Enrichment programs benefit all involved

Adding a full 40-minute period to the school day, as St. Mary's began doing in September, has significantly enriched the quality of education at the school, according to Principal Sister Patricia Lynch.

"We're seeing great results with our new extended day enrichment program. The kids love it, the parents love it, and, in spite of the extra work involved, the teachers love it because they see such progress. When kids get excited about learning -- that's what puts a light in a teacher's eyes!" exclaims Sister Patricia.

Beneficiaries

Sister Patricia readily admits she is relieved that the response has been so positive and that the program is already having a ripple effect that is enriching lives beyond the classroom.

"When our school board first began talking about the possibility of lengthening the day, there were some concerns that the children might get tired or bored," she said. "One of the options we had was to simply add five minutes to each period, but we agreed that breaking up the 40 minutes designated for enrichment wasn't the answer. The extra minutes could too easily get absorbed into the regular school day rather than being treated as something very special."

Gift of time

At this time last year, classes at St. Mary's didn't officially begin until shortly after 9 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. This year, attendance is taken at 8:25 a.m. -- which, of course, means the bells and buzzers on alarm clocks in the homes of students and teachers are also sounding almost an hour earlier.

In spite of this, Sister Patricia contends, signs of sleep deprivation do not abound at the start of the school day. "By scheduling the enrichment programs for the younger students to begin first thing in the morning, the little ones arrive eager begin the day's work. They really seem to look forward to these sessions."

Younger students (grades K-4) are not required to participate in the early morning enrichment program, but only a small handful have declined. "The extra period is only mandatory for Grades 5-8," says Sister Patricia, noting that enrichment programs for the older students take place at the end of the day from 2:20 to 3 p.m.

Themes for year

Each theme incorporates components from five key subjects: religion, language arts, math, science and social studies.

During Community Month in September, students initiated a special outreach project called "Mary's Secret Closet" that culminated with a weekend Making A Difference celebration.

"The kids came up with the idea of collecting items that cannot be purchased with food stamps and storing them in an old supply space they named Mary's Secret Closet," explains Sister Patricia.

"Many of the students were surprised to learn that some essentials -- like toilet paper, toothpaste and soap -- couldn't be secured with food stamps, and they wanted to make a positive difference in the lives of the people who needed these things," she noted.

The students were especially moved by a $1,000 cash donation received from the WalMart store in East Greenbush, which helped to make their project an even greater success.

Around the world

Ms. Fredericks challenged students to compare similarities and differences between the United States and nations selected by individual learners. This portion of the program involved researching and reporting on current events and their impact on the lives of those living in foreign countries around the world.

Students were then assigned to make graphs -- with tied in with Mr. O'Brien's math unit on diagraming. Mr. Field's lessons got some religious reinforcement when Ms. Clark had students secure computer-generated maps dating back to biblical times, when the Roman Empire was flourishing, to be contrasted with contemporary maps of the same areas.

Mrs. Haaf, meanwhile, showed science students videos about the theory of continental movement and had them use computers to further probe the topic.

(11-04-99)

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