Michelle's+Blog

**March 2, 2009**
A new year has come and I am WAY behind on updating. So sorry all! Our PNGers finished the session with a bang by creating videos about The three groups competed for the most creative video. The winners were Emma, Laronn, and Char. We used Adobe Creative Suites. In other important world news, the United States has elected a new president: The day of the Inauguration the library set up a screen for patrons to watch. Though the sound was not exactly synched up with the video which was pretty amusing, but the experience will remain a memorable one.

November 29, 2008
Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!



November 24, 2008
Twilight was what I expected. There were a few parts, though that I actually laughed when I don't think I was supposed to. Jacob wasn't really what I pictured. Shark boy. Jasper was hilarious.



In PNG news: We had a wonderful guest 2 weeks ago. Stormchaser Eddy Weiss from Chasing For life came in to discuss technology and his experience with storms.

Here's a link to our Youtube videos:[|Stormchaser]

Here's a link to [|Chasing 4 Life]!

November 12, 2008
The Fall Session is underway and getting pretty cold!

With some new faces and our wonderful regulars we've got an interesting set of teens contributing to PNG!

Some of our members attended the Vampire Ball on Halloween Night. They even helped us out by making some signs to advertise the event for us. Speaking of vampires. . . Twilight comes out in a few weeks. I'm sure everyone is anxiously awaiting the premiere (except Chris and some other gentlemen I know). Speaking of Chris (great segue ways today), he is currently writing a Twilight spoof which is pretty hilarious even if I did actually like the books.



Well, for PNG we're currently working on shooting videos to promote the Homework Help web sites and other databases on our Library Homepage. We have three teams putting together videos and after the final project we're going to see which video gets the most hits on youtube. The winning team gets a prize.

Scripts have been written and props have been chosen. Thursday is the first day of filming.

August 20, 2008
The summer session is over!

We've had some wonderful times with some wonderful kids!

Here are some pics from the Final Party!

[[image:Joy_Treasure.jpg width="353" height="271" caption="A Smiling Joy"]]




July 28, 2008
Food Fear Factor was a success!!

Out of 15 contestants 5 made it to the final round. Our winners, however, are Alana (from PNG) and Lindzey!

Our lovely Emmah was there to take pictures and video of the event.











**July 24, 2008**
We're winding down to the last weeks of PNG!

This week we've worked on our Wikispace pages and tomorrow some of our members will take the challenge and participate in our annual Food Fear Factor brought to you by Roger, Edgar, Mary and I.

The link below is something we finished last session:

[|PNG Video]

Also, since you all have done your recent assignment so well I am going to finish the assignment, too.

There are quite a few movies coming out that I want to see!











Books I am currently reading or want to read:



July 17, 2008
PNG continues on during the hot, hot summer. Our lovely Wikispace has been updated quite a bit by our members. Check out their pages through the Summer 2008 link!

Though I did miss a session last week, I come back bearing loads of cool pictures to share.





[[image:Picture_211.jpg width="428" height="324" caption="View from a ferry of Boston"]]




July 9, 2008
This week we had the PNGers work more on the Wikispace page. Both Dan and Nick posted pages.

We have a ton of new members, which is great but we still need to remember that this site is hosted by the Joliet Public Library and there can't be anything inappropriate. No curse words or fighting, please.If there is anything that Roger, Margae, Edgar or I deem inappropriate then we will not hesitate to erase something or take it off the site.

I'll be missing Thursday's session because I'll be in Boston, but I'll be back next week with pictures.

July 7, 2008
Lots have happened in the last couple of weeks! First things first. The 2008 Summer Reading Program annual Block Party was quite a hit despite the rain! The PNGers took care of the Bean Bag Toss as well as pictures and some videos too.













[[image:PNG_062.jpg width="211" height="364" align="center" caption="A young participant"]]
All in all the kids as well as us PNGers had a great time!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Coming soon. . . Bookmarks!

June 24, 2008
The first week of PNG is over and we've had a tremendous response so far.

