Media Center Guide
Online Encyclopedia at School and at Home
Mission
The Lewis Media Center serves the Lewis Middle School learning community by
providing materials and resources to aid instruction, and by providing
opportunities for leisure reading and information-seeking.
Hours
The Lewis Media Center is open school days from 6:45 AM until 2:15 PM.
Visiting
the Media Center
You can visit the media center before school (6:45 – 6:55 AM), during the
school day (with a pass from any class), and after school (until 2:15
PM). Because we want you to be on time for advisory class, we are closed from
6:55 AM until the end of the brief morning announcements.
Signing-In/Signing-out
If you come to the Media Center during the school day you must have a pass from your
teacher. Please show the pass to Ms. Sawyer or Mrs. Cookman upon entering.
Also make sure to sign-in and sign-out in the notebook on the circulation
desk. This helps us keep a record of the number of students who visit the media
center, and verifies your visit if a question arises in the future.
Books
We have over 7,000 books available for checkout. Our book collection includes:
Fiction
Story Collections
Non-fiction
Biographies
We feature books in both hardbound and paperback formats.
Students may checkout books for a two-week period. A book may be renewed for an additional two-weeks, providing no other students are waiting to checkout that book. (The book must be brought to school for a renewal to take place.)
There are no formal limits to the number of books that you may checkout. The Media Center reserves the right to limit checkouts when a class is using certain titles for research, or if a student is checking out books for selfish reasons. We use the term "reasonable" to describe this system, and it works well at Lewis.
Students checking out any materials in a name other than their own will be subject to a discipline referral. It is unwise to checkout a book for another person.
Magazines
We subscribe to more than 20 magazines that are of interest to middle schoolers
and/or support the subjects taught at Lewis Middle School. The two most-recent
issues of each magazine are displayed on the magazine carousel. Back- issues are
available upon request.
Sunshine Books
The Media Center is pleased to support the Sunshine State Young Readers Award
program. Each year, 15 fiction books are selected as Sunshine Books. Students
who read at least three of these books can vote for their favorite in the
springtime. Winning books are announced at the school, district, and state
levels. This year's titles are on display in the Media Center. They
are marked with a bright yellow spine label for easy identification. Come
in and check one out!
Videotapes
The Lewis Media Center is building a collection of informational, entertaining
videotapes for checkout. Students may checkout one videotape for two nights.
Please do not place a videotape in your book bag. The weight will crack the
videotape.
Reference Collection
Certain books in the Media Center are reference books. They are used in
the Media Center or classrooms primarily
for research, and to answer questions. These books may be checked-out for one
night. They are checked-out after school, and returned the morning of the next
school day. As an alternative to checking-out reference books, the Media Center
offers a free photocopying service of reference materials.
CD-ROMs
The Media Center has several educational CD-ROMs available for checkout
to students. You may checkout one disc.
Athena
You can search for materials in our Media Center using the Athena on-line card
catalog. Simply type the title, author, or subject to get a list of books that
might interest you.
Sunlink
The Lewis Media Center participates in the Florida Sunlink Project. By using
Sunlink, students can access books in school libraries throughout the state. Is
there an age-appropriate book that you would like to read that we don’t have in
our Media Center? We can borrow it from another school. See Mrs. Cookman or Ms.
Sawyer for assistance.
Internet
The Internet is an increasingly valuable resource in schools. The Media Center
is equipped with 14 Internet computers. In addition to web browsing, these
computers host 2 on-line encyclopedia for your research needs. You may print
from these computers (black-and-white only) for research purposes at no charge.
Prints for personal use cost 5 cents per page. When the Internet computers are not used for research, students may use them
to search for tasteful, age-appropriate information.
Students should never enter information into a web page. (This includes filling-out forms, requests, chats, auctions, fantasy sports, etc.) Student e-mail (including web-based e-mail) is not available at this time.
Overdue notices
Overdue notices are printed regularly, and distributed in advisory class. When
you receive an overdue notice, plan to return the book on the next school day at
the latest. If this is not possible, please come to the Media Center to report
the problem. Fines are not charged.
Lost
Items
Students are responsible for all material checked-out. Our experience tells us
that many books are found after a few days. However, if it appears that your
materials are truly lost, please make arrangement to pay for them. We do not
charge unreasonable fees for lost books.
Behavior
Media Center behavior is based on classroom behavior. In most cases, the
rules used in your classroom can be applied to the Media Center. Ask yourself,
"Would I be allowed to do that in the classroom?" If you have any questions, ask
Mrs. Cookman or Ms. Sawyer.
Food, Drink, and Chewing Gum are not allowed in the Media Center.
Media Center Decorations
We strive to decorate the Media Center in a pleasing, attractive way. Please do
not pick up or handle the decorations without the assistance of the Media Center
staff. Several reading areas have been created to provide comfortable seating
and an inviting atmosphere. Please enjoy these areas but be respectful of the
decorations and of others around.
Flyte Time
The multimedia class produces Flyte Time, our school news program, three times
each week. Flyte Time is the official announcement channel of Lewis Middle
School, so make sure to pay attention while the program airs. All announcements
must be signed by a teacher or administrator.
School
Store
The Media Center offers a very basic
school store at the circulation desk. Pens, pencils, paper, folders, and
notebooks are available for sale throughout the school day.
Book
Fairs
The Media Center will host two book fairs this year – a regular
book fair in the Fall and a buy one – get one free book fair in the Spring.
Watch for upcoming information.
Assistance
Mrs. Cookman, Ms. Sawyer, and the student assistants are in the Media Center to help
you. If you are having difficulty, please ask for assistance.
Media Center Staff
Mrs. Cookman is Lewis Middle School's Media Specialist. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Florida and has been employed by the Okaloosa County School District for nine years. She has taught middle school English for thirteen years. This is Mrs. Cookman's first year at Lewis, and she is excited to be a part of the Falcon Family!
Ms. Sawyer is the Media Assistant. She is a graduate of the Pinellas County, Florida school system, and has just completed her degree at Okaloosa-Walton College. She will be continuing her education at University of West Florida. She has also worked as a substitute teacher in New Mexico.
