One Week to Go and A Look Ahead

Well, this is it.  By this time next week I will be at Brookhaven, feverishly putting last minute touches on the library in order to have everything ready for kids on Day 1, August 23.  It has been a wonderful summer.  Even though I had ample time to relax and enjoy being, I accomplished a good deal in preparation for our new school year.


Our reading theme for this school year is Reading Rainforest.  Each child will have a marker that will be used to track his Accelerated Reader points throughout the school year.  I really need to thank my daughter, Christina Smith, for her help in getting the markers cut.  Each grade level will have a different rainforest animal as its marker.  As points accumulate, the markers will be moved around the exterior of the library to indicate how many points each child has earned. Like last year we will have monthly incentives that hopefully will keep the children on track for earning their bowling trips.  Trips are tenatively scheduled for December and April, meaning children will have to be very dedicated to earning their points in a timely manner.


Our open library nights will begin on Monday, August 30.  Hours will be 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The dates for open library are:

• August 30
• September 13            September 27
• October 11
• November 1              November 15                 November 29
• December 13
• January 10                 January 24
• February 7
• March 7
• April 4                       April 18

In addition to these dates , I am hoping to reinstate after school book clubs.  As of now no plans are set, but I am thinking about having these on Thursday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:00.  Any suggestions from parents and students are very welcome.

Two book fairs will be held this year.  The first one will be October 25 through 29, and the second will be April 26 through 29 ( four days only because April 25th is an out of calendar day for Easter Monday).  Proceeds from the book fairs will buy processing supplies, magazines, books and other materials for students.  A large portion of the proceeds will go to renewing our Accelerated Reader subscription.  It costs about $2000.00 each year to renew our web-based service.


Volunteers are vital to the success of our library programs.  I'll write more on this next week, but in the meantime, please consider being a library volunteer.  You would make a difference in library services to the entire school.


Brookhaven Library Media Center Calendar