St. Bartholomew School Library

"Inspiring Students to Become Life-Long Readers and Learners"

It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it. 

~Oscar Wilde

Summer is here!

Don’t forget to read!

It is important to keep up a reading routine throughout the summer. Many children, especially struggling readers, slip out of reading practice during the summer months. Try these strategies to help your reader improve during the summer months:

· Six Books to Summer Success

Research shows that reading just six books during the summer may keep a struggling reader from regressing. When choosing the six, use arbookfind.com to find books that are at just the right level. See tips for using AR Bookfind below.

· Read Something Every Day

Encourage your child to take advantage of every opportunity to read. There are many opportunities throughout the day: the newspaper, schedules, recipes, or magazines.

· Keep Reading Aloud

Reading aloud benefits all children and teens, especially those who struggle. One benefit is that you can read books that your child may not yet be comfortable reading, thus building their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Helping Your Child with Book Selection:

Children experience the most reading success when they find books on topics in which they are interested and are appropriate for their reading level. Help your child with book selection to ensure they find the right books – books that are neither too easy nor too difficult.

The “Five Finger Rule” is a simple technique for checking if a book is at the right book level for your child to read independently. Follow these steps with your child:

· Have your child read one page from anywhere in the book.

· Each time she comes to a word she does not know, hold up one finger.

· If you are holding up three or fewer fingers when she is finished reading the page, the book should be at the right level for her to read independently.

· If you are holding up four or five fingers, this book may be too difficult for your child to read on her own. Either read the book with your child or encourage her to read another book.

· If you are holding up six or more fingers, the book is too difficult. Help your child select another more appropriate book.

· Teach your child to use the “five finger rule” for selecting books.

Great Expectations

It's time to say good-bye
Our year has come to an end.
I've made more cherished memories
and many more new friends.

I've watched your child learn and grow
and change from day to day.
I hope that all the things we've done
Have helped in some small way.

So it's with happy memories
I send them out the door,
With great hope and expectations
for what next year holds in store.

2009-2010 Million Word Club Members

Reminders:

Please use the site www.arbookfind.com to help your child search for books. At this site, you can search a book by title or author. You can also do a search for books within a specific ZPD range, topic and interest level. When you find books of interest, you can save them to your “book bag” and print your list. You can even print the list with photos of the book covers! This is a great resource for finding books that are truly of interest to your child.

Another great way to use this site it to find nonfiction books about topics your child is interested in. In particular, you can search for social studies or science topics to increase your child’s knowledge and interest in these areas. The site lets you search for very specific topics and by reading range. It’s a great tool!

Our Mission

The mission of the St. Bartholomew School Library is to enrich and support educational programs in the school. This is accomplished by:

· Providing programs and materials that stimulate intellectual curiosity and establish the habit of life-long reading and learning

· Working with classroom teachers to enhance classroom curriculum

· Providing students with the skills necessary to be effective users of information

P.I.P. Needs You --Yes YOU!!

P.I.P. is the library "Parental Involvement Program". Parents can satisfy volunteer hour requirements by volunteering in our school library. See Ms. Bugay to find out how you can make a difference. There's always work to be done in the library!