Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Blue Christmas full of Christmas Bliss

Many of you know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Mary Kay Andrews!!! 

She is one of my FAVORITE adult authors. I even snuck off to the beach a couple summers ago to meet her and grab a signed copy of her book SUMMER RENTAL that was set in the Outer Banks.

BLUE CHRISTMAS was FABULOUS!! If you haven't read it ... it just might put you into the Christmas mood a little early this year. I also find it very appropriate since our Gala in December is  Living a BLUE Christmas.

It's a quick read and not too long! It will probably only take you a couple nap times while Suzy and Johnny are sound asleep to finish it!!!

I have included a brief summary below.


 It’s the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to garnish her shop for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she intends to win. Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she’s done, but the results are stunning. She’s certainly one-upped the owners of the trendy shop around the corner, but suddenly things start to go missing from her display, and there seems to be a mysterious midnight visitor to her shop.
Still, Weezie has high hopes for the holiday—maybe in the form of an engagement ring from her chef boyfriend. But Daniel, always moody at the holidays, seems more distant than usual.
Throw in Weezie’s decidedly odd family, a 1950s Christmas-tree pin, and even a little help from the King himself (Elvis, that is), and maybe there will be a pocketful of miracles for Weezie this Christmas Eve.

AND ... if you LOVED Blue Christmas as much as I think you will .... Check out her last release
CHRISTMAS BLISS ... Due out October 15, 2013!!!!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and Savannah was breezy
But there's trouble afoot - and it's heading toward Weezie.
Seems BeBe’s been holding a big secret back
that would make Santa’s reindeer stop dead in their tracks.
Can these two best friends wriggle out of these twists?
Will they do it in time to ensure CHRISTMAS BLISS?

{THANK YOU MARY KAY ANDREWS FOR THIS HOLIDAY DELIGHT!!!!
 COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS!!!}



A Peek at - DIVERGENT - The Trailer

Ok, so if you have not READ Divergent .... here is a little sneak peek of the movie that comes out
 March 2014!  

I must admit that I started reading the book and half way through realized the trailer was out so I watched it and it made me hurry up and finish reading so I could find out what happened!!! Of course I am totally psyched about the movie coming this spring and I am not usually a fan of movies based on books ..... because of course we all know the books are better ... RIGHT???

Anyhow, here's the peek and hopefully maybe, just maybe if you have not read it you will. :)



Monday, October 7, 2013

FINISHED - Divergent :)


I just finished Divergent last night!!!!! 

YES!!! I know, I am a little late finishing. It's a hazard of my job .... Loosing myself I too many books at once!!!!!  I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish too!!!

All I can say is ...... If you didn't read this over the summer the. You need to hurry up and read it!!!! It was amazing!!!!  The descriptions, the relationships that are formed, the twists and turns as. The pages turn - totally worth the time! 

I LOVED the H under games! but this definitely even better than that!!! I have not watched The H under Games movie as of today, BUT I must say I am really looking forward to the release date of the Divergent movie in March 2014!!! 

So hurry up and Divergent and see what happens to Tris. Each decision she makes does change her and her life.

Definately!!!  :)



Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Feeling SUPER DIGITAL ....

I must say that I am feeling super digital smart this morning!

 Super excited! 

Motivated!

 Yes all of the above!!!

Why you ask??? 



Because by George .... I think I got it! Well, actually I know I do!

I downloaded my first book from Sovalue Over Drive through the Black Water Regional Library!!!!

I have been wanting to do this for so long. Played around with it a little , but just didn't get it when the library started offering digital copies a year or so ago. I didn't find the library that helpful when I asked questions since it was so new there and the ladies were also just learning how to lend books that way.

So super excited!!! Downloaded Insurgent by Veronica Roth.
{can't wait to hear what happens to Tris in Book 2 of the Divergent trilogy and just 21 days away from the release of the 3rd book ... YIPPEE!!!}

All you need to do is have a library card and set up a pin number with the library.  Then click on the Overdrive button on side bar and it takes you straight to  Over Drive. Surf away until you find the book of your liking. Type in your library card number found on the back of your card and pin number when prompted and  .... BAM .... instant download available for 14 days .. free of charge!!!

