Final Report: 2012 Random-A-Thon

I finally tracked down the last few teens who owed money from the Random-A-Thon, so now I can give you the results!  

We raised a total of $887 dollars.  We didn't quite get to $1000 as I had hoped, but that's still really good!  Also, it saved my hair from being mohawked.  I don't want to thank you for not raising as much money, but I will say that you have made my mother very happy.

Our fundraising winner again this year is Billy!  He raised $150, which is awesome.  Billy wins a gift basket from the Teen Advisory Board with a $25 gift card to Amazon.com, as well as snacks and library swag.  Honorable mentions go to Alex R., Colin, and Grace for each raising $50 or more.  

Thanks to everyone for making this year's Random-A-Thon a success!

Billy's gift basket

Bedazzled Crafts

A while ago, I posted a sign asking for craft supply donations, including vintage Bedazzlers.  It took about six months, but I actually got three donated by library users!  If you have not heard of the Bedazzler, it's a product for decorating clothing and accessories that was popularized by 80s infomercials.  It's kind of like a stapler for studs and rhinestones.  You can still buy them at craft stores; I bought stuff online from Jo-Ann and saw a Bedazzler for sale in Michael's.

Anyway, 10 people showed up last Wednesday for Bedazzled crafts, even though some of them didn't even know what it was!  I supplied inexpensive bags, bandannas, and purses, and everyone loose with the Bedazzlers.  Everyone decorated two items to take home, and several people also Bedazzled their own items, like tote bags and flip flops!  It was fun, and the Bedazzlers will now be appearing at various other events, including Craft Closet Cleanout.  For example, the mp3 player pocket craft would look even more awesome with studs and rhinestones!

Check These Out

Here are the newest items to look for in the teen section:

FICTION

• Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush seires)
• Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick)
• Ambitious by Monica McKayhan (Kimani Tru)
• Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (Vampire Kisses series; replacement copy)
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• Dead Is a Battlefield by Marlene Perez (Dead Is series)
• Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (Beka Cooper series)
• Boy 21 by Matthew Quick
• Seizure by Kathy Reichs (Virals series)
• Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard (Lying Game series)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sara Shepard (Lying Game series)
• Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith (Escape from Furnace series)
• Fugitives by Alexander Gordon Smith (Escape from Furnace series)
• Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith (Escape from Furnace series)
• Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith (Escape from Furnace series)
• The List by Siobhan Vivian
• A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber
• Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright

NONFICTION

• Americapedia:  Taking the Dumb Out of Freedom by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Daniel Ehrenhaft, and Andisheh Nouraee
• It Will Get Better:  Finding Your Way Through Teen Issues by Melinda Hutchings

GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Naruto, volume 54, by Masashi Kishimoto
• Bleach, volume 38, by Tite Kubo
• Kimi Ni Todoke, volume 13, by Karuho Shiina

Mario Night

As part of Teen Tech Week, we had our first-ever Mario Night last Friday.  Fourteen people showed up and we had fun playing all kinds of Mario games.  We played Mario Kart Wii, various Mario games on DS, Dr. Mario on the NES, and a variety of other Mario games on a second Wii.  I also gave away random Mario prizes throughout the evening.  (If you want your own Mario stuff, go to Five Below...they have all kinds of candy, toys, and t-shirts!)

Competition was tough in the Mario Kart Wii tournament!  Rather than brackets, we compiled points for the races.  After two rounds of two races each, the four guys with the most points moved on to the finals.  Roy, Jamie, Alex, and Colin competed, and it was a nail-biter.  Colin beat Roy by one point!  Colin received a $10 Wawa gift card and Roy got a Mario t-shirt.  All four finalists also got candy.

I had been bragging for a while before the event that nobody could beat me at Dr. Mario.  I pretty much killed everyone with my skills...except for Jaime.  In my defense, I didn't practice beforehand,  it was my first game, and I voluntarily took the broken controller.  Nonetheless, he did beat me and I can accept that.  He was the only person who got candy in the Dr. Mario competition!  I am definitely buying a new controller from eBay!

Thanks to David for providing his Wii and games, John for controlling the controllers, and Colin for bringing his N64.  Look for our regular Nintendo Night tournament on the spring program schedule.

iPod Music Party

On Wednesday, 11 teens showed up after school for our Teen Tech Week music program.  Everyone took turns connecting their mp3 players to our speakers and playing music.  (Of course, there were a few rules about appropriateness, but everyone cooperated.)  We heard everything from traditional Irish music to French rap to 80s hair metal!  While listening, people ate snacks, made a craft, and played some games using the "random" or "shuffle" feature on the mp3 players.  The craft was especially popular...we made mp3 player holders out of old jean pockets!  People decorated them with ribbon, trim, and Sharpie markers.  They turned out really well, and a few people made more than one.  Those will definitely turn up at the next Craft Closet Cleanout, so count on that if you missed this event!

People working on their pockets.  (Sorry it's blurry...I took it with my phone.) 

Finished products!

Leap Day 2012

On Wednesday, February 29, 16 teens came by after school to celebrate Leap Day!  We did a Leap Year Mad-Lib, made chocolate-dipped bunny cookies, did Leap Year trivia, and wrote letters to ourselves to open on 2/29/2016.  In our standing long jump competition, Alvin, Siaka, and Owen came in first, second, and third.  Blya won the math prize for figuring out how old she would be next time Leap Day is a Wednesday (add 28 years to your age).  We also made and raced origami frogs.  We did four heats, and then a final race with the winners.  Owen ultimately won the competition and got a frog key chain that lit up and made frog noises.  Other prizes for the day included wind-up hopping chicks, jump-the-peg bunny brain games, and jumping beans games, stretchy flying frogs, and bouncing glow-in-the-dark egg balls.  (Dollar Tree and Oriental Trading are the best!)  Everyone got at least one thing to take home. I had a few other activities planned that we didn't get to do, so I'll have to save those for 2016!  It was a fun celebration...check out our racing frogs:

Geek Out @ Your Library!

It's Teen Tech Week!  This year's theme is "Geek Out @ Your Library," so our Teen Advisory Board (TAB) ran a contest.  They called it "Secret Geek" and the idea was for teens to express what makes them a geek through art, photography, or an essay.  We got twelve entries:  five drawings, three photos, and four essays.  A panel of five librarians judged the entries anonymously based on how well they expressed the creators' geekiness.  (I did not judge, since I knew who made each entry.)  The librarians chose Genni's entry as the winner, which was photography of a clay sculpture she made of Link from The Legend of Zelda.  Genni wins a $30 gift card to Amazon.com to further her geekiness!  They also chose three honorable mentions:  Sarah, for her essay on music; Nikki, for her creative photos of Domo; and Katie, for her essay on movies.  Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter!  All of the entries are hanging on or around the bulletin board in the teen section, so check them out until the end of the month.