Post Tagged with: "School library"

Volunteer Spotlight: Kathy Reinheimer – Library Assistant

Kathy Reinheimer first came to ACS as a parent to enroll her daughters, Heather and Holly, in elementary school in 1973, just two years after ACS opened its doors in the Parish House at St. John’s By the Sea Reformed Episcopal Church in Ventnor, New Jersey. Nearly 40 years later, Mrs. Reinheimer returned to ACS, coming out of retirement as a public school librarian and volunteering for the past nine years to help expand and modernize the ACS school library.

Mrs. Reinheimer has been diligently giving of her time and valuable skills once or twice a week in the library since 2012, cataloging, covering, and labeling hundreds of books that have made their way onto the library shelves. She has also donated supplies and equipment for the library, including a computer and printer.

“The students and the faculty at ACS are wonderful and I feel like I’m part of a family here,” Mrs. Reinheimer said. “When I look back at the early days of the school in the 1970s, I am amazed to see God’s hand of blessing on ACS. I never imagined we would have a campus like this.”

The spring 2020 outbreak of the coronavirus has not hampered Mrs. Reinheimer’s efforts.  She has been diligently working from home, going through boxes of donated books to review and catalog them in the school’s online cataloging system.

While Mrs. Reinheimer takes pride in seeing the school’s library holdings grow to over 10,000 books and other media materials, her favorite part of volunteering in the school library is reading to the students during Storytime.

“I really enjoy interacting with the students and seeing that little glimmer of excitement in their eyes when they hear something in a story that broadens their horizons,” Mrs. Reinheimer said. “And it doesn’t matter how old a student is, there’s something special about hearing a story read out loud that draws everyone in.”

ACS Library and Media Specialist Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney, who oversees the daily operations of the library, considers Mrs. Reinheimer “the unsung hero of the ACS library.”

“We are fortunate to have a beautifully updated and well-organized library at ACS and it’s thanks to volunteers like Kathy and her husband, Ed, who are so generous with their time and resources,” Hahn-Chaney said.

Mrs. Reinheimer came to serve at ACS after a 35-year career in education. She served as a librarian for 18 years — three years at the H. Russell Swift Elementary School in Egg Harbor Township and 15 years at the Egg Harbor Township High School. She began her career in the 1970s as a kindergarten teacher at the McKee City School in Egg Harbor Township. She holds a BA in K-8 education and a Master’s in library science, both from Rowan University.

ACS School Library Is Now Online, Linked to ACS Website

The ACS Library is now online! An online catalog of the books in our school library, created by ACS Library Media Specialist Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney,  was added to the ACS website in late March.

Hahn-Chaney said the catalog works just like a catalog at the public library — you can go online to search for books by author, title, subject, series, etc. The online library site will also show which books are checked in or checked out. To find the catalog, go to the “Student Life” tab on the website and choose the “Library” sub-tab in the drop down.

Throughout the school year, K-5 students visit the library weekly to check out books, learn library research skills, and to read books and enjoy reading circle time. The library is also a resource for research by middle and high school students.

“Using their bar codes, students will be able to login to their accounts, save books to a list, reserve a book, and see what they have checked out,  a great way for parents to keep track of this too,” Hahn-Chaney said.

Hahn-Chaney also created several videos featuring the library that she posted on March 20 on her virtual library classroom site for students in K-5 to watch. The videos included a special message from security guard Curtis Dull and Hahn-Chaney reading the poem “I’m Up Here” by Karla Kuskin.

CLICK HERE to go to the ACS Library online.

CLICK HERE to see the new videos featuring our school library.

New Employee Spotlight: Computer Teacher & Library Media Specialist Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney

ACS welcomes new Computer Teacher and Library Media Specialist Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney

Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney is the new face in the ACS first floor computer lab, where she teaches students from kindergarten to high school to master the technology skills necessary to be successful in the classroom, in college, and the workplace. She also welcomes K-5 students to the school library each week, where they are developing a love of reading and are learning library research skills.

Mrs. Hahn-Chaney became the new computer teacher and library media specialist in January after Mrs. Diane Ash relocated with her family to Massachusetts. However, she is no stranger to ACS as she has been a proud and involved parent since 2015. Her son Caedyn is now in 5th grade and her son Gaebriel is in 3rd grade. But her real first day at ACS was in 1993 as a student in Mrs. Cassell’s kindergarten class. She attended ACS for most of her elementary years.

Hahn-Chaney holds a BS from the Art Institute of Philadelphia and is certified in Inbound Marketing and Digital Skills. Prior to coming to ACS, she was a content writer and manager for DotCom Global Media in Somers Point.

Hahn-Chaney, her husband, Marques, and their two sons live in Mays Landing and are active members of Fresh Start Church in Egg Harbor Township. She is currently working on redesigning the church’s website and recently enjoyed serving at Tim Tebow’s “A Night to Shine” event hosted at the church.

Hahn-Chaney takes her role as a teacher very seriously, describing herself as “an entrusted alternate” for the parents and grandparents who work hard so that their children and grandchildren can attend ACS. “I teach new skills, address bad days, give encouragement, inspire a thought process, share the love of Jesus, show a good example, and administer correction, all to the purpose of being an excellent stand-in for my students’ primary caregivers,.” Hahn-Chaney said.

Her favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6. “In our world today, there is great emphasis on being really smart and getting more educated, but God is not impressed by academia,” Hahn-Chaney said. “He cares about our hearts. If I trust Him with all of my heart instead of trying to figure it all out, He will teach me what I need to know and show me what I need to do.”