Welcome back to the Alexander Hamilton Library!

Summer is past.  Autumn is upon us.  The library is the place to be – for lots of fun through books.  We’ve missed you! Mrs. Noone has given me a letter to read to all the students.  The letter came from Mrs. Bush.  The children were thrilled to discover how encouraging she was for all of us.  My favorite part of the letter, as I have told all the students, was the paragraph about reading for enjoyment.  That is what I hope every student at Alexander Hamilton will develop during the time spent in our library/media center.  Oh, the places we can all travel through books!   Please make sure all of us are taking the time to enjoy stretching our imaginations through reading.  And, as Mrs. Bush wrote,  we will always be able to entertain ourselves while learning a lot. Third grade is learning the way around their new library.  The rules of floor chairs, movement and books selection have been analyzed.  All feel that the rules are very logical and will be quite easy to follow.  Common sense is the basis for all of them.  Ask your child about these great floor chairs.  Double check with them about how many books can be checked out – for enjoyment.  (Research books are in addition to the kick-back-and-relax books.) Fourth and fifth grades have been reviewing the OPAC.  Ask you child what each letter stands for.  (The answer will be at the bottom of the page.)  The OPAC will help all of us find our books more easily and independently.  We don’t always want to scan the shelves.  Sometimes we are looking for specific titles or authors or even topics.  Everyone should be familiar with title, series titles, author and anywhere searching, as well as looking at the expanded record and understanding the purpose and usefulness of call numbers. As the school year progresses I hope you will see growth in your child’s reading enjoyment. Lots of other exciting opportunities will be offered through the library/media center.  Mrs. Brown and I will be working together late in the year on a graphic novel enrichment.  We are having the poet/painter Douglas Florian visit our school the beginning of March.  Students will have the opportunity to purchase some of his poetry books at a discounted price. And then there is the “every day” fun activities of library learning and sharing. Please feel free to visit the library/media center any time.  If you would like to volunteer, stop in and we will talk. Keep on reading! Mrs. Murphy     LIBRARY RESOURCES: Alexander Hamilton OPAC: http://ahs.scoolaid.net.  To see what books are available in Alexander Hamilton School's Library   Encyclopedia Britannica Online:  school.eb.com On-line research.