Media Center
Media Center Staff
Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Mead Mrs. Jennifer Wallace is thrilled to be the Media Specialist at Belmont going on five years. Before coming to Belmont she worked several years at Catholic University, as a stacks supervisor. She enjoys reading, cooking, scrapbooking, and spending time with her family (which includes two cats, Amber and Jade; her husband, Sean and now twin girls, Natalie and Cordelia).
Mrs. Claudette Mead has been the Media Assistant at Belmont going on six years. She is currently studying to be a media specialist. She really enjoys shelving books, reading and scrapbooking, and also spending time with her family (Ed her husband, Eddie her son and Jazz her dog).
Information
We have an A week / B week schedule for Media Center this year. During A week, all classes have a 30 minute lesson in the Media Center, followed by a ten minute book exchange. During B week, all classes meet in the Media Center or the Computer Lab depending on their classroom teacher, followed by a ten minute book exchange. This B week is intended to be a flexible schedule that allows for collaboration between the classroom teacher and the media specialist.
All library books can be borrowed for two weeks and renewed for another two weeks. Students can return their library books every week, or keep them the entire two weeks.
This year we will be participating in the Black Eyed Susan Program. Every year we get a list of picture book nominees and chapter book nominees. In April we get the opportunity to vote online for our favorite book in each category. In order to vote in the picture book category you must read at least 8 of the nominees. In order to vote in the chapter book category you must read at least 3 of the nominees. All schools in the state of Maryland are invited to vote for the winners of the Black Eyed Susan Award each year.
Good Morning Belmont is our weekly TV show where the fifth graders can bring their talents and knowledge for all of Belmont to watch. The fifth graders have to fill out an application, have their parents sign it, get a recommendation from one of their teachers, write a practice script. The shows are televised every Friday morning starting in October and running thru May.
Handbook
Mission Statement
We, the students and staff of Belmont Elementary School, will always give our best effort and work together to become independent users of the library media center and life-long learners.
Ground Rules
Be Kind
Be Safe
Be Prepared
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award
Each year the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award honors outstanding children’s books that are chosen by Maryland students. The purpose of the award is to promote good reading habits and a lifelong appreciation of literature by encouraging students to read quality contemporary literature. The picture book nominations are read to the students in Grades K-2 during the school year. Then the students vote for their favorite book in April. In Grades 3-5 students are introduced to the ten nominated chapter books through book talks by the staff. Any student who reads at least three of the nominated chapter books, or eight of the nominated picture books and fills out a reading log is invited to vote. Students vote online and the results are sent to MASL. The winners are announced in May.
Visit the MASL site to learn more
Morning Announcements
Fifth grade students can apply to become part of the Morning Announcement Show. We currently have three teams of 6 students that are rotating each week. On the week of their show, the team members meet on Monday to plan the show, turn in their script assignment on Wednesday, and meet to practice their script on Thursday. Team members must arrive at 8:30 on Friday morning to allow time for set up and practice before we go on live. We are having a lot of fun with the show this year, and we invite you to come in and watch from your child's classroom.
Belmont Book Club
Donate a book to honor a birthday, special accomplishment or a favorite teacher. A $10.00 donation will allow the student to pick a book from our new arrivals or an old favorite. A special book plate is placed in the book with the honoree's name and the occasion. The honoree is then presented with a certificate with their name and the name of the book selected.
Copyright
When you are gathering information from a book, magazine, or the Internet remember that the author owns the words as they are written. You must put the information in your own words. To learn more about copyright visit: Copyright Kids
Circulation
Students may check out books for a two week loan period. Books may be renewed for an additional two week period unless there is another student on the reserve list for that book. If a student has an overdue book it must be returned or paid for before the student may check out another book.
Kindergarten: one book at a time
Grades 1-2: two books at a time
Grades 3-5: three books at a time
Scheduling/Classes
The media center is open every school day. Students are encouraged to visit for research and book selection. The media center follows an A/B week schedule. During A week all students visit to check out books and have an extended time for a lesson in the media center. In B week all students have a book check out time and an extended time for a lesson. B week lessons are a collaboration between the Media Specialist and the Classroom teacher. These lessons may be held in the Computer Lab or the Media Center.