It's May! Textbooks season is approaching

Well, we survived STAR testing, unannounced committee meetings, overflows from classrooms and last minute crazy research projects and papers in April. STAR testing was not too bad because this year we were not a designated testing location but we did handle the crisis moments when a proctor didn't show and we did take all of the students who needed extra time after the testing periods. But it went pretty smoothly overall. Research for senior projects is slowing down now as students complete their papers and turn them in. Our focus on poetry for April has ended. My favorite poem this year is Brody the Custodian by Kenn Nesbitt. Great one to share!
May gears up and we see CAHSEE testing and AP testing and towards the end... textbooks. Our annual textbook collection begins in earnest on May 26th but prep work begins the week before as we move tables, gather empty boxes, consolidate books from other locations and begin to close down the school year. We will gather about 13,000 books over a 2 week period with the bulk occuring during finals week. At 5 lbs average per book, 60 lbs per box load, 800 lbs per cart, we get our workout. Day in and day out, we check in, validate, assess and stack for 8 hours. But in the end we know where every single book is on this campus and can account for every damage, every lost book and every excuse we hear. It's an amazing process!

Food for Fines Week

This week, April 6-9, our library is hosting Food for Fines. For every canned food or non-perishable food item that a student brings in, One fine is eliminated. One library fine, that is. Textbook fines are not subject to this offer. Inspired by the Napa County library system last December, this is our 2nd Food for Fines drive. In December, we gathered and donated over 4 boxes of food. We hope to do the same for this Easter season food drive.