The third week of Calhoun County Summer Boost ended on July 21, 2023, with a visit from the current WVU Mountaineer. Students enjoyed hearing him speak about his journey to one of the best jobs in West Virginia. The highlight of our week was when our Mountaineer Mike Hager took students outside for the firing of the musket. We are all looking forward to seeing him this fall on our televisions and/or in person firing that musket and firing up our WVU Mountaineers. Imagine the excitement when children say, “Hey, I know that guy; he came to my school.”
One of the foundational pieces of our Summer Boost program is making connections and building relationships while boosting students’ academic skill sets. Mrs. Sims and Mrs. Bailey work with student providing a fund environment to learn and practice math skills. During the third week of Summer Boost, the theme in math was making connections. Using hands on games each teacher worked with students to see and produce patterns and to work with connecting and combining numbers. Who knew that the game of Dominoes could be such a fun learning experience? One answer is, “Andrea Bailey.”
During Summer Boost students have reading concept classes based on their grade-level skill sets. Mrs. Bush works with Emergent Readers to building their sight word recognition and their skills to recognize letters and sounds to decode words. Hands-on learning is a successful practice which Mrs. Bush used to have students design figures out of modeling clay and later in the week to use these clay figures to practice sight words and write simple sentences by writing the story of their modeling clay figures.
The dynamic duo of GIRP (Guided Independent Reading Practice), Laura Webb and Carissa Yoak, worked with independent readers helping them to choose books on their interests and reading levels, followed by book talks, and then AR (Accelerated Reader) tests. The quality of the book talks helps students to remember details and to analyze the craft of writing.
Many educational studies provide results stating that there are connections between participation in music, art, and physical education and stronger academic performances. During week 3 of Summer Boost, Mr. Josh Brennon worked with student to discover the possibility of every day things as musical instruments. Metal spoons that many of us have in our kitchens were turned in percussion instruments creating joy in the hands of users. Mr. Brennon used technology as a tool along with plastic tubes to help students reproduce and hear the tones of the basic musical scale. Students delighted in production of sound.
Mr. Scott Golinsky provided instruction in healthy life styles and wellness concepts. Physical activity is essential to healthy brain activity. Golinsky provides opportunities for students to play and to learn games and activities that they can enjoy for years to come to enhance their physical movement. Additionally, Golinksy provides information on nutrition and the importance of a healthy diet.
Our Summer Boost is blessed with two amazing cooks, Tina Dawson and Jessica Summers, who work daily to provide healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches to all students. In addition to the terrific lunches, students have access to both a fruit and a salad bar to add fresh choices and a variety of options.
We have been blessed with awesome bus drivers and summer custodians who work daily to provide safe and clean environments for our students. At Calhoun County Schools our focus in on serving children and families. The school system works diligently to provide educational and structural support to our children. One of our best practices has been the establishment of a Student Services Department that includes guidance counselors, Communities in Schools staff, emotional support staff, and community partners who work to ensure that our students’ needs are identified and met. During Summer Boost, these valuable resources are available for students and families.
