June Book Club

Date/Time:
Thursday, June 20, 5:30

Location:
Elizabeth Irwin High School - meet in the library
40 Charlton Street
(between 6th Ave and Varick)

What We're Reading:
Black Helicopters by Blythe Woodson
Doll Bones by Holly Black

ADVENTURES IN 3D PRINTING @ FRIENDS ACADEMY

It’s been impossible to escape all the talk and excitement about 3D printing lately and, like many people, I was becoming quite curious to get a look at this new technology.  Ken Ambach, the Friends Academy tech director, had been sending emails with links to articles and videos for a few months when I heard that a Makerbot Replicator 2 was purchased and had arrived on campus. Currently, the Makerbot lives in the tech office of the upper school classroom building where Adam Weber, a member of the tech dept. who also teaches AP Computer Science, is learning to use it and making some interesting objects. 

I spent some time with Ken to hear his plans for the 3D printer and to get a sneak peak.  Ken explained that students in our engineering course will be able to use it to test their designs, Vex Robotics students may find it useful for making parts for their robots, and two new upper school electives in engineering and 3D design may be using it next fall as well.  I asked Ken to describe what working with a 3D printer was like.  “It’s a bit finicky in the way a kiln can be,” he said, “and management of the printer needs to be done by an adult or a highly trained student. There are a lot of settings that need to be adjusted, and it is quite difficult to get high quality prints.” 

The Makerbot Replicator 2, six spools of plastic and a service contract cost under $3,000.  We use Makerware software to send a 3D design to our MakerBot, which then turns the design into a 3D object out of  PLA (Polylactic Acid) plastic.  This plastic doesn’t give off fumes like some other plastics, is really shiny and is biodegradable.  It does take a long time to make even a simple object.  Some of the objects pictured below took five hours to print.  We also use Blender, a free, open-source 3D computer graphics program used for 3D printing as well as special effects for films. One of the jobs of the software is to make decisions about the structural elements of the object to be printed.  While you don’t need to know programming to use the software, there is definitely a technical learning curve.

It seems you may not know what the 3D printer can do for you until a need comes up.  Rob Grella, also a member of our tech department, had a flat tire on his car not long ago.  When he took the car to the shop to get the tire repaired the mechanic noticed that an important ring was missing from the wheel assembly, but unfortunately, the shop did not have the exact size ring to fit his wheel, which is 67.8 millimeters on the outside and 57.1 millimeters on the inside.  After spending a lot of time searching for the ring online he was still unable to locate it. And, he discovered that his car needed four rings, not just one!  Rob then asked Adam if our Makerbot could make the four rings for his car.  Adam went to work and successfully printed four rings by adapting 3D modeling plans found on Thingiverse, a website where people share digital designs.  The ring, pictured below, fit perfectly!

The F.A. Makerbot is still pretty new, but lots of students and teachers have been checking it out and interest is growing.  If you want to see a working Makerbot printer you can watch the Makerbot Replicator 2 in action and take classes and workshops in their store in Brooklyn.  

Link & Photos:

For a 13-minute, fascinating look at the future of 3D printing, check out the link below.

3D Printing: Make Anything You Want

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0EJmBoLq-g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This green ring was made for Rob’s car wheel on the FA MakerBot 3D printer

                                                                                                                              

Made on the Friends Academy MakerBot 3D  printer

Strengthening Partnerships with Public Libraries

Recently, I attended the inaugural Urban Librarians Conference, planned and organized primarily by Urban Librarians Unite (a NYC group that you all should be following/noting/volunteering for if you're not already!). Attendees came from urban centers in New York State and beyond (in some cases, far beyond), and most were either Public Librarians or library school students. Fellow HVLAer Kyle Lukoff and I were asked to help moderate a discussion group on partnerships between school libraries and public libraries in urban environments.

Kyle and I agreed that when it comes to forming relationships with our local libraries, the challenges of Independent Schools are in some cases very, very different from those of Public Schools. But as the link between our student populations and the tremendous library systems that serve them, we feel an enormous responsibility to promote our local libraries and to plant the seeds for lifelong library use. My big question coming into the discussion was, how do I get my students to recognize the value of the public library, and make sure that our single field trip is not the only time they explore a branch all year?

