Center Line

Center Line students keep learning this summer

By Maria Allard
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Deb Jacques Samantha Martin displays a special bookmark she made in the Center Line Public Schools summer school program at Roose Elementary School. Photo by Deb Jacques Samantha Martin displays a special bookmark she made in the Center Line Public Schools summer school program at Roose Elementary School.

CENTER LINE — A large group of Center Line Public Schools students continued learning over the summer months by enrolling in one of three summer school programs offered at Roose Elementary School.

Forty-eight students set to enter kindergarten this fall prepared for that first year of school in the Ready, Set, Go! program. In another corridor, about 150 kindergarten through second-grade pupils strengthened their academic skills in the Come Learn and Play program. And about 115 third- through fifth-grade students brushed up on their reading, writing and science skills in a new summer school program geared toward their grade levels.

The program ran July 9 through Aug. 9. Classes were held Monday through Thursday with a choice of a morning session or an afternoon session. Busing also was available.

CLPS summer school almost didn’t happen because funding for the programs were eliminated. Summer school program coordinator Lisa Wujczyk said school officials then stepped in with Title I government dollars to fund the programs.

“They budgeted the appropriate amount for each building and then set aside money,” Wujczyk said.

Another benefit for students was taking home free books every week.

With assistance through the Macomb Intermediate School District, Wujczyk wrote the curriculum for the third- through fifth-graders. When designing the program, Wujczyk looked at the district’s Michigan Educational Assessment Program scores to see what areas needed improvement.

“We found our students were really needy for boosts in science, as well as literacy,” Wujczyk said.

On the afternoon of Aug. 6, it was life in the fast lane for the older students, who became “engineers” to work for the fictional “Foamies Car Corporation.” Under the direction of teacher Nathan Landoski and aide Paula Price, the students divided up into small groups to form their own assembly lines to manufacture 16 Foamies model racecars.

Before the students began building, Landoski read several books to them about engineering. The exercise gave them the opportunity to enhance their concept building, teamwork and following directions skills. The “workers” were timed, too, as to which group could make the most cars in the quickest amount of time. The fastest group so far had been 13 minutes and 45 seconds.

“It’s a way to make them competitive,” Landoski said.

The model cars came pre-packaged with wheels, axles and numbers. Working at their desks, each student performed a specific job to complete their tasks in assembly-line fashion. Each completed car needed to have four wheels and two axles, and the sides of the cars were to be numbered from “1” to “16.”

Eight-year-old Savanna Johnson, and Derrick Porter, Kourtnee Pierce, Alex Marek and Ge’Mario Ross, all 9, became a work force. Marek organized the project, with Pierce installing the axles, Johnson and Porter putting on tires and Ross ensuring the numbers were in the correct spot. They also had to keep their work area clean and put away any materials they didn’t use.

“Number 5 is clear,” Marek called out as the production line continued.

Other projects this summer for the third- through fifth-graders included working with the Metric System, making parachutes and dissecting owl pellets. Price believed one of their favorite projects was zip lining. The students didn’t actually zip line themselves, but placed various objects on their homemade zip lines to see how far they would go.

Other lessons filled the day for the younger students. Singing songs and painting handprints were among several activities for the pre-kindergarten students.

In other classrooms, the kindergarten through second-grade students worked at various centers. Farha Thasmim and Makayla Giles, both 5, and Angelica Vera and Breanne Terhune, both 6, worked on their shapes and colors together.

“I like the program,” 6-year-old Isaiah James said.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Maria Allard at allard@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1045.