The library and computer lab are managed by Heather Walter, Librarian and Tech Teacher, and Cindy Snell, Library Assistant, along with a wonderful group of Student Librarians and some very helpful parent volunteers.
Kindergarten and elementary students visit the library with their classes at regularly scheduled times and parents with preschoolers are welcome to stop in on Thursday mornings between 11:00-11:30 or Thursday afternoons between 3:00-3:30 with their preschoolers. Parents of MPA students are also welcome to stop by and check out books in the parent library, located in the conference room.
The MPA Library has a wide assortment of books for kids, including plenty of non-fiction for research or personal interests, lots of award-winning fiction for all reading levels, colorful picture books, and current reference materials.
Students receive lessons in utilizing all the resources in the library, along with having some free time to browse and find books in which they are interested. Teachers sometimes find a quiet corner and use library times for small group or individual lessons.
We discuss with the students the fact that in our country we are very fortunate to have libraries for everyone to use and what life would be like without books.
Students learn how to maneuver around the library and locate books for free-reading, research, and writing resources. Students also learn behavioral expectations for all types of libraries, such as quiet voices and calm bodies, and are encouraged to practice those in our own school library.
The library is also used for multitudes of special events throughout the year: author visits, book fairs, in-house field trips, science lessons, school pictures, numerous meetings and conferences, various classroom skits and performances, and moving-up ceremonies all take place within these walls.
Elementary students also spend some time in the Computer Lab, learning keyboarding, online safety and courtesy, how to navigate the web to find safe, reliable sources of information, and some tools to use to present their information in creative, informative ways.
Our goal is to help the students feel totally at home in a library, finding information and seeking out the peace and contentment found in burying themselves in a good book, learning to make books part of their every day lives.