Library

Paws enjoying a book in our library!

Book donations

Please Note: We are unable to receive any book donations to our school library until further notice.

Please contact Carolyn Holden at cholden@olgcschool.org with any questions you may have.

Thank you for your understanding!

Curriculum Overview:

We are fortunate to have a beautiful library with over 14,000 books! Our library program is designed to foster a love of reading and also equip our students with library and research skills that they will use in their academic lives and beyond.

In addition to the books in our library, students may also take advantage of magazines, online databases, and the 30 computer stations in our library media center. We also have a state-of-the-art ActivPanel, an interactive board used for library lessons and presentations..

All students at OLGC have a weekly scheduled library class. In Grades K-5, students independently check out books and engage in various activities to foster their research and literacy skills. In Grades 6-8, students learn research and study skills, as well as have time to read and check out books.

Automated Library Notices!

Overdue notices are automated.

Parents will receive an email about any books your child has checked out that are overdue by 7 or more days.

Questions? Please email Mrs. Holden.

Information about outstanding library books:

Parents and students,

We are still looking for many outstanding library books from the Spring 2020 Trimester. Please look in your homes, cars, and backpacks to locate any OLGC School Library books. They should have a barcode sticker and "Property of OLGC School Library" sticker on the back.

Books that you have found should either be brought into school by in-person learners, or be placed in the bin outside the main school doors by e-learners. All books will need to be quarantined once they are received, so there will be a delay in when your books are returned and credited to your child's library account. Please place books in plastic bags labeled "Library Books."

Library books that were in desks and lockers were returned to the library by classroom teachers.

Thank you!

Mrs. Holden

OLGC Library Web Links & Resources:

Here are some links to some of our most used OLGC Library resources:

OLGC Library Online Catalog: Use this link to look up books we have in the OLGC Library for fun or for a report.

To request a book hold, please e-mail Mrs. Holden at cholden@olgcschool.org and include the following:

Student First & Last Name
Grade & Room Number
Complete Title of Book

Webpath Express: You can also use the catalog to find online resources especially for student use through our Webpath Express service. After accessing the catalog:

click on Our Lady of Good Counsel
click on Catalog
click on Webpath Express

Fact Cite Database: Explore this database to find interesting facts about American History, Science, and many other subjects.

Username: olgc
Password: wildcats

Find It Virginia: Explore this website managed by the Library of Virginia which contains databases and other online learning tools for Virginians of all ages.

Username: VAlib
Password: Read1!

Fairfax County Public Library: Explore what is available on the Fairfax County Public Library website.

Accelerated Reader Bookfinder: AR Bookfinder is a great way to look for books of interest. Use this link, and do an advanced search. Use your Lexile Score to find the perfect book!.

Library Newsletters

Click on the tab of the monthly newsletter from the the past school years you would like to read.

September 2020

Welcome back to the Library!

September brought the students back to the library with many learning activities:

Kindergarten through 5th Grade: Our elementary students learned about book genres, including realistic fiction, fantasy fiction, historical fiction, and mysteries.
1s though 5th Grades: Each grade listens to and discusses novels over the course of the year. Our novel studies were started this month with:
- 1st Grade: "Arthur and the Perfect Brother" by Marc Brown
- 2nd Grade: "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" by Beverly Cleary.
- 3rd Grade: "Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plan" by Russell Ginns
- 4th Grade: "Summer of the Woods: Virginia Mystery Series #1" by Steven K Smith
- 5th Grade: "Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo
6th through 8th Grade: Our Middle Schoolers Reviewed their Research, Citation, and Plagiarism skills this month. 6th Grade reviewed book genres and library terms.

October 2020

K-5th Grade: October was Mystery Month in the Library! Our Kindergarten through 5th Grade students explored the fiction genre of mysteries.

Middle School: Our Middle School students honed their book shelving skills during October. Students reviewed how to find non-fiction books on the shelves using the Dewey Decimal Numbers, as well as how to find different types of fiction books in our library. They also reviewed literary genres.

November 2019

Author Spotlight--Cynthia Rylant: Our "Author Spotlight" series displayed books by popular award-winning author Cynthia Rylant. Cynthia has written several well-loved series, including "Henry and Mudge," "The Cobble Street Cousins," and "Mr. Putter and Tabby." She is a Newberry Medal, Newberry Honor, and Caldecott Honor winner.

K to 5th Grade: Our elementary students explored the works of Cynthia Rylant.

6th Grade: The 6th Graders began working on their "River Valley Civilizations" reports for Social Studies class. Students reviewed good research skills, as well as the topics of primary sources and plagairsm.

