Our After School Enrichment program is off to a fantastic start! Our students are enjoying so many hands-on learning activities, and we're just getting started. Here's just a small sampling of recent activities and lessons:
• Mrs. MacDonald and her "Adventure Club" students took advantage of a bountiful fall harvest here in the Northeast, using fresh apples to make a delicious dessert of apple crescents. Adventure Club is very much a hands-on class, focused on decision-making and problem-solving. Students work collaboratively to brainstorm, create and carry out plans, and follow up by reflecting on what they've learned. Making the apple crescents provided a host of lessons on food safety and sanitation, following a recipe, measuring ingredients, and preparing snacks that are actually healthy! In the weeks ahead, they'll also work on "upcycled" products, sewing projects and holiday crafts. Later on, they'll tackle topics like creating meals on a budget and creating a babysitting fun bag!
• In her "Exploring Majors, Programs, and Career Paths" program, Miss Martin has got our students thinking a lot about their futures! Students started the exploration journey by identifying personal strengths and interests, and how they might align with potential careers. They've been studying and learning about a variety of careers they might choose from, and what types of education those careers require, setting goals and charting a career development path. Finally, students created presentations on what they had learned about the career they were most interested in and presented it to the class.
• In Mrs. Iasnik’s "Growth Mindset" class, students participate in a variety of activities that challenge their creative thinking and push them to think outside the box. Students collaborate with others to share their ideas and listen to those of others to create and problem solve in this class. They listen to a variety of growth mindset books and identify the central idea, summarize the text, make inferences, identify narrative elements, and participate in class discussions. Students are conducting research about famous failures and creating slide presentations to share with the class to learn that wonderful things can happen when we make a mistake. Finally, they are doing a wonderful job of setting SMART goals for themselves.
• Is there anything better than a bike ride on a fall day in Deposit? The answer is no. In Mrs. Tiffany’s "Healthy Minds and Bodies" class, students took advantage of one of the recent beautiful fall days we've enjoyed, by hopping aboard their bikes together and going for a ride. Mrs. Tiffany’s class focuses on ways to feel positive, successful, and energized by participating in exercises for both the mind and body. Students get outside for fun, fresh air, and exercise. They also play a variety of challenging games to improve critical thinking skills, cooperate and communicate with others, and reduce everyday stress.
You can check out a lot of great After School Enrichment photos on our Facebook Page!