Welcome to another year at Milne Grove School ! I’m having a great time seeing all my old friends and meeting so many new ones. After finishing up a major inventory project, we are now starting library and lab services. We’ll start off the year discussing book care and library rules, and reading books about libraries, school, and more. In October we will read about fire prevention and Halloween, as well as many other topics the kids are covering in class.

Watch for library books to come home soon, and help your son or daughter remember to take good care of their books and be sure they are returned on time! Many children like to keep their books in their backpack so they have them at school every day – just don’t forget to take them out and look at them at home! New books may not be checked out if last week’s books are still at home.

As part of our Character Counts program, I am once again rewarding children for being Responsible citizens: For each class, I will hold a weekly drawing for a prize from my "Treasure Chest." Only those students who remember to return both of their books on library day will be eligible for the drawing. The chest contains books, small toys, pencils, etc.

If a library book is ever lost or damaged while checked out to your child, please let me know! If I know that an adult knows a book is missing, I can give you more time while also allowing your child to check out new items. If I know about damages, I can often repair them myself at no cost. Please, if a book ever gets wet, make sure I know about it! It takes much longer than you might think to completely dry out a book, and I need to continue to dry it here in order to prevent the growth of mold.

If your child does not already have a card for the public library, stop in at the Lockport Library and get her one! All you need is a driver’s license (or photo ID) and one other item showing your current address. You may even fill out and print the form ahead of time by going to www.dpvlib.org .

Did you know that Milne Grove keeps copies of most of our textbooks at the public library? If your child ever needs a book that she did not bring home, just inquire at the Children’s Desk.

Computer Lab News

In the computer lab we’ll start the year by going over our Cool Tools – the expectations for proper behavior in the lab. We also discussed the names for all the different components of our computer stations and went over many “need to know” items. Students will then begin a variety of activities, both online and via school software.

Schoolwide we are focusing strongly on hygiene and how to slow the spread of germs. We are especially concentrating on this in the Computer Lab, where all the children directly touch the same keyboards and mice. To cut down on illness, we will be washing our hands immediately before and after using the lab. I have been really trying to get through to the kids that they should not put their fingers in their noses or mouths, especially at school, and most certainly not in the Lab! Please help to reinforce this at home!

Please be sure to visit the MG LRC page on the District website, www.d91.net for library and lab info and for links to some of the websites we use at school. Just click on the globe at the top of the MG LRC page! Also be sure to visit the KG LRC page (Cyberlibrary) for tons of information and links to our database and research subscriptions.

Remember, Milne Grove provides “community” headphones for student use in the lab, but you are welcome to send in a set of your own if you would rather not have your child share with others. Just be sure to mark them with your child’s name and put them in a zip-style bag, also marked with their name. Any inexpensive headphones (like what you use for a personal CD player, etc.) will work, but we do not recommend the earbud style – kids’ ears are too small.

Volunteer Corner

I am still looking for a few more volunteers for the kindergarten classes’ first visits to the library. If you are a kindergarten parent who is available on September 21, 28, and/or October 5 during your child’s library time, please let me know!

I welcome back Carmen Mancera, my very dedicated library volunteer of the past few years! If you see Mrs. Mancera, please thank her for her help. I can always use more help with reshelving books or working on special projects in the Library. Please let me know (815-838-0542, x122 or ltumino@d91.net) if you might have some time to help out – I’d love to have you!

As always, my sincere thanks go out to Carmen Mancera, Kristy Greene, Diane Cotter, Donna Romano, and Claudia Zekas (My mom – she retired, yay!), who all come to help reshelve library books. I appreciate all their help so much!

Please contact me if you might be able to help out. Any time at all is appreciated. You may reach me by email (probably best) or phone at ltumino@d91.net or 815-838-0542, ext. 122.

Once the library opens to students I will also need several kindergarten parents to come in for the first few library sessions to help the kids learn their way around. Watch for a flyer in September! Year-round I can always use help reshelving books, so if you have any time to spare, and like to restore order to things, keep the library in mind – we’d be grateful for any time you can give us!

Just contact me at ltumino@d91.net or 815-838-0542, ext. 122.

-Mrs. Tumino