By: Barbara beach, perimeter school librarian

The Perimeter School Fun Run kicks off today! One of the goals for this year’s fundraiser is to completely renovate our Middle School Library to create an innovative Media Center (in addition to providing instructional technology for grades one and two).

Why renovate the Middle School Library, you ask? 

A Timeless Yet Timely Learning Environment

At Perimeter School, we strive to balance that which is timeless with that which is timely … from our curriculum, to our parenting, to the learning environments we provide.

For twenty years, our library has been home to living books that have inspired our students and cultivated their love of learning. And our timeless commitment to providing our students with nourishing living books is and will remain foundational to our school.

But, we know that our needs and the way that students learn have changed. We believe that fluency in technology is an important piece of our students’ education … within our walls and as they pursue their education beyond Perimeter School.

The new Perimeter School Media Center will not only be the home of our school library. It will be a place where our students can use mobile technology to access information for assignments, work on assignments online, practice and test their knowledge with educational games and quizzes, and interact with or project answers onto a smartboard in real-time.

It will offer a flexible and efficient learning space … a large learning area with a smartboard and laptops, as well tables that can easily be arranged for group work. Research suggests that working in groups increases students’ engagement as they identify and solve problems within the group, and group work builds communication skills as they present findings to their peers. We are excited to use this new space to continue to help our students foster and develop these skills.

Lastly, comfortable chairs that move with the students will increase focus and engagement, as well as create comfortable, casual seating areas for pleasure reading. Our passion for and love of reading will never fade!

We are so thankful for your participation in this year’s Fun Run and your generous giving toward creating this timeless yet timely learning environment for our students.

We are eager to see how our students grow and flourish in our new space!