They have tons of books to choose from!!!! 

{I use an iPad and downloaded a Kindle app to it for viewing my books.}

Good luck and HAPPY HAPPY reading!!! :)

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Love this!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013



Don't forget about our new PTO Facebook Page!!!! 

Swing by and like us to keep up with what great things are going on this year at 
Southampton Academy!! 

Everything from Blue Friday reminders, events taking place on campus and event what's new 
in the Spirit Shop!

Pizza Hut Book It Program


Lower School will be participating in the Pizza Hut Book It Program this year!!!

 This is something I have never done here, but have participated in before at another school I taught at. I am really excited to be adding this for our super readers!!

We will participate from Prek 3- 6th grade. 

Our main goal is to see how many minutes we can read as a whole!!

So I also challenge you as parents to pick up and good book and read along with us!!!

Let me know what you are reading!! :)

Saturday, August 3, 2013

It's Gonna be a GREAT Year ...


It's gonna be a great year ... cause it's a great time to be a Raider as we all know!!
 We are a firmly rooted family that is growing everyday! 

So - It's a great time to be living the blue life!!!! :)

Busy Getting Ready ....


Everyone is busy getting ready for school to start in a few weeks .... but I am also  bust getting ready for CRAFT WEEKEND!!!!  I am squeezing in one last summer hoorah and sneaking off to Kansas for a craft weekend with my best college gal pal! :)

Ask me about it when we get back to school! :)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Jostens Excellence Award ..... AGAIN!!!!!



Congratulations to The Old Plank Yearbook Staff of this past school year for their hard work and dedication!!  It has paid off! 

For the second year in a row Southampton Academy Yearbook Staff has received an Excellence Award from Jostens for creating a meaningful book for all students at their school and meeting deadlines and being a dedicated staff!

Way to go guys and dolls!!!

 I am super proud of everyone on staff for helping make this event happen!

Another GREAT read ....

I read this right before school got out ... AMAZING!!!!!  This book kept me on the edge of my seat with every page that I turned!! 



It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them-not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He has it all-family money, good looks, devoted friends-but he's looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys:


Am counting down the days for Book 2 to be released in September 17, 2013 : The Dream Thieves! :)



Feedback ....



LOVED IT!!!! 

Make sure you stopped by the library after school starts and get a copy of Variant and then Feedback!!! 
I loved all the twists and turns in both of these books. 

See you in August for a copy!! :)

Monday, June 10, 2013

Just finished .....

Variant by Robison Wells

Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.
He was wrong.
Now he's trapped in a school that's surrounded by a razor-wire fence, where video cameras monitor his every move—and where breaking the rules equals death.
All Benson wants is to find a way out. But when he stumbles upon the real secret the school has been hiding, he realizes that escape may be impossible.


DEFINITELY GIVING THIS FIVE STARS!!!!


I was left HANGING on the edge of my seat at the end  thinking .. really???? This is how it ends???? So imagine how delighted I was to find a sequel!!!!!


Benson Fisher escaped from Maxfield Academy's deadly rules and brutal gangs. He thought that the worst was over.
But now Benson is trapped in a different kind of prison—a town filled with familiar faces. Classmates from Maxfield who Benson had seen die. Friends he was afraid he had killed.
They are all pawns in the school's twisted experiment, held captive and controlled by an unseen force. And while Benson struggles to figure out who, if anyone, can be trusted, he discovers that Maxfield Academy's plans are darker than anything he imagined—and they may be impossible to stop.


Tell me in August what you think about this crazy adventure Benson Fisher has taken!! :)

Summer Reading


Check the tab above and see what your class is reading this summer!

Local Library Hours are also now listed on my blog as well.:)

Friday, March 22, 2013

End of The Year Paper?

Well, sort of!


