Last week, the lower school library hosted its annual Book Fair, where attendees partook of a wide selection of books for all reading levels. A variety of fiction (from sci-fi to historical fiction to mysteries) and non-fiction (history, sports and biographies) were available for both children and adults.
“The Book Fair promotes reading at all levels, and provides more books to our community,” said lower school librarian Kathy Clark. Because the Book Fair coincided with Grandparents’ Day on Friday, “parents and grandparents purchase books that their students are interested in reading, titles for summer reading and gifts,” she continued. Families also often show their generosity and gratitude to Harker teachers by purchasing books for the classrooms. Money raised by the Book Fair goes into library budget so that more books can be purchased.
By Clark’s estimation, the Book Fair started in 1998 and was first held in the lower school gym’s lobby. In addition to being a great way to find new books, the Book Fair also fosters “a sense of community!” Clark said. “Students and their friends meet in the library, sharing the books they find. Parents meet in the library too, talking about the books their students want to read. Our library staff spends a lot of time recommending titles that are appropriate for the various age levels, and it gives us a chance to get to know the parents a little better.”
Parents also get involved with the Book Fair by volunteering to run the cash registers and assist students in finding books that interest them. “We can’t operate the fair without them,” said Clark. “Some volunteers return year after year because they enjoy working during the fair.”
Last week, the lower school library hosted its annual Book Fair, where attendees partook of a wide selection of books for all reading levels. A variety of fiction (from sci-fi to historical fiction to mysteries) and non-fiction (history, sports and biographies) were available for both children and adults.
“The Book Fair promotes reading at all levels, and provides more books to our community,” said lower school librarian Kathy Clark. Because the Book Fair coincided with Grandparents’ Day on Friday, “parents and grandparents purchase books that their students are interested in reading, titles for summer reading and gifts,” she continued. Families also often show their generosity and gratitude to Harker teachers by purchasing books for the classrooms. Money raised by the Book Fair goes into library budget so that more books can be purchased.
By Clark’s estimation, the Book Fair started in 1998 and was first held in the lower school gym’s lobby. In addition to being a great way to find new books, the Book Fair also fosters “a sense of community!” Clark said. “Students and their friends meet in the library, sharing the books they find. Parents meet in the library too, talking about the books their students want to read. Our library staff spends a lot of time recommending titles that are appropriate for the various age levels, and it gives us a chance to get to know the parents a little better.”
Parents also get involved with the Book Fair by volunteering to run the cash registers and assist students in finding books that interest them. “We can’t operate the fair without them,” said Clark. “Some volunteers return year after year because they enjoy working during the fair.”
Last week, the lower school library hosted its annual Book Fair, where attendees partook of a wide selection of books for all reading levels. A variety of fiction (from sci-fi to historical fiction to mysteries) and non-fiction (history, sports and biographies) were available for both children and adults.
“The Book Fair promotes reading at all levels, and provides more books to our community,” said lower school librarian Kathy Clark. Because the Book Fair coincided with Grandparents’ Day on Friday, “parents and grandparents purchase books that their students are interested in reading, titles for summer reading and gifts,” she continued. Families also often show their generosity and gratitude to Harker teachers by purchasing books for the classrooms. Money raised by the Book Fair goes into library budget so that more books can be purchased.
By Clark’s estimation, the Book Fair started in 1998 and was first held in the lower school gym’s lobby. In addition to being a great way to find new books, the Book Fair also fosters “a sense of community!” Clark said. “Students and their friends meet in the library, sharing the books they find. Parents meet in the library too, talking about the books their students want to read. Our library staff spends a lot of time recommending titles that are appropriate for the various age levels, and it gives us a chance to get to know the parents a little better.”
Parents also get involved with the Book Fair by volunteering to run the cash registers and assist students in finding books that interest them. “We can’t operate the fair without them,” said Clark. “Some volunteers return year after year because they enjoy working during the fair.”
This article originally appeared in the summer 2011 Harker Quarterly.
