatcoats and glamour boots: Canadian women at war (1939-1945) by
Carolyn Gossage.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau by Richard Gwyn.

Globalization by Adam Hibbert.

Nuclear and toxic waste by Stuart A. Kallen.

Inventions that shaped the world: the airplane by Nancy Robinson Masters.

Body doubles: cloning plants and animals by Sally Morgan.

Transportation: high speed, power, and performance by Mark Morris.

Historic Black Nova Scotia by Bridglal Pachai & Henry Bishop.

Tsunamis by Peggy J. Parks.

Football by Jeff Savage.

American voices from the Civil Rights Movement by Elizabeth Sirimarco.

Are we alone?: scientists search for life in space by Gloria Skurzynski.

Night by Elie Wiesel.