The first thing we're working on are the READ bookmarks. Many of the PNG members have already made bookmarks from another session, but now that they know what to do they can be more creative and really show their artistic skills.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is the Summer Reading program Block Party! The PNGers are going to be running a bean bag toss. They are also going to be taking pictures and videos which we will edit later.

May 28, 2008
The Spring session is over!! Finit, fin, done, no more, nada.

I, for one, am going to miss the PNG kids like crazy, but WAIT, the summer session begins on June 17th!

Phew! I almost cried a little bit there.

There is something to be sad about, though. Leisl, our fearless leader, is leaving in a few weeks. She's moving to Arizona. We're all going to miss her so much. She has contributed so many ideas and fun times that it will be hard to imagine PNG without her.

One great thing about PNG is that everyone is this club should definitely know how to use the Internet (or else they're in the wrong club) so it will be easier to communicate with Leisl when she is far away.

In the meantime, before the next session of PNG starts, if anyone needs something I'll be here (as well as Roger and Edgar) at the library quite a bit working.

May 20, 2008
I'm BAAAACK!!!! frightening, I know. Sorry, it's been so long since I've written lately, but I just got done with a very difficult semester and I got back from Ireland about 4 days ago. Here are some pictures from my trip:







April 10, 2008
It's time for a new PNG session!! We have some new additions as well as fun new projects we'll be working on this year. I'd like to welcome Roger, our newest mentor, to the program. Roger is new to the Joliet Library and we are thrilled to have him here with us.

This session we'll be focused mainly on video editing. We'll be making READ posters and bookmarks. We are also going to try and make our own web page for the Joliet Public Library web site.

I'll update more after today's session!

December 10, 2007
Well, PNG is over for the Fall session!

We had some fun times. We learned a lot and we made a lot.

On December 5th we had our final party. This year it was a little difficult because we could not get Meeting Room B, so we used an area of the 2nd floor library instead. The DDR could not be set up either because there was not enough room. Instead we continued working on our Sims 2 community. We had pizza, pop, and water. Stephen made some scrumptious peanut butter cookies, Johnny's mom made us a delicious banana cream pie, joy made some chocolate chip and sugar cookies, emma brought some more sugar cookies, and I baked some turtle sundae brownies. For each of the members I made a portfolio with some of their creations. I also put in some pictures from the sessions. They each also got to take home a flash drive.

Joy and her Sims alter-ego

The gang enthralled with this new program

Ericka looks on as Emma creates her character

Leisl helps the PNGers get started

December 3, 2007
The PNGers have been working on This is a great program because it helps the kids learn how to work with a program to create rooms, characters, and stories all their own. So far we've made a family. I'm the inappropriately dressed mom with 5 teens and Ericka as a younger child. We own a mansion and we are in the process of decorating our rooms. Stephen decided to live in a shack outside. Everyone is really getting into this project and showing their imagination and creativity.

November 12, 2007
Today the PNG members focused on their Wikispaces page. Laronn is starting his own Runescape Help page. Joy, Emma, and Ericka have updated their current pages.

I have updated my page on Chris's site where anyone can edit your page.

I wanna send a shout out to my mom whose birthday is on Saturday. She really is the best person I know and my best friend.

Other than that, not much is going on.

November 7, 2007
Sorry guys! It's been way too long. I just got another job so I now have 3 jobs and school full-time. Just a little busy. Today was a small group so we just kind of did our own thing. Last Monday, however, was a lot of fun. We went on a tour of the library in all of the parts that are under construction.(We were very safe and we made sure nothing was dangerous before we entered!) We have some cool pictures and video from that:

Not sure what this is

Some pipes in the attic

I think Stephen took this picture in the attic. The ladder leads to the roof.

This is where the Circulation desk used to be

This is a picture (of a picture) of the way the library used to look.

We've been making plans for our Hallowmere project and pretty soon we'll be starting to make videos.

