Out-of-Door wins 114-108!

Yesterday's Academic Olympics match was a roller-coaster ride the whole way through: first we were up by 18, then we were down by 20, then Alex pulled us out of the fire with a 12-point music bonus question that saved the day. In the end it came down to the team question, and we earned 6 points to their 2. We even had spectators: Mr. Latta stopped by to witness the drama, and Ms. Kozak couldn't tear herself away. What's next for our heroes? Tune in next time and find out.

Happy Valentine's Day!

There's something about me you should know: I love candy. Shocking, isn't it? I'm always the one cracking down on the lollipops, the gum, the chocolate bars. You'd think I was hatin' on candy in general. Nope! I love candy, and I know I'm not alone - bugs love it too, so when you share it with them it causes icky problems for the books I also love . . . you see the problem. I'm torn between my two great loves, candy and literature.

And that brings me to my next point: whatever information your little heart desires, I can fix you up. Just this morning Miss Barlow asked about the origins of Valentine's Day and I said I though I had some research on that. I believe she may have thought I was kidding, but in three minutes I was back with the February 14 entry from Butler's Lives of the Saints, right here in our own reference section. See? She had a desire for information and I fulfilled it.

So eat some candy (far away from here!) and celebrate love, in all its glorious forms! Have a wonderful week off, and I'll see you all fresh and eager on the 23rd.

Alexander the Great, right here in the library

Today I had the pleasure of meeting most of the ninth grade. I had met many of you before in different circumstances, but today I got to be a professional about it: I came to Mr. Dougherty's World History classes to show students what the library can do for them. Specifically what it can do for them while they're working on presentations about Alexander the Great for later this semester. We talked about the library catalog and how to look for books we own, how to use Questia to find electronic books and articles, and the superstar favorite: how Questia will format its sources into an MLA-style bibliography, all ready for you to download and insert your other sources for attaching to a paper. I bet I have some new fans now!

Get smarter!

We're all humming along here, trying to stay warm - the library has big beautiful windows that let in lots of natural light, but it's fair to say it's a little on the brisk side in here with all the glass. It does foster a kind of measured, scholastic-type environment: glasses-wearing lasses with hair braided against the inevitable static, lips tucked in against the cold as they peck their calculator keys; bent-headed boys in sweaters rubbing their hands along their insulated coffee mugs while they pore over books for their research papers.

There's no chance of a beach visit, pool swim, or even a Frisbee game tonight, so let me suggest this: how about the school play? Get Smart is on at the Lower School campus, totally free for faculty and students, $5 for lucky guests. It opened last night and early reviews are glowing. Catch it tonight at 7, and Saturday at a 2 p.m. matinee and again at 7 in the evening. Shoe phone's ringing - it's for you!