It follows the story of Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.
 
Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.

Counting The Days ...

... until June 4, 2013! WHY?? Cause my favorite "grown up" author  will be release this fabulous book for my summer time enjoyment!! :) She releases at the perfect time - right after school gets out for the summer! 

So if you see me at the beach or by the pool side you just might catch me with a copy of this!!



Take a splash of betrayal, add a few drops of outrage, give a good shake to proper behavior and take a big sip of a cocktail called…Ladies' Night! Grace Stanton’s life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool. Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style. Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal. So is attending court-mandated weekly "divorce recovery" therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality. When their “divorce coach” starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday "Ladies' Night" sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined. Can Grace figure out a new way home and discover how strong she needs to be to get there? Heartache, humor, and a little bit of mystery come together in a story about life’s unpredictable twists and turns. Ladies' Night will have you raising a glass and cheering these characters on.

Book-A-Teer Club Book ( High School)

OK - So the girls and I are on a reading rampage! Truly we are!!! We are running out of time with spring break fast approaching us, but the need still hangs heavy for another good book ... so here is it ... another trilogy ... The Pure Trilogy .. starting with of course ... PURE by Julianna Baggott.


We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . 
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost--how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.

The 3rd and final book of this trilogy does not have a release date as of yet - sorry girls!

FINALLY!!!


Lauren Oliver's final installment in the Delirium Trilogy has arrived and is on the shelf!!!

REQUIEM!


After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven. Pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels.
As Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain of the Wilds, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor. Requiem is told from both Lena and Hana's points of view. They live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.
With lyrical writing, Lauren Oliver seamlessly interweaves the peril that Lena faces with the inner tumult she experiences after the reappearance of her first love, Alex, the boy she thought was dead. 



NOT ONLY THAT BUT ......


The 3 digital only short stories are now in a combined paperback!!!

Once stand alone digital only versions of Hana, Annabelle, & Raven - NOW are in a combine paperback version all together!!! :)



Both books were released earlier this March and we now have copies in our YA Section of our library for you to checkout and finally find out what happens to Lena and her life after she entered the Wilds. 

Sunday, February 3, 2013

WE GIVE BOOKS SITE


With the digital age approaching us faster than we can get on board and keep up with - I found this super cool site this morning on Pinterest through a teaching blog.


The site is dedicated to combing sharing the joy of reading and helping others!

They have amazing award winning picture books that you are able to flip through and read with your young reader on the computer.

Editor picks are available to read at any time without logging on. When you create an account it allows you access to all books that they have collected.

If you have a young reader - take a minute an pop by and take a peek - I think you will be pleasantly surprised - and all books are free to use!!

The best part is you are able to share the joy of reading and help support local causes if you desire!

Stop by and see if it's something for you and your reader!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMELIA BEDELIA



Come CELEBRATE 
Amelia Bedelia's Birthday!!

She's turning 50 
and
 The Walter Cecil Rawls Library
would like to invite you to help celebrate!!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013
@ 5:00 pm


Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Library Fun



2013 is going to be a fun year!!!

 Why you ask?

Hmm , well besides the usual fun we have in Library class , I have a few fun and new ideas the students will be helping me create. So keep an eye out and ears open!

Commericals, comic strips and Book Trailers about our favorite books to name a few things. Each class will have a special something we will be working on. 

So excited to try these all out !!

Stay tuned - more fun to come!!!

App Fun ...


Lower School this morning had their monthly assembly about building character that counts.

The 6th grade talked to us about being responsible. 

We were even dazzled by the talented 6th grade girls who set the stage with a little mood music before the program. 5th grade students did an amazing job with the introductions and thank yous.


I took a few pictures and turned the morning into this really cool cartoon with an app I had just purchased to use with students in Library class. I mean who doesn't like a good comic?

I loved getting a chance to try it out and what better way than to show off our amazing students! :)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The answer is .... ?

Yes - I mustache you this - really! 

