John Hay Library
The mission of the John Hay Library is to:
- Promote a love of reading
- Teach students how to find and use various forms of information, so that they will be effective users of information
- Support the grade level curriculums through resources and collaboration with teachers.
Students visit the library once a week with their class for instruction and an opportunity to check out books. The library is also open during most recesses.
Curriculum
To teach information skills the Seattle School District Standards for Library Information Skills K-5, and the “Big Six” model are used. This model lays out six steps, most of which students think through as they attempt to solve an information-based problem. For more information about this model visit www.big6.com.
Reading Programs
At John Hay we are very fortunate to be a part of the Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program. This program is sustained by a federal trust fund and is supported by the John Hay Partners through funds and volunteers. In order to promote reading through the ownership of books, three times a year, every student has the opportunity to choose a free paperback book to have as his or her own.
We also participate in the Global Reading Challenge, which is sponsored by the Seattle Public Library. Teams of fourth and fifth graders read 10 books provided by the SPL. After many weeks of reading and preparation the students engage in a school-wide challenge of their knowledge of these books. The winning team represents John Hay during additional challenge levels with other Seattle schools.