Media Center Updates
Autumn, 2008 
 
Fall is coming!

    News              Seasonal Greeting
Newsletter

             Check out our school web site address:              
  www.ourcatholicschool.org

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    School families may access World Book Encyclopedia at home at no cost!
    (Our school purchased home access rights for this school year.)
   Go to: www.worldbookonline.com.
Enter user name: “sasms” and password “world”.

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Accelerated Reader: We have subscribed to a web-based product called Renaissance Place Enterprise. It gives students and teachers access, via the Internet at school, to almost 100,000 Reading Practice quizzes, and many Literacy, Vocabulary, Recorded Voice, and Magazine quizzes during the 2007-08 school year.

To determine if a book which you have on your shelf at home has a quiz written for it, try this: Go to www.renlearn.com, click on the "Accelerated Reader" tab on the left side. Under Customer Center on the left side of the window click on "Order quizzes" in the left-hand window. (You will not have to buy the quiz. This is just a way to check on availability.) Type in the title of the book. (You may also search by author or ISBN.) Press "Search". RenLearn will respond to your query. Students may read that book knowing that a quiz is available for them online at school.Students in Grades 2-6 have AR goals. Students may evaluate their progress towards reaching their goals by looking at their TOPS reports. TOPS reports show what percentage of your goal you have attained. They also state what percentage of the trimester has passed. Compare the two percentages. If the percentage of your attained goal equals or exceeds the percentage of trimester which has passed, you are where you need to be. If not, you need to do some catching up. Wishing you all “Good Reading”!

                           Web-based Library Searches
      To search our school library’s collection at home: Launch the Internet. Go to our school’s web site: www.ourcatholicschool.org; click on “Studies” in the green box at the left; click the link “Search the library using Alexandria” in the next window. You may search by author, title, subject, series, etc. Have fun viewing our books!

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                                                                Technology Planning Committee (TPC)
Are you a Technology Nerd? Do you have some networking expertise? Are you a little familiar with the Apple platform?
We meet on the fourth Thursday of the month at 7:20AM. Please call Ms. Elchert at 529-3213 if you can serve.

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                                     BIRTHDAY BOOKS 2008-09    
The Media Center is in its sixteenth year of the Birthday Book Program. Birthday Books are a wonderful way to remember your child's birthday as well as a tool to build our book collection at St. Augustine's and St. Mary’s Cathedral School. I prepared a list of books which we would like for our collection in the Media Center. You may find it at the Barnes & Noble Store, main information desk. Another idea is to select a newly copyrighted book. We would be unlikely to have it in our collection. Thanks to everyone who is participating!
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Media Center

Library (Media Center) Philosophy

A library (Media Center) is a literature-rich, multi-modal environment containing aide variety of print and non print material. In this environment the wisdom and knowledge contained in literature is revealed to children. Students learn how a library is arranged and how to locate materials. They develop critical thinking skills by gathering pertinent information using library, reference, and technology skills.

The Media Center contains both the school library and the computer lab. Students in K-6 come to the Media Center three times per week with their classes. They come to the library for one thirty minute time period. They come to the computer lab twice a week for thirty minutes each. Additionally, students may come at other times to check out books, especially Accelerated Reader books. We have over 8000 items in our collection, which was automated in August, 2002. We have 5000 Accelerated Reader quizzes for both fiction and nonfiction books.

During library time we read orally to students, work on library and reference skills, either formally or informally, and check out books. During the first trimester (first, second, and third trimester for K, 1, & 2) we read to each class for 15 minutes, have book talks, and informally teach library skills. Then students check out books. Grade 2 learns about author, title, and subject headings. Grade 3 works on dictionary and encyclopedia reference skills during trimesters 2 & 3. Grades 4-5 study library and reference skills during trimesters 2 & 3. Grade 6 works with online databases, periodical literature, and multimedia projects which pertain to the sixth grade research paper.

Technology Philosophy

Technology will be used as an instrument for communication, a tool for learning, a way to gain access to resources and information, and as a means to present or reinforce curriculum. The use of technology will be integrated throughout the curriculum to help students become technologically literate, responsible Christian citizens.

Students use software in the Computer Lab to enhance and support classroom curricula, including math, language arts, social studies, science, and religion. Classroom teachers lead computer classes with the assistance of Media Center staff. Each student has a document folder on the server where her/his work can be saved. Additionally, our school is wired for network and Internet access. Students and parents sign "The Acceptable Use Policy" prior to Internet training and use of the Internet.

Ms. Elchert, Media Specialist
529-3213