Newsletter November 2001

H.S.A. Makes Generous Contribution for New Student Media Production Facility

Through a generous contribution made by the Tenafly High School HSA, the library now has a media production facility built especially for students. Located in the library’s northern alcove, students will have equipment for creating projects assigned by their teachers.  This facility houses a new copy machine, a full service computer with scanner, CD ROM recorder, Zip Drive, and software.  Also included in this center are two I-Mac computers, and a media converter for video projects.  Special lighting, installed by Buildings and Grounds Department’s Tom Lepore, provide a most conducive environment for working with computers and media equipment. This is a welcome addition to our Library Media Center and is sure to be used by most of our students.  On behalf of the staff and students, we wish to thank the H.S.A. for providing funding to help create this area! Also, we thank Tom Lepore for the lighting installation work. 

 

Interdepartmental Professional Development Center Updated

Added computers and printers, (thanks to technology department) improved lighting (also installed by Tom Lepore), and one hundred new professional development titles, placed on a new set of shelves, all serve to improve the Interdepartmental Staff Development Center located in the library. 

New, rock solid shelves were built with crucial help from sophomore volunteer Woojin K. Woojin participates regularly in many library projects.  Angelos K. completed  the sign pictured here to be placed near the center’s coffee/computer area.  This interdepartmental center provides all faculty members with opportunities to use both print and electronic media (with technical support) to create educational media to enhance classroom instruction. 

 

THS-TV Moves Ahead with Cable Access, Web Casting, and Satellite Downlinks

Our library’s television control center and studio will soon have a connection allowing THS to broadcast over Cablevision’s access channel to your home televisions.  An electronic message board, student projects, school and community events, instruction, and general announcements are presently in the plan for programming.

· Helping to make all this happen are Seniors Matt C. assisted by Angelos K. They are labeling, connecting and re-routing numerous video cables so they may remain organized on special wire ladder racks, making our control room a more professional and efficient facility for receiving and delivering video programming.  These students will also be involved with configuring our satellite dishes,

 

 

recently turned over to us from the technology department. The feeds from each dish will be wired directly to a modulator that in turn sends the signal through to our in house cable system making the satellites available through channels on each classroom television.  Program information, downlinks, and schedules are being obtained through information published in Satlink Magazine and through www.msbanet.org/satlink.

    

· Last year, student Jeff M. (02) completed an independent study in the media center. Among other challenges, he successfully configured a video server that “streams” live video over the Internet. The video streams directly through our cable modem service provided to the school free of charge by Cablevision and can be seen on the library’s home page, www.librarymedia.net.

 

·Many thanks to all the students involved with our daily broadcast, especially sophomore Jenny W. Jenny spends her first period in our television control center preparing the script for our daily television program.  She transcribes hand written announcements into teleprompter software so student broadcasters can read them during our homeroom announcement telecast.   

  

 
YU HOU CHUN SUN

For more than two years students and staff have enjoyed a tall potted bamboo plant growing inside the library.  Recently something surprising sprouted from the base of the plant growing at an alarming rate.  New shoots grew up adding to the existing culms.  Marking this success, one of our students, Jack H., asked a friend of his family, a master in Chinese calligraphy, to paint a sign with the characters shown in the title that translate to “Thrive as Bamboo After Spring Showers".  You may see a picture of the bamboo and this beautiful calligraphy on our web site.