With another school year completed, we want to wish all the students at Maynooth Public School a happy and fun-filled summer. We have immensely enjoyed getting to share the library with you this past school year, and we look forward to seeing you again in the Fall! Special thanks also to all the teachers who brought their classes to the library each week.
At the beginning of every school year, we invite classes from Maynooth Public School to visit the library to borrow books, engage in an interactive storytime, and participate in other discussions, activities, games, and crafts.
These visits allow students to familiarize themselves with the library and staff, as well as encouraging them to ask questions and make suggestions. Our goal is to empower kids to not only feel comfortable using the library, but also to make it feel like their own space.
This year, we had two programs suggested to us by students from MPS. The first was a request by Tommy and Arlo for an after school book club, and together with staff the kids set their own parameters for what the program would be, when it would happen, and what it would be called - A Novel Idea's Kids Book Club.
This program ran from November through to June, as they worked on reading Roald Dahl's "The Twits," and Rick Riordan's "The Lightning Thief." Members of the kids book club also sent out postcards to their favourite author (or otherwise famous person), created their own buttons, and made a bean toss game. The program was such a success that we will be resuming after the summer.
Our second suggestion came from James, a student who regularly builds and displays LEGO creations in the library. He wanted the library to do a LEGO challenge, and suggested it be space themed to go along with our TD Summer Reading Club this year. We thought this was a fantastic idea, and have planned to do one on July 20th at 1pm.
For some children, these class visits are their first introduction to what a public library has to offer. Many of these students return with their families to explore and share what they've done while at the library with their class. In some cases, these students are the ones to introduce their families to the library, and they enjoy being the experts on the space and where to find everything.
Our partnership with Maynooth Public School isn't limited to the weekly visits from classes, however; this year, we also did some outreach at their annual Fun Day, where Library CEO Wendy read stories in the shade while students divided into teams rotated through each station's activity. Other participating organizations included the Hastings Highlands Fire Department, Bancroft OPP, and Diane from North Hastings Children's Services. You can see the post from MPS on this event here.
Now that the school year is over, we are gearing up for a busy season of summer programming at the library. We have a 4-week series on Getting Ready for Kindergarten put on by Stacie from Métis Nation, for families who will be sending kids to school in the Fall, as well as our weekly TD Summer Reading Club activities and monthly special events for kids. Keep your eye on our website and social media for upcoming programs, and if you haven't brought your kids and grandkids to the library yet, what are you waiting for? It might just be their new favourite place.