It Was All About the Books at Library Science Night

If you wanted to meet some kids who love to read, you should have been at last Monday’s Library Science Night. The after-hours event brought out more than 50 adults and children, including some of Alto Elementary School’s most prolific readers.

Photos of all the 100 Point Club members grace the wall of the Alto Elementary library.

One of those star readers was Sophie Konyndyk, a 4th grader. She’s been a member of the 100 Point Club since 2nd grade. That’s an accomplishment typically achieved by 3rd and 4th graders since it requires students earn 100 points through the Accelerated Reader program. While the points a student earns can vary by book, it’s not unusual for short books for early readers to only earn only one or two points. Even longer chapter books, like Charlotte’s Web, result in only 5 points.

Along with friend Julie Celori, a fellow 100 Point Club member, Sophie was at Library Science Night to learn more about what’s new for the school reading program as well as complete a scavenger hunt and “taste” a few books.

2nd Annual Library Science Night a Success

Christine Beachler, Library Media Director for Lowell Area Schools, says all the schools in the district run programs to educate families about available reading resources. In many instances, these events are scheduled to coincide with another activity such as a PTO night. However, for the past two years, Alto Elementary has held a dedicated Library Science Night.

Christine Beachler shares information about the Destiny program for Lowell Area Schools students.

“We just really want [families] to know what resources we have available and how to use them,” explains Cindy Johnston, PTO President.

The event kicked off with presentations from Beachler and Jennafer Slanger, the reading coordinator for Alto Elementary School. A representative from the Alto branch of Kent District Library rounded out the talks with information about the system’s resources.

Among the highlights was a review of how the Destiny program works to track a student’s reading progress throughout their years at Lowell Area Schools. Slanger then went in-depth about the 100 Point Club and other ways students are rewarded for reading. “We’re big into recognition here at Alto,” she says. In addition to the current points program, the school is launched genre badges for 100 Point Club members who read books in a variety of categories.

To wrap up the talks, an Alto library representative reviewed services available through Kenty District Library. Among other things, she went over some lesser known library resources. These include free in-branch access to Ancestry Library Edition for genealogy buffs, full access to ConsumerReports.com with a library membership and the use of Lynda.com, an online video course website featuring more than 3,000 tutorials.

Evening Ends with a Tasting of Books…and Cookies

Participants were encouraged to roam the library once the presentations were concluded. Students could complete a scavenger hunt sheet and be entered into a drawing for free books. Meanwhile, parents had the opportunity to talk to Beachler, Slanger and other school staff.

The cookies at Library Science Night almost looked too good to eat.

Throughout the room, tables were also set up with “book tastings.” Each display included a variety of titles for each genre badge offered to 100 Point Club members. The books weren’t the only thing to taste either. There were cookies – supplied by Johnston – that were decorated as books. They looked almost too perfect to eat, but the kids in attendance didn’t let them stop them.

Overall, participants at Library Science Night report it was time well spent. “I learned about the Destiny log-in from home and genre badges,” Julie says. And what badge will she be trying to earn first? “Fiction,” she shares.

Read on Julie! Read on!

 

Correction notice: This article has been updated to correct Cindy Johnston’s title and the spelling of Sophie’s last name.

Save

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*