In other news, check out ends Friday, May 10. All books are due back the following week. We will start sending notices at the end of the next week regarding materials not returned.
April is School Library Month. 81% of all libraries are school libraries. School libraries are a key component of a great education and a strong school. Study after study illustrates that schools which have certified school librarians running library programs score higher on standardized tests. School librarians not only assist with reading and research, but also include technology instruction, digital citizenship, and information literacy as primary areas of instruction. In the PRT library, we have over 11,000 books, 16 periodical subscriptions, 13 desktop computers and 120 laptops, audio-visual equipment, and much more. Visit your school library for help finding great books, navigating the web, conducting research, finding project ideas, and learning new technology applications.
There are many awards given each year, but these are titles either currently available or soon to be available at Prairie Trail.
Newberry Award (youth fiction and nonfiction): The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Newberry Honor Books:
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Caldecott Award (distinguished American picture book):
This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Coretta Scott King Award (outstanding African American authors and illustrators):
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America
I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes; illustrated by Brian Collier
Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson
The William Allen White award winners should be announced in April!
Happy Reading!
Our book fair was a tremendous success! Thank you so much for your support and doing some holiday shopping that also benefits the students. We have dozens of new books to add to our library, and more will be purchased soon.
Many changes will occur in the library over break. We will be getting new carpet, so we have been busily packing up the shelves and clearing things out–it looks so bare! The Olathe libraries will also employ a new library circulation software that is very student friendly starting in January. Librarians will undergo training during the January inservice days. We have been unable to add new books to the library system since November due to the transition, so we will be adding many new items to our collection in January.
We at the PRT Media Center wish you a safe and happy holiday break.
It is almost time for the PRT annual book fair, December 3-7. Please consider completing some of your holiday shopping at our book fair, whether in the library or online. All proceeds benefit the library and put more books in the hands of our students at PRT. We will have a wide selection of young adult titles, as well as children’s and holiday books. You can even find cookbooks and popular adult titles. Visit our Book Fair Home Page to preview titles, make wish lists, and purchase online.
The book fair is open Monday-Wednesday from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Thursday from 7:30 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (open during the basketball games and before the concert), and Friday from 7:30 A.M. to noon. We hope to see you there!
We have the library all decked out for Halloween reading–bulletin boards and displays with some new great titles in scary stories, both fiction and nonfiction. As the weather gets cooler (and hopefully rainier?), reading is a great way to pass the time indoors. We’ve added over 100 new books in the last week in all genres–and more are on the way. Check out our Library Thing page to see many of our new books.
We hope you had a fantastic summer! It always seems too short. We have lots of new books in the library–so be sure to stop by in the first few days to see what’s new. You can also check out what’s new on our Library Thing page. We’ll be getting more in through the next few weeks. All students will complete library orientations by next week, and Book ‘Em will start August 27.
Happy Reading!
Did you read the Hunger Games trilogy? Have you seen the movie yet? Come in the library and let me know what you thought! The library has numerous copies, but due to the movie’s release, we have a long waiting list on book one. We are expecting more copies to arrive soon. If you liked Hunger Games, be sure to check out some other DYSTOPIAN FICTION books that are similar. There is a fun website where you will be randomly assigned a name and district–check it out!
Congratulations to all the members of Battle of the Books! Team FINGS represented PRT proudly in the district tournament, hosted by Prairie Trail on February 22. Chisholm Trail won the tournament, and Prairie Trail tied for fourth place of the nine teams. Battle of the Books members worked hard hosting the tournament. Thanks to all members for their participation and hard work all year!
Well, it may not look much like winter outside most days, but it’s still a busy season at PRT! We had the Star Lab in the library to start January. 8th grade classes spent several days learning about planets and constellations. KAY club collected toilet paper for the City Union Mission–and guess where the rolls were stored? That’s right–on top of the library shelves! And of course, we are always busy with students finding great books and using technology. We added over 30 new nonfiction titles, thanks to our successful book fair. We will be adding more new books this spring–so check out our Library Thing link on the booktalk page to see what’s new!