The library is a resource for the entire Pennekamp community--students, teachers, staff, administrators, and families. You can visit the library whenever it is open except during class visit times. The library is open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every weekday (except school holidays), but on occasional Wednesdays the library will close at 1:30 p.m. so that I can attend districtwide library staff meetings. This year to accommodate class visits the library will not be open on Fridays during lunch.
Every class visits the library every week. Before and after school, families may visit the library until it closes, but children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Students are permitted to check out the same number of books as their grade level; so, for example, a first-grader may take one book and a fifth-grader may take five books. Parents may check out ten books at a time. Kindergarteners are also allowed to check out one book but will not begin checking out until December. The loan period is one week. A book may be renewed three times, for a total of four weeks. Please return books as soon as you are through with them. (There may be a long waitlist for the very book you have checked out!)
This website is the best way to find out what's happening at the library. I update it pretty much every week. The class visit schedule shows when your child is coming to library and therefore what day he or she needs to bring any library books to school. On the Weekly Readalouds page you can see what I am reading to each grade and what library skills we are practicing. If I show any internet content during class visits, I will usually link to it from either my weekly blog post. You can look back through previous years' content to find books that have been featured in the library before. You are obviously aware of the website (since you are reading this post!). If you find it interesting, I'd be grateful for your recommending it to other Pennekamp parents.
I'd like to express my thanks to the Pennekamp PTA, which is far and away the main source of funding for library materials. When your child brings home a beautiful book from the library, that book was almost surely purchased through PTA funds. I would also like to thank MBEF for raising the funds that pay for my position as well as for the many, many other ways MBEF benefits our students, teachers, and community. Thank you, in turn, to the families that support the Pennekamp PTA and MBEF--your generosity makes our library possible.