Susan Hardesty, Library Media Specialst

“Good children’s literature appeals not only to the child in the adult but to the adult in the child.”
~ Anonymous ~

Greetings from the very busy GMS library! We hosted our annual fall book fair, and thanks to your support we netted $600 worth of merchandise. Thank you!

The book club which first met in September has been a success so far with an average of 20 students in attendance per meeting. The group chose a name for themselves at the last meeting and will from here on out be known as "The Geeks." Proud book lovers, one and all! The book club elected eighth
grade student Bailey Bange as their president. They also selected two student moderators, Julie Hall, 7th, and Abbey Meng, 8th, to assist with book discussions. The next item on the club's agenda is to decide on a book for the whole group to read. Please encourage your student to join us.

Here are a few books that were acquired during the book fair that your student might enjoy.

• 13 Gifts by Wendy Mass. After breaking into the school to steal a goat, Tara Brennan is sent to stay with relatives who she hardly knows. This includes her eleven-year-old cousin Emily, who ate a whole stick of glue the last time they were together. Tara discovers, quickly, that her cousin isn't the only odd character in town.
• Darth Paper Strikes Back by Tom Angleberger. A year after Origami Yoda became the guru of McQuarrie Middle School, Dwight has been suspended and may be expelled, which means no more Origami Yoda. Even worse, Darth Paper, a puppet created by Dwight's nemesis, Harvey, has taken Yoda's place. He spews insults and evil, and may be responsible for getting Dwight kicked out of school in the first place. Now the kids of McQuarrie are trying to build a case to save Dwight.
• Wild Things by Clay Carmichael. Eleven-yearold Zoe trusts no one. Her father has been gone since before she was born. Her irresponsible mother, who left her alone most of the time, has died, and Zoe is sent to live with her reclusive uncle, former surgeon Henry Royster. Sure that her uncle will also let her down, Zoe has trouble adjusting.

Parents, have you taken the time to explore the district’s library system? The Internet is a wonderful tool for researching information. However, it can also be time consuming, and not all websites are appropriate or reliable sources for students. In order to eliminate time consuming “Googling” for information, the district librarians are encouraging students and teachers to use the online library system called Destiny. The catalog not only allows access to books found in each school’s library, but it also contains a wide variety of age appropriate databases, which have been chosen to meet the information needs of students throughout the district. Databases such as NASA.com, Fact Monster, Atlapeida, and the History Channel can be found by using the online catalog system. Another great feature is that all these databases can be retrieved from the comfort and convenience of home.

To gain access to the card catalog click here

This will bring up all of the district’s libraries. Click on GMS, which brings up the card catalog. To access the databases, go to the “power” tab, which will bring up all of the databases. These databases are user friendly; however, if assistance is needed, please feel free to call Mrs. Hardesty at the Goddard Middle School library.

Helpful Links to Other SItes

World Book Online – access to the World Book encyclopedia & more