MVA Library Newsletter
July-August 2025
Looking forward to a new year!
Hello MVA students & community. For those of you who are new, I would like to introduce myself. I am your MVA Librarian, Ms. Vattuone. This is my second year at Mar Vista Academy. Prior to this I was a high school English teacher at Bonita Vista High and San Ysidro High.
This summer I took a trip with my family to visit friends and family who live in London, Berlin, Copenhagen and Oslo. We learned a lot about Viking history! The picture on the right is me in front of a Viking ship fresco in the Denmark library.
When the library opens fully for student use on August 11th, library expectations are as follows:
* Help us keep the library clean by not eating or drinking in the library & throwing away all trash.
* Put things back where you found them. Push in chairs before your leave.
* Use indoor voices and behaviors.
* You need a pass to come to the library during class time.
* More HERE
Please take a moment to check out the updated MVA Library Website.
Ms. Vattuone
New MVA Library Website & MVA Device Issues IT Support Request
It is still a work in progress and I will be adding updates throughout the year. However, I am happy to announce the launch of a new MVA LIBRARY WEBSITE HERE! đ©đ»âđ»
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If you are having issues with your iPad or need your iPad to be tracked please contact the MVA site IT Technician, Mr. Stevens by using the QR code or the form below:
The library staff does not have the capability to track iPads.
NEW: Community Days & Quiet Days
We are trying something new in the library this year to better serve all students at MVA. As much as we love our lively library at lunch, we recognize that some folks appreciate a more quiet and calm space. We will now have two days a week, Tuesdays & Thursdays, that will be dedicated to making the library chill.
Tyger by SF Said
Tyger is set in a dystopian version of 21st century London* that is also stuck in the past. In some ways this book presents a very simple story of good versus evil. But, it is also rich in symbolism and a careful reader can make allegorical connections to current evets. I appreciated the beautiful illustrations throughout. This book was filled with intrigue and adventure. Fans of dystopian or magical worlds might enjoy it. Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or "less than" might relate. If you like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter or Coraline, you might like this book - I know I did!
"There are three doors that I may show you. You will find a different kind of power behind each one..."
Adam has found something incredible in a rubbish dump in London. A mysterious, mythical, magical animal. A TYGER.
And the tyger is in danger.
Adam and his friend Zadie are determined to help, but it isn't just the tyger's life at stake. Their whole world is on the verge of destruction. Can they learn to use their powers before it's too late?
*Key differences to our known reality?
(1) Slavery has NOT been abolished. An attempt was thwarted in the 1700s. The city has many âdark-skinned slavesâ.
(2) London is divided by checkpoints guarded by soldiers, if you are not âBritishâ you belong in the ghetto side of town and may only visit the other side if you have the correct paperwork and purpose. The other side of town has schools, wider streets, clean living. You catch my drift.
(3) The British Empire rules. There is an Emperor.
(4) Capital punishment has NOT been removed from the justice system. What we now know as the Marble Arch monument is a place of public hangings.
Ruin Road by Lamar Giles
Have you ever read a horror book that was great...until the ending? That is NOT the case with Ruin Road. This book takes the classic Faustian bargain (selling your soul to the devil in exchange for something you want) and updates it for modern readers. I would love to see this turned into a movie directed by Jordan Peele.
Cade Webster lives between worldsâŠ
Heâs a standout football star at the right school but lives in the wrong neighborhoodâif you let his classmates tell it. Everywhere but home, people are afraid of him for one reason or another. Afraid heâs too big, too fast, too ambitious, too Black.
Then one fateful night, to avoid a dangerous encounter with the police, he ducks into a pawnshop. An impulse purchase and misspoken desire change everything when Cade tells the shopkeeper he wishes people would stop acting so scared around him, and the wish is granted . . .
At first, it feels like things have taken a turn for the better. But itâs not just Cade that people no longer fearâitâs everything. With Cade spreading this newfound âcourageâ wherever he goes, anything can happen. Fearless acts of violence begin to escalate in both his neighborhood and at school. With the right moves, and brave friends, Cade might have oneâand only oneâchance to save all he loves. But at what cost? After all, the devilâs in the details.
The students visiting from China making flextangles.
Come to the library to see the displays about China.
Vikings use their imaginations to create.
Practicing lock picking
Come add a piece to the community puzzle
Double Godzilla! (notice the shirt?)
Calling ALL Creative Vikings: Design a âBook Monsterâ for our library book drop.
The MVA library is looking for students to submit a design idea to create a book monster who likes to âeatâ the books that students put in its âmouthâ (aka our book drop).
From now until September 8th, we are accepting submissions for a book monster design. On September 9th, Club Odin, the library club will vote and select the design they would like to see in the library. The student whose design is chosen will get to decorate the book drop with their monster.
Pick up your application in the library today!
Library Request Form MVA Library 25-26
If there is a book that you want that the MVA library does not have, let us know. We will do our best to get the books you want to read. Do you have other ideas or suggestions for the library? Please share your ideas HERE: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekej6Mth_Uph9QySzOBNUeC-oM1p_UF7sZs_6YJ2HoijRqJg/viewform?usp=header
You Are Never A Bother
Sometimes it may feel like the world isnât listening and no one understands. But you are not alone. Friends and trained pros can reconnect you with your reasons to keep going, and show you ways to cope with difficult days.
Get Help Now: Whether itâs a low point, a crisis, or something you canât exactly put into words, get help for yourself or a friend, call or text 988 to get help, 24/7.