Reading is like getting all the vitamins you need from a chocolate sundae – it feels good going down and it’s good for you, too.
According to the National Endowment for the Arts, high frequency adult readers are more than twice as likely to participate in charity work, three times as likely to attend performing arts events, one-and-a-half times more likely to attend or participate in a sporting event. (NEA 2002)
Reading, specifically reading for pleasure – a habit that includes the freedom to choose what to read – needs to be encouraged in childhood to flourish in adulthood. Not surprisingly, it’s a focus of a myriad of programs at Harker targeted at all ages, from the youngest kindergartners through senior faculty.
At the lower school, such programs include an annual book fair, the Halloween Haunted House Reading Contest and weekly library visits for K-4 students where librarians Kathy Clark and Enid Davis introduce lifelong fictional friends. Library clerk Moureen Lennon perpetuates the enthusiasm with book talks and checkout time in grade 5 English classes.
“Reading is like any skill: it has to be practiced to reach mastery. Being a master reader brings a lifetime of joy and knowledge,” says lower school librarian, former library director and folklorist Davis. Davis has made good on her promise for the last 15 years through the annual Ogre Awards – a yearlong revel in folklore study for second graders that culminates in an Academy Award-like celebration of witches, tricksters and giants. Nostalgic seniors are oft heard recalling their roles in the Ogre Awards a decade earlier.
Once bitten, students tend to experience long-lasting effects from the book-bug. “I like to read because it gives me a chance to escape reality,” says Nikhil Manglik, grade 6. “I can cast a spell with Harry Potter, solve a crime with the Hardy Boys, jump into Greek mythology with Percy Jackson, or anything else!”
Little wonder then, that a habit that fosters such good feelings also precipitates good grades. According to a 2004 study, students “who read more than just assigned materials show increased vocabulary skills, improved test performance (and) higher levels of general knowledge.” (Hatfield) A decade earlier, researchers determined that “leisure reading … has been positively related to psychological absorption and tolerance of complexity.” (Mill & Kuiken)
Such evidence is strong support for middle school librarian Bernie Morrissey’s take on reading. “Pleasure reading helps young people become better students by increasing their verbal abilities. Instead of spending school breaks with SAT vocabulary books, students should check out lots of library books to read for fun.”
To encourage leisure reading, Morrissey sponsors a self-directed book club for students in grades 6-8. Participants collectively decide on a novel, read it and enjoy a discussion over snacks.
Demanding schedules and homework loads foiled a similar design at the upper school. In response, upper school librarians created the Non Required Reading Reading Club (NRRRC). Twice a month students gather to chat about whatever book they’ve read recently or to get a list of suggestions. Nerk, as it’s fondly called, “celebrates reading without adding an extra obligation to already busy students,” reports upper school librarian Meredith Cranston. “We enjoy enthusiastic conversation about books, author readings and upcoming publications over lunch. It’s fabulous!”
Three Nerk members have spun their love of reading into national publication. Denzil Sikka ’09, Nikita Agrawal ’10 and Christina Li, grade 12, have had multiple reviews
of young adult fiction printed in “Voice of Youth Advocates,” a leading review source for librarians serving teens. On a college acceptance letter, a handwritten note encouraged Sikka to “come write book reviews at Cal Tech!”
Summer provides a spot on the calendar to which all three Harker libraries anchor their leisure reading programs. The lower school publishes an annual summer reading list of age-appropriate authors. Students in K-5 who read five or more titles earn a library pin to wear on their dress uniforms.
The middle school summer reading program, Reading Roundtable, features small group book discussions based on collectively chosen titles and takes place in student advisories the first week of school.
Itching to talk about summer reads, upper school students get a chance to chat books the first week of school, too. Every spring teachers and administrators sponsor a title or genre, and students select from among all offerings. This year’s list features 53 unique choices ranging from Steve Berry’s “The Last Emperor” (sponsored by history teacher Ramsay Westgate) to “Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health” by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie (sponsored by chemistry teacher Robbie Korin) to the very popular mystery genre groups.
