Teen Sites

Looking for something to do when it's cold outside? Try surfing...go to the teen home page and click on Stuff to Watch or Stuff to Listen to! Looking for more? Check out these web sites just for teens.

Reading:
TeenReads
Genrefluent - TeenTalk
NoFlyingNoTights
TeenInk

Sports & Fitness:
SheLovesSports
TeenGrowth

Jobs:
SnagAJob
CoolWorks
USAJobs.gov - StudentJobs

Volunteering:
DoSomething
DPPL.org - Volunteer at the library

News:
ReadTheTattoo

Advice:
TeenCentral

More Cool Sites:
HowStuffWorks
Student.com
InternetPublicLibrary - for Teens

Are You in Band, Orchestra or Choir?

Are you in band, orchestra or choir? And if so, what compositions are you working on?

You can find some of those compositions on CD here at the library. For example, we own several recordings of Stille Nacht, which will conclude Maine West's Prism Concerts on Sunday, December 12th. (How do I know this? The Maine West Principal's Page.) Who knew Mannheim Steamroller recorded it? Want a more traditional version? We have over 20 other recordings to choose from.

Did you play Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in orchestra and do you now want to go deeper into the soul of Wolfgang Amadeus? We recently acquired the complete Symphonies conducted by Karl Bohm and performed by the Berlin Philharmonic. We also have many CDs like Essential Mozart: 32 of His Greatest Masterpieces, which allow listeners to get a sampling of his works for orchestra, piano, voice, etc.

Whether you want to listen to works you're performing in band or to explore a favorite composer in depth, the library's a great place to start.

And please share what you're playing in your ensemble, strings class or private lessons in the comments section. Inquiring minds want to know! And this inquiring mind will then check to see if we own one or more recordings of the works.

(Note: the above photograph is from the Maine West Orchestras Facebook page. To view the Fine Arts Event Schedule for Maine West, click here.)

Who Wants to Be a Know-It-All?

Nobody likes the sassy "know-it-all", but knowing it all does feel good, doesn't it? Feeling smart. Empowered. Holding your own in a discussion. Getting to this stage takes work but there are some wonderful tools that are faster and better than googling. I'm all for Google and Wikipedia but meet your new friend "Opposing Viewpoints".

First an anecdote. A high schooler in my life and his parent were discussing what subject to choose for a school debate assignment. A list of pros and cons for the debate had to be listed and ultimately a side needed to be chosen. The parent/student interaction was great but they were struggling with the perfect topic and support material. They didn't even think to use the library. :(

The Opposing Viewpoints database and print books can get you to the know-it-all stage directly. Click on Opposing Viewpoints in Context from the library's research database page and there you can see lists of issues in lots of categories. Keep clicking through and the best articles about a subject are neatly organized. The print books from this publisher are on the fourth floor shelves.

I've never reached the expert stage but I'm hoping it is never too late!

Examples:

Off Shore Drilling

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