Media Center

MEDIA CENTER HOURS

Monday - Friday
8:55 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

CHECKOUT

• Students will visit the media center with their Language Arts classes every two weeks. Individual students are always welcome during our operating hours with a pass from a teacher. 
• Students may check out up to three books at a time. Books are loaned for a 2-week period.
• While NGMS does not charge overdue fees, we encourage students to return items as soon as they finish to allow other students access to popular materials. 
• Books that are more than two weeks overdue will be marked lost. Fines for lost books are as follows: $10 for paperbacks and $20 for hardbacks.

 PRINTING

Students may print a limited number of black-and-white pages in the media center using the media center computers. To use this service, students need to visit within the operating hours and log onto a desktop student computer. Color printing is not available. 

NGMS Required Summer Reading 

All students should read this summer in preparation for next school year. Students do NOT need to submit a formal written assignment as part of the summer reading program; however, students must fully read their selected books and be prepared to use knowledge from those books in their Language Arts classes for an activity in the fall. 

Rising 6th Grade

Incoming 6th grade students should read 500 minutes from any books that they self-select. All students who complete the 500-minute summer reading challenge, The Great Bulldog Reading Adventure, will receive a special treat in August. 

How to Log Your Reading:

If you attended one of our four cluster schools (Roberts, Suwanee, Riverside, Level Creek), you will log reading through your elementary school Beanstack site (linked below). If you attended another elementary school, you will print and record your reading on the linked reading log. The summer reading challenge The Great Bulldog Reading Adventure will be published on Beanstack by May 27th and will close on July 26th.  

• Roberts Elementary School 
• Suwanee Elementary School
• Riverside Elementary School
• Level Creek Elementary School
• Printable Reading Log (for all other elementary schools)

Reminders for Beanstack: 

Username: Student ID number
Password: 4-digit birth month and day (ex. Feb. 8 is 0208)

After logging in, click the red Log Reading button in the top left corner of Beanstack and scroll down to select “Log Minutes.”

Favorite Books for 6th Grade

Rising 7th Grade

Incoming 7th grade students should read TWO fiction books. These books should be selected from either the realistic fiction or historical fiction genres. Books will be discussed in class in August. Optional: Complete a graphic organizer to help you remember your book. You may use either the Notice & Note organizer or the Window Notes organizer. 

What is realistic fiction? Realistic fiction is a genre consisting of stories that could have occurred to people or animals in a believable setting. What is historical fiction? Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting located in the past.

Favorite 7th Grade Realistic and Historical Fiction Novels

Rising 8th Grade

Incoming 8th grade students should read TWO books from any genre. Students should focus on their own reading interests to make their selections.  Click the link below to see some of the most-loved 8th grade books in the media center. 

Optional: 8th grade has realistic fiction and dystopian fiction reading units if you would like to choose books from those genres to best prepare for the new school year.

Most-Loved 8th Grade Books

The Media Center sponsors two reading clubs during the school year.

• Books & Banter is a casual book club where students can read and discuss books of their choosing.
• Readers Rally is a competitive book club that involves reading ten specific books and engaging in buzzer trivia.

Learn more about both club options on our Before and After School Clubs page. 

The Fall 2024 Book Fair will be held October 25-November 1. If you would like to volunteer at our Book Fair, contact Ms. Stark.

Through fundraising events (like the Book Fair) along with generous contributions from the NGMS PTSA, the Media Center frequently hosts in-person author visits and field trips for our students. Watch for updates in the school newsletter and teacher communications regarding events for the 2024-25 school year.

Parent volunteers make a difference in the Media Center. Volunteer responsibilities include assisting with check-out/check-in, shelving books, helping with special projects or displays, staffing the bi-annual book fairs. Volunteers are needed on a regular or one-time basis. Contact Ms. Stark at for more information.

If you are a NGHS or GSMST student interested in volunteering for service hours, please contact Ms. Stark for available opportunities.

Branch Out  Beanstack  GCPS Bookmobile  Digital Citizenship  GCPL

Online Research Library 

Research tools are available through the Online Research Library, which includes 60+ databases. The link to access the ORL is inside the student portal, which students will see after logging in to their Chromebooks. 

Reading Support

How can you support your child in growing as a reader? Encourage your child to find books that interest him/her. Ask Ms. Stark or a librarian at the public library for help matching books and interests! Set aside 20 minutes per day for child to read for pleasure. Let him/her self-select a book, magazine, or article to read during this time. Engage with your child about what he/she is reading! Read together or ask questions about the book.