Author Brian Wells Comes to Bob Miller

Creator of The League and the Lantern

By: Analiese Hernandez

Author Brian Wells visited Bob Miller Middle School January 17, 2019 to talk about his new book series The League and the Lantern.

“An author writes because he is passionate about writing,” said Brian Wells.

In the last 3 ½ years, Brian Wells has released the first two books of his series, The League and the Lantern and The League and the Legend.

The League and the Lantern is about a boy named Jake Herndon, entering the 7th grade. Before that though, he must get through a sleepover in The Field Museum of Natural History in Springfield, Illinois. There he meets two new people, learns a shocking secret that is connected to him and the Civil War, and must survive 48 hours on the streets of Chicago.

The League and the Legend is the second book of this series. It is about Jake Herndon and his two new friends starting 7th grade with a new batch of trials to go through including “awkward hygiene challenges, toxic nicknames, and science fair debacles.” No one is running for their lives now as fugitives and have many mysteries left to solve.

This book has received a rare “10” from the Publishers Weekly Book Life Prize in Fiction and is appropriate for all age groups. Its large vocabulary makes it especially appropriate for middle schoolers.

“I did like the League and the Lantern. It was a quick and entertaining read. I like sci-fi, so it was enjoyable and engaging throughout the book. Being a librarian, I was glad that Lucy from the book was a ‘reader’ and could recall the classic books of literature, such as the book The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas,” said Mr. Hensley, Bob Miller’s Librarian.

Photo by: Analiese Hernandez

Author Brian Wells talks to students about what it means to be an author.

Brian Wells plans for this book series to include 5 books in total. The first book was released in 2015. The second book was released in 2018. The third book will be released between 2019-2021.

All About GRIT

Professor Angela Duckworth discusses GRIT with all of Bob Miller Middle School

By: Natalie Hubert

Professor Angela Duckworth discussed GRIT with all of Bob Miller Middle School on February 14, 2019. She is a famous psychologist for her studies on GRIT and self-control. “GRIT is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals,” said Angela Duckworth. She mentioned in her discussion that other things tie to GRIT such as growth mindset, kindness, and character.

Another thing she talked about was strengths of will. This is the idea that you can achieve anything with the right mindset. Of course, a good environment to learn and grow is important as well. ”It’s really hard to learn when you’re bored, and you can’t just use will power. You have to find a way to get interested, and one way you can do that is if you can find any connection to things you are already interested in. So say you’re in math, you can connect it with cheerleading or cooking to help you make it more interesting,” stated Duckworth in an interview.

In addition, Duckworth spoke about how important people get where they are with practice, concentration, feedback, focusing on their mistakes, and more practice.

Professor Duckworth used to be a 7th grade math teacher, and as she was teaching she noticed that even some of her best students didn’t get good scores on tests. As she noticed this, she came to the conclusion that what people need in education is to better understand students' learning from a psychological perspective, and she became a psychologist. While she pursued this new career, she came up with the idea of GRIT.

Angela Duckworth wrote a book about her studies and mentioned how even she had to use GRIT while writing, but as she said, "If you are gritty enough, you can achieve anything."

Photo by: Natalie Hubert

Professor Duckworth in the gym explaining the importance of GRIT with students.

BMMS: A 5 Star School

Bob Miller Middle School was announced 5 Star School in Clark County.

By: Kathryn Morrison

On September 14th, 2018, Bob Miller Middle School earned the title of a Five Star School according to the Clark County School District. The school was presented this honor along with being on the Superintendent's Honor Roll for many reasons.

The star ratings summarize the performance of a school. The scale goes from one to five. A one means that the school did not meet state performance standards, and a five means that they exceeded them. The rating system of the schools are split into five categories. The categories include Academic Achievement, Graduation, English Language Proficiency, College and Career Readiness, and Student Engagement. Each category can earn points that go toward an overall score. As you can see, receiving five stars is a large accomplishment for a school. “According to the report, out of more than 300 schools, 94 of them ranked at a four or five-star level (News 3 Las Vegas)."

Our principal, Mrs. Donadio, is very proud of our school. She said, “Although I am incredibly proud of our students and staff regardless of star rating, it is gratifying to see all of their hard work pay off with earning a 5 star designation. In this case, it garners positive recognition for a most deserving faculty and staff and the very best students in the state!

Additionally, this year, our school was added to the Superintendent's inaugural Honor Roll and the banner we received is proudly hanging in the Miller gym. Mrs. Donadio added, "Overall, I am grateful to serve such a distinguished community and am thrilled that our teamwork continues to earn such wonderful accolades for Bob Miller Middle School.”

Photo by: Kathryn Morrison

The Superintendent's Honor Roll Banner hangs in the school gym.

As you can see, a five star designation is a great achievement for our school, and displays all of the good and hard work that goes on each day.

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