RAHWAY, NJ — TAPinto Rahway had the chance recently to catch up with Dr. Kevin Robinson, the Rahway Public School District's Program Supervisor of Math and Physical Education. He's overseeing, along with Program Supervisor of Literacy Dr. Leslie Septor, a summer enrichment program for Rahway taking place this week and next. He very generously took some time out of his day to give us a tour of the classrooms and facilities in Madison Elementary School, where the summer program is located.
The two-week enrichment program is designed for students entering grades 1-6. Approximately 185 students are currently enrolled in a variety of courses that cover a range of topics broadly falling under ELA (English Language Arts) and mathematics.
Additionally, Robinson was excited to tell us about a new course offering this year. "This is the first year we are offering computer coding classes to students," he said. "Last year we only had ELA and math classes."
The day runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The program began on July 11 and runs through July 21. The children are provided a snack as well as lunch.
We had a productive and enjoyable time during our visit. Robinson took us around to a number of the classes, so we were able to witness the program in action. Kenneth Betros, who teaches at Madison School during the regular school year, was busy reviewing some math concepts when we poked our head in his room. And Kaitlin Farrell, another Madison teacher, was running a theater workshop when we stopped by.
We got to see several other classrooms as well, as the students worked on projects, in groups, individually, on laptops, or the old-fashioned way (that is, with paper, pencils, markers, and all those non-digital, non-virtual tools and devices many of us used as kids).
We spoke with Grover Cleveland Elementary School teachers Quadriyah Myles and Cindy Zatorski. Zatorski told us that her 4th and 6th grade math students have been working on a math integrated art lesson featuring radial symmetry and fractions. The students learned the difference between linear and radial symmetry in order to apply their recently acquired knowledge to the construction of a paper relief sculpture. (See photos).
What does this mean? We have no idea. But thanks to the summer enrichment program, we're quite certain that we could ask one of the student participants to explain it to us.
Oh, and we ran into Justine Johnson, Rahway High School librarian extraordinaire, who is also working at the summer program. At the time of our visit, she was guiding a queue of students down the hallway, who were at least a decade or so younger than the ones she's used to dealing with on a daily basis.
Robinson told us, "We realize that it's the summer and, of course, kids are not generally looking to be in school in the summer. I encourage the teachers to get creative with their subjects and make the classes something different, creative, and fun."
And indeed, during our brief tour that day, what we witnessed could be appropriately described as different, creative, and fun. We look forward to following up with Drs. Robinson and Septor when the program ends (and perhaps with a few teachers and students too) and finding out how everything turned out.
Article by: David Brighouse