Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Accelerated Reader or AR?
- How does AR work?
- Who can check out books from the Library Media Center?
- How many books can each student check out and keep a library book?
- What happens if a book is damaged or lost by a student?
- When is the library open to students?
- Can books be donated to the library?
- What day is my child's library day?
- How can I best help my child in learning to be responsible with library books?
- What type of consequenses are there if a child disobeys library rules?
- How can I find out whick books are in the Accelerated Reader Program ?
- Is there a way that I can check my child's progress myself, from home?
- What is Renaissance Home Connect?
- How can I find out what books are available in our library?
What is Accelerated Reader or AR?
Accelerated Reader is a computerized reading motivational program
that is supplementary to the reading instruction that your child
receives from his/her teacher. AR is managed by a company called
Renaissance Learning. All students in grades 1-5 participate in
it. Some of our Kindergarteners also use it before graduating.
At Fairfield the AR program is a web-based program. In January
of 2007 we updated to the AR Enterprise version of AR. This
gives every student at Fairfield the opportunity to read a wider
number of books because they have access to EVERY AR Quiz that
has been made. We are no longer limited to only the tests the
school has purchased.
How does AR work?
That's an easy 1,2,3
1. Student picks an A. R. Book. Any book that interests them
and is also in their reading zone or ZPD. This ZPD is determined
by the score received after taking the S.T.A.R test. This test
is given several times throughout the year to monitor each
students' progress. No grade is involved. This S.T.A.R. test is
simply a way for students to find a starting place for their
reading.
2. Student reads the book. First and second graders are
encouraged to read their books 3 times before they take an AR
Quiz. This does not apply to chapter books.
3. Student takes an AR Quiz.
Who can check out books from the Library Media Center?
All students in grades 1-5 will begin the year, after a brief
library orientation and review of procedures, checking out a book
or books. Before the end of the first nine weeks, all
Kindergarten students will be checking out a book.
Teachers and parents are also welcome to check books out from the
library.
How many books can each student check out and keep a library book?
Kindergarten students will begin checking out 1 book to keep in
their classroom for 1 week. Eventually, they will take their
library books home to enjoyn and return at the end of 1 week.
First and second graders will begin the year checking out 1 book
for 1 week. Depending on the overall responsibility level of each
grade, the students may be allowed to check out 2 books at the
same time.
Third, fourth, and fifth graders check out 2 books for 1 week.
Again, depending on the overall grade levels' responsibility, the
students will be allowed to check out more books for a 1 week
period. Books may be renewed up to 2 times if needed.
What happens if a book is damaged or lost by a student?
If a library book is damaged while a student has it, the student
should return the book to the librarian as soon as possible.
While the effort is appreciated, book repairs need to be made by
the librarian. If a library book is lost, arrangements need to be
discussed with the librarian. In most cases, payment for the
replacement cost of the book is expected. Students are
encouraged to search carefully for misplaced or lost
library books before they are declared "lost".
When is the library open to students?
The library hours are 8:00 - 2:45 Monday through Friday. There
are exceptions to this on rare occasions. In that event, an
announcement is made to inform the teachers and students.
Can books be donated to the library?
Absolutely! We are eager to accept donated books. A few
guidelines are required in order to put donated books on library
shelves.All library books need to be clean and without any
personalized writing inside. All library books need to be in good
condition without any torn pages or broken spines.
All library books need to be sturdy and able to withstand being
shared by many students.
What day is my child's library day?
Kindergarten and the Pre-K classes have set library days. All
other classes will visit the library when the classroom teachers
schedules a time. Wrinkles in schedules are still being worked
out, so please be patient. Ask your child when they are going to
the Library. Most of the time they will know.
How can I best help my child in learning to be responsible with library books?
