Orchard School Library/Media Center

This is the view as you enter the Orchard School Library/Media Center.	Classes in kindergarten through third grade are read to on these "story steps."
There is a Project Area tucked away in the corner for messier activities and digital video creations.	A puppet theater is available for shows or just a quiet work space.
The "Tech Room" has nine computers. Sometimes referred to as "Tech Alley" or "The Tech Cave," this is a great space for small groups of students.	Outside the "Tech Room," there are an additional 10 computers. There are a total of 27 computers, 3 scanners, 2 laser printers (1 b & w and 1 color), and 10 digital cameras (4 w/digital video) available in Orchard's LMC.
The LMC classroom is a great space for instruction and presentations. It is equipped with a SMARTboard with ceiling-mounted projection. Most LMC classes begin here and then students proceed to their own computers.	Since Orchard School is a wireless environment, this cart of laptops comes in handy. Teachers may sign the cart out and their students may research wirelessly on the Internet, work in their network space, etc, etc...
	Digital video projects are created in the Project Area of Orchard's LMC. These two dedicated computers are equipped with external storage and can either burn videos to CD or transfer them to VHS tape.

Click on the books to see a panoramic view of Orchard School's Library/Media Center.

Max is a Russian tortoise. His favorite foods are romaine lettuce and radicchio. Max has been with us for about eleven years. (His toy friend, Maxine, is in the background.)

Taracula is a Chilean Rose- Haired Tarantula and it has lived in the Orchard School Library for about ten years. Since Taracula first came to us on Halloween, a student decided to give it a name combining the words "tarantula" and "Dracula."

Balboa, a Columbian Red-Tailed Boa, lived in Orchard's LMC for two years. An Orchard School family raises boas and in the spring of 2001, they were blessed with seventeen baby boas. One of the smaller ones was a gift to the school. Balboa was traded to the pet store for Spikella, a spiny-tailed iguana, in August, 2003. Spikella lived in the LMC for a couple of years, but was replaced during the summer of 2005 with Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Moe. Read more about these creatures below.

	Max is a Russian tortoise. His favorite foods are romaine lettuce and radicchio. Max has been with us for about eleven years. (His toy friend, Maxine, is in the background.)
	Taracula is a Chilean Rose- Haired Tarantula and it has lived in the Orchard School Library for about ten years. Since Taracula first came to us on Halloween, a student decided to give it a name combining the words "tarantula" and "Dracula."
	Balboa, a Columbian Red-Tailed Boa, lived in Orchard's LMC for two years. An Orchard School family raises boas and in the spring of 2001, they were blessed with seventeen baby boas. One of the smaller ones was a gift to the school. Balboa was traded to the pet store for Spikella, a spiny-tailed iguana, in August, 2003. Spikella lived in the LMC for a couple of years, but was replaced during the summer of 2005 with Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Moe. Read more about these creatures below.
	Joining the LMC in the spring of 2007, Morris is our newest pet. It's a Sunburst Veiled Chameleon! Morris was chosen for the library by an Orchard student who won a teacher auction prize to pick out a new pet for the library. Morris was a baby, only a couple of inches long, when he first came to us. We all think he was a great choice!
	Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Moe are green anoles. Although they aren't true chameleons, like Mango, they are called American chameleons because they can change color from dark brown to bright green. They are native to Florida.
Not pictured here (as yet) are the two LMC aquariums. They are home to many interesting types of fish, including a freshwater iridescent shark and a crayfish, named Crayola. Here's a picture of Crayola showing the many eggs that she carried in June 2006. (Look carefully under her tail.) The image below shows three of Crayola's "kids." The eggs hatched during the summer of 2006. This picture was taken in mid-August and six little ones could be seen crawling around.
	Here's Sharkie, the iridescent shark. This picture was taken in October 2007 by a second grade student for a technology project.

Page created by Donna Macdonald, Orchard School's Library/Media Specialist.

This page last updated: 10/20/07