Library - Arlington Science Focus

Mission

The ASFS library strives to provide a safe and nurturing environment that fosters life-long learning and reading by:

Providing an exciting and relevant collection of materials to meet the needs of our diverse student and staff population.
Collaborating with staff members on planning and instruction.
Promoting the acquisition of information literacy skills and the appreciation of literature.

Policies

Class Visits: Students in grades K through 5th visit the library once a week, for 30 minutes. Teachers schedule additional periods for research.

Circulation: The number of books a student can check out depends on her/his grade level as follows:

Kindergarten: 1 book
1st grade: 2 books
2nd grade: 3 books
3rd grade: 3 books
4th grade: 3 books
5th grade: 3 books (4 if needed for research)

Younger students, with short picture books, are encouraged to return books every week. Students with chapter books can keep books for 2 weeks. After that point, all books should be renewed.

Students reimburse the library for books that are damaged or lost so that we can replace them and, once again, enable others to use them.

Ms. Emily Godfrey

Emily Godfrey is in her 15th year as a school librarian in Northern Virginia. Mrs. Godfrey is passionate about teaching students to be independent information seekers and lifelong readers. Mrs. Godfrey holds a Masters of Library and Information Sciences from Kent State University, and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Development from George Washington University. Mrs. Godfrey has received the following awards and recognition for her work in public education:‘2016 Outstanding Support Employee of the Year’ for Fairfax County Public Schools. ‘2022 Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Family Engagement’ from the PTA Council of Alexandria City Public Schools. ‘2022 Area Chair Award Winner’ from Reading Is Fundamental of NOVA. ‘2023 Teacher of the Year’ for John Adams Elementary School in Alexandria City Public Schools. Mrs. Godfrey is excited to join the ASF team and encourage students to become life long inquirers.

Email: emily.godfrey@apsva.us

Mr. Thomas McGuire

Tom McGuire has been working for APS since 1998. He was a classroom teacher prior to being the library assistant at ASFS. Mr. McGuire received his BA from Cortland State University in NY, and his master’s degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He had several jobs before entering the education field, including working at Bank of America in Manhattan, the Dockbuilder’s Union in NY, owning a house painting company for several years, and living in Belize, Central America for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Outside of ASFS, Mr. McGuire enjoys playing and watching tennis, and long walks with his wife, Kim in their neighborhood. Mr. McGuire is looking forward to another great year at ASFS.

Email: thomas.mcguire@apsva.us