As in past years, ReCreate Reading 2011 will host an author as well. Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author of “Acceptance,” David L. Marcus will engage a large group of students via Skype and recount the experience of seven Long Island teens’ quest for college. Previous years’ ReCreate Reading programs have featured Dave Cullen, author of “Columbine,” and Matt Richtel, author of “Hooked.”
The success of such programs depends upon allowing students freedom of choice. “When you’re doing something you like, it always makes things so much easier,” says Mercedes Chien, grade 9, who points out, “A great book is one that makes me want to keep reading.”
Teachers – just like students – step up to summer reading every year. Facilitated by Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, the popular faculty reading program allows Harker teachers to opt in to a discussion over an intriguing professional title. This summer’s read: “The Edutainer: Connecting the Art and Science of Teaching” by Brad Johnson and Tammy Maxson.
Not to be left out of the frenzy, members of the class of 2011 shared their all-time favorites by creating a Senior Book Legacy. This year’s Legacies – annotated book recommendations – are featured on a wall-size, Facebook-like display of titles in Manzanita Hall.
Like readers everywhere, Harker bibliophiles tend to get a little evangelistic about reading. Consequently several programs feature Harker students providing books for children who would not otherwise enjoy them. The Pajama Project, an annual grade 3 service event, brings in donations of pajamas and bedtime books. The drive culminates in a schoolwide pajama day in which a Harker administrator reads – wearing jammies, of course – to the student body.
At the upper school, members of the Global Outreach and Empowerment (GEO) club collected funds to build two libraries in Africa through the Reach Out and Read program.
“Reading,” says Sue Smith, library director, “is a win-win. It’s fun and it makes us better.” And it goes well with ice cream.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Every day is “library day” at Harker’s lower school campus, where daily checkouts have skyrocketed to an all-time high.
From its humble beginnings as a place used primarily for storytelling in Harker’s former K-8 program, the Bucknall library has evolved into a bookworm’s paradise and 21st century research space for K-5 students.
When Harker’s lower school relocated from the upper school campus to the Bucknall campus in 1998, library development had been identified as a top priority during many in-depth long-range planning sessions. Improvements to the newly purchased lower school campus included the conversion of the multipurpose room into a library, which then benefited greatly from the school’s annual giving campaign for the purchase of books.
Today, a wealth of materials are available in the library, from DVDs and videos to books on tape and downloadable titles for e-readers. There are also professional and parenting resources, graphic novels, fiction and non-fiction books – more than 19,000 items in all.
“No student on the Bucknall campus should ever go home to an empty nightstand!” enthused Kathy Clark, lower school librarian, who has been working at Harker for the past 19 years. “There are a total of 1,200 items in circulation as of right now,” she reported, adding that several hundred books could be checked out on any given day.
A past presenter at the Harker Teachers Institute, California Association of Independent Schools and Internet Librarian and International Society for Technology in Education, Clark is also a member of several library associations as well as a former Harker parent.
Her son (Daniel Clark ’10) currently works with Harker’s tech and theater departments. He worked on sound and lighting, as well as acted as a microphone handler, during the recent library-sponsored Ogre Awards, which is a beloved annual production and part of the library’s grade 2 curriculum of comparative folklore.
To help keep up with increased circulation, the lower school library’s staff of three is aided by a dedicated group of 18 parent volunteers, many of whom have stayed on even after their children moved on to middle school.
“Without the volunteers, we couldn’t do it. They are the heart and soul of the library,” said Moureen Lennon, a library assistant who also works as the library’s volunteer coordinator. “It’s a huge commitment and ensures that students can check out in a timely manner. All new volunteers are trained on where library items are located and how to reshelve the books,” she added.
Along with expanding the library’s collection, Clark helps students navigate the use of 21st century technology tools for research. Yet, cautions Clark, even though students can research online nowadays, it’s more important than ever to learn basic information skills. To that end, teaching them how to find, evaluate and use information for research, both online and in print, is a primary focus.
“I can still remember a time when we used to ask the students if they had Internet access at home. Now it’s a given. But the question is what’s the best way to search for information online,” explained Clark, adding, “Google is not always the best choice.”
However, Clark stressed that the lower school library offers information in a variety of formats which provide lots of developmental options for students. In addition to the library’s extensive print collections, all Harker students have 24/7 access to more than 90 outstanding subscription databases and thousands of fiction and non-fiction titles through eBook subscription services managed by the libraries.
No matter how they prefer to read books, all lower school students enjoy weekly visits to the library, either for formal classes or free-reading periods. In the primary grades, classes are taught a story-based curriculum, using teaching techniques such as acting, listening and stimulating the imagination. Noting that books were the precursor to television and the movies, Clark said that many folktales heavily influenced popular children’s movies. “I tell the kids, I don’t do Disney … I have the originals!” she said, referring to the impressive collection of international folk and fairytale books available in the library.
Although grade 5 students do not attend formal weekly classes, Clark sees them regularly as she collaborates with their subject teachers to teach important research skills through engaging projects and assignments. Additionally, grade 5 students are encouraged to simply read for pleasure through a library program called the Fifth Grade Reads Project.
“In grade 5, we noticed a drop off in interest (and time) for reading due to increased homework and extracurricular activities. We launched the program to help fight that reading drop-off,” said Lennon, who came up with the idea for the project, in which students are regularly introduced to various authors and their works, but are then free to choose and check out anything they want. They are also given free-reading time in the library.
Another important element of the lower school library is its ongoing collaboration with teachers across subjects and grades to enrich lessons with information literacy skills.
For example, a group of grade 5 students – Emma-Leigh Stoll, Nilisha Baid, Ryan Tobin and Srinath Somasundaram – were recently in the library videotaping a scene for their “Famous Americans Project,” a special cross-disciplinary assignment between their computer and social studies classes. The project relies heavily on library research to ultimately create original short historic films depicting the lives of selected high-profile individuals.
With a gray wig and other props, the group was creating a film about Susan B. Anthony, an American social reformer who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement. The team agreed that the best thing about the project was how much it mirrored the real working world as a truly collaborative experience. The students said they relied heavily on the library’s resources to write their historical script.
Another exciting collaborative effort, new this year, is a grade 4 endeavor utilizing both the library and math lab, which formed from a career project developed as part of the fourth grade curriculum.
“This year we were lucky to embark on collaboration with elementary math teacher Eileen Schick for fourth grade,” reported lower school librarian Katrina Nye. “Students worked on a career project, creating a basic household budget and getting hands-on experience using their online research skills. Every class learned the basics of Web evaluation, gaining an understanding of different sources of information, and using them appropriately in a real-life context.”
Earlier in the school year, fourth graders worked on a country research project in a collaborative effort between the librarian and language arts teacher. Meanwhile, working in small groups, grade 3 students researched the care and habitat of zoo animals. They then created a “virtual zoo” using online project pages for their library class. (To view those results go to: http://library.harker.org/zoo.)
In addition to an array of year-round programs and projects, every spring the lower school library hosts a popular annual book fair, which coincides with Grandparents’ Day. Held in the Bucknall library, the sale includes a wide variety of books. The proceeds support the purchase of additional library materials, but, said Clark, the greatest benefit to the school is the wonderful sense of community the book fairs inspire.
According to Harker’s library director, Sue Smith, information literacy is the cornerstone of the library program schoolwide. “Students enjoy rich collections of print and eBooks selected to support their interests and passions. We promote reading through book clubs, book talks, author visits, special displays and summer reading programs,” she said.
Reflecting back on her own library lessons, grade 4 student Zeel Thakkar said, “I would use library skills in my career … when I read through work-related information and pick out the information I need to solve a problem.”