June 24, 2004

Summer School is in full swing throughout Andrew County.

Elementary students in the Savannah School system are attending summer school at Minnie Cline Elementary and at John Glenn Elementary. Middle school students are attending at the air-conditioned section of Savannah High School.

“There were 715 students attending on June 16,” said Helen Hodkins, summer school administrator. “We had hoped for a few more students to stay consistent in their attendance. There were 340 students attending that day at Minnie Cline.”

“The students are having a wonderful time,” Hodkins continued. “They have academics in the morning and adventure classes in the afternoon. They have three adventure classes the first 12 days of school and three more adventure classes the next 12 days.”

There are 18 teachers involved with summer school at Minnie Cline and a total of 37 in the entire district.

“There are other support staff members involved with summer school,” Hodkins said. “And there are some other teachers who are working half days.”

Afternoon classes include building soapbox-type cars, using Legos to build things, dances and life-time sports, Hodkins said.

Classes are held Monday through Friday and began June 7. Classes are for next year kindergarteners through next year eighth graders.

Summer schools at both Savannah and North Andrew schools are connected with Newton Learning. Both schools use a similar format.

Students at North Andrew School attend classes from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Classes there are for next year kindergarteners through freshman, according to Elementary Principal Mark McDaniel.

“In the mornings, it is all academics,” McDaniel said. “There is reading, math and other subjects. It is all hands-on learning. In the afternoon, the classes are in things like building go-karts, using Legos and fun stuff. The morning summer school has more experiments and a little different kind of curriculum than regular school, but it does deal with the core subjects.”

This is North Andrew’s second year with Newton Learning. It is Savannah’s first year with Newton.

“We have seven teachers in our summer school,” McDaniel said. “We had about the same teachers last summer. The rains have forced us to use the gymnasium for more activities.”

Summer school at North Andrew began on May 24 and will run through June 25.

“The students have a pre-test on the second day and another test on the second to the last day,” McDaniel said. “All homework is done at school.”

“We have a total of 130 students in summer school,” he said. “The entire building is air-conditioned.”

He said there are awards for attendance throughout the event as well as daily awards for attendance and good behavior. A Visa card worth $100 is given for perfect attendance. A Visa card worth $75 is given for missing only one day. A card worth $50 is given for missing only two days. A DVD player is a prize available to those with perfect attendance.

North Andrew’s summer school is coordinated by McDaniel; Bob Heddinger, the high school principal; and Superintendent Jim Schultz.

Avenue City School students are attending summer school at John Glenn Elementary School in the Savannah School system this year.

However, some students are going to Avenue City School on Monday and Wednesday mornings for what some would call a more traditional summer school.

Amanda Scott and Geana Sigrist are the instructors. Students come in for an hour of tutoring on subjects that they had trouble with during the school year.