CHRISTINA EICHELKRAUT / PVT Jessica Tsu-Jones, third-grade teacher, and Principal Holly Lepisto cut the ribbon of Tomes for Domes, Hafen Elementary School's new student-run bookstore Thursday, April 24. Advertisement

Prior to the ribbon-cutting assembly Thursday, the 15 Hafen Elementary School student employees at Tomes for Domes, the new school bookstore, had to go through a rigorous hiring process.

They had to fill out an application by a deadline (just as in the real world, applications that were filled out incorrectly or submitted late were not considered), give a work history, obtain letters of recommendation and go through a job interview.

Potential student workers even had to apply for a specific position; they could be a clerk, a shift manager, or a security guard.

Once hired, there was after-school training to be done during which the new employees learned to operate the cash register donated by Marcy Hobbs, kindergarten teacher, and go through the Tomes for Domes employee handbook.

The store, located in the multi-purpose room's storeroom, "is run by the students for the benefit of the students," Principal Terry Owens said.

Even the name came from a schoolwide contest, ultimately won by fifth-grader Marina Meguleva.

The store is the brain child of Jessica Tsu-Jones, third-grade teacher, who thought of the idea while ordering books online for her class.

A link led her to apply for a $50 grant, which she received, and from there she began soliciting help and donations from the school and community.

"I got a lot of support quickly from a lot of people, which I was pleased with," Tsu-Jones said. Just about everyone pitched in to get the store up and running.

Plumbing, Pipefitting, and Refrigeration Local 525 and both the Ponderosa and Pahrump dairies made generous contributions to the project.

Eric Vreeland, fourth-grade teacher, helped assemble shelves and made silk-screen T-shirts for the employees' uniforms.

Joanne Baumgarten, parent-volunteer, Samantha Sarandos, PTO president, and Assistant Principal Mary Brickles all contributed their time and effort.

In addition to getting raffle prizes, the students at the ribbon-cutting assembly got to see the bookstores' "spokesmen," Tome -- a student dressed as a giant book -- and Dome -- a brain shooting off sparks.

To celebrate the grand opening, all books in the store were $1.

The normal prices are $2 for paperback books and $3 for hardcover books.

The bookstore is open Tuesday and Thursday before school from 8 to 8:20 a.m. and during the students' lunch from 11:35 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

"Eventually I hope to turn this into something where we can get more donation and support, so all the books cost less than a dollar," Tsu-Jones said.