We have gotten off to a great start to the 2009-2010 school year. This year, we have adapted the means by which we will be sharing the school's newsletter. Using the NTouch system, parents will be receiving an electronic copy of our newsletter around the end of each 9 weeks. Because of the specifications of the NTouch system, our newsletters will have a new, much simpler format, but will still hold important information for parents. I hope that this method ensures that parents receive the news that is relevant for you and your students. As always, don't hesitate to contact your student's teachers, counselors, and our administration if you have questions about your child's progress.
I look forward to another great year working with your students.
The beginning of each school year is like taking off on a new adventure and 2009-2010 is no exception. This year the Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library is working with the school to help promote the Sixtieth Anniversary of Musselman High School. The “new” Musselman High School opened its doors to students in the fall of 1949 and the educational endeavors have been ever increasing with the years. There is a display in the library featuring the early “Echo” yearbooks and many of the other decades that followed.
The Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library “Johnny Appleseed” scarecrow was positioned in front of the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library in downtown Martinsburg. He sported an apple head, carried a pouch of apple seeds and displayed the Sixtieth Anniversary message of “Celebrating 60 Years of Educational Endeavors at Musselman High School, 1949-2009.”
Once again, Musselman High School has been invited to participate in the “Take A Veteran to School” program. The Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library will host a lunch in the library, that will be prepared by the Musselman Café Classes, for invited veterans and their guests. Students from West Virginia University will be taping oral histories of several of the veterans as part of the Library of Congress Veterans Project. Following the luncheon, Comcast Cable and The History Channel will be taping a panel of veterans as they share their military stories with many of the Musselman students.
Our spirited green and white school colors and our “well read” apple mascot serve as a common thread as do the “Pillars of Character” we display in the library and teach each day by word and example. This spring the Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library will be sponsoring the sixth annual search for the Musselman Pillars of the Community. Residents in the south Berkeley communities are invited to nominate community leaders who exhibit the Musselman High School Pillars of Character: Responsibility, Fairness, Honesty, Caring, Trustworthiness, and Respect. Musselman High School employees or individuals under 21 are not eligible for consideration. Ballots will be located in the Library and local community banks in 2009. From those nominated, three individuals will be selected by a committee not affiliated with the Library. Please be thinking about someone that you would like to nominate that exhibits the Musselman Pillars of Character.
The partnership with the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Public Library continues to grow in popularity and provides the people of the South Berkeley Community with many wonderful opportunities. When visiting the library you will have the opportunity to meet staff members: Mrs. Theoda Becker, MHS Library Assistant; Mrs. Margaret Demer, the Public Librarian; Mrs. Patty Usilton, the public library staff worker; and me, Mrs. Barbara Frankenberry, the school Library Media Specialist. I encourage you to become a patron of the library. Come in to secure a public library card, if you do not already have one. Along with checking out books, patrons have access to magazines, newspapers, books on tape, VHS tapes, DVDs, computer use, FAX transmissions, and much more. The library is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. We follow school closing for inclement weather and other emergencies.
The Fall Pre-school Story Time theme is all about the alphabet this year. Story hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and will continue through December 16th and. 17th The Spring Story Time begins in January 20th and 21st, 2010.
APPLESAUCE, the Library’s adult Reading Group, is well under way but it is never too late to come participate. They meet the second Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Call 229-2220 or inquire at the Circulation Desk for details.
It is not too early to think of the tax season. Once again, tax filing will be available to patrons in the library sponsored by AARP. This service is continuing its service two days a week beginning, February 3, 2010, each Wednesday and Thursday from 12:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. through, April 15, 2010. Call or contact the library for more details.
The Musselman-South Berkeley Library Club members assisted the Shenandoah Valley Chapter NSDAR with the making of bookmarks. As the Regent of the DAR Chapter, I had the honor of speaking to and distributing the bookmark gifts to the newly naturalized citizens during ceremonies October 23, at the Federal Court House in Martinsburg, WV. The members are also making plans to sponsor, for the fourth year, a project called “Operation: Thank a Veteran/Service Person!” This activity will offer free postcards to any one who wants to send a veteran or a person now serving in the military a special thank you for their service to their country. December plans include constructing a float promoting the Musselman-South Berkeley Community Library for the South Berkeley Community Tree Lighting and Parade.
We look forward to having you visit and learn all about the Musselman- South Berkeley Community Library.
On Tuesday Sept. 29, West Virginia author Anna Smucker fascinated Dottie McDonald’s creative writing and mythology students at Musselman High. Smucker stated that she has been writing since age 4, but was inspired to publish as an adult by Cynthia Rylant. Smucker’s first published novel When I Was Young in the Mountains was autobiographical. She shared the novel in a powerpoint which gave Musselman students incite into life in a steel mill city.
Anna Smucker pointed out where she used sensory imagery, alliteration, simile, and metaphor in her stories. Students were advised that you can’t be a good writer unless you read. Smucker’s advice on publishing is to write the best piece you can and then keep sending it out, as many times as necessary. After all, Dr. Seuss was rejected 27 times before his first book was published. The highpoint of the visit was the 2 writing activities which centered on memories and identity. Anna Smucker has been a public librarian, teacher, and writer in residence.
