Marumsco Hills Elementary School

... a multicultural community of learners where the focus is on high achievement and personal success for all!

Mrs. Barrett                               Mrs. Fallah

Library Staff

 Our Librarian:  Mrs. Denise Barrett has been a teacher for 18 years.  She taught preschool, 2nd and 5th grades before becoming a school librarian.  She received her Bachelor Degree in Sociology and her teaching certificate from Mary Washington College in 1981.  She received her Masters Degree in Education and her endorsement in Library Media Services from James Madison University in 1999.
 She became a librarian because she loves children, teaching, learning, and BOOKS!

 Our library assistant:  Mrs. Karen Fallah began working in our library in September 2000.  Her children used to attend Marumsco Hills Elementary.  She has worked for the county for 8 years including the Park Authority.  She wanted to work in the library because she loves children and thinks Marumsco Hills is a wonderful school.

Flexible access programs are student centered.  In effective library programs, information and research skills are not taught in isolation, but are incorporated into the curriculum.  Collaborative planning is a process in which the librarian works with classroom teachers to incorporate the use of library resources into student learning activities.
 The Marumsco Hills Elementary School Library uses an open, flexible access and scheduling concept.  Students may use the library at any time during the school day by obtaining a library pass from their classroom teacher.
Students may independently visit the library to:

return and check out books

read for pleasure

research and look for information

Library classes and research groups are scheduled as the classroom teacher and librarian plan together to meet the needs of the students. Students may come to the library for lessons in a whole class setting or in small groups at the point of need.

The world today is full of information.  Instead of trying to teach children all the information (an impossible task!) we must teach them how to find and use the information they need.  To become successful adults and life-long learners, students must learn how to manage information.
 Librarians in Prince William County schools developed the Information Management Process for this reason.  It is a part of the Language Arts curriculum.  It is taught by the classroom teacher and librarian through collaborative planning in all areas of the curriculum.

• Question
  What do I want to find out?
• Locate and Access Resources
  Where should I look?
• Evaluate Resources
  Does this have the information I need?
• Record and Analyze
  What does it mean?  What can I write?
• Synthesize Information
  What have I learned?  How can I share it?

   Back

Children who are allowed to choose the books they want to read, will read more. When children are choosing books at Marumsco Hills Library, they are encouraged to choose books they are interested in, whether easy, challenging or "just right." This is truly reading for pleasure.