April 30, 2010
Year-round school
St. Theresa’s school year will include four intersessions
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
When school resumes this August at St. Theresa, the students will be learning more than the three R’s.
Thanks to four intersessions interspersed throughout the school year, they will have lessons on sign language, nutrition, computers, even scrap booking.
Theresa Berendes, principal, explains that the “new school calendar will spread the traditional 180 days of school over a longer period of time. The modified schedule gives the option for longer and more frequent breaks during the school year and a shorter summer vacation.” (Related story: Rotary grants for St. Theresa)
The school has chosen this calendar, in part, because “research has shown that the shorter summer vacation will result in greater retention of concepts learned,” Berendes said. “Students will be better equipped to build upon their past learning with shorter review and re-teaching periods than are needed under a traditional schedule.
“The breaks will allow ‘batteries to be recharged’ so students and staff can bring more energy and attention to the learning process.”
The really different part of the new school schedule is the inclusion of the intersessions following each of the four quarters. “These are optional two-week sessions that will allow St. Theresa students and other interested students to have opportunities that are not possible under the current schedule.
“St. Theresa’s staff has been working very diligently to prepare an exciting schedule for our intersessions. The intersession subjects are topics our teachers have desired to teach but the time constraints of a traditional school calendar did not permit these topics.”
The school currently has an enrollment of 88 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The principal believes that next year’s school enrollment will be “up slightly over this year.”
“We have had great response from our marketing efforts of direct mail and four billboards. Many families are inquiring about our new calendar and intersession options. We have promoted the intersession to groups outside of St. Theresa. It’s still a little early to tell numbers.”
One targeted group for en-rollment in the intersessions includes home-schooled students. “We have distributed the information at their convention. I will be emailing a flyer soon to a local group. There is some interest there.”
The cost for parishioners will be $50 per week for the first child in a family, and $40 a week for the second child. The non-parishioner cost is $75 per child per week. The students will bring their own lunches to the intersessions.
Tammy Jewell teaches in the pre-kindergarten program. She will be teaching sewing, cake decorating and scrapbooking to the older students in the intersessions. It’s going to be fun, she promises, adding that St. The-resa parishioners will be lending their sewing machines to the school for the intersession.
Diane Alvey teaches third grade during the regular school year. During one of the intersessions next summer she will be teaching “Having a Blast with Rocks . . . and More!” She promises a fun class with hikes to nearby Garvin Park along with hands-on projects.
First and second grade teacher Karen Waller will teach “Lights, Camera, Action.” “We will write an original play, make the scenery and act out the play,” she promises. In the afternoons, she will teach basic math skills, including measuring, problem solving, telling time skills and money skills, lessons which will all be reinforced as the students play games “using the skills we have learned.”
Here is brief information about each of the four intersessions.
FALL
Sept. 27 through Oct. 7
- Preschool-pre-K: Hands-on Autumn. Activities will include nature walks, leaf collecting, pumpkin painting.
- Kindergarten-second grade: Storybook Illustrators. Students will learn the art of illustrating through the in-depth study of children’s author, Eric Carle. They will have the opportunity to hear Eric Carle and study several books by him as well as have a chance to make their own book!
- Third-fifth grade: Healthy Cooking. Students will learn about healthy eating and nutrition through cooking and baking.
- Sixth-eighth grade: Stu-dents will experience the cultures of four countries, Greece, Kenya, Italy and Germany, through music, art, technology, and cuisine.
WINTER
Jan. 3 through Jan. 14
- Preschool-pre-k: American sign language in dance, song and movement.
- Kindergarten-second grade: Preparing for a class play.
- Third-fifth grade: Sculpting with wire, clay, recycled parts and woods and cooking.
- Sixth-eighth grade: Work-ing with LEGO® Robotics.
SPRING
March 28 through April 8
- Preschool-pre-k: Students will explore what happens in spring.
- Kindergarten-second grade: Students will explore the food groups and do computer art.
- Third-eighth grade: Learn-ing and exploring different science concepts in the format of the TV reality show “Survivor” and sewing, scrapbooking and cake decorating.
SUMMER
June 20 to July 1
- Preschool-pre-k: Scavenger hunt, teddy bear picnic, bubble fun, sidewalk art, beach day, science experiments.
- Kindergarten-second grade: American Sign Language
- Third-fifth grade: Learning basic facts about rocks, trees and nature.
- Sixth-eighth grade: This intersession will be an exciting mix of outdoor activities and adventures that will include but are not limited to hiking, backpacking, canoeing, outdoor ethics, outdoor tools/equipment, outdoor safety, and many more fun and educational outdoor activities.
There will be class size limits on some intersessions, and intersession topics are subject to change.
Rotary grants for St. Theresa
St. Theresa School has been awarded four Rotary grants for the 2010-2011 school year, according to Theresa Berendes, principal of the Evansville school.
The funds will be used to purchase supplies for four intersessions which will be in place when the school begins its year-round schedule during the 2010-2011 school year.
- Jenny Copeland has received her grant for her intersession titled “Book Cooks from Around the World.” She will use the grant funds to purchase books and cooking supplies.
- Karen Waller has received her grant for her intersession titled “1,2,3, Let the Games Begin.” She will use the grant funds to purchase board games which will reinforce various math skills.
- Diane Alvey has received her grant for her intersession titled “Having a Blast with Rocks.” She will use the grant funds to purchase supplies for her intersession which is designed to integrate hands-on learning in science while integrating art, writing, math, geology and more.
- Nancy Mayer has received her grant for her intersession titled “Lego Mindstorms Robotics.” She will use the grant funds to purchase Lego Mindstorm kits and other supplies for an intersession on basic computer programming while working in a team environment.