Cottonwood Elementary School first-graders learned all about the word “big” during Monday’s Jump Start class. (Photo by Catherine Odson / catherineodson@miconews.com)
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Students jump start learning at Cottonwood summer program
School officials help participants start year on track
By Catherine Odson, catherineodson@miconews.com
“Big” was the word in Beth Slawson’s Jump Start classes Monday morning at Cottonwood Elementary School.
Twenty minutes into the class, the first-grade group had already talked about things that were big — everything from dads to closets to a T-Rex — and were getting ready to craft the letters out of wax sticks, Play-Doh and shaving cream.
In all, about 30 first- and second-grade students got jump starts on the new school year this week, something school officials said will help them succeed when classes start next month.
The eight-year-old program began as a new incarnation of summer school, Principal Janis Grandon said. By putting Jump Start at the end of the summer, rather than at the beginning, it helps students retain what they learn for the new year, she said.
Jump Start also helps students get back into the routine of the school year, having them come in to school and going through the regular parts of the school day, teacher Janice McWilliams said.
In McWilliams’ second-grade classroom, students started with writing exercises before rotating through different activities throughout the room.
For Slawson’s younger students, it’s also getting used to centers and running through basic school rules, such as how to line up in the first-grade hallway.
Students and parents have to commit to attending each day, Grandon said, which can be challenging since transportation isn’t provided. The classes run Monday through Thursday for two weeks, leaving Fridays off for last-minute vacations, she said. The shorter schedule also helps keep parents’ transportation costs down.
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Twenty minutes into the class, the first-grade group had already talked about things that were big — everything from dads to closets to a T-Rex — and were getting ready to craft the letters out of wax sticks, Play-Doh and shaving cream.
In all, about 30 first- and second-grade students got jump starts on the new school year this week, something school officials said will help them succeed when classes start next month.
The eight-year-old program began as a new incarnation of summer school, Principal Janis Grandon said. By putting Jump Start at the end of the summer, rather than at the beginning, it helps students retain what they learn for the new year, she said.
Jump Start also helps students get back into the routine of the school year, having them come in to school and going through the regular parts of the school day, teacher Janice McWilliams said.
In McWilliams’ second-grade classroom, students started with writing exercises before rotating through different activities throughout the room.
For Slawson’s younger students, it’s also getting used to centers and running through basic school rules, such as how to line up in the first-grade hallway.
Students and parents have to commit to attending each day, Grandon said, which can be challenging since transportation isn’t provided. The classes run Monday through Thursday for two weeks, leaving Fridays off for last-minute vacations, she said. The shorter schedule also helps keep parents’ transportation costs down.