The Hawthorne High School Library Media Center opened up a section called the Reading Lounge Café on May 8, 2012. This is a place for students to eat snacks and gather with their friends before school, during the day, and after school. The café also has newspapers, magazines, new books, and even a flat screen television.

Among the eight café tables placed throughout the room, the café has a table with a layout of new books as well as free magazines for students to take such as MSG Varsity, Stack, and ESPN HS. A large selection of other magazines is also available for students to check out. The café also has newspapers for students to read. These newspapers are the New York Times, The Record, and the Hawthorne Press. Students also enjoy working on a jigsaw puzzle. Visitors to the café can complete sections of the puzzle, which will be displayed in the Library Media Center when finished.

Mahin Chowdhury, a student at HHS, has been to the café and had only nice things to say about it. “The area was great,” Chowdhury began. “The books were new. The magazines and newspapers were entertaining. It was a relaxing place to study or just eat my breakfast.”  The room is used every morning by students just wanting to relieve post-morning stress with a granola bar or Pop-tart.

Theresa DiGeronimo, an English and Journalism teacher at HHS, organized a fundraiser in March to raise money for the café tables and chairs. This fundraiser was known as Alumni Day, which was a high school reunion for alumni from the first year HHS opened in 1935 to the students that graduated in 2011, as well as their friends and family. Thanks to the large turn out and generous donations from alumni, the café is successful and allows students to have a peaceful atmosphere  to kick back, relax, and enjoy some TV, reading, or snacks.