Dear Scarsdale Middle School Students/Graduates and Families,
The purpose of this post is to let you know what SPL is doing to support you in completing your SMS + Rising 9th-grader summer reading assignments this year.
Items listed in our catalog as being "Available" and having a "Summer Reading" location are shelved in the bay (i.e., column of shelves) closest to the cafe (as pictured below). The two shelves at the top house items we own from the Rising 9th-grader list, sorted in alphabetical order by *ITEM TITLE* (using the first word of the title, or the second word in the title in the case of any beginning with 'A' , 'An', or 'The') and marked with "blue dot" stickers on their spines. The list is located here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fC3WIYlLC63uoYTnbrdW2yRLpifJuGvM?usp=sharing
The bottom three shelves house books for Grades 6, 7, and 8--also in alphabetical order by *ITEM TITLE* (as described above) and marked with "yellow-orange dot" stickers on their spines. The list and challenges are located here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FSUVeucWSnsOxwPh5h3lhjSz-052slCY?usp=sharing -AND- this amazing YouTube video was produced by SMS Librarian Shana Frazin, her students, and her colleagues to introduce you all to this year's summer reading challenges: https://youtu.be/JiiOfQq4YY4
The large sign at the top of the bay is an enlarged printout of the summer's reading challenge themes. There are letter-sized printouts of the lists/challenges hanging from magnetic hooks adjacent to the bay; however, there are also QR codes posted nearby so you can scan the one pertaining to you--Grades 6-8 code -OR- Grade 9 code--to pull up the relevant school-provided list(s) on your personal devices for easy reference.
This year's reading requirements and recommendations are pretty different from previous years. Some kids can read whatever three books they want within the parameters of the challenge themes provided, and others have one required book and the flexibility to choose their other two from the challenge themes, some of which are quite broad.
READING CHALLENGE THEMES PROVIDED BY THE SCHOOL:
- A book set in a country other than the US
- the LAST book in a series
- A book with a one-word title
- An award-winning book from the year you were born
- A nonfiction book about an event that captured the world's attention
- A short story anthology
- A nonfiction graphic text
Available copies of required items and some items meeting the above-listed themes are included in the "Summer Reading" bay for your browsing convenience.
STUDENT-DEPENDENT & OTHER READING CHALLENGE THEMES THAT ARE TOO BROAD TO LIST:
- A book by an author you have yet to read
- A book recommended by a librarian
- A novel with a main character who doesn't look like you, live like you, or think like you
- A book with a cover you don't like
- A book in a genre you've not yet read
- A book published in 2022* (YA books found in the "NEW" books section in the Teen Room meet this criterion.)
It will be up to patrons--possibly in conversation with library staff--to identify items that match the broad and/or highly-personalized themes in this second group of themes.
Please feel free to direct your SMS + Rising-9th grader summer reading assignment questions to your librarians at the Reference Desk, Children's Department, and/or Teen Services.
Best regards,
Jennifer Brinley, Teen Librarian, jbrinley@wlsmail.org
Erin Goldberg, Children's Librarian, egoldberg@wlsmail.org
P.S. Free-to-keep copies of required summer reading titles are available to claim from: the free shelf in the Teen Room (next to the pole) and/or any of the nine Little Free Libraries scattered around Scarsdale.
Last Modified November 22, 2024