BCS Poetry Evening 2011

Poetry filled the spring air as students from grades 4-12, parents, faculty and friends gathered for the Library's 10th annual Poetry Evening on Monday, April 25th.

JoAnne McFarland, an artist, poet and parent of two BCS alums, who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY was this year’s featured poet. She began by describing her work "which centers around creativity and how to keep ourselves going as artists and writers and just human beings with something to say and do". The audience was captivated by her "lyrics of liberation" and her masterful, spellbinding use of two voices when she was joined by writer and friend Gretta Keene.

JoAnne is the author of six poetry collections and her work has appeared in national and international publications. Check out her art and poetry at www.joannemcfarland.com .

Featured poet JoAnne McFarland and Gretta Keene

Robert Frost, Billy Collins, Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda and Ogden Nash were among the poets whose works were read, along side a host of original poems. Students from Mr. Moyano's 11th grade Spanish class offered a stirring rendition of Federico García Lorca's Canción de Jinete/Song of the Rider, and 4th graders offered up finely crafted original poetry.

Everyone who read received a glowing response from the audience, and the evening was deemed a success by all in attendance.

Fourth graders shared their original poetry

An ensemble reading by Mr. Moyano's 11th grade Spanish class

Celebrate Reading with Reading Friends

"A good book is the best of friends."
- English Proverb

Grandparents of middle school students gathered in the library for a welcome reception for Grandparent's day and to hear about "Reading Friends", a new program which celebrates reading and supports the Libraries' program from PreK - 12th grade.

Library Director Kathleen Ellis described how the library program supports reading for information and pleasure in the middle school curriculum and beyond - encouraging a lifelong passion for reading in all students.

On display were new reading selections that showcased reading in all of its forms: paper bound books along side of digital eBooks on Kindles, iPads and laptops.

Poem In Your Pocket Day - April 14th, 2011

Students dropped by the Library during breaks and free periods to pick up a poem to carry in their pocket to share with friends, classmates and family later on.

Throughout the day, impromptu readings occurred in the library, the hallways, the classrooms, and the lunchroom.

Be prepared and stop by the Library where everyday is Poem In Your Pocket Day. What will your poem be?

Celebrate national Poem In Your Pocket Day. Browse Poets.org from the Academy of American Poets to find the perfect poem for your pocket.

Be inspired to share or create your own poetry and play the Envelope Project at Poem In Your Pocket April 14th 2011, brought to you by NYC.gov.

Book Quilt Project Unfolds...

The BCS Book Quilt Project has been underway for just over a week, and already we have more than 20 participants, dozens of great ideas, and the start of some beautiful sketches of quilt patches!


From Harry Potter to 1984, from Twilight to Don Quixote, Middle and Upper School students, faculty, and staff are putting their ideas to paper... and eventually to fabric!

It's not too late to get involved, so pick a favorite book of yours, sign up in the library, and join us!

Stay tuned for more photos over the coming weeks!

2011 Newbery Medal Winners!

You read some of the nominees, now check out the official 2011 Newbery Medal Winner and Honor books!

The 2011 Newbery Medal Winner is Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.

Looking for clues to her father's past, Abilene instead stumbles instead on a little tin filled with some keepsakes and letters, piquing her interest in a couple of young men named Ned and Jinx, and a spy called "the Rattler."

The 2011 Newbery Honor Books are:


Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.

Sassy eleven-year-old Turtle finds her life turned on end when she is sent to live with her aunt in Depression-era Key West. With vivid details, witty dialogue and outrageous escapades, Jennifer Holm successfully explores the meaning of family and home… and lost treasures found.



Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus.

Shipwrecks, whaling, a search for home and a delightful exploration of cultures create a swashbuckling adventure. This historical novel is based on the true story of Manjiro (later John Mung), the young fisherman believed to be the first Japanese person to visit America, who against all odds, becomes a samurai.



Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen.

Welcoming her readers into the “wild, enchanted park” that is the night, Joyce Sidman has elegantly crafted twelve poems rich in content and varied in format. Companion prose pieces about nocturnal flora and fauna are as tuneful and graceful as the poems. This collection is “a feast of sound and spark.”



One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.

The voices of sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern sing in three-part harmony in this wonderfully nuanced, humorous novel set in 1968 Oakland, Calif. One crazy summer, the three girls find adventure when they are sent to meet their estranged poet-mother Cecile, who prints flyers for the Black Panthers.

All these books are available at the BCS Library...don't miss out!

BCS Book Quilt Project

THE BCS BOOK QUILT PROJECT

We are excited to announce the launching of the BCS Book Quilt Project! This spring, members of the Middle and Upper School community will have the chance to celebrate and share their favorite books through a patchwork quilt and interactive website.

Keep checking the blog for updates and photographs!

For now, here are the 8 easy steps you'll complete as part of the project. Join us!

-Ms. Mermelstein

How to make a patch for the BCS Book Quilt Project

1) Sign up in the library.

2) Think of a book you love (if you and a friend share the same favorite book, you’re welcome to work together).

3) Think about how to share that book with others in an original and visual way. You can portray a theme, a character, a scene, a quote, etc… Be creative!

4) Sketch it out on paper.

5) Show your sketch to Ms. Mermelstein and get a blank patch (9”x9”) in return.

6) Turn your vision into reality! We have colorful fabrics you can cut out and glue or sew onto a patch. We have fabric markers for you to draw or write on the patch. You can use your own materials if you have them. Fabrics, buttons, embroidery… the possibilities are endless!

a. Make sure you leave a quarter inch blank around all edges (this is marked on the patch so you remember).

b. The title of the book and author’s name should appear somewhere on the patch.

c. Be original! Don’t copy the book cover or any illustrations from the book; this is a chance to use your imagination!

7) After you finish your patch, we will ask you to write up a brief paragraph about the patch and the book it represents. What book did you choose and why is it important to you? If you want, you can explain why you portrayed it the way you did on the patch, give us more details about the book, share why someone else might want to read it, etc. We’ll put a photograph of your patch AND your writing on an interactive quilt website (coming soon!).

8) Sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful art and website we’ve created together!

Stop by the library to work on patches during morning break Mon-Wed or after school Monday.

We welcome participation from all students, faculty, and staff at BCS Middle and Upper School!

BCS Storytelling Festival 2011

Not even a wintry forecast of icy rain and snow could keep the Egyptian deities away from their scheduled appearance at Berkeley Carroll's 12th annual Storytelling Festival this past Saturday, February 5th, at 181 Lincoln Place. This year's event evolved from a collaboration between the Library and Theater departments and featured student run workshops, an original showcase of work performed by fifth and sixth grade students under the direction of Carolyn Giles, the Head of the Theater department, and an interactive performance by master storyteller Tammy Hall.


For students, the process behind their work began with an in depth character analysis followed by questions and extended research. Fifth graders performed monologues they wrote about an Egyptian god of their choice, which stemmed from their study of ancient Egypt in their history classes. Sixth graders presented two Midrash stories entitled: "Hotel Jacob" and "Eyewitness Sheep". Midrash is a new take on an old story based on stories from the Torah. Students explored the stories of Jacob and Esau along with Leah and Rachel and asked themselves: What would I do if I were in their shoes? They wrote monologues and from those, scripts were created.



Tammy Hall returned to Berkeley Carroll and shared several of her favorite stories that reminded her of her childhood growing up in the woods of Tennessee listening to her father tell stories. Audience members became active participants in moving the tale along. Tammy urged the audience to listen closely to their family storytellers, to ask questions and record them so that future generations can continue to stand on the shoulders of the storytellers and ancestors that came before them, honor them and create their own version of those stories to pass on.