The best way to help your child in becoming responsible with
their library boooks is to begin the year with a plan. Discuss
ahead of time, and repeat daily, then weekly, to stick to the
plan. Keep library books in the same, safe place. Inside the
backpack is always a great idea. Load backpacks the night before
so in the mornings, everything has already been gathered and
ready to go. Also, let your child own the responsibility. They
checked out the books, so they need to take care of, keep up
with, and return their books on time. If they should forget
their library book, they will not check out another book until
they return the others. Once or twice doing this, is usually all
it takes before the lesson is learned.
What type of consequenses are there if a child disobeys library rules?
Since the library rules are basically the same as all of the
other school and classroom rules, my expectations for students
following the rules is very high. When I do have to issue
consequenses however, most of the time it involves a phone call
to a parent. My experience has been that this 1 action seems
to "magically" cure all that causes a rule to be broken by any
student.
How can I find out whick books are in the Accelerated Reader Program ?
Since Fairfield participates in the Accelerated Reader Enterprise
program, almost every book that K-5 students would select have an
AR Quiz. There is a new tool through href=https://Hosted78.renlearn.com/211772/HomeConnect/Login.aspx
target=_blank>Renaissance Home Connect
in the bottom right hand corner to find AR books by clicking the
AR
Book Finder link where it says Click to Open in New Window. Here
you can search for a book by name, select Advance Search to
select by ATOS book level or other search criteria, or select
Collections to view by awards, state lists, or librarian picks.
See below for details on accessing the Renaissance Home Connect
program.
Is there a way that I can check my child's progress myself, from home?
Yes, Fairfield parents can through our new tool for 2010:
Renaissance Home Connect. Once your child has been enrolled at
Fairfield and the Acceptable Use Policy form has been signed and
returned, your child automatically is enrolled into the AR
Program.
Use your childs username and password at the following website:
href=https://Hosted78.renlearn.com/211772/HomeConnect/Login.aspx
target=_blank>https://Hosted78.renlearn.com/211772/HomeConnect/Log
in.aspx
See below for instructions.
What is Renaissance Home Connect?
Renaissance Home Connect is our new tool for parents to keep up
with their child's AR progress at home. Step 1: Go to the
following website:
href=https://Hosted78.renlearn.com/211772/HomeConnect/Login.aspx
target=_blank>https://Hosted78.renlearn.com/211772/HomeConnect/Log
in.aspx
Step 2. Enter your child's username and password and click Login to get
into the program. The first screen that displays shows your
child's AR progress for the current grading period. The last book
that your child has tested on appears in the right column called
My Last Quiz with the points earned and percentage correct.
Step 3. Select the View My Bookshelf link below My Last Quiz to
see the history of all the AR books that your child has tested
on. Each book has its picture displayed. The textbook reader
stories are displayed as a blank book.
Step 4. Once you select View My Bookshelf, you can click on a
book to see the AR points earned and percentage correct for your
child when s/he took the test. Select Done to go back to the
previous screen.
E-mail Option: There is an option to e-mail information to you
every time your child takes an AR test. To do this setup the
following: From the Renaissance Home Connect home page, select e-
mail setup at the top of the page, then enter your first name
followed by your email address twice. Click the Add button to
send an e-mail to the address entered. Once you receive the e-
mail you will have to click the link in the e-mail to verify your
account. You can repeat this process for each e-mail you want to
be notified when a new test is taken.
How can I find out what books are available in our library?
We have another new tool through the Caddo Parish Website that
allows parents and students to help with AR planning by showing
what books are available in our library at the time of the
search. The following instructions explain how to access the
site:
Step 1:Go to the Caddo Parish Schools website at
target=_blank>http://www.caddo.k12.la.us/index.cfm
and select the Library Resources link on the left side of
the page.
Step 2. Select the Fairfield Elementary School link then click
the Catalog tab at the top of the page.
Step 3. From here you can search by title, reading level, etc.
similar to the way you would search for an AR book through the AR
Book Finder. If the book you are looking for is not displayed in
the search results, then it is not yet in the Fairfield
collection of books in our library. Once the search results are
displayed, look in the right column of the book you are
interested in to view how many are available in our FEM library.
You can If it is 0 out of 1, then the book is currently checked
out.
