Homework for Monday

Every student must come in with a novel of their choice. This will be the book you will read for homework next week.
Thanks, and have a great weekend!
Ms. Bouffidis

Welcome to Read 180 Room 220

Welcome to the new school year at Maxson MS in Plainfield, NJ. For the 7th grade Read 180 students in Room 220, the following is a list of supplies that you must have by monday, September 11th:

Agenda pads every day
2 pocket folders
2 pens, blue or black
2 pencils, sharpened
1 highlighter (any color)
2 composition books (no spirals)

Or Give Me Death

About a week before school let out for the summer, I finished reading a good historical fiction novel called Or Give Me Death by Ann Rinaldi. Ms. Rinaldi is a pretty famous YA author of historical fiction, and even though I love historical fiction, I had never read a book by her.

This is the story of Patrick Henry's family, and it takes place just before the start of the Revolutionary War. It is told by two of his daughters, Patsy (16) and Anne (8). Unfortunately, their mother is going mad, and their famous father is not around much because of the impending war with England.

It is well-written and kept me turning the pages. It is also a good depiction of what life was like in Virginia during those times. Be sure to check it out this summer at your local library, or wait until September and check it out at the Maxson MS Library!

Summer Web Page

Scholastic has created "Summer Reading Buzz", which is a Web site filled with activities and contests. There is even a spot to keep your own reading log to track the books you will read over the summer. Perhaps you will be the lucky winner of some of the prizes that are being offered, like a chance to win family round-trip airline tickets to the destination of your choice. Check it out at www.scholastic.com/summerreading.

Book Fair

The Maxson Scholastic Book Fair was a huge success! Only for 2 days, May 25th and 26th, it was a BOGO--Buy one Get one free. The student crew was there to help out, including Elijah D. and Elijah M, and of course, Mark B.

In gratitude, they will have a pizza lunch party on Friday, June 9th.
I'm going to miss my 8th grade helpers when they graduate.

Battle of the Books Winning 7th Grade Team

On Friday, the 7th graders competed in the Battle of the Books. It was a really exciting contest. Congratulations to the winning team. They each received a $25 gift certificate to Borders.

Battle of the Books

The date has been set for the 6th grade Battle of the Books competition. On Thursday, May 18th at 1:30 in the Maxson Library Media Center the students will be ready to do battle. Good luck to all the contestants. And P.S., I hope they enjoyed some of the books they read.

Just a reminder for all of those students participating in the Battle of the Books--the date is set for the 7th grade Battle--May 19th during periods eight and nine. This looks like it will be an excellent competition. The team that won last year, with Akil, Shanece and Calvin, are looking to repeat, and 2 other teams are ready to do battle and become the new champs. Read on!

I have just finished reading Dust by Arthur Slade. This was an unusual book, very fast-reading, and a little creepy. It takes place in Canada, in the farming area of Saskatchewan, during the 1930's. The main character, Robert, is very troubled because his younger brother Matthew has gone missing. The whole town is acting very strangely, and even his parents seem to have forgotten Matthew!

Check it out at the Maxson Library today.

The author, Arthur Slade, can be visited virtually at www.arthurslade.com.

Maxson Library Update

The Maxson Book Fair was a huge success--and in fact we will be having another mini-book fair in May. The fair will run May 25-26, and it will be a buy one, get one free sale.

New book update--I finished The Afterlife by Gary Soto. It was an easy read and an interesting story. The opening chapter is kind of gruesome, with the main character being stabbed in a public restroom. The rest of the story takes place through his eyes, as he watches over his "old" world as a spirit. Check it out at our library soon.

I have a lot of great students who will be helping out at the Book Fair. I appreciate their enthusiasim. I am looking forward to my first ever Book Fair at Maxson, and it would not be possible without the help of my "Library Sidekicks".

Speak

I finished Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Once again, this was not a Battle of the Books selection, but I think it's important to post this review.
It was a very powerful story about the first year of high school for a girl who is being shunned by her best friend and all the rest of the kids. The kids are angry at her because she called the police to a party she was at, but she had a good reason for doing it. Unfortunately, only she (and one other person) knows the reason she called 911.
A great book for 8th graders to read. I really like the style of Laurie Halse Anderson. I'm looking forward to more books by this writer.

Book Fair

The Maxson Middle School Book Fair will run from Tuesday, Feb.21-Monday, Feb.27 in the library. It will be open during lunch periods and after school.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Maxson will be holding Parent Conferences. The Book Fair will be open during that time, which is:
Wedneday, Feb. 22, 1:30-3:30, and 6:00-8:00 P.M.
Thursday, Feb.23, 1:30-3:30.

Hope to see parents and students there, because the book selection looks terrific.

Yesterday I completed Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is the historical fiction novel on the 8th grade list.
I really liked this book, and in fact, stayed late after school yesterday to finish it. In all the history books I have read throughout the years, I never knew that Yellow Fever had killed nearly 5,000 people in the Philadelphia area in 1793, when George Washington was our president.
This is a great story about a young girl dealing with an epidemic, family loss, and other things.
You will like Mattie, she's a great character.

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson is a 7th grade Battle book. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I have read it aloud to many of my classes, and they all end up loving it. (And Disney did a good job on the movie.)
This is the story of how a young teenager, Travis, grows up in the wilds of Texas just after the Civil War. Life was very different back then, and Gipson does a good job describing how difficult it could be. The characters are very much alive, though, especially the little brother Arliss, and of course, that "ole yeller dog."
Picture yourself in the west, give yourself a western drawl, and have fun with this book.

Al Capone does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko is on the 8th grade list. I read this book back in November, but never got around to discussing it in my blog. It was both funny and serious at the same time. The setting is during the 1930's, when Al Capone is a prisoner at Alcatraz. Well, curiously enough, the guards and their families really lived on the island of Alcatraz at that time, and this story is about a young man, and how he copes with a sister who has major problems (autisim?) and how he makes friends at his new school. It's a good read, with the family problems, gangsters, and Alcatraz looming in the background.

Happy 2006 to all Maxson Battle of the Books participants. I hope most of you have been reading during this vacation. I finished reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This book is not on any of our lists, but I really liked it. It was a story told from the point of view of an autistic teenager.

I am planning on having some lunch-time meetings this week, perhaps on Thursday or Friday. I will be making an announcement during homeroom.