Beecher Feature

March is here, and boy are we glad! It is great to see more of that bright ball in the sky, and things beginning to sprout. It is also comforting to know that March is the month of spring break! Do you have your spring break reads all lined up?? Your DCHS Library Media Center team is ready to help you make selections!

DC Library Book Club in a Bag Kits Are Here!

We are excited to share that Book Club kits are here. We were so inspired by the Book Club Kits created by our awesome partners at the Indianapolis Public Library that we decided to bring it directly to DCHS!

There are 25 Book Club Kit bags housed in the library media center to be used for class literature circles. If you're thinking, this is "just an English thing" then think again! How can Book Club Kit bags be utilized outside of the traditional, "let's all read the same book and then talk about it"?

• Genre studies
• Author studies
• Setting studies
• Biography studies
• Self-help/encouragement
• How-to materials (calligraphy, origami, crochet, knit, drawing)
• Theme studies
• Banned book studies

We are open to suggestions from our teaching colleagues!!

Finally! We are moving forward with our next book club here at DC. Typically for us, we have chosen a non-traditional route. DCHS teachers and students who love reading and baking will enjoy our bi-monthly meet ups. With our newly acquired countertop oven/air fryer/toaster/baker, we can go beyond "academic" uses (food science) and combine two hobbies that many enjoy.

Our gatherings will focus upon our love of reading first and foremost, but also a love (or desire to learn) of baking/cooking. Sometimes there will be a loose connection (we'll make our own snacks!) and other times we will focus upon learning about the cuisine of the time of the setting, or location. Who knows where imagination will take us??

Book 'n Bake Club is a new venture for us, so it will be fun to build that ship as we float! We anticipate bi-weekly meetings on Thursdays, after school, to take advantage of the activity bus for our non-drivers.

Here are some fun ideas we are dreaming up*:

• Share the 1 or 2 books that "hooked" you on reading when you were first learning to read and explore stories. Why did you connect?
• Biography Day - what is your favorite biography and why?
• Share a paragraph - Read a short passage that had an impact on you when you first read it. Your passage can be LOL- funny or choke you up sad....what emotion came out and why?
• What book did you dislike so much that you flat out could not finish it? Why?
• Cookbook exploration - Do you or your family have a go-to recipe? Is it from a book? Bring it! Can you make the recipe?
• Bring a work by your favorite author....why is he/she/they your favorite?
• Historical Fiction - what time period is your favorite? Share a favorite book from this genre! What can we learn to bake from that time period?

*Each session will include a short reading (aloud) to solidify the topic/theme of the day.

I recently attended an IUPUI Library Board meeting at the Herron School of Art Library on the IUPUI campus. While there, we had a great experience learning about book art. The librarian for the School of Art was incredibly knowledgeable about all things book art and we were blown away at the demonstration and incredible pieces on display. It was a bonus to learn that they allow visits from K12 schools again (paused due to the pandemic) and we look forward to planning some learning experiences with our teachers here at DCHS.

Mrs. Beecher

Ms. Dunham

Email: dbeecher@decaturproud.org
Website: https://www.decaturproud.org/central-high/media-center