AUBURN - The students of Genesee Elementary School's Kindergarten/Summer Oasis program have been hard at work all summer.
Angela Kershner / The Citizen
Sue Galbally, of Auburn, and her son, Dillon Nagel, 4, work together to cut out shapes while creating a paper school bus during the Oasis Summer School's I Can Do It night at Genesee Elementary School in Auburn Thursday.
Sue Galbally, of Auburn, and her son, Dillon Nagel, 4, work together to cut out shapes while creating a paper school bus during the Oasis Summer School's I Can Do It night at Genesee Elementary School in Auburn Thursday.
The program started seven years ago is designed to give children a leg up as they prepare to make the leap to the next grade level.
“The kids are here four weeks, four days a week from eight to 12,” Principal Tiffany Squires said. “We work specifically on skills that focus on literacy and numeracy. The idea is to target and give students who need it a little jump as they get ready to move to the next level from kindergarten to first grade or first to second. It just gives them a little extra and gets them ready to make that next step.”
This summer the program served more than 220 students.
“We keep the classes smaller,” Squires said. “That way teachers can target the specific areas the kids really need to focus on and give each one the attention they need.”
Teachers like Genie Colby stress a lot of the fundamentals in class.
“We focus on teaching what is going to help them achieve success in first grade,” Colby said. “We work on a lot of vowel sounds and how to form words. It is all about making them ready for what is coming up and the skills they are going to need next year.”
These skills also extend outside the basics of the classroom with social skills and even riding the bus.
“There are going to be a lot first for these guys next year,” Squires said. “And we try to make that something that they can learn from and prepare for.”
Neicko Bizardi said that even these little things can be a lot of fun.
“I like riding the bus,” Bizardi said. “I think that is the most fun about coming here is that you get to ride the bus.”
Creating a fun learning environment is important; many teachers find that providing interactive environments leads to greater achievement in their students.
“I really enjoy working with the kids,” Audrey McNally said. “We work on thins like math skills, everyday things like counting and telling time. We make it fun and play games like time twister or we have incentives where if they learn a specific new skill we play a game. I've heard some students saying to their parents that they aren't doing any work in class, but even with the games they are learning, we just try to sneak it past by making it fun.”
For students like Derek Rowland whether it is work or play it is still a good time.
“Working is fun,” Rowland said. “We get our work done and we get to play and we get to go home early. But it is all really fun.”
At the end of every session the students gather their parents to show them exactly what they have learned all summer, celebrating I Can Do It night.
“I think it is really important and good for the students,” Squires said. “It gives them that confidence boost to be able to show their parents that this is what they have done all summer.”
“The kids are here four weeks, four days a week from eight to 12,” Principal Tiffany Squires said. “We work specifically on skills that focus on literacy and numeracy. The idea is to target and give students who need it a little jump as they get ready to move to the next level from kindergarten to first grade or first to second. It just gives them a little extra and gets them ready to make that next step.”
This summer the program served more than 220 students.
“We keep the classes smaller,” Squires said. “That way teachers can target the specific areas the kids really need to focus on and give each one the attention they need.”
Teachers like Genie Colby stress a lot of the fundamentals in class.
“We focus on teaching what is going to help them achieve success in first grade,” Colby said. “We work on a lot of vowel sounds and how to form words. It is all about making them ready for what is coming up and the skills they are going to need next year.”
These skills also extend outside the basics of the classroom with social skills and even riding the bus.
“There are going to be a lot first for these guys next year,” Squires said. “And we try to make that something that they can learn from and prepare for.”
Neicko Bizardi said that even these little things can be a lot of fun.
“I like riding the bus,” Bizardi said. “I think that is the most fun about coming here is that you get to ride the bus.”
Creating a fun learning environment is important; many teachers find that providing interactive environments leads to greater achievement in their students.
“I really enjoy working with the kids,” Audrey McNally said. “We work on thins like math skills, everyday things like counting and telling time. We make it fun and play games like time twister or we have incentives where if they learn a specific new skill we play a game. I've heard some students saying to their parents that they aren't doing any work in class, but even with the games they are learning, we just try to sneak it past by making it fun.”
For students like Derek Rowland whether it is work or play it is still a good time.
“Working is fun,” Rowland said. “We get our work done and we get to play and we get to go home early. But it is all really fun.”
At the end of every session the students gather their parents to show them exactly what they have learned all summer, celebrating I Can Do It night.
“I think it is really important and good for the students,” Squires said. “It gives them that confidence boost to be able to show their parents that this is what they have done all summer.”
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