Library
Our group of volunteers is very valuable to us. Volunteers are asked to commit to one hour, every other week. Volunteers do a wide variety of jobs, including assisting students with book selection, checking books in/out, preparing books and magazines for circulation, shelving books, repairing books, assembling holiday or seasonal displays and bulletin boards, and any other jobs the librarian needs them to do.
If you cannot commit to a weekly/biweekly schedule, but are still interested in assisting, the librarian often has special projects that can be done at home. They usually range from creating computer files from written documents, to covering paperback books with clear contact paper to lengthen their circulation capability. Please contact Mrs. Ng or Mrs. Mitchell if you are interested in helping with these projects.
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Summer Reading Lists have been prepared collaboratively between the SOMSD elementary school librarians and the Maplewood & South Orange Public Library’s Children’s Librarians. The lists will not be sent home in a printed format but are available at each of the public libraries and on the district website.
Download the Reading Lists Here:
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- All library materials are due no later than Friday, June 3. All financial obligations related to un-returned or lost/damaged materials should be resolved by June 3. The librarians need to inventory the library collection, and at the Annex, will be packing up parts of the collection in preparation for the reduction in the libary space.
- Six Flags tickets are here and have been distributed for those students who returned a signed reading log (for the Read to Succeed program) to Mrs Ng. If you did not receive a ticket for your child, and were expecting one, please email Mrs Ng immediately.
- The suggested summer reading list will not be distributed in print form again this year. It will be posted to the district website as well as both public libraries’ websites some time during the last week of school.
- Please continue to save used ink/toner cartridges for the specialist teachers.
Thanks to your generosity, the specialists were able to purchase much needed and wished for supplies for their programs.
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South Mountain School Library Website
The school library website provides links to information about the various programs & events in the library, as well as resource pages for the topics studied/researched in the different grades.
http://southmountainschoollibrary.wikispaces.com/
Click on Student Resources for suggested links. Suggested online resources for 4th grade’s mythology project, and the 5th grades unit on explorers are included.
Battle of the Books is coming… 5th grade will likely start their Battle program in January, after the winter break. Grades 3-4 will be a bit later into the spring.
Library Volunteer Program
Working on an weekly or bi-weekly schedule, library volunteers come to the library for approximately one hour at a time. Volunteers help with preparing and maintaining holiday book displays, re-shelving books, preparing magazines for circulation, labeling books, checking books out to students and staff, assisting students with book selection and checkout, and many other tasks.
This year, volunteers are needed for all time slots (especially first thing in the morning, when the books for that day’s classes are returned). The librarians are looking for any and all parents or community members willing to commit to one hour every week, especially those familiar with computers, although anyone is welcome.
The librarian often has special “one-day” projects throughout the year for which volunteers are needed. If you would like to be called for a special project, please let the librarian know. Thank you!
News and Notes from the Library
K-1 students learn about various authors, parts of a book, and proper book care procedures. Please encourage your children to return their books promptly when they are finished reading them. Homeroom teachers are aware of the times when there is not a class already using the library, and will send children down to exchange books during those available times.
Students DO NOT have to wait until their regular library day to get a new book.
Second graders work on their alphabetical order skills, a vital skill for locating books in the library. Students also learn about the types of books found in a library and where they are located. They use the non-fiction section on animals as they work on animal reports in the classroom.
Third graders practice their dictionary skills to put those Rotary Club-provided dictionaries to immediate use, and learning about what types of questions can be answered using encyclopedias. During March and April, they learn about inventors and scientists through mini-biographies. Third graders are also use the OPACs to access the materials in the library collection.
The students in fourth grade learn about the almanac and other reference sources, as well as the basics of the Dewey Decimal Classification System, used to locate numbered books in the library. In the fall, fourth graders learn about biographies — what they are, how they are arranged, etc.
Our fifth graders continue to build upon previous years’ skills, as they prepare for the middle school. They are using the internet for research, as well as continuing their practice with Dewey Decimal System, and using atlases and almanacs.
The students are looking forward to using the new laptops more often this coming year.
Mrs Suzanne Ng – sng@somsd.k12.nj.us – South Mountain School Librarian
Mrs. Trisha Fagan – tfagan@somsd.k12.nj.us – Annex School Librarian
Mrs. Michelle Mitchell – mmitchel@somsd.k12.nj.us - Library Secretary – Annex -
Click HERE to search the South Mountain library catalog
Click HERE to search the South Mountain Annex library catalog