I wanna give a shout out to Chris who was not able to make it this session, but we all miss!!

October 19, 2007
This week we did Powerpoint and a sort of show and tell. Each member picked their favorite web site or program and demonstrated how to use it and what it's for. Here are some of their favorites: Blender - 3D modeling and animation [|Dizzler.com] - a place to make a music playlist [|Project Playlist] - another free site to listen to music [|Addicting Games] - this one was new to me. we played a game where we throw all sorts of weapons at a character, such as a teletubbie or barney. it's frightening that this was so violent, but it was kind of funny. [|I Dress Up]- this site lets you make a virtual girl (or boy) and get rated by other members.

October 10, 2007
The 3rd session was today. I missed the 2nd because I wasn't feeling well. Today we're exploring Wikispaces more and another website called [|Hallowmere]. There is a new book series coming out and this website is having a video contest. The video has to be a sort of trailer for the books. I'm excited to see what our members come up with. They are all very creative.

October 4, 2007
Oops! For some reason my last entry did not save. Well, PNG has begun. On Monday we had about 10 members show up. We did some "getting to know you" talks and basically just caught up. Everyone is still just as awesome as they were before. We have a new member, too. His name is Johnny. Wednesday, I didn't feel so well, so I left the session in Edgar's and Leisl's capable hands. School and work have been hard, but fun and I'm starting to look forward to the leaves turning colors. I love the fall. There is no session Monday, but we'll see everyone again on Wednesday!

September 28, 2007
PNG is almost here!! We have gotten some great responses from previous members and I am excited that so many are coming back. For those of you you can't we always have the summer session. Anyways, this session will be more focused on homework. We know school is a drag, but it really is important and we need you guys to stay on top of your homework. We are going to be helping with homework and especially working on spelling and sentence structure because I think that is what many teens today are lacking. If there is anything that you guys want to work on please let us know. Also, start thinking about videos you want to make. We'll be working with the video camera more and maybe even entering into some contests among teens.

These are only a few things we will be doing so come on Monday to hear about more I'll see you all at the first session!!

September 17, 2007
All right kiddies! It is time for PNG again. We will start the new session on October 1st!!!!! Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5pm at the Joliet Public Library Main Building. All of you who are already members are welcome to come back. If you have friends who would like to join we'd be more than happy to have them, too. We have applications at the Media Center desk where we used to meet. I know everyone is really busy with school and extra curricular activities so if you cannot make it we understand or if you may be late that's ok, too.

If you have any questions please email me or give me a call. We don't have all the info yet and I'll be calling all of you guys soon to give you more details, but in the meantime try to see if you can make it.

August 22, 2007
Since Chris has been yelling for an update, here it is. PNG is over!!!! It's so sad for the summer to end, but I had an amazing time with all you guys! We made some great lasting friends and learned some cool new things. At the final party we had pizza, pop, and some fat free brownies I made that turned out not as bad as I thought. We played DDR (well, I didn;t but you guys did awesome!) and you finally got your t-shirts and some other goodies, too. But from this final day what we had the most of was pictures! You guys took so many awesome pictures that I can't post them all. Here are some of the best and funniest:

The whole gang

Some DDR action

The DDR screen

Joy and Laronn

Ericka waves hello

Crazy Laronn

Everyone gathered around

For most of you, school has started and I'm no exception. I pretty much have class everyday then work 5 days out of the week. Since everyone, including myself is just starting to get back into the swing of things we probably won't start the next PNG session for a little while. We want you guys to be able to get used to everything and figure out what your schedules are. When we start planning we'll let you know.

If anyone ever needs anything please let me know at Mshelly456@hotmail.com.

August 13, 2007
Well, PNG is swiftly coming to a close for the summer session. These last few weeks have been full of creativity and fun. I hope all the members have learned a lot just as I have learned from them. Wednesday is the final party. We will be having pizza and some other snacks and we shall be playing DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) and generally just be having fun. I'll be sure to post some pictures afterwards. Can't wait to see then!

