What Is The Job Of A Therapy Dog?

We had the privilege of meeting, Brownie, a therapy dog who made her first visit to the Mountain Meadow Library.  The Trillium class adored Brownie and were excited to show her the ropes in library class.  I am thrilled to say the visit went successfully and we hope to have many more.

 Recent studies at libraries across the nation have found that, "...students who read to dogs have better outcomes than students who read to humans. They experienced a slight gain in reading ability and attitudes toward reading..." study done by Tufts University.

It was heart-warming see the kids gathered around her with their library books in hand taking turns reading.  They felt the freedom to just read without feeling self-conscious.

We continue to learn about the different parts of books and their importance in finding criticial information.  We also had fun looking at Christmas books and getting our spirits ready for the holidays.  

Books are Important Just Like You!

Did you know books have families?  Did you know they have birthdates?  We have an index finger to point to important things like cookies in the grocery store.  Books have indexes to point us to important facts within it's pages.   

This week we looked at the similarities between books and ourselves.  The Trillium learned about how it takes a family to raise a book (author, illustrator, publisher, and designer).  The Huckleberries learned the importance at looking at a book's covers, spine, title page, and copyright page and that they can tell us so much about the book before even reading it.  The Clarkia learned about how a Table of Contents can be just like their organized closets to help find things quickly.  The Alders learned about Bibliographies and the importance of documenting other sources when it is due.  

We had a great week of learning.  

You Did It!

We hit over our mark with over $2.400 in sales for our Book Fair.  Thank you so much for all your support.  Please come by our Mountain Meadow Library soon to check out our new books!   

Scholastic Book Fair Goal

Only two more on-site shopping days left for our book fair!!  If our Book Fair sales are equal to or greater than $2,200 we can receive 50% of our sales in Scholastic Dollars or we can opt to take 25% of the total in cash.  We are in desperate need of higher leveled non-fiction books for our students to have the resources for the many independent and classroom research projects. Please help us reach our goal.  Thank you for all your support!  Remember you can go online to place your orders.  Our online shopping won't close until November 11th.  

Scholastic Book Fair Is Coming Soon!

Coming October 27th-November 4th!

Open:  Before and After School and During Conference Times

We still need volunteers to help with our book fair.  We need two or more volunteers for set up, this Friday the 24th from 2:30PM-4PM.  We also need volunteers to run the fair before and after school and during conference times.  Please see the sign ups in the office.  

Please visit our online bookfair to get an early start.  We would love to supply our teachers with books they need for their classrooms.  Let's see if we can fill their baskets with their wish books.

Please visit our site:
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/molallariveracademy2

Looking For A Good Book?

Do you know where the largest library in the world is?  Do you know how it got started?  Do you know it has approximately 838 miles of bookshelves?

Ask your Clarkia and Alder students.  They should be able to tell you or you can find and read this great book, "Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library" by Barb Rosenstock.  Our favorite quote from the book, 

 "

All that is necessary for a student is access to a library.”

—Thomas Jefferson, 1790 (page 7)

  We discussed the importance of our responsibility in finding information and taking on the challenge of reading books to make a difference in the world.  

This has quickly become a favorite in the library.  B.J. Novak has an unique and humorous ability to create a book that captures the attention of any reader.  I know this one will never stay on our library shelf but will be in the hands of eager readers.  If you get a chance to read it, grab it!  

A Great Research Tool

  

We have a great free resource at our fingertips.  With independent projects, every day mysteries to be solved, and questions to be answered,  it can be overwhelming to find the right research tool.  The Oregon School Library Information System is a free, student-friendly database aimed at helping students with any project.

Please try out this site:
www.oslis.org

Our username is:  Molalla
Our password is:  oslis

Happy Researching!

"Right-Fit Books"

As part of learning how to be an excellent library citizen,  this week we focused on choosing the "right book for me".  We read about Goldie Socks and her adventures into the Three Libearians' household.  Goldi Socks showed us how to chose just the perfect book.  Then we practiced using the 5 finger rule when selecting our own library books for check out.   

The students were excited about browsing through the library selection and finding "just the right book".  

Just Right Books

*  The book is new to me and the topic is interesting to me.

* I understand what is happening in most of the story.

*I can retell what I have read.

*I recognize most of the words on the page, but there are some words to work on.

*I can read the book by myself but may need help if I hit a tough spot.  

A Little Guidance From The Shelf Elf

Our new friend in the library has come to stay.  The next time you are in the library,  look close and you will see our Shelf Elf wondering around the book shelves.   He has been teaching the students about their big responsibility in taking care of our library.

Use a shelf marker, you can't go wrong, put books back where they belong.

Return your books when they are due, so others can enjoy them, too.

Keep your books clean and neat, away from all you drink and eat.

If you need to save your place, stick a bookmark in tht space.

Turn the pages with great care; leave them whole without a tear.

Keep books safe and out of view, from little ones and dogs that chew.

When in the library make this choise: always use your quiet voice.

The students at MRA are on their way to becoming great library citizens.  Let's see if we can earn the Golden Shelf Elf Award!

Find Your Next Library Book!

We have web access to find MRA library books!  Please click on the following link and it will take you to our card catalog.  We haven't set student's usernames or passwords yet so we won't be able to do holds but you can see what our library has to offer.  Please explore with your children and see if they can find a book that they would like to check out the next time they visit the library.

https://mralibrary.goalexandria.com/researcher#_

Welcome to MRA's Mountain Meadow Library

Welcome to MRA’s Mountain Meadow Library

September 3, 2014

Dear MRA Families,

       I would like to welcome you and your students to a new school year!  I hope you were able to read some good books this past summer.  I started reading some of this year’s OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) books.  My favorite so far as been “Kizzy Ann Stamps” and “Wonder”.  I am looking forward to creating an environment for a passion and love for books.   I encourage you to come and wander around the library and find some new and interesting books.  

       I am excited to see that our library collection has grown and is growing.  With that in mind I want to make sure that we continue to respect the gifts of books we have been given.  The students will be challenged to understand that our library is a special collection of resources and requires care from all users.  We also will be focusing on how to locate and access different resources.  They will be using the information they gather in their classroom and personal projects.   I hope you will partner with me in helping our students become responsible learners. 

       The students (k-6^th) will have a library time each week and will be allowed to check out 1-2 books.  The 7^th-8^th grade will have library times as needed throughout the year.  They have two weeks to read and enjoy their books.  After that time if they have not returned their overdue books they will not be able to check out another until those are returned.  If a book is not returned or becomes lost or damaged (accidents happen) please let me know.   A fee will then be issued to replace the book unless we can come to another agreement. 

       I am looking forward to a great year and thank you for your support.  Let me know if you have any questions.  iquinlan@mra-k8.com

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Quinlan

MRA Library Aide/Garden Coordinator

Enter A World Of Reading

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  "Guiding students in becoming responsible lifelong learners and compassionate community members through interdisciplinary studies in the arts and sciences within a safe and nurturing environment"

  
  

Summer is a perfect time to grab a good book and read.  Did you know that you will retain more information from the last two months of school if you are reading this summer?  Remember to fill out your Barnes and Noble reading list.  I can't wait to see who has brand new books from B&N after completing their reading journal!  Send me a comment and let me know what books you are reading and what has been your favorite so far.  We just received brand new books for our library today!  I can't wait to show them all to you!  Happy reading!