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Visit to St. Mary's School in Owatonna
November 05, 2008 08:07 AM | School Media Centers, Library VisitsMichael Scott, Assistant Director
On October 27, 2008, I had the opportunity to visit St. Mary's School in Owatonna, a SELS member. St. Mary's School is a Kindergarten - 8th grade school which also houses a preschool for children ages 3-5 years old. The student body is 352 in K-8 and 55 preschool students. The school is affiliated with 2 Catholic parishes in Owatonna, St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
During my visit, I met with Sharleen Berg, the school's library media specialist. Sharleen has been with the school since 1996 and started working in the library in the past couple of years. The library is located on the second floor of the school and houses a collection of books and other library materials for students. There is a reading area that is set aside for storytime which has a wooden throne for the reader of the story to sit in and wooden bleacher-style seating for those enjoying the story. The furniture in this area was built by volunteers and is really beautiful. You can check it and other pictures from my visit on SELCO's Flickr site.
The school has been very supportive of its library and has continued to provide additional funds to enhance the collection. In addition to enhancing the collection, Sharleen is working with teachers at St. Mary's School to further integrate the library into the curriculum (which she is very passionate about!) The library does have an online catalog (Follett) for its students and staff. To see more about library, click here.
I want to say a big "Thank You!" to Sharleen for allowing me to visit St. Mary's School.
