When school gets fun

It's a reptile, kin to dinosaurs and can change colors. What is it? Ten-year-old Justin Sievers knows the answer. The soon-to-be sixth-grader spent quite a bit of time researching and putting together a PowerPoint presentation on this particular animal. His classmates at South Elementary are stumped, though.

"Is it an alligator," one student ventures. Nope.

"Is it a crocodile?" "Is it a chameleon?" Nope.

After several failed attempts to come up with the correct answer, Justin's teacher gives permission to disclose the creature