Portland St. Patrick Catholic School

    *  ELEMENTARY CLASSES   The library will be open to all students on Mondays 7 -11:30 and Fridays 7 – 1:30.  All students in DK through 5 will be visiting the library once a week with their class for storytime and to check out a book.  Each student is allowed to take home one book per week.  Parents are asked to make sure the students return or renew their books every week.  If students forget to return their books, the library will send a reminder note home in Friday folders.  If you are unable to locate the book, we ask that you pay its replacement cost.

    * GUEST READERS    Guest readers are welcome in the library.  If you or someone you know is available during open library hours to read a book to the class, please contact Anne Bennett at annebennett@portlandstpats.org to schedule a visit.  Students love to hear from their relatives and other guests.

    * DONATIONS     Thank you to those who have donated books to the library.  We have had several exciting new additions and some replacements for worn-out books.  Please feel free to donate gently used books that are appropriate for elementary and high school students.  Remember to remove all personal items from the books!   (We love to look at your family photos, too!)  Book donations can be left in the school office.

In an ongoing effort to replace, update, and expand the book collection at St. Patrick School, the “Library Christmas Project” was started during the 2004 Christmas season and has been a huge success each year. Many school families and parishioners have donated books in memory or in honor of a grandparent, special friend, or a family member.

St. Patrick Library Christmas Project:  This year, you have two choices for the Library Christmas Project:  You can order from our Amazon wish list as described below, or you can purchase books from Rivertown Bookstore.  The bookstore is located in Raffaeles’ Marketplace on Kent Street in downtown Portland.  For your convenience, several discounted books have been set aside at Raffaeles’ for St. Pat’s Christmas Project.  You can choose from this collection or from the children’s section. 

Book plates will be available at the bookstore for you to fill out and place in the book. Books can be brought to school and placed under the Christmas tree in the library any time beginning December 3.

In the years since this project began,  hundreds of books have been donated to our library.

Now you can make book donations online.  St. Patrick School’s library has a WISH LIST on Amazon.com.  Simply visit Amazon’s website at  www.amazon.com. 

• On the top, choose “Gifts and Wish Lists.”  A search box will open on the right side of the screen. 
  
• Type “Portland St. Patrick” in the search box.  A screen with the wish list will appear. 
  
• Once you purchase the books that you would like to donate, Amazon will ship them directly to the school. 
  
• You can also leave a message at checkout that will arrive with the book.  Such messages could include “In Memory of _____” or “Donated by the _____ Family.” 
  
• Remember that you can also donate to the special section of the library called “Curtis’ Corner” in loving memory of Curtis Schmitt.  This section includes an excellent collection of early elementary books and some upper level chapter books.  
• For more information, please call the school (517-647-7551) or e-mail annebennett@portlandstpats.org.