7th Grade: The 7th Graders explored different book genres.

8th Grade: The 8th Graders practiced how to find, summarize, and cite journal articles.

December 2019

Author Spotlight--Tomie dePaola: Our "Author Spotlight" series displayed books by popular award-winning author Tomie dePaola. Tomie has written over 270 books! Some of his most popular ones include the well-loved "Strega Nona" series, "Pancakes for Breakfast," and many religious books, such as "The Miracles of Jesus," "St. Patrick--Patron Saint of Ireland," and "The Night of Las Posadas". He is a Caldecott Honor winner, a Newbery Honor winner, and a Regina Medal winner.

Students in all grades explored Dr. Seuss' classic "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," learning how text, illustrations, and font all support the story an author is trying to tell.

January 2020

Book Spotlight: Award Winning Books This month in the library we explored the many book awards for children's authors and illustrators. Award and Honor Caldecott, Newbery, and many other book award winners were showcased. Students learned how book awards can help them find new and interesting books to read.

K-3rd Grade students learned about some of the many Caldecott, and Geisel Medal and Honor winning books. We read some in class, and our book detectives even found them on our shelves by finding the award medals on books!

4th through Middle School students reviewed the Caldecott and Geisel awards, and also explored award categories such as the Newbery, Coretta Scott King, and Sibert.

4th through Middle School students also sharpened their shelving skills, learning more about the Dewey Decimal System and how to shelve fiction books.

5th Grade: Our 5th Grade students are learning about the research process by working on their International Day reports in their library and computer classes.

February 2020

Book Spotlight: Series Books This month in the library we focused on the many different series books that can be found in our library.

Kindergarten students learned about contemporary picture books and how the illustrations in them help us to understand the story better.

1st through 4th Grades reviewed nonfiction book shelving, as well as different genres through their book studies.

5th Grade: Our 5th Grade students continued engaging in the research process by working on their International Day reports in their library and computer classes.

Middle School students also sharpened their research skills by learning about the differences between primary and secondary sources, and how to spot relevant and irrelevant information in the sources they use.

March 2020

Book Spotlight: New NonFiction Books This month in the library we focused on some of the nonfiction book we have in the library, including books that focus on computers and coding, biographies, and how-to guides.

We successfully transitioned to distance learning in the library. Students worked on lessons from home, and began to move deeper into our grade novel studies.

Kindergarten through 4th Grades: students learned about the different types of nonfiction books available in our library, including biographies, expository nonfiction, and how-to guides. Where to find these books on our shelves was given. For our older students, they began learning how to shelve nonfiction books using the Dewey Decimal System.

5th Grade: Our 5th Grade students continued engaging in the research process by working on their International Day reports in their library and computer classes.

Middle School students continued to learn about book call numbers & the Dewey Decimal System and how to use them to organize books on the shelves. They also reviewed the different types of reference books, when to use them, and how to spot the different nonfiction text features in these books to better understand information.

Distance Learning: All of our library activities moved online this month on March 18! The students are doing a great job while we transition to an online platform.

April 2020

We continue with our online format this month! Thank you to everyone for checking out Mrs. Holden's lessons via the Specials Page.

Library Spotlight: Novel Studies This month in the library as we continued our distance learning, we focused on some of fictional novels that we have been reading at different grade levels.

Kindergarten: students learned about extending the text through illustrations by taking their hand at drawing illustrations for the various books we read together.

1st Grade: students began their first chapter book as a grade by reading "Horrible Harry and the Purple People" and illustrating what they thought the purple people look like.

2nd Grade: students continued to read "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" together.

3rd & 4th Grades: students learned how to use other people's work responsibly by writing bibliographies and learning the beginnings of fair use, copyright and plagiarism.

5th Grade: students continued to read "How I Became a Spy," their exciting novel about WWII. They tried their hand at codes & ciphers, too!

Middle School: students continued their study of reference materials,

May 2020

Distance learning continues for all of our students, and they are still participating in their library classes!

Elementary school:

1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grades: These grades will all be completing their read aloud books this month! They will be participating in fun activities to express their knowledge of the books.
4th Grade: Students are researching endangered ocean species for their online database sources project. This is an activity to enrich their science classroom learning.
5th Grade: Students are continuing to read their grade-wide book together.

Middle School:

Our students in 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades have participated in activities such as producing "shelf talker" book reviews, webquests, and reviewing publisher-made book trailers.

Book Fairs

The OLGC Library hosts two book fairs a year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Proceeds from the sales help support our library programs through the purchasing of books and other library materials.