Orchard School Library/Media Center

Orchard School's Library/Media Center serves about 370 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The library collection now totals over 25,000 books and A/V materials.
Click on the book to access the Orchard School library collection online!

Click on this BookFlix icon to read some books or watch some videos at school.

Click on this BookFlix icon to read some books or watch some videos at home. Check with your teacher for the login name and password.

This is the view as you enter the Orchard School Library/Media Center.	Looking to the right as you enter the library is the Fiction Section. Students may put their favorite books in the trunk to share with others.
Classes in kindergarten through third grade are read to on these "story steps."	Here's a closer view of the top of the story step tree. Book characters are "reading" their books!
Areas of the library are identified with objects related to the subject of the books. For example, there is a weaving and a Picasso reproduction over the arts section, a metal truck is in with transportation books and many animals of all kinds (masks, stuffed, wooden, as well as live) are in the 500s.	Here's the beginning of the Easy picture book section. Over the years, many parents have donated stuffed book characters to add to the collection. You'll also see some hanging on the arch in the picture to the left.
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.

Orchard School's LMC is home to some very interesting pets. Move your cursor over the images below to see another view.

	Max is a Russian tortoise. His favorite foods are romaine lettuce and radicchio. Max has been with us for about twelve 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 eleven years. Since Taracula first came to us on Halloween, a student decided to give it a name combining the words "tarantula" and "Dracula." In the "roll-over" image, you'll see Taracula drinking from a water bowl.
	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 Morris, 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. Sharkie is Orchard School Library's oldest pet. It's about thirteen years old!

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

This page last updated: 08/22/09