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Updated May 5, 2008
Library
Books by the Bushel, Biography Fair, Donation Form, Links,  Monarch Award, Schedule, Wish List

Library books at our school number over 10,000 volumes, including fiction, non-fiction, and general reference materials. Students in grades one through five have a regularly scheduled weekly library period. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students have access to the library at any time during regular school hours, at their teachers' discretion. Kindergarten students come to the school library once a week for story time.
   Students may check out two books a week. Lost or damaged books must be replaced, and no books may be checked out by a student with overdue or lost books until the materials have been returned or replaced. Incentives are given to students in grades one through four to encourage them to return books on time.
   Students are invited to donate new books to the library or to classrooms through the school's Birthday Book Program.

Biography Fair

KING TUT, GALILEO, and BONNIE BLAIR are among the famous people that nine ambitious St. Matthew students researched for the Champaign Public Library Biography Fair.  The students have written a paper and designed an art project to display what they have learned.  All projects were submitted to the Champaign library and awards were presented on Saturday, May 3 at 2 p.m. 

Congratulations to Kathleen Tracy and Caroline Gillette, who were both winners. Kathleen's project won her the grand prize of one hundred dollars while Caroline won a twenty-five dollar gift certificate to Border's Bookstore.

                       Participating students and their projects are:

  Books by the Bushel 2008
We wish to extend a special “Thank You” to the following families and friends of St. Matthew School who generously donated new books to the library through the “Books by the Bushel” event at Pages for All Ages Bookstore.    We appreciate the efforts of the Junior League of Champaign-Urbana to support reading in our community by sponsoring this event.

 
MONARCH AWARD

St. Matthew School students have once again voted for their favorite books from among the nominees on this year’s Illinois School Library Media Association Monarch Award list. Two books tied for first place at St. Matthew’s:  Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel and If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen.  The statewide winner was If I Built a Car, in which a boy designs a vehicle with fantastic abilities on land, sea, and air.  This is the second year that St. Matthew students have picked the winning book.  Last year’s winner was Superdog:  The Heart of a Hero by Carolyn Buehner.  The Monarch award is named for the Illinois state insect and symbolizes the growth and change of children as they develop reading skills.

Links
Champaign Public Library - http://www.champaign.org

*WebSites to Check Out

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site - http://www.carolhurst.com/

Children's Book Council - http://www.cbcbooks.org/

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Awards - http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/

Children's Book Awards and Other Literary Prizes - http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/awards.htm

Newbery Medal Home Page! - http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html

Caldecott Medal Home Page! - http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html

CLASSROOM LIBRARY SCHEDULE FOR 2007-2008

Students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade may use the library at any time during the school day, with their teacher’s permission.  Kindergarten students come to the library once a week for storytime.