From the latest McCormick Magazine:
When Rosalie Musiala, principal of Evanston’s Pope John XXIII School, called Fuko Tsuruta, Chris Wong, and Giovanni Wuisan to her office in August 2006, they went quickly and gladly. The McCormick seniors were eager to see what Musiala, their former client, wanted to show them at the school, about a mile south of Northwestern. The multi-media center/library that the Northwestern students had designed for the school as freshmen in 2004 was now a reality.
“We were in awe that it actually happened,” says Wong. “To see a room — something you can walk into, sit in, and read in — that is of your own design and creation was great.”
The school’s old library was in an annex, not in the school’s main building, and it was too small: There was only enough room for books used by students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Now students from kindergarten through eighth grade take advantage of the bright and spacious new library — reading alone, checking out books, studying, listening to stories, or learning in an honors algebra class. The library has 8,800 volumes — twice as many as the old one — and 20 laptop computers with wireless Internet connections. And it is located in the school’s main building.
“This has been my dream, and we are very proud of it,” says Musiala, who is in her 10th year as principal of Pope John XXIII. “I’m a big proponent of reading, and books are integral to an elementary school. The library needed to be where the kids are.”
Read the full story in the Fall 2007 issue of the McCormick Magazine.
