Monthly Archives: November 2012

The Physics of Sports, Family Reading Night 2012

Click on image to see more photos

The seventh annual IMSA Community Family Reading Night, coordinated and hosted by IMSA’s Information Resource Center and student volunteers, was held on November 15, 2012 for area elementary school students and their families.

This year’s theme, “The Physics of Sports,” was a grand slam – everyone had a good time!  Approximately one hundred students from five Aurora elementary schools attended, along with about seventy-five parents.

Lauren Carlini, West Aurora High School senior, and Kenny Battle, West Aurora High School alum, along with the help of IMSA students, presented the skills of volleyball  and basketball to demonstrate the physics of sports.

Lauren Carlini has just been named the top college recruit in the nation for volleyball in 2012 and will be attending University of Wisconsin. Kenny Battle is both a former NBA player and Harlem Globtrotter.

During the Storytime activity, Lauren Carlini and IMSA staff members read sports themed books to the children. Each child who attended was given a free book provided by the Literacy Program of the Junior League of DuPage and Kane Counties .

The children crafted sports medallions and baseball hats, and had their faces painted with their favorite sports teams, mascots and logos. Throughout the evening they also  participated in sports-related physics experiments with the Kid’s Institute staff of IMSA.

During Family Reading Night the IMSA Office of Admissions coordinated student-led bilingual tours of the IMSA campus for parents.

Everyone enjoyed ice cream, which was a shared donation with Oberweis Dairy. Raffle prizes were donated by East and West Aurora School Districts, Pizza Hut and Cinemark Tinseltown.

Comfy Chairs in the IRC

In the Stacks

There are some new additions in the IRC, and they are not the usual current best seller or hit movie.  Among the stacks of books three new bean bag chairs have been added for student comfort.  Students who are studying or just relaxing at the back of the library can now choose a blue, green or purple bean bag chair to sit in and get off the cold, hard floor.

Beyond the Stacks

Since their addition, the bean bag chairs have been getting a good amount of use and not just as chairs. Students are using them as desks, placing laptops or books they are studying on the chair.  We invite any student who’s looking for a comfy seat in the IRC to seek out one of the new bean bag chairs.

 

NaNoWriMo ~ November is National Novel Writing Month

On your mark, get set, go!
November is your month to write a novel – “thirty days and nights of literary abandon.”

To support your literary pursuits, the library has set up a display in the library with books about creative writing and also books by published NaNoWriMo novelists.

Jean Evans has also created a NaNoWriMo Research Guide with library and Internet resources.

Family Reading Night 2012

It’s that time of year again!!!

The 7th annual IMSA Community Family Reading Night for area elementary school students and their families will be held on November 15, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Event: Family Reading Night 2012
Place: Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Date: November, 15, 2012
Time: 6 – 8 pm

This year’s theme is “The Sports of Physics,” and local athlete Kenny Battle will be making an appearance. As many as 200 children from six Aurora area grade schools and their family members are expected to attend the Family Reading Night event, which has been coordinated by the Information Resource Center and IMSA student volunteers.

During the fun-filled and educational evening, the young students and their families will watch performances by IMSA student groups, listen to storytelling by IMSA staff, design and make sports related crafts, and participate in hands-on science activities led by the Kids Institute.

There will also be student-led bilingual tours of the IMSA campus during the evening.

There are two ways to use the attached permission slip:
1. Open the file, fill in the form at the bottom, save the completed form to your desktop, and email the attached file to angie@imsa.edu:
2. Open and print the permission slip, fill it in, and return it to Angie Richardson

Please return the completed permission slip by Monday, Nov. 12th:

Photos from 2011 Family Reading Night

Election 2012: supporting an informed decision

In early October, the Information Resource Center created a display of library resources related to election topics that included: the Electoral College, electronic voting, the voting age, and the histories of past presidents. Students were encouraged to read, discuss, and debate current issues with their classmates and then vote in a student mock election that was held in the library on Friday, November 2nd.

The results are in, and the winners are …
184 Barack Obama / Joe Biden – Democratic
34 Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan – Republican
21 Jill Stein / Cheri Honkala – Green Party
12 Gary Johnson / Jim Gray – Libertarian
1 Ron Paul Write-in
1 Harry Potter / Ronald Weasley Write-in

Thank you to all who participated. We had an overwhelming 253 students vote in this year’s election! In 2008, 88 students participated.

“Plug” for the Bass Team

Do you like to catch fish or do you simply enjoy the peace, quiet, and solitude of a day at the lake? Then consider joining the IMSA Bass Team!

Science teacher, Branson Lawrence, has been coaching the Illinois High School Association “Catch & Release” IMSA Bass Team for about 5 years. Last year he was joined by Ralph Flickinger, Senior IT Support Engineer – ITS Helpdesk. A typical fishing season begins in March with practice casting, setting the hook, and catch and release at IMSA’s “No Pond.” Over the next few weeks, Branson and Ralph coordinate fishing trips to a couple of local fishing spots for about twenty IMSA students. The fishing season ends with the Sectional Tournament at Shabbona Lake in Shabbona, Illinois where approximately 20-25 Northern Illinois High School Teams compete. The first, second, and third place winners advance to the State Tournament.

The fishing tackle, lures, and reels in this exhibit are specifically for bass fishing and are on display in the IRC courtesy of Ralph Flickinger. Ralph has been fishing his whole life and collecting fish decoys since 1982.