{Silly I know, but I think the mustache craze is a tad funny and you can use them for anything and it makes me giggle!}

What are your reading plans for this year? 

Hmmm? Let me think?

Well to start off with I am finishing up Miss Dreamville - the faculty book club book - must finish before I start anything else. Great adult read!!! 

Next up I NEED to read Hana and Annabelle - both by my fav .... Lauren Oliver. They are both digital downloads that are sitting in my digital Library waiting to be read.  

March 5th - well, Lauren Oliver ... again did I tell you she is my fav? ... releases yet another digital Novella entitled Raven , which I will read and will be quickly followed my the final chapter of her Delirium Trilogy - Requiem!!! Am sad and excited to finally be reaching the finish line since this will have been a 3 year project!!!! I will  probably read Delirium and Pandemonium again just to refresh things before the last book comes out

.{So excited a printed paperback will come out in March of all 3 digital copies and will be printed together as one book - YIPPEE!}

After this - I really should finish the Match trilogy sine Reached came out in November, but I have to read Crossed first which is book number 2 in the trilogy.

It is very possible something else will catch my end and I will feel the need to read it as well.

Whatever you read - read something that excites you, takes you to a far away place , grabs hold of you and makes you say WOW!!!

READ FOR FUN!!!!

Thursday, January 3, 2013

FACULTY BOOK READ


Looking for a good adult read? A group of teachers here at SA are getting ready to read this .....

I started it and love it!

 4.5 Stars on Amazon!


By : Amy Hearth


Eighty-year-old Dora, the narrator of a story that began a half century earlier, is bonding with an unlikely set of friends, including Jackie Hart, a restless middle-aged wife and mother from Boston, who gets into all sorts of trouble when her family moves to a small, sleepy town in Collier County, Florida, circa 1962.
With humor and insight the novel chronicles the awkward North-South cultural divide as Jackie, this hapless but charming “Yankee,” looks for some excitement in her life by accepting an opportunity to host a local radio show where she creates a mysterious, late-night persona, “Miss Dreamsville,” and by launching a reading group—the Collier County Women’s Literary Society—thus sending the conservative and racially segregated town into uproar. The only townspeople who venture to join are regarded as outsiders at best—a young gay man, a divorced woman, a poet, and a young black woman who dreams of going to college.
This brilliant fiction debut by Amy Hill Hearth, a New York Times bestselling author, brings to life unforgettable characters who found the one thing that eluded them as individuals:a place in the world. Inspired by a real person, Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women’s Literary Society will touch the heart of anyone and everyone who has ever felt like an outsider longing to fit in.



PS - We read Gone Girl by Gilliam Flynn back in November! That was a great book with some crazy twists!!! Definitely worth a 4.5 Stars as well!!! :)

AMAZING NEW YA BOOK!


Colleen Hover had me at Slammed and Point of Retreat, but she has truly out done herself with HOPELESS!

She has created characters that are truly amazing and created a book that will take your breathe away. The twists and turns in the life of Sky Davis are ones that you don't expect and never see coming. Sky and Dean Holder are two people that engulf you and suck you straight into their story.

I cannot begin to say enough good things about this book! It's amazing! Brilliantly written! Gave me goosebumps! Hated that it ended!

I will definitely say it's an older YA book due to some of the content - BUT A MUST READ!!!!

{I could not put this book down and read it in less than 48 hours and I am a super slow reader!}

So what are you waiting for - go download this wonderful book - only in digital format at this present time!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

YEARBOOK ORDERS



It's not too late to order your Yearbook .... it's just too late to get your name on the cover now!!

Email me if you are still interested in purchasing one. :)

Limited extras will be available in May!

Happy New Year

I mustache you a question .... yes, I know it sounds cheesy, but .... Did you have a great Christmas Break? 

Friends and Family?

 New Years? 

Did you find a great book to read over our break?

Pop in the Library and let me know if you found something to read that you just couldn't put down!!

Happy New Years Raiders!!

Here's to a fabulous 2nd half of the school year!! :)