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Newspaper Articles about our Library
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The first article is from our own Knight Life Student Newspaper. The second article is from the Press and Sun Bulletin. The Library By: Brittany Canfield As many of you all well know we have a new librarian, Ms. O’Donnell. I’ve become close to Ms. O’ as a student, but also as a friend and have come to find that she is quite pleasant. We still have our second librarian Mrs. Harb, who is also a great friend and teacher. With a change in librarian came changes in the environment. Many of you may have noticed that there is a new set up. We have a comfortable couch, the occasional mint dish, decorations for the holidays and new laptops. By the looks of things, many of my fellow students agree that these changes are great. I noticed that the library has become a very popular hang out for students. It’s a good feeling for the teachers to see so many students in a learning environment with such enthusiasm, but they’re also afraid that the students may actually be taking advantage of such a great place.
Many students are beginning to feel as though the library is a safe place to be when they don’t feel like going to class. Others feel that they can just hang out during lunch and not have to go to the cafeteria. As happy as both Mrs. Harb and Ms. O’Donnell are to have people showing interest in reading and taking apart of the resources given in the library, they also want to address the fact that it is still school and there are still rules. I myself being a frequent visitor of the library want to remind all students of this because, the more people that abuse the privileges will force those who did nothing wrong to be restricted. So if you come to the library please remember that you’re still in school so that means: -
NO cell phones. -
Dress appropriately, that means no hats. -
Have a pass, and sign in. -
Don’t skip classes (you will get caught even if not right away). -
Lunch mods are for eating lunch, NOT coming to the library. -
If you are on a computer and you activity is not school related and somebody needs to do their work, you give up your computer (and that’s just common courtesy). There are not that many rules to follow and as long as you can handle them, the library is a great place to be. We have a new selection of books that many people are really enjoying. We also have a new magazine system, so you can look at them without hassle. New books are constantly being ordered. I’ve been told that if there are any certain types of books or a single book that you would like our library to have or can’t seem to find, you should just ask. They would be happy to look into ordering it with the next round of book orders. The library is a great fun place to hang out and get work done. As long as the rules are followed, it will continue to be so. So drop in sometime and grab a good book and have a seat, or sit behind a computer and try to write a story. It’s probably my favorite place to be in the school. You may not agree but you’ll never know unless you give it a try, but don’t forget to follow the rules or you will be asked to leave. Windsor seeks ways to close gender gap New techniques could tailor teaching to boys by: Brian Liberatore The nation's boys are in trouble. According to the U.S. Department of Education, one out of every 10 school-aged boys is now medicated for some variety of attention deficit disorder. Eighty percent of high school dropouts are boys, and nine out of 10 discipline referrals involve boys. As boys across the country continue to fall behind girls in academic performance, experts are starting to raise questions about the way boys are taught. Many are asking whether the modern classroom is better designed for girls, whether it accommodates biological differences between the genders and what can be done to close the gap. Locally, the Windsor Central School District has taken a lead role in addressing the issue. "I think there's a growing awareness that there's this gap," Windsor Superintendent Jason Andrews said. "The challenge is trying to impact the system." The district last year formed a 13-member committee of educators, experts and parents to study research on the gender gap and practical ways to bring boys in line with their female counterparts. The group late last month finished an 80-page report that aims to understand the reason for boys' poor performance and find practical ways to reverse the trend. The first bullet point in the report reads: "Boys and girls have slightly different brain chemistry that may cause each to think differently." The point reveals a growing consensus among some education professionals that puts the onus on nature. "It requires pretty effective blinders these days to think as I did in the early 1980s -- that boys are boys and girls are girls predominantly because of environmental forces," Michael Gurian, a psychotherapist in Spokane, Wash., wrote in "The Wonder of Boys." "It's more accurate to say that much of who we are is determined by body chemicals, brain differences, hormones, and by society's efforts to honor this biology through its socializing influences." Gurian's book is required reading for educators in Windsor. The district purchased copies of it through a grant from the Busfield Foundation. Based on months of research, the Windsor committee found: * Girls tend to take in more sensory data than boys. * The typical boy lags behind the typical girl by a year and a half in his reading and writing skills. * Boys seek to gain perspective and see the world with objects that have rules and uses. Girls seek personal interaction and look to understand human emotions and relations. * The male brain is better suited for symbols, abstractions, diagrams and pictures than words. The committee also recommended ways to improve instruction for boys: * Purchase nonfiction books, especially biographies of sports figures and books that focus on the natural world of science, animals, buildings and vehicles. * Allow boys to stand up and roam around the classroom. * Bring male readers into the classroom as role models. * Develop teams and competitions when possible. * Keep verbal instructions to no more than one minute. A few minor changes, Windsor officials found, have made a major difference. Boys, said Windsor Elementary School Librarian Nicole Waskie, "like nonfiction books. They want to read about cars and animals and sports. Girls go for more fiction books -- books that are about people that are their own age." The solution at both the elementary and high school libraries has been to give the boys what they want to read in hopes that it will spark learning. The high school library features magazines, newspaper and graphic novels. The room is more like a Barnes and Noble, Assistant Superintendent Edward Kleese said. "Anything that really gets them reading is good," said Kari O'Donnell, the Windsor High School librarian. The effects of Windsor's efforts, Andrews said, may be subtle and will take years to realize. But the district is part of a growing recognition of the gap and versed in ideas that aim to close it, he said. "This is new for us," Andrews said. "But the dialogue that the educators are having is rich dialogue."
High School Library
Windsor Central School District
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