Library Books and News Archives

This story we made up in Library Class (in ROUNDS format,) is in preparation of a unit on Searching Strategies and Information Providers. 

This is a Library activity that prepares us for using Search Engines effectively!

This is a class-made story that will serve as our experiment in searching using Search Engines. 

This is a class-made story that will serve as our experiment in searching using Search Engines. 

Pulitzer Prize winning poet Gregory Pardlo taught a Master Class for the Advanced Poetry Writing students and then participated in an event with Coordinator of Creative Writing Program Chris Hood titled "The Third Rail: Writing about Fatherhood and Race."

The First Program Library unveiled its brand new space designed for problem-solving and STEAM activities.

The library is proud to display our collection of Diwali stories for the Indian festival of lights! Faux candles were lit, Hanuman made his mighty leap (from the fearsome "sea monster") and students enjoyed sharing stories about making diyas, wearing fancy clothes and eating delicious sweets. We encourage all students to leap forward into the new year with the strength and courage of Hanuman. Happy Diwali!

The FP Library has never looked more festive! In collaboration with the Español department, FP librarians recreated a Mexican ofrenda featuring sugar skulls, skeletons decor and vividly colored papel picado which dangled in banners across the ceiling. FP Spanish teacher Natalia Hernanadez, created cempasuchil paper flowers (marigolds), and pinned them to each country on the Hispanic Heritage Story Map that celebrates a form of Dia de los Muertos! Librarians took part in the fun too and send their best wishes to all during this holiday season.

The library is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! We have brought back our Latin American story map and have created a wonderful new booklist of hispanic titles which are available in our library. During classes, we are learning about the famous Biblioburro of Colombia (Waiting for the Biblioburro by Monica Brown), as well as different hispanic families (Mango, Abuela and Me by Meg Medina and Abuela by Arthur Dorros). Children were also delighted with new hispanic adaptations on fairy tales including La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya. ¡Feliz leyendo!

Happy first day of school! We are so excited to welcome back our wonderful students in First Grade, Second Grade and Third Grade! We are equally excited to meet our new Kindergarten students and look forward to teaching them after our little-ist students phase in this week. As a reminder, all books borrowed over the summer will be due on Monday, September 17th. K-1 students are allowed to borrow one book during every library class. Grade 2 is allowed to borrow 2 books and Grade 3 is allowed to borrow 3 books. Students are asked to return books after two weeks. There are NO late fees (hurray!), though we may request funds or a replacement copy if a book is lost or damaged.

We love having visitors and encourage parents to come in after pick-up to browse and borrow with their children. We will also be putting the call out for any parents interested in volunteering to shelve books or assist on some library projects once a week. If you have any questions, please don't hesistate to reach out to us! You can reach Maria Alegre (K-1) at malegre@dalton.org or Christine Nassar (2-3) at cnassar@dalton.org

Happy reading!

The High School Library has new temporary digs -- on the east end of the 2nd floor.
Our space may be smaller, but our services are the same.  Stop by for a tour to see our new space and learn how the library can support you this year.

For the summer of 2018, we challenge the MS Students to expand their reading horizon by reading books from the SUMMER READING RECOMMENDED LISTS or from their local libraries and bookstores that achieve three goals.   Students who report back to the MS Library in the fall that demonstrate meeting all these goals will receive certificates and gifts.  Details of the challenge and an example are: 

Third graders had the opportunity this past month to create manuscript paintings using techniques and materials from the Age of Exploration. On behalf of Dalton’s Museum Program, artist and materials consultant Patricia Miranda showed the students how to grind their own pigments from malachite, saffron, cochineal, and clay. Each two-day workshop was designed to support the 3rd grade social studies and archaeology curriculum. The students in House 37, for example, who study Mexico City, made Aztec-style manuscript paintings on bark paper.

Wishing you all a fabulous summer -- full of fun, free time, and good books!
Click HERE for a list of summer reading suggestions.

Today, across the United States, people celebrated National Poem in Your Pocket Day! "Poem in Your Pocket Day was initiated in April 2002 by the Office of the Mayor in New York City, in partnership with the city’s Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education. In 2008, the Academy of American Poets took the initiative to all fifty United States, encouraging individuals around the country to participate." (Academy of American Poets)

Little Dalton students were encouraged to come by the library to pick a poem from our "Poem in your Pocket" basket and carry it with them all day. Students could then share their poems with one another throughout the day. In just this one day, we distributed roughly 250 poems!

We hope our students have had as much fun celebrating National Poetry Month as we have!

In celebration of Women's History Month, the library is featuring books written, illustrated and about women who have made history. Thank you to all of the wonderful women and girls who have shaped our world into a better place. This one is for you!

For the past month, Grade 8 students have been reading and discussing works by authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Along with their own individual works, the authors co-wrote the award-winning All American Boys that deals with police brutality from the alternative voices of the victim, Rashad, and a witness, Quinn.  Jason spoke honestly about his experiences as a black man from an economically disadvantaged community while Brendan talked about learning to recognize the privileges - and responsibilities - he has as a white man in this country.

On Monday, February 26th, award winning authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely visited with all 8th grade students and held two discussion sessions. 

During a Fall 2017 English/Library joint unit, 6th grade students learned and practiced writing critical reviews modeled after those in School Library Journal or Kirkus Review. Each student submitted one review on one of the three books they read in the summer and at the beginning of the Fall semester.  English teachers and librarians read all 99 entries and selected 23 to be published on the Library catalog, attached to each title being reviewed. 

In fall 2017, 6th grade students attended several critical review writing lessons during English classes.  Each student chose to review one of the three books they read over the summer and at the beginning of the term. English teachers Sharon Almog and Ivy Leibowitz, and Librarians Joe Quain, Christy Payne, and Roxanne Feldman read through all the entries and selected the following entries as exemplary reviews.  

When facing a list of Search Engine Results, how does one determine the Authority of each web site or other information sources?

With the chill of winter comes an exciting time in the library: preparation for the yearly announcement of the prestigious Caldecott Award. This award is given by the American Library Association for the most distinguished illustrations in a picture book. Though the real Caldecott Committee will make their announcement on Monday, February 12th, 2018, First Program students are hard at work evaluating different picture books to see which they believe most deserves the award. Students will be participating in their own vote in the first week of February to see which books will be adorned with the Dalton Medal.

Come to the library to learn about the man and the movement in whose honor we have Monday off. Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day!