Friday, July 26, 2019

Word-search and flash cards support science concepts

A textbook, 'Concepts and Challenges : Physical Science,' is arranged cover-up on the diagonal, frame-right. A sheet of paper with a word-search puzzle and search terms is arranged beneath it, at left, on the diagonal, and three stacks of index cards, bound with clips, are stacked diagonally across the lower edge of the textbook

Another successful conclusion to high school credit recovery with Santa Rosa City Schools​! Here’s a photo highlighting some of my work on behalf of Physical Science. I created flash cards and word-find puzzles to help reinforce concepts from the textbook. Students were able to earn additional points by completing these activities. (I used “Discovery Education,” an online program, to create the word-finds; I indicated dimensions, input search-terms, and designated the form of output. I then copied and pasted the generated puzzle into a Google document for print-out.)

Friday, July 19, 2019

High school credit recovery with Santa Rosa City Schools

For a third summer, I’m working for high school credit recovery via Santa Rosa City Schools. We’re two-thirds of the way through the second session, which runs through July 25. Each summer that I’ve participated has been a new and interesting experience — and this time around, the program finds me helping in a Physical Science classroom. I’m grateful for this opportunity to work and be productive during the summer months, and appreciate being part of this “second-chance” that’s available to local students.

LINK+ online catalog for more than 70 libraries

LINK+ logo

Sonoma County Library customers now have a single connecting database that grants them access to the collections of all participating libraries. The LINK+ database is now available to Sonoma County Library cardholders. It’s a catalog of materials from more than 70 participating libraries in California and Nevada.

Who remembers “SuperSearch” that connected several North Bay libraries? I regularly sought items through these libraries’ combined resources until the database went down in 2012.

With that past reliance, I’ve long appreciated cooperative lending among partnering libraries — it greatly expands what each library can offer to their respective customers.

The LINK+ catalog gives patrons access to more than 9 million titles — Books, DVDs, CDs, and videos — from academic, public, and special libraries. You can place requests directly, no forms required, from a single online catalog. To access these resources, you need only log-in with your Sonoma County Library card.

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Cuvaison 50th anniversary: Napa Valley Wine Library Association letter

Fifty years ago, my father, Thomas R. Parkhill, co-founded Cuvaison winery in Napa Valley, California along with Thomas Cottrell. Recently, I found an interesting piece of realia from that bit of family history, a letter from the Napa Valley Wine Library Association inviting Dad to be a member. (For those not familiar with the wine library, it’s in the Saint Helena Public Library.) The letter also mentions an article about Cuvaison in the St. Helena Star; wouldn’t that be neat to track down!

(The Saint Helena Public Library has digitized issues of the St. Helena Star from 1874-2014; view them at https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=sthelenastar)