I have been troubled to find that when I bring a third, fourth, sixth, or eighth grade class to NYPL, nearly all of them need to sign up for library cards. This is the case even when the student has been on a former school trip to the library. It has become clear that the only time many of these young people have visited a branch is when I take them. My mind races with ideas for how to make the visits more compelling for the students: show them how to borrow eBooks, promote some shiny databases we don't have at school, don't forget audio materials and video games, social media!! In the meantime, the public librarians are running into walls simply trying to contact a teacher at their local P.S. to get the summer reading lists.

Rebecca Lubin of the Delaware Branch of Albany Public Library helped calm my racing mind by asking, "are we trying to do too much?" I think that perhaps we are, or at least that I am. Here's what Kyle said about what we want, and really can get out of a good PL relationship:

[To see] public libraries as physical structures that can be crucial to a kid’s well-being. Not just as a place to find books and resources and information, but as a place to go when you’re mad at your parents. And then, once you’re in that safe place, you can find information about anything you want without a grown-up breathing down your neck telling you that it’s inappropriate, or that you don’t need to know that yet. And that, since librarians respect patrons’ privacy, we can also be advocates and allies to patrons who need respectful adults in their lives.

Yes!! Absolutely right on, Kyle. No matter how well stocked one's school library or one's home collection is, nothing can take the place of the comfort and anonymity a great library branch (or even a so-so library branch) can provide. I would love it if even one or two of my students gained an appreciation for the library on these grounds because of a class visit. I cannot guarantee results like those, but it seems worth the try.

What are your experiences with class PL visits and field trips? Many of us noted that forming a strong relationship with an individual librarian can increase the success of such a visit intensely. Is this your experience? Are your kids more frequent PL visitors than mine? Is anybody else worried that we're looking at the future of library use, and it isn't pretty? Should I stop freaking out now?

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

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May Book Club

Date/Time:
Tuesday, May 14, 5:45

Location:
Elizabeth Irwin High School - meet in the library
40 Charlton Street
(between 6th Ave and Varick)

What We're Reading:
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens by Grace Whelan

April Book Club

Date/Time:
Tuesday, April 9, 5:30

Location:
Elizabeth Irwin High School - meet in the library
40 Charlton Street
(between 6th Ave and Varick)

What We're Reading:
Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand by Gregory Galloway

The Gathering - A Guest Post!

Today's guest post is written by Eve Wolfsohn from Grace Church School in support of a conference she has attended in the past.

Event: The Gathering

Dates: Friday July 18 - Sunday July 21st
Location: LaPlume, Pennsylvania 

Website: http://thegatheringatkeystone.org/schedule

If you’re looking for a summer conference in which you can escape to a bucolic setting within driving distance of NYC, and immerse yourself in the company of creative and compatible people, come to The Gathering at Keystone College in LaPlume, Pennsylvania.  Each day, participants are treated to a combination of writing workshops, panel discussions, lectures and performances--all of which link up with a theme.  (Past Gatherings have focused on the metaphorical meaning of food, the connection between chaos and creativity, and interpretations of “Starry Night.”)   You’ll also have time to explore the wooded trails adjacent to the campus, to meander through a real labyrinth and to wine and dine with like-minded individuals.  If you’re an amateur writer, you’ll come away with practical tips and loads of support; if you are only a “consumer” of literature, you will feel inspired and rejuvenated.  

Here are a few of the highlights that I myself experienced while attending past Gatherings:

• Listening to Salman Rushdie and Gregory Maguire converse informally about the Fatwah, the Wizard of Oz and other scintillating topics
• Laughing along with the charming Billy Collins as he read his poems
• Learning from the experiences of Chris Abani, a novelist and poet whose writings were inspired by the time he spent in prison in his native country, Nigeria
• Hearing Katherine Patterson talk about writing and the world
• Eating food prepared by Michael Ableman, a master of sustainable agriculture

And just in case you are still not convinced that you would enjoy yourself, each Gathering culminates in a delightful outdoor brunch held at a local farm a short distance from campus.

Interested?  Check out the website or contact Eve Wolfsohn for more details.