General Information

Goal
The primary goals of our K-8 Media Center are to stimulate interest in reading and help students effectively access and use information which will enable them to become independent, life-long learners.

General Info
Our media center provides access to materials that support all areas of the curriculum as well as materials that represent diverse perspectives. We offer a large collection of resources that include reference, non-fiction and fiction books of all genres. Online resources have becomes an essential component of research in the time of innovative technology. We subscribe to several online databases that students can access at school as well as from home.

Policy
Our media center is completely automated and we currently have 12 computers for students to access. We check out over 5000 books every month! Students are allowed to check out 2 items at a time (Kindergarten & 1st grade-1 item). Students may check out additional items for research with permission. All items may be kept for 2 weeks. We do not charge fines for overdue books, however if a student loses or damages a book, the student will need to pay for a replacement.

Accelerated Reader
Our school uses the Accelerated Reading program. This program matches students to appropriate books within their zone of proximal development and the students take a computerized test over the book. Accelerated Reader helps you focus attention on careful reading of books, which improves students' critical-thinking skills and builds the intrinsic love of reading.

Activities
We do a variety of activities in the media center to promote reading. We celebrate Children's Book Week, Teen Read Week, Read Across America, and many others. The Book Olympics are also held every four years. Students race to find a specific book and the activity is enjoyed by the students as well as our staff members. We participate in the State of Iowa voting of the Iowa Children's Choice Award and Iowa Teen Award books. A strong partnership has been established with our public library to help ensure student success with resources and to promote the love of reading.