Scotland Elementary School Expands Enrichment Opportunities

As the school year gets into full gear, Scotland Elementary School is offering its students a variety of voluntary enrichment opportunities, both before and after school

There are nine before-school enrichment classes being offered, the majority of which are run by teacher and parent volunteers. These include a math club; a literary magazine, “Scotty Inspirations,” which inspires students who love to write both fiction and non-fiction in a number of different genres; and WordMasters, a vocabulary and analogy program in which Scotland students have excelled for many years, which introduces the children in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades to new words (75 per year) through games and discussions which have been shown to help students learn to think both analytically and metaphorically.

Also, the School Newspaper Club will work on two editions of a school newspaper to be distributed during the school year, and the 5th grade members of the Yearbook Club will be responsible for designing and creating their own custom two-page layout, including photos, interviews and the 5th grade survey.

News Bowl is run by 5th grade teacher Mr. DiMarzo. News Bowl USA is a national organization the aim of which is to make current events fun in the classroom and promote student interest in the news. Topics include national news, world news, geography news, arts and entertainment and sports news. Students meet to study current events and then take a monthly Jeopardy-style quiz online.

Friday Fitness, a fun and positive program led by two SES teachers, Mr. DiMarzo and Mr. Truchsess, will run for 4th and 5th graders. The program will focus on the importance of fitness and aims to improve muscular strength and endurance, speed and agility, balance and flexibility and core strength.

A new program offered this year that's sure to be a great success is Book Chat.  Fourth and fifth grade students will be led in discussions of selected literature by Brenda Chapman, a certified Great Books facilitator. The program employs “Shared Inquiry," a method of learning characterized by high quality literature, open-ended questions and a strong focus on interpretation. The students will learn to express their ideas, weigh the ideas of others and practice and develop the habit of reflective thinking.  Such programs have been shown to help students develop higher-order critical thinking skills and improve their ability to express ideas both in writing and speech.

The final morning enrichment program available to Scotland students is World Language presented by Linguakids.  Linguakids offers both French and Spanish classes and encourages the students to learn basic vocabulary and practice a flawless accent through fun songs, games, art and stories.

The majority of before school enrichment classes are free of charge.

Students are also invited to choose from more than 15 after-school enrichment programs, as well. These programs are sponsored by Scotland PTA and are either run by external companies or individuals, or by members of the Scotland faculty. The courses are offered in six-week sessions, and classes are held Monday through Thursday at the school from 3:25 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

The programs offered include; Drama/Musical Theater, Learning in the Computer Lab, Sports Mix, Cardmaking, Mad Science-Spy Academy, Martial Arts, Rockon America, ZumbAtomic, Ballroom Basics, Chess, Cooking, Magic, Baseball/Softball, Invention Convention and Tumbling.

One of the highlights this year is a puppet-theater class run by recently retired 1st grade teacher, AnneMarie Surfaro-Boehme. The puppet show has been a holiday favorite in her classroom for many years, and Scotland is thrilled to be able to continue this wonderful tradition. 

While the programs are subsidized by Scotland PTA, Scotland School prides itself on not having any child miss a program due to financial need, and scholarships are available as required.

We are very proud of our enrichment programs at Scotland School and know that the students, and the school, will benefit from exposure to new experiences and adventures.

Sally Alexandroff is a member of the Scotland Elementary School PTA.