Summertime skills sharpener

At MLC, school was ‘in’ for summer during pair of sessions for grades K-6 

 

School has been “in” this summer for participating Mountain Lake Christian (MLC) elementary-age students during a pair of summer school sessions.

The three-day Summer School Session II will be wrapping up tomorrow (Thursday, July 27) – with the start of the 2017-2018 school year looming less than a month away. The first session was held Tuesday, June 27 through Thursday, June 29.

“What we are doing,” shares MLC Lead Teacher Kim Friesen, “is working on retaining – and building – on skills learned during the school year; a ‘skills sharpening.’ Our goal through these summer sessions is to combat summer learning loss and explore new ways of learning en route to helping students enter this school year a step ahead.”

During each session of review and development, there was a skills emphasis in math, reading, language arts and science – along with a sprinkling of social studies and Spanish. The classes were conducted free of charge

The afternoon classes of two-and-one-half hours kicked off each day with an hour of instruction, followed by a half-hour of physical activity using large motor skills and snack – and closed with another 60 minutes of classroom work.

Another benefit of the sessions touted by Friesen were the reading and listening times between student and volunteer adult. “Those minutes each day gave each student the opportunity to an adult’s undivided attention, to read to them and then to discuss what they had read about and learned.”

The inaugural two-part Summer School Sessions were held last year, and Friesen notes that teachers at MLC noticed in increase in math facts retention when students arrived for the 2016-2017 school year.

Along with the adult “listeners,” MLC staff also volunteered their time and talents to each session. During the second session, those staff members included Friesen (grades 4-6), Nordis Olson (grades 2-3), Rachel Knutson (grades K-1), Brittany Siebert (grades 4-6 and K-1) and Miriam Rojas (grades 2-3). The adults participating in reading and listening times were Annette Dick, Bernice Dick, JoAnn Friesen and Vickie Krueger. Volunteer student assistants were Regan James and Eli Johnson.

During the June session, staff taking part were Friesen, Siebert, Olson, Knutson, Karin Stoesz, Holly Penner, Mandy Linscheid and Amanda Korns. “Listeners” included Margaret Dick, along with JoAnn Friesen, Annette Dick and Bernice Dick. Eli Johnson was a student assistant.

The first day of school will be Wednesday, August 23. A “Back-To-School Night” is slated for Monday, August 21, to be combined as an Open House to highlight all of the school’s interior renovations completed over the summer.

Below is a photo gallery of action during Summer Session II:

 

A “COUNTING CATERPILLAR” created by a K-1 student.

 

IN THE GRADES K-1 room, Jessah Janzen works on creating words ending with “am.” After cutting out that ending, the students put consonants in front to create words – ham, clam, jam, slam, ram and swam. The final step is to draw a picture of the word they put together, helping reinforce what is learned.

 

JACKSON STONEKING IS moving ahead on the project, with the word “ham” already formed.

 

A SPANISH LESSON is on tap during a chunk of time for students in Grades 2-3. Learning the Spanish words for colors (colores) is made extra delicious with coordinating colored Skittles candy punctuating the learning process. The final step is correctly coloring the colorful rainbow – rojo (red), anaranjado (orange), amarillo (yellow), verde (green), azul (blue) and morado (purple).

 

SOFIA FLOHRS HOLDS up her anaranjado Skittle – before popping it in her mouth and coloring in the section of the rainbow with the appropriate colored pencil.

 

SHADING IN THE rojo on his rainbow is Cameron Meyer.

 

ENGINEERING IS ONE of the subjects being touched on in Grades 4-6 – and catapults the invention of the day. Students were able to choose to build one of two styles. The first is one made of colored popsicle sticks, a plastic bottle screw-off top and rubber bands.

 

MONROE JAMES SENDS a giant marshmallow off on its way with her catapult.

 

CHOICE #2 – THE #2 pencil catapult.

 

A PLASTIC SPOON attached to the arm of Evan Oltman’s pencil catapult by rubber bands is the perfect marshmallow holder to “catapult” the load up and over.

 

LUKE MOLLER KEEPS track of how far the objects traveled when sent from his catapult; objects such as the marshmallow, a Lego-size little person, a bean and a noodle.

 

 

 

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