Big bucks for our Library

So last year our school librarian and a few other teachers organized a big shindig to compete for a LARGE chunk of money. Check it out here:

http://follettchallenge.com/video.cf...0#.UxzdVpm9LCQ

and be sure to VOTE!!! You can vote once a day PER email address...

The Follet Challenge awards $200,000 to participating schools. I think the grand prize is something like $60,000- I can't tell you what we could do in our library with that money- considering I think she gets a lot less than a grand a year.  

 

The project involved every single student in the building.  Our ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher and students were studying the book Treasure Island.  They involved the entire school in research about various islands, the foods classes cooked a "pirate" themed meal complete with hard tack, the woods classes build treasure chests, my classes built Rain Gutter Regatta's  , and everyone had a grand old time.  Check out the video, and help us out by VOTING!  Every day, every email you've got!

Reading List.

So I've been adding to my metal working library over the last couple of months.  Here's the latest editions.


The Backyard Blacksmith has a great wealth of information for a total idiot like myself.  I recently inherited a sorta rough hand crank blower / forge, and have been wanting to try blacksmithing for quite some time.  This summer I'm hoping to get a few new legs on the forge, figure out the blower, and try pounding some metal.  Still looking for a post vice and a big anvil though.

Metalworking, Doing it Better seems like it'll be a GREAT book.  Only made it through the first couple of pages but wow, lots of cool stuff.  Can't wait to get into that one!

The practical fab book is kinda lame... More of a reference but not a lot of "metal working" in it.  Looks like some guy was building a race car, decided to take pics along the way, and sorta slapped some information in there.  I probably didn't give it a real fair shake, and it does have some good info so it'll stay.  Honestly, having any book with real information in it is like having a good tool-  if you use it once, it's paid for itself.

Really liked the Sheet Metal Fab book too.  Lots of cool projects and info on how to get started with different process.

The Home Machinist looks more geared to much smaller hobby type stuff, but haven't really looked through that one yet.

Machiners Handbook makes me feel like an idiot.  Wonder if our math teacher could make any sense of it- almost looks like its written in a different language, but again TONS of great info that I will surely refer to in the shop.

Now if I just had not only the time to READ them, but to DO all the fun stuff in them!