SUMMER ACTIVITIES ENJOYED BY S.O.A.R. AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM
by Debbie Fischgrabe
The S.O.A.R. before and afterschool program just completed another summer packed with educational and enrichment activities galore, and just plain FUN! The students were able to observe many different animals in their habitats throughout the summer including an aquarium, an ant hill, a worm farm, butterfly larvae, and they also had the opportunity to tour a cave to learn more about the home habitat of the bat.
Students enjoyed swimming twice a week at the Unionville Country Club and also enjoyed visits from Mary Roberts who shared her favorite stories each week with the students. Many guests visited throughout the summer to share their hobbies and talents—Mr. Walter Griffen, who shared his love of music with the students through story songs; Ms. Carla Cullor, who shared information on the proper care of their teeth; Mrs. Ellen Schnakenberg, who demonstrated the art of stained glass; Mrs. Emily Foglesong, who demonstrated the basic techniques of photography; and Mrs. Tanja Partridge, who led the students in creating flags in honor of Flag Day. 
SOAR SUMMER ACTIVITIES
Students enjoyed a visit from Mr. Tom Sparough, renowned juggler and educator, on the first day of summer school. While in Unionville, he shared his juggling talent, led in workshops to provide tips to help parents when working with their children in math, and also provided presentations to be enjoyed by all ages.
“Camp in a Can” visited the program in June to lead the students in learning about the intriguing world of science. The S.O.A.R. students learned about the Monarch butterfly, as well as other species to understand their unique way of camouflaging themselves from predators; they learned about the “secret code” that is used by fireflies to recognize members of their family; they learned about turtles and their habitat needs; and they received valuable information about eggs and made their very own ostrich egg to take home at the end of the day.
Students participated in two day-long Reader’s Theater workshops where they learned about voice inflection and projection, costuming, staging, make-up and the various styles of theater. These workshops better prepared students to enjoy the Reader’s Theater process and provided knowledge to the students to help them receive more from their Reader’s Theater experiences.
Technology is extremely important in the lives of our children. There is not a day that goes by that they are not exposed to many different technological opportunities that not only will enrich their lives but also prepare them for the requirements of their educational process in upcoming years. The S.O.A.R. students spent a great deal of time this summer working on robotics. This learning not only provided greater knowledge but it also provided an avenue for students to work in teams to achieve an end result.
Field trip activities this summer included a trip to Kirksville to a private showing of the movie “Ramona and Beezus,” which is based on the book by famous children’s author, Beverly Cleary. While in Kirksville they also visited the Kirksville Airport to learn more about aviation and the duties of the comptrollers, pilots and airport personnel.
A second field trip took them back to Kirksville where they toured Western’s Meat Market. While there they learned about the entire process that is required to make their nationally acclaimed meat sticks and also learned what store owner, Sam Western, did to turn his small business in northern Missouri into a global business.
Students later toured KTVO TV station to learn about the satellite signal requirements, the importance of being an excellent writer when creating news stories, and the educational requirements that are needed for the various jobs throughout the station. Their tour concluded in the newsroom where they visited the actual set that comes into their homes each day when turning on channel 3. They all had the opportunity to see themselves on television , and view the big cameras. The students got a personal look at how the station works through emergency situations and they were able to view the steps in making a local commercial.
The final field trip of the summer led the students on an excursion to Hannibal, Missouri. While there the students rode the Mark Twain Riverboat down the Mississippi River and later toured the Mark Twin Cave. The quiet river town of Hannibal is steeped in history and offered numerous opportunities to learn about the town that was home to famous author Mark Twain, a.k.a. Samuel Clemens.
The end of summer requires us to transition from the summer learning mode where students and staff have the whole day to do science experiments, work on in-depth projects, read, calculate math activities and play, to the shorter days that come when working around the traditional school day. Many plans are underway for the 2010-2011school year. The middle school students will be working in room 1 in the high school this year and the K-5 students will continue to work from the S.O.A.R. building as in the past. This division will allow the teaching staff to offer broader learning opportunities for the sixth through eighth grade students and to continue to maintain the high-quality, age-appropriate offerings to the younger students.
