MSMS Library

Start downloading now!  Two free audiobooks are available every week this summer from Sync Summer 2012.  This week there are two great choices: The Eleventh Plague and The Grapes of Wrath. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.

 In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two-thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst

Attention MSMS Faculty and Staff: Can you accept this challenge?  Read a book a day for summer break?  When we read, we inspire our students to be readers as well. 4th Annual Book-a-Day - The Book Whisperer - Education Week Teacher

Watch Raina Telgemeir accept the 2012 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for her graphic memoir, "Smile," and listen to her talk about about creating cartoons and graphic novels. 

      I just picked up Temple Grandin : How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery this afternoon thinking I would read one or two chapters.  A couple of hours later, I turned the final page and knew I had to blog about it.    This is a biography about a woman who is amazing in so many ways.  She is a scientist, an engineer, a professor, an animal rights advocate, a speaker and so much more.  Grandin was diagnosed with autism as a young child but at a time when the disorder was not well understood.  Thanks to her mother, Grandin attended school and was not institutionalized as her father wished.       As Grandin grew up she developed an understanding of the way she perceives the world and she recognized her deep connection to animals.  She harnessed her visualization skills and her understanding of animal behavior and has invented many systems used in ranches, feed lots and slaughter houses to increase the quality of life for these animals.