Media Center

Card Catalog (OPAC)

Welcome to the media center where our goal is to inspire a love of reading, provide opportunities that develop lifelong learners, and ensure that our students are effective users of information and ideas. 

Summer Reading

The Villages Charter Middle School has a Required Summer Reading Program. The program’s goal is to keep students reading throughout the summer. Reading is the key to success in school and it is important that our students practice the reading skills that they have worked so hard all year to master.

Your child is required to read and test on three books. One of the three must be a nonfiction book. Parents and students should refer to the website www.arbookfind.com  to ensure an AR test is available for any book chosen. For recommended grade level reading material, please check the VCMS Media Center web page.

Students must complete the summer reading requirement by August 20, 2010. Your child may read more than three books with the top three AR scores being averaged and counting as the first test grade in his/her Language Arts class. Failure to complete the assignment will result in a zero for the first test grade. Students completing all three books with an 85% average or higher will earn a dress down day. Reading reflection sheets are not required for the summer reading program. Students who will be out of town and unable to test until they return may want to utilize the reflection sheet posted on the VCMS media center web page to use as a review tool for AR test preparation.

The Villages Charter Middle School Media Center will be open throughout the summer to provide students with ample opportunity to check out books and take AR tests. 

Media Center Summer Hours are as follows:

June 15, 2010-August 3, 2010

Tuesdays from 7:00 am-1:00 pm

Thursdays from 2:00 pm- 7:00 pm

Please note:  The Media Center will be closed to students during teacher pre-planning days August 4, 2010-August 13, 2010. 

The Faculty and Staff of The Villages Charter Middle School hope you enjoy a safe and rewarding summer break. We look forward to seeing you in August!

Summer Reading List

Students can read any Acclerated Reader book of their choice to count toward their summer reading requirement.  We have a recommended book list that includes the new Sunshine State Young Readers books, movie theme books, and an honors reader list.  For a full list and more information, please see the attached acrobat file below. 

AR Home Connect

You are able to check your child's AR progress from home and receive email updates every time your child takes an AR test. 

The link to this site is: http://www.tvcs-ar.org/RenaissanceServer/HomeConnect/Login.aspx

You will use your child's log-in information for this site. 

AR Book Lookup

Curious if your book has an AR test?  Want to know the level and points?  Go to www.arbookfind.com to find out.  You can search by title or author.

PI Opportunities

We are always accepting donations of new or gently used books.  If they are items the library currently needs, we will award PI time, based on the retail value of the book, as well as the condition.  If we do not need them for our collection, we have a give-away shelf for students to take from. 

We are currently in need of the following titles: 

Kingdom Keepers 3: Disney in Shadow by Ridley Pearson

39 Clues #7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis

39 Clues #8: The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney

Extra Credit by Andrew Clements

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Glitter Girls and the Great Fakeout by Meg Cabot

The Batboy by Mike Lupica

Return of the Homework Machine by Dan Gutman

Parent Involvement Reading

You must have a student enrolled at the middle school to test on the titles below.  Parents will be awarded two PI hours for each book read with a passing score on the accompanying AR test.  After reading the book of your choice, you will need to take an AR test on that book in our school’s library. A score of 60% or higher is considered passing and once achieved, 2 hours of informational involvement time will be added to your parent involvement account.  Limited copies of these titles will be available in our school’s library.  Parental selections are as follows:

For 2010-2011 School Year

The Five Love Languages of Teenagers, Queen Bees and Wannabes, Homework Without Tears, The Tween Years, 7 Worst Things Good Parents Do, Positive Discipline A-Z, Raising Self Reliant Teens in a Self Indulgent World, and Parenting Teens with Love and Logic.

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Alison Norton

alison.norton@tvcs.org

Media Center Acrobat(.PDF) Documents

Reflection Sheet - Advanced
Reflection Sheet -
Summer Reading Letter - 2010
Summer Reading List - Incoming 5th Graders
Summer Reading List - Incoming 6th-8th Graders

Media Center Links

Book Adventure - Create book lists, take tests, earn prizes!
Home Connect - AR link to Home Connect
InfoTrac Database-password and user available in media - Great Online Research Database
Just Read Families - Just Read Family Information
Juvenile Series and Sequels - Lists of hundreds of series. Easy searches!
Kids Reads! - Great descriptions of series books.
MLA Style Guide - MLA format for research papers
ProQuest - Great Online Research site
Scholastic - A varied resource for parent and student use
Works Cited Format - Works Cited Format
World Book Online - A great encyclopedia (password available in media center)