North Trail Elementary: A good book for summer vacation

• Photo: NTES summer library

There’s no limit to how young or old a reader has to be to check out a book at North Trail Elementary’s media center this summer.

Talk about it

“Hi! Welcome to the library,” North Trail Elementary School media specialist Terese Jones called out Tuesday morning. “Happy summer!”

That was her greeting as a family came through the doors of the school’s library, which is now open for the summer.

“Wow,” she said, turning her attention from the entrance, “we’re really busy in here today.”

And that’s what she wants. The NTE summer library program just kicked off its third year Monday. Basically, the summer reading program gives students a chance to keep reading over the summer, and earn reading credit for the next school year at the same time.

North Trail students can check out up to three books each visit. Their family members –- a parent or a siblings –- can also check out one book each visit. The students take their books home, read, then come back to school to return the books.

When they return the books, they can sit down at one of the media center’s computers, pull up their Accelerated Reader account, and take a short quiz on the books. Once they have completed those quizzes, they get credit toward their reading requirements for the next school year. Jones also has a display up where students can make a paper caterpillar by adding a circle with the name of the books they read. They get a new circle for each book, then add it to their caterpillar.

“This is not something that’s competitive,” Jones explained, “but they are going to see a visual thing, based on how many books they read.”

The library is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. During that time, families can come and go from the library, and spend as much or as little time there as they would like. Summer library hours will continue through Aug. 23.

Each week has a different theme. This week’s theme is “Space,” so Jones has rounded up a lot of materials on planets and galaxies. The books featured in the storytime reads – at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays – all reflect the theme, too. And, if students are interested, Jones has also downloaded a few topic-related apps on the iPads available for use in the library. This week, she has apps from NASA, MonoGlobe, and Lunar Racer.

Jones is also planning topic-related events during the weeks. Next week’s theme is “On the Farm,” so each day, students can help bake bread and make butter. When “By the Sea” week rolls around, Jones will bring in seashells for students to touch and feel and work with.

“I did some research and found out what (topics) I thought it looked like the kids would like,” she said. “It’s wonderful to come up with what I think the students would enjoy. I came up with a list of things I thought they would love and that I would love.… If something doesn’t work one day, I’ll just change it the next.”

The North Trail Parent-Teacher Partnership pays Jones’ salary over the summer.

Tags: school district 192, elementary schools, education, farmington