Memorial Middle School Library

The library has been saving all the envelopes received in the mail since school started. Crew members cut off the bottom corners of each envelope, which resulted in perfect bookmarks. A crafting station will be set up in the library, and students can come in during their lunch to personalize their own bookmark with colored paper, markers, rubber stamps, and sequins.

Students can start bringing their gently used paperback books to the library. We will keep track of who turned in books and how many. In December we will hold a Book Swap where students will be given tickets (determined by how many books they turned in) to exchange for “new” paperbacks.

The library is accepting can tabs as payment for overdue fines. One tab will pay for a 5 cent fine. We are not competing with the homerooms; we are only trying to get students to bring in more tabs. All tabs will be given to the Ronald McDonald House.

Kids Are Authors is an annual competition that encourages teams of three or more K-8 students to use their reading, writing, and artistic skills to create a picture book. All entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2010. Two Grand Prize winning books (fiction and nonfiction)  will be published by Scholastic and sold at Book Fairs. Grand Prize winning teams will receive $5,000 in Scholastic merchandise for their school, 100 copies of their published book, framed award certificates and gold medallions. Twenty-five Honorable Mention winners will receive $500 in Scholastic merchandise for their school and award certificates. Winners will be notified by May 31, 2010. Visit the website for complete rules and entry forms. The library has award books from past years available to use as samples.

C-SPAN’s StudentCam is an annual competition that encourages students to think about issues that affect our communities and our nation. Students are asked to create a short (5-8 minute) video documentary individually or with a team that responds to one of these topics: (A) One of our country’s greatest strengths or (B) A challenge the country is facing. All entries must be submitted by January 20, 2010. Visit the website for complete rules and entry forms. The library has two video cameras and two digital cameras that record video available for teacher checkout.

Do you know that the allocations of government funding are directly related to census data? The 2010 U.S. Census happens only once a decade. Don’t miss out on the countless learning opportunities that this event provides.

Students can learn how to collect, analyze, and compare data. They can find out the history of the census and why it is so important to have accurate population counts. Students can visit Census for Teens for more information, and teachers can visit Census for Teachers for free teaching materials.

The book fair is officially over! Thank you everyone for making it a huge success! Despite the array of enticing non-book items, we still sold 216 books! It is comforting to know that so many students consider books to be worthy purchases. Top sellers include:

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
• Twilight series
• The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series

See the Book Fair October 2009 video here. Another book fair is scheduled for Spring 2010.

This year, the library gave out reader award certificates at the awards assembly. Outstanding Readers read an average of 2 books per week. Excellent Readers read an average of 1 book per week. A list of students who received awards is posted @ the library. Congratulations, students!

Now you can buy your favorite books all year! A new Scholastic Book Club order form will be available each month in the magazine rack. Ask the libarian for more information.