Classrooms lively at Hedges' summer school

On Wednesday the thunderous sound of 30 children skipping is heard in the hallways of Hedges Elementary School. Children emerge from around corners at both ends of the hallway, bounding from one classroom to the next.

It’s another day of summer school.

Hedges Principal Natalie Miller said students get to choose which “movement” — skipping, hopping, dancing — they want to do as they rotate between classrooms and subjects where they will sharpen their skills in reading, writing, math and art.

“The transitions are to keep their brains active and engaged,” Miller said, adding that she wants to do a modified, albeit quieter movement during the school year during passing time.

“Can you imagine 400 kids jumping? Maybe we’ll do hand movements or something,” she said.

Miller said summer school essentially taps into what students already know and solidifies their understanding while giving them practice.

The rotations are possible because for the past three years teachers have had the assistance of high school and middle school volunteers, most of whom are former Hedges students.

“Everything is integrated to math and reading,” Miller said.

Summer school is an opportunity for elementary students to prepare their minds for a new year, which starts Aug. 31, along with having fun.

“We wanted school to feel positive,” Miller said. “So we have kids that are brand new to Hedges that come so they can get to know the school.”

Teachers may recommend a student attend summer school or a parent can decide to enroll their child.

For new students such as 9-year-old Josiah Groves, who will be a fourth-grader in the fall, summer school is a chance to get comfortable in new surroundings, learn where classrooms are, meet new friends and get to know teachers such as fourth-grade teacher Megan Emmot, who is teaching writing at summer school.

“Today we’re writing about ‘If you want to do — something — you will need this and this to do it.’ We got the idea from ‘If You Want To See A Whale.’ It’s a really good book we read with Mrs. Emmot,” Groves said.

Groves said he is writing about the things someone would need if they wanted to buy a pet and read his introductory, or topic sentence.

“And then we go into our list,” Groves said. “We made a web (a tool to organize writing) to help us write the actual thing. It’s kind of like a rough draft to help us brainstorm.”

“Help you plan it out,” Emmot said.

“Yep,” Groves replied.

Groves has mixed feelings about being at a new school.

“I’m both excited and sad because I’m missing all my friends at my old school, East Evergreen Elementary,” Groves said, but added that he does know some students at Hedges and has met more during summer school.

At another table Jenna Maxwell, 12, helps a student. Maxwell is a former Hedges student going into seventh grade.

“My brother was going to summer school so he could stay caught up and in the text it mentioned Hedges alumni could volunteer to help,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell is one of nine high school and middle school volunteers. She said she enjoys coming up with ways to explain different activities or lessons in an understandable way. Maxwell also helped come up with the idea for a tissue-paper flower art project that is going on in another classroom.

After helping kindergarten teacher Jamie Congdon unpack school supplies, Maxwell thought the brown packaging paper the supplies came wrapped in could be reused as an art project material.

In Congdon’s room students dip the brown paper into Kool-Aid. The wet papers are spread out all over the floor drying. Several students color the brown paper with crayons before submerging them in the color-saturated water.

Wearing a colorful tie-dye shirt, Congdon said she “ties literacy with art.” Before this activity she read “The Gecko Who Wanted to be Different.”

“Every book that I’ve chosen I’ve tried to inspire them a little,” Congdon said. Her goal is to teach activities students can do at home and have them experiment with interesting materials in new ways.

The joyous noise of multiple people reading at once can be heard in another classroom.

Bentley Boone, 15, sits beside 6-year-old Jenna Douglas and reads aloud “Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana.” Douglas is going into first grade in the fall. Boone heard about volunteering from Miller, who is his neighbor. It is the second year the former Hedges student has helped out with summer school.

Nearby, Cleo Maloney, 13, and Savannah Miller, 13, form a circle with Dylan Wyant, 5, and Aria Matelich, 4, to play a game. Matelich is all smiles as she rolls a die and then giggles, realizing it’s Maloney’s turn, handing her the die.

Like many of the volunteers, Savannah Miller, who is the principal’s daughter, wants “to help children succeed.”

At the end of each day the students, teachers and volunteers gather for an awards ceremony to recognize hard work, achievement and perseverance. Each high school and middle school volunteer gets to give an award — and a handshake from the soon-to-be fifth-graders down to the preschoolers.

“It’s great to see these high school and middle school students become positive leaders,” Natalie Miller said.

The day is capped by a question from Natalie Miller.

“What was your favorite thing to do today?” she asked.

“Art, because we got to dip stuff in dye,” said one girl.

“Math, because you get to learn new numbers and figure them out,” said another girl.

“Writing my own stories because its cool,” said another student.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.