Academics
Library
Grier’s Library is an information center that houses a high quality educational and recreational collection of physical and online resources freely available to students and teachers.
The library is conducive to individual or group reading, researching, and studying. Students may use the library during free periods, non-academic times, in the company of their teachers, and during evening study hall Sundays-Thursdays. In addition to daytime hours, the library is open most evenings and weekends.
Literacy Promotion
- Borrow - Students may borrow books, magazines, audiobooks, eReaders, and DVDs from the Student Film Collection
- Displays & Contests – the library features themed displays and contests throughout the year, sometimes linked to a teacher’s curriculum
- Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Awards (PAYRCA) program – As part of this statewide program, students read nominated books and vote for their favorite. The library offers prizes and other incentives for participation.
- One Book, One School - We invite everybody in the Grier Community to read the same book during the course of the school year and celebrate with discussions and other related events.
- Author Visits
- Scholastic Book Fair
Library & Information Skills Instruction
Librarian, Rebecca Woolfrey, partners with teachers to offer annual library orientation and other research and information literacy instruction to students through their assigned classes. Instruction is based on the standards from the American Association of School Librarians for 21st Century Learners and helps prepare students for college-level research and become savvy information consumers.
Introduces students to the library staff, space, and services. The main focus is the library’s software Destiny, which allows users to create their own logins, search for print and digital materials, access digital content, and manage accounts.
Other instruction topics:
Library Orientation
Introduces students to the library staff, space, and services. The main focus is the library’s software Destiny, which allows users to create their own logins, search for print and digital materials, access digital content, and manage accounts.
Other instruction topics:
- Evaluating Web Sites for Credibility
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- Using Online Databases
- Paraphrasing
- Introduction to the Research Assignment
- Citation Using NoodleTools
- Note-taking and Outlines with NoodleTools
- eBooks and eReaders
Meet the Staff
List of 2 members.
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Dani Keith
Library Assistant
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Public Media Broadcaster Speaks to Grier Students
Read MoreGrier students and faculty attended a presentation by regional broadcast media professional Carolyn Donaldson on Tuesday afternoon in the Library. The presentation was the culmination of the Library’s One School, One Story, a program that invites all members of the Grier community to read the same book and participate in a series of discussions and related events. This school year, Grier read I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai.Grier invited Carolyn Donaldson, Community Engagement Manager for WPSU Penn State and former WTAJ-TV news anchor, to visit Grier and talk about how media is a means to spread ideas and advocate for change, the way Malala did and continues to do through blogs, interviews on radio and television, streaming media, and printed publications. Donaldson tied Malala’s message and mission to US First Amendment rights and how public media entities like WPSU give diverse voices a place to be heard. She cited the WPSU program “This I Believe” as a way for anyone – Grier students included – to tell their own story. -
Virtual Guest Speaks to Grier Students about Gender Equity in Higher Ed
Read MoreTuesday, a graduate student Shannon DeHoff from Penn State University joined Grier via Skype video chat to describe her work with the University Park campus’s Gender Equity Center. Librarian Mrs. Woolfrey arranged for this presentation in conjunction with the schoolwide read I Am Malala by equal education activist Malala Yousafzai. The presenter addressed the biggest obstacles to higher education access for women in the United States today. Among the students who attended the program, many were members of the Grier Bridge club, which seeks to promote the welfare of girls and women worldwide. The Grier students in attendance engaged with the speaker, asking questions about her role and the challenges facing women on college campuses. After the presentation concluded, the students continued to discuss how they might apply some of the Gender Equity Center’s advocacy and education strategies to prepare Grier students for college life. -
Voting Now Open
Did you participate in the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards Program (PAYRCA)? PAYRCA is an annual statewide program that gives students the opportunity to vote for their favorite authors.Read More
Grier students who read THREE or more books from the list of fifteen nominees are eligible to vote using the form or link below.Grier students may vote until March 17th. Grier votes will be tabulated and submitted to the state organization. Finally, the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association will declare a statewide favorite in May. -
Discussion & Donuts
Read MoreGrier students and faculty gathered in the Library for Discussion & Donuts where they talked about the school’s One School, One Story book selection I Am Malala by the young global education activist and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Malala Yousafzai. The students participated in discussion sessions before school and during the afternoon Extra Help period. Students shared what they were most surprised to learn about Malala’s story after reading the book, their thoughts on the role of Malala’s parents, and Malala’s resilience and current mission. -
Mosaic Encourages Students to Stick Together
Read MoreAs students pass through the Grier library or take a break from homework, they can participate in a collaborative project by adding some of the nearly 4,000 half-inch, colorful sticker squares to a color-coded poster. The students are working together to create a sticker mosaic. The subject of the mosaic is a mystery at the start, but will be revealed slowly as students make progress. The mosaic unites the student body of Grier and promotes a great message: Stick Together! -
Read the Rainbow
The Library's "Read the Rainbow" book display invites readers to explore books featuring LGBTQ+ characters. We researched multiple sources to find a diverse collection of highly recommended books across many genres, lengths, reading levels, and formats. One of our favorite tools for locating LGBTQ+ books is the website Queer Books for Teens, which includes a searchable database of books and detailed descriptions. Grier maintains a list of LGBTQ+ titles in a Kaleidescope Destiny Collection.Read More
Take a look at some of the titles featured in our 2019 display: -
Bullying Prevention and Digital Citizenship Seminar Informs Grier Students
Read MoreEducation and Outreach Specialist Michelle L. Nutter from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office of Public Engagement visited Grier recently to give a special presentation during. Students across all grades gathered in the Dance Building after lunch to learn from Ms. Nutter who addressed topics relating to bullying prevention and digital citizenship. -
One School, One Story 2018
The reading program One School, One Story challenges anybody and everybody that is part of the Grier community to read the same book and to participate in activities and discussions throughout the year. For the 2017-2018 School Year, the selected title is I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick (Young Readers Edition).Read More -
NaNoWriMo
Read MoreNovember is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. If you are an aspiring author, this might be the perfect challenge to motivate you! Participants of NaNoWriMo aim to each write a short (50,000 word) novel in one month (November 1st - 30th).
Works created during NaNoWriMo have actually been published. You might be familiar with Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants," Stephanie Perkins' "Anna and the French Kiss," or Marissa Meyer's "Cinder."
If you are interested in participating, visit the web site: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ -
Reading Rewires the Brain, for Good!
Some of us can't get enough to read, while others are more inclined to read the bare minimum. In either case, its worth noting that scientists have actually proven than reading changes your brain in beneficial ways. In an article from Business Insider, Mark McLaughlin, M.D. describes the results of studies, which have found that reading increases a person's communication skills and that reading fiction, in particular, increases our ability to "[deal] with real-life people, especially in challenging situations."Read More -
Teen Read Week - It’s Written in the Stars…READ!
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will feature “It’s Written in the Stars…READ” as the theme for this year’s Teen Read Week celebration, which will take place October 7-13. Teen Read Week™ is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). It began in 1998 and is held annually in October the same week as Columbus Day. Its purpose is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.Read More -
NoodleTools Paves the Way to Research
Grier Library provides students with access to NoodleTools. NoodleTools is an online research management platform that helps students stay organized as they evaluate information, build accurate citations, archive source material, take notes, outline topics, and prepare to write.Read More
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Lifelong Learning & Literacy
The library is conducive to individual or group reading, researching, and studying. -
21st Century Learners
Instruction helps prepare students for college-level research and become savvy information consumers. -
Love to Read
Colorful displays, reading programs, and events foster a love of reading..
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