Photograph by Robert Scheer
Summer school program students participate in July 4th festivities at Argonaut School. Clockwise from top left are: Miles Hornberger (6), teacher Susan Sporleder, Katie Low (6), Melinda Amato (6), and Rachel Sabes (5).
By Tim Persyn
Although some students viewed summer vacation as playtime, many young Saratogans found a different use for the "lazy days" between school years.
More than 700 students enrolled in this year's summer school program provided by the Los Gatos-Saratoga Community Education and Recreation Department.
The program ran from June 24 to July 19, 9 a.m. to 12:05 p.m, at Argonaut and Redwood schools. The program registered students from the pre-kindergarten to the middle-school levels. Enrollment was voluntary.
Boni Calder, who teaches at Foothill during the regular school year, was the principal of the program this summer. She hired the staff and established the program's curriculum, which she described as a balance between academic courses, such as math and science, and other activities, including drama, art and sports.
The classes were taught primarily by credentialed teachers, many of whom have worked with the program in previous years, Calder said.
The enrollment fee for the summer school was $171 per student. For this fee, students and parents could chose from an array of courses including "Math Games," "Laboratory Science," "Poetry Express," "Clay Creations" and "Loving Literature." The program's curriculum for the pre-kindergarten and pre-first grade classes was aimed toward easing the transition into regular school, Calder said.
Popular courses in the program included cooking, woodworking and computers.
Parents such as Stephanie Weidert and Lucy Meyer said they were impressed by the variety of the program's curriculum. In addition, the two parents said the program is a good socializing experience for the students.
Besides having fun with friends, students in the program use their time to prepare for the next school year.
Theadora Sachs, a teacher, readied her students for the coming school year in her "Fun With Computers" course.
"I try to get them to learn as many things in advance to prepare for next year," Sachs said.
An aspect of the work in Sachs' course included preparation for Saratoga Union School District's multimedia presentations curriculum.
One day in class, future fourth-grader Parsan Saffaie demonstrated her summertime computer work. After making proficient use of her computer's mouse, she showed her computer-generated slide show, replete with artwork she designed and sounds she selected from a software program. "It's cool," she said of her experience.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, July 31, 1996.
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