Hilarious pirates, a dancing giraffe, balloon farmers and a library lion are just a few of the entertaining characters we met during library story time this year.  Students from kindergarten through 3rd grade have enjoyed listening to picture books from a wide spectrum of literary genre.  Picture books are a wonderful way to introduce young readers to the magic waiting for them in our library and even the older students enjoy the short stories and wonderful illustrations.  It’s also exciting to be able to share a chapter book with a class and watch their anticipation build with the story.  First grade has a favorite, Tajar Tales by Jane Shaw Ward.  “Do you know what a Tajar is?  Well, he’s something like a tiger, something like a jaguar, and something like a badger. . . “  Visit our library to see Tajar’s hiding place and ladder thing!”  After story time, it’s always fun to find just the right book to check out and take home.  Our students at St. Michael School are delightfully curious about a wide variety of topics!

Students K - 6 participate in library class each week.  We begin our adventure in kindergarten with basic library layout and literary terminology.  From 1st through 6th grade, library skills are built and reviewed.  A few of the primary topics include: reference materials (atlas, almanac, thesaurus, dictionary and encyclopedia); research skills including citations, plagiarism and the evaluation and appropriate usage of internet research materials; the Dewey Decimal System; alphabetizing and using call numbers; the computer catalog; and literary genres.  Sprinkled in through the year students and staff alike have shared our favorite literature with book talks and recommendations.

The Accelerated Reader (AR) program is introduced in first grade and draws students of all ages into our library on a daily basis.  This program allows students to progress in their reading skills at their own pace, exploring literature of their choice at their individual reading level.  It is music to our ears when students walk in and ask “Do you have any good books in here?!”  Over the year, we have had the opportunity to acquire many new titles for our AR, picture book and non-fiction collections as a result of successful Scholastic and Faith book fairs, school and parish library funding. 

We are also blessed with dedicated and helpful volunteers throughout the year.  In addition to our parent volunteers, 4th grade students rotate in every day to assist with shelving books.  A heart-felt “thank you” to all of our volunteers!

In these last few weeks of school we focus our attention toward summer reading.  Take advantage of those lazy summer days to enjoy some fun and exciting books!