Orange County Report – October 2011
Port Jervis School District
Lisa Perkowski, LMS at Port Jervis Middle School, attended the School Library Journal's Leadership retreat in Washington DC. This was a gathering of just 200 select school librarians from all over the country who were able to spend 2 days learning about, and discussing the "New World of Reading.” It covered how readers are experiencing and sharing reading in new ways thanks to the rise of the eBook, smart phones, personal computing pads and eReaders and how school libraries can respond to this trend that is here to stay. Lisa’s contact info: Lisa Perkowski, LMS
Port Jervis Middle School
lperkowski@pjschools.orgMiddletown School District
New Library Media SpecialistsTwo newly hired library media specialists are at Maple Hill Elementary and Middletown High School.
Jeanette Gerlach is now at the Maple Hill school and Sharon Kowalsky is at the high school.
Jeanette Gerlach, LMS Sharon Kowalsky
Maple Hill Elementary Middletown High School
491 County Route 78 24 Gardner Ave.
Middletown, NY 10940 Middletown, NY 10940
Tel. No. : 845-326-1737 Tel. No. : 845-326-1562
jgerlach@ecsdm.org skowalsky@ecsdm.orgChorley Elementary
October is a busy month at our school library! The library was the site of Literacy Framework training for our staff. We welcomed the Middletown Fire Department during their annual visit for Fire Prevention Month. Children enjoyed learning about fire safety at home and at school. They especially enjoyed the chance to see fire trucks up close! We also celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by learning about biographies of famous Hispanic Americans. Students learned about our bi-lingual book collection and sang Spanish songs. Our school's PTO sponsored the Scholastic Book Fair during the week of October 17th to 21st. New books were purchased for our library. Students learned about the authors and illustrators of new books featured at this year's book fair. The PTO culminated the book fair during the Fall Festival on Friday night, October 21st. Chorley Library was open that night for stories, songs with librarian Karen Cierniak and fun for all. The last week of October was Career Week at Chorley, an event featuring special guest readers from throughout Middletown. Career Week is a project of our School Improvement Team. Library teaching assistant and SIT member Cherie Gluckman invited more than fifty community members to visit our school as guest readers on October 27th for a day of learning about jobs and careers. This event concluded with a Career Day Parade on October 31st. Participating students wore costumes depicting what career they hope to have when they grow up. kcierniak@ecsdm.org
Monhagen celebrated Teen Read Week by having ELA classes participate in a Booktasting at the library. Choosing a good book was compared to selecting a cookie: checking its appearance (cover), taking a first bite (reading the blurb inside the book jacket), taking a second bite (reading the first page). Students were then invited to "book taste" three books. Additional Teen Read Week activities included a Picture It @ Your Library Art Contest where students were challlenged to create an original work of art representing their favorite book title or character. The contest ends in November and three prizes will be awarded: a Hunger Games Playaway, a pair of movie tickets, and a hardcover copy of the Hunger Games. Students also completed a Reading Rocks Survey which made them eligible for a free raffle drawing.
Betty Bonitz, LMS
Monhagen Middle Schoolbbonitz@ecsdm.org
Truman Moon Elementary
Students learned about culture as the library highlighted books about Hispanic Heritage and Native Americans. Using the Smithsonian Folkways website, we enjoyed learning about music and dance from both these cultures. Students were encouraged to use this website to explore the cultural heritage of their own families.
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Terese Linton, LMS
Truman Moon Primary Centertlinton@ecsdm.org
Greenwood Lake Union Free School District
A Banned Books display resulted in a lot of discussion in the Greenwood Lake Middle School. Teachers and students alike were shocked to learn that these books had been challenged or banned at one time. Classes were taken to the display to discuss what the banning and challenging of books meant. Many thanks to library aide Paulette Trusewicz for her great work in creating this stunning display. [pic]Kathy Hooper
Library Media Specialist
Greenwood Lake Union Free School District
khooper@gwlufsd.org