August 1, 2007
This week has been full of T-shirt designs and Photoshop creations. Publisher is another fun program we've been working with. I've decided that I would put some of my favorite websites:

[|Dictionary.com] - Whenever I can't figure out what a word means I go here. [|IMDB.com] - You can find out every movie an actor has been in. [|Fanfiction.net] - There are stories here about almost any tv show, movie, book, etc. by fans just like us. [|Flickr.com] - People post pictures of just about everything on this site. As we've been doing during PNG sessions, flickr toys are fun to play with as well. [|Photobucket.com] - This site is great for uploading pictures onto and saving them so that it is easier to post the photos online. [|Amazon.com] - This site has almost every book, movie, etc. on sale. This is a great source of info as well, but if you want to buy something you need a parent with a credit card. [|Joliet Public Library] - The main library's page is full of info on the latest events and some interesting links. I use it most often to check if there is a certain book on shelf. [|NBC.com] and [|CBS.com] - These sites not only offer information about the shows on these channels, but it also has full episodes that you can watch from the current season. [|Youtube.com] - As most of you already know, this site has funny and obscure videos from all over the world.

=July 26, 2007= PNG the last few sessions have been full of creativity and fun. The members are making bookmarks and starting to think about T-shirt designs. I'm loving all of the fantastic ideas and I am really starting to feel as if they are getting the hang of Photoshop. I have already posted some of the bookmarks here and I will be putting up more in the next few days.

= = =July 21, 2007= Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has arrived!! I don't know about all of you, but I had my copy ordered a long time ago. Unfortunately I have to work all day and am busy later so I won't be able to start it for a little while. I did, however, finally see the movie last night. While I've loved all of the movies, I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed the Order of the Phoenix. Here are some of my favorite things about the movie.

(Don't worry, I'm not going to give anything away!)

Luna Lovegood is a whimsical and humorous character that I find quite entertaining.

Bellatrix LeStrange is an crazy character played by the insanely talented Helena Bonham Carter.

Dolores Umbridge is a hateful character, whose cruelness is shown in such a funny way.

There are really no characters in Harry Potter which I hate except for Malfoy and his father, but they're supposed to be disliked.

I always love talking about the Harry Potter books and movies, but I hope that no one ruins the ending of the new book for me. I really want to be able to experience it for myself without any spoilers, so if any of you read it before me, please don't tell me the ending.

=July 18, 2007=

Sorry I've been gone for such a long time! I just got back from Mexico. I had an amazing time. Here are some pictures that I took:

We saw iguanas everywhere.

This was a walkway to our hotel.

The flamingos (los flamencos) were beautiful.

One of the 7 wonders of the world, Chichen Itza (mayan runes).

Some cool Mayan statues. Pretty flower.

My absolute favorite place, this cenote (natural well or sinkhole) was stunning. There was a 20 foot cliff that we jumped from into the cool water.

This is my boyfriend Matt and I at a fun restaurant.

This picture was as close to a real shark as I got.

Me and Matt are sad to come home.

My trip was only about 5 days, which felt way too short, but it was amazing.

Now that I'm back for PNG (I really missed all you guys) quite a bit has been going on.

Monday (the day I missed) the PNG members played around with Flickr toys. Leisl posted some of the great creations Here. Today (Wednesday) we started making READ bookmarks. What I've seen so far really impresses me. I'll post some of them soon enough.

=July 9, 2007=

Today was Photoshop day. Now it's been kinda rough since neither Edgar, Leisl and I are experts. We're trying our best so bear with us. Despite our lack of knowledge about Photoshop, there have been some amazing pictures already done.

-Isaiah put baby Tales into Belle's lap -Emily R. made a great Harry Potter related picture -Chris worked on the solar system -Ericka made a psychadelic flower -Joy did some fun things with Bono -Emily S. put Kaari's face on Belle's body -T.J. and Laronn made a crowd running away from an evil being (ROAR!) -Christian worked with Belle and the pirate

Hopefully we'll work more on these projects and start some new ones!

= = =July 5, 2007=

I am ecstatic to find that some of the PNG members have changed and updated their Wikispaces pages. Everyone should check them out. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I had a pretty chill day yesterday. I went to watch the fireworks on the Herald News lawn near the stadium. My friend and I made chocolate covered strawberries and had a picnic. Just like some of our members are doing, I am going to tell you all a little bit about myself:

My favorite animals are sharks (if you haven't already heard me talking about them during PNG)



I currently attend the University of St. Francis. I'm majoring in business and thinking I might go into Human Resources after I graduate. HR is basically the people who are involved with hiring and training new employees in each job field. They work with people a lot and I think that might be fun. I'm not really sure yet. I have one more year of school left and then I'm off to find a full time job!!

I've been working at the Joliet Public Library for about 5 years now. At first I worked in the Children's Department and just recently did I transfer to the Media Center. I love both departments, but the Media Center allows me to learn more and hone my computer skills.

Here are some pictures of the library taken by you guys!!



Here is the alien that lives above my desk!

I absolutely love to read!

This summer has been fun so far, but in about a week it'll get much, much better. I'm heading to Mexico, Riviera Maya to be exact.

I'm taking a salsa dancing lesson before I go, though it might be rough since my fractured foot just recently healed. While I'm there I hope to swim and lay on the beach, go snorkeling, shopping in the village, eat as much Mexican food as I can, and generally relax and have a good time.

**__July 2, 2007__**
The third week of PNG has come and gone. Today we began exploring some of the elements of Photoshop. We also worked on Wikispaces and Blender. Many of the members took advantage of our digital cameras and here are some of their pictures:

Not sure what Laronn is doing.

Emily just being Emily.

A surprised Edgar.

Christian working on Wikispaces.

Joy's playing with Photoshop.

Ericka's showing me her great Wikispace.

Stephen and Chris working diligently on Photoshop!

A close up on Kaari.

**__June 27, 2007__**
Welcome all PNG members to Wikispaces! I'm excited to see that some of you aready have your own pages. Everyone should check them out under __**Summer 2007**__ on the left hand side. Everyone should go and sign Chris's page!! We also got everyone emails and hopefully next week we will be able to get used to checking them and sending mail. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday!

__June 25, 2007__
Today we had to get down to business. No more free time on the computers. We have some major creativity flowing through our members. We had them work on Microsoft Powerpoint. I never realized how many different things our kids our interested in. Music, movies, animals, pokemon, manga, etc.



June 20, 2007
Today was the Summer Reading Club Hollywood block party. The kids all gathered outside for games, crafts, karaoke, and ice cream. There were some amazing costumes and some wonderful enthusiasm. The PNG kids were the paparazzi. Pictures to come soon. It was a little hot, but the ice cream fixed that problem. I'm very happy with the way these guys handled the cameras. Very professional.



June 18, 2007
The first PNG session was today and we had quite a turn out. There were 7 new members and 1 old member. Everyone seemed very enthusiastic and fun, which is what we love to see. Edgar and I started off the session with a snack and an getting to know you icebreaker. We had each kid rip off pieces of toilet paper. We also had two toilet seats on some chairs. We didn't tell them what it was for, which was funny.



Each person took the pieces and told the group one thing about themselves for each piece. We also had them sit on the toilet seats which they thought was funny. Afterwards we let them have some free time on the computers where they could show us what they like to do. We had some Runescapers and some really interesting games shown to us. I'm very optimistic about this coming session.



June 11, 2007
We only have a week before we start our summer session of PNG. I'm super excited and hope as many kids as possible show up. Edgar and I have some fun things planned and are psyched to hear some new ideas from the members. If any members from previous sessions are still interested we would love to have them come back. They could even help mentor the new members. My main email is Mshelly456@hotmail.com!! Hope to see some new and old faces on Monday!

May 7, 2007
Michelle will start a blog to track our PNG activity.