Media Center         

We have the BEST readers here at Germantown Elementary!

Angie Kaas, Media Specialist and Molly Van Akkeren, Media Assistant
 

Digital Citizenship Week 2026

MCPS is Common Sense Media District. As a requirement of that, every year your child completes 3-5 digital literacy lessons as part of their library instruction on topics such as healthy habits, their digital footprint, privacy and safety, cyberbullying, communication and information literacy. More information about the lessons can be found below. 
We understand that finding time or opportunities to discuss digital matters with your child can be challenging. That’s why we created this calendar of home activities. You can do 1 activity or all of the activities. You can do them on the day listed or any day of the week that works for your schedule. Every student that participates will receive a book. You just need to complete this Google form to let us know.  All of the information needed is linked below and available through Dr. Henriquez's weekly ParentSquare message or you can go to the Media Center page of the Germantown Elementary School website.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Kaas or Mrs. VanAkkerren.
 

Book Checkout

Students will begin the year checking out 1-3 books, depending on their grade. Each week that they return all of their books, they get a star on their card. As they show their responsibility, they can check out more books. The books are checked out for 2 weeks but they can return them every week. 

Overdue Books

There are no fines or penalties for overdue books, but students cannot get more books if they have overdue books. 

Lost or Damaged Books

Our priority is to have to books available for the students. Lost or damaged books can be paid for. Purchasing a replacement of the lost book is preferred. We just ask that picture books are hardcover. 

   

Supporting our Library

Support from several grants and community organizations have helped us create a welcoming environment with books that students love to read. Since August 2022, we have added 3,179 books. Our entire collection is 6,444 books! 

  • A Jan Stauber-Sherlock Holmes grant provided us with two 30 book beginning chapter book series of Sherlock Holmes tales
  • Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation consistantly supports us. Because the library needs to serve multiple purposes and audiences, in 2026 they approved our grant request of almost $1500 to purchase new tables on wheels so we can easily move them around depending on the activity and audience in the library. In 2025, they awarded us $1500 to purchase over 100 chapter books and graphic novels in Spanish. They also gave us $750 in 2024 to purchase new nonfiction to support our CKLA curriculum. In 2026, they provided us with enough funding for almost all of the student tables on wheels that make our library a more flexible space for all of our activities. 
  • Mrs. Henriquez won $1500 from FirstBook Marketplace at the grand opening of the Ross in Germantown. That provided every student with a new book last winter and over 200 new books to our library collection. 
  • During every book fair, our supportive PTA donates books new, high interest books to us as well as providing gift certificates to some students to make purchases. In 2025, they used some of their Scholastic Dollars to purchase 50 high demand books for our collection.
  • During the summer of 2026, MCPS replaced our carpet, tile, bookcases, and circulation desk. The spaces is safer, brighter, more welcoming and more functional.