Welcome to the Sparta MS/ HS Library Media Center Blog!

 What's New?

October 2026

Students in Library Class have been busy working on their Sponsor A Shelf Assignment! They get a chance to recommend their favorite read to others and get their own shelf real estate to highlight them! Recommending books to others in the school is a great way to spread the word about awesome books and keep spreading a love of literacy all around! 

August 2026

The first week of school for the 2026-2027 school year is well underway!  Students are back in the hallways and enjoying seeing friends and teachers again! We are so happy to have everyone back!  Our readers programs are back and bigger than ever with a whole new category to add this year- the Denny O'Neil's (Graphic Novel Category).  We are ready to watch these students become star readers this year and to find those books that make it on their "Best Books Ever" list! Here's to a great school year! 

September 2024

We are back and ready for a great 2024-2025 school year! Students are anxiously checking out books and are participating in our Mark Twain/ Truman and our Gateway readers award programs.  We have a long hold list for many of them and are seeing some great foot traffic in our libraries.  This month, our 5th and 6th grade students have began completing lessons in their Library Specials classes.  We are learning about the Dewey Decimal system and how to find a book that is right for them in the library! They worked on using their Dewey Decimal knowledge to put together some library puzzles. We are ready to leap into the fall season with some great reads and can't wait to see what this year has in store! 

August 2023

We are back in the Sparta Libraries! Our high school is looking beautiful with new shelves that have been replaced from January’s flooding.  Our new 5th graders are taking the time to explore the middle school library by completing a scavenger hunt in their Library Special’s class.  We are so excited to have students back in the library and reading our books! 

March 2023

This month has involved a lot of fun projects in the library!  The 5th and 6th grade Library Special's class created their own Blabberize projects about their favorite authors.  Click on a few below to hear some interesting facts about these writers! We also were able to have our local Christian County Library bring another great Library Comic Con to us this year! We were able to have several cosplay characters join the fun as well as some great games, prizes, and trivia! Overall it was such a fun time and our students really enjoyed the experience! Here's to many more in the future! :)

February 2023

We can't believe we are already finished with the second month of 2023! This month has been a time of celebration and excitement in the library. The 5th grade class was able to skype a scientist with Mrs. Wegner and talk to someone who actually studies space and stars! So cool! We also were able to have our annual donut breakfast celebrating those students who have read at least 7 of our Mark Twain/ Truman nominee award books. These students are pictured below holding up the amount of fingers (and some toes) of how many books they have read so far! They were able to vote for their favorite nominee which will be turned into the STATE to recognize these authors for their amazing novels.  Such a fun month! See you in March!

January 2023

This month has been filled with many fun activities in the library.  Although our High school library received some flood damage, our regulars are making the most of our short term library spot by completing an array of beautiful puzzles.  Our middle school library special class has been analyzing children’s books for different types of conflicts that arise in stories as well as their plot structure. Another great month “in the books!”. 

December 2022

We are counting down the days until the end of first semester! It has been a great first half of the year here in the Sparta MS/HS libraries.  To get into the Christmas spirit, we read some short stories from the Laura Ingalls Wilder collection in the 5th and 6th grade Library Special's class.  Both stories told of how the pioneers lived back in the late 1800's.  Students were able to make their own butter in class while we read the stories aloud.  It was a great way to connect to what we were reading about! Also, many puzzles have been completed at the HS during Privilege time.  We have been staying busy and are excited to see what 2023 has in store for us! See you then! 

November 2022

The library has been busy this month! Students have been able to utilize the library space during their Privilege time.  Activities include Guitar Hero battles, games, and puzzles!  We have also been doing some detective work in the Library Specials class.  Students participated in a scavenger hunt to find clues about staying safe online.  Overall, we are heading into the holiday season with thankful hearts and lots of good books! 

October 2022

The 5th and 6th grade Library Specials classes have been working hard on "Sponsoring a Shelf".  They are able to pick their top 5 favorite books to recommend to other students.  Then, they are able to sponsor a shelf, by displaying those books on their own shelf for students to check out along with their reasoning behind recommending those books! Here are a few students showcasing their favorite reads on their shelves.  Teachers were able to get in on the fun, too! Mrs. Nelson was our first staff member to sponsor her own shelf. 

September 2022

We have had a great kick off to the 2022-2023 school year! Ms. Schlottman's 5th and 6th grade art classes designed their own bookmarks to display and give out in the library media center! They themed the book marks around their favorite books, book characters, and genres.  Students loved showing off their designs and giving away their bookmarks to other readers. 

August 2022

Wow! What a fun summer it has been.  We can't believe it is time for another great year here in the Sparta Schools Library! We know it is going to be so wonderful to see students again and get new books into their hands! We have many new arrivals and can't wait to see what this year has in store! See you soon Sparta Trojans!

March 2022

This month we have had several fun experiences in the library! The Christian County Public Library set up a Library Comic Con for the eighth grade students to enjoy! We had the Ghostbusters of the Ozarks and Beetlejuice come by for a visit as well as some fun activities and Trivia to participate in.  The students really enjoyed it, and we loved having the public library set it all up for us! Mr. Maxwell’s history classes created some comics of their own by making the Founding Fathers into superheroes which were shown off during the Comic Con. We are excited to wrap up this school year with more exciting activities! 

February 2022

This has been a month full of celebration and snow days! Students that have read at least 7 of the 2021-2022 Mark Twain and Truman award winner nominee books were able to participate in a donut breakfast celebrating their accomplishment at the MS. They were also able to vote for their favorite book which goes into the decision making process for awarding these authors. These 22 students have been reading like crazy to meet their goals.  After reading 15 of these books, they are eligible to go on the Silver Dollar City Field Trip at the end of the year.  Many have already completed this goal!  As you can see in the pictures, they held up their fingers to represent how many books they have read so far.  Some needed to use their toes to help! 

We also celebrated at the HS as well.  Those students had to read 4 of the 8 books required to attend the field trip. We are so proud of these students and what they have accomplished! 

January 2022

We are entering 2022 with a lot of activities happening in the library! Mrs. Gilmore’s Careers class skyped with an astronomer who discussed his job working with math and science on a daily basis. Another great meeting was had by Mrs. Delk’s math classes with an engineer who works with building bridges!   He discussed the importance of learning math in daily life and in his career. 

We were also able to complete our first book tasting at the Middle School Library! Over 50 students in Ms. Guerin’s English classes came in for some hot chocolate and to “sample” many  books from different genres as well as watch some book trailers. Several students are reaching the goal of reading 8 or 15 of the Award winning books for this school year! We will celebrate big soon with these students and they will get to vote for their favorite books soon! 

December 2021

We are wrapping up 2021 in style! Lots of activity has been happening in the library. Mrs. Wegner’s 6th grade science classes were able to skype with a Marine Biologist who works with the coral reef in Florida! He talked about what they could do to help save the coral reefs. 

We were also able to complete our first book tasting at the High School Library! Over 70 students in Ms. Perry’s English I classes came in for some hot chocolate and to “sample” many  books from different genres as well as watch some book trailers.  As we finish out the year, we are looking back at the exciting activities that have taken place in both libraries and look forward to seeing what 2022 has in store! Happy Holidays.

November 2021

November has been a busy month! We have had several guest speakers in the library.  Mrs. Gilmore's class was able to skype with a primatologist from the UK.  She talked about all things chimpanzees and the world of her profession. Mrs. Guerin's class loves coming into the library for their library checkout days.  They check out new books, work on the Lego wall, and help complete the community puzzle! We love having them in the library.  Students are also starting to sponsor some Makerspace centers.  They come up with an idea and set up a center in the Makerspace for students to practice different skills. 

Another main event in the Sparta Middle School Library this month was a virtual author visit.  Hena Khan, a children's and middle grade author, was able to Zoom with us and discuss her work as an author and how she writes her books.  Students were able to write in questions and learn how to tell their own stories: A big thank you to the Christian County Library for sponsoring this event for our students!

October 2021

We have new books all around here at the library this month! We have our first book order that has arrived as well as new arrivals from the Christian County Library that have found a temporary home with us! Come check them out! We have also had visits from Mrs. Wegner and Mrs. Gibson's classes to work on research projects about Synthetic Materials and Natural Resources. Over at the high school, students have been working on the community puzzle during downtimes and lunch.  The first one has finally been completed! Another great month is in the books!

September 2021

We are are entering into the Fall season now! This month, classes have started checking out books regularly at Sparta Middle School by coming in with their Language Arts classes every two weeks.  The Digital Media class has been coming in to use the greenscreen and iPads to record their own newscast! We have also had a guest speaker from the Christian County Library speak to Mrs. Gilmore's careers class. It has been an active month in the library and we can't wait to see what next month has in store! 

August 2021

We are heading into September here at the Sparta Library Media Center! So far, we have had a great start to the school year. We have had many orientations taking place at both the Middle and High School libraries, getting students ready to get the most out of their school library this year.  The big library buzz is the Award winning books for the 2021-2022 school year. The challenge is on to read at least 8 Gateway Award Winning Books (HS) or 15 Truman/ Twain Award Winning Books (MS).  The Award areas are empty, as all of the library copies are flying off the shelf! Looking forward to a great school year at Sparta Schools!

We are back and ready for a great 2024-2025 school year! Students are anxiously checking out books and are participating in our Mark Twain/ Truman and our Gateway readers award programs.  We have a long hold list for many of them and are seeing some great foot traffic in our libraries.  This month, our 5th and 6th grade students have began completing lessons in their Library Specials classes.  We are learning about the Dewey Decimal system and how to find a book that is right for them in the library! They worked on using their Dewey Decimal knowledge to put together some library puzzles. We are ready to leap into the fall season with some great reads and can't wait to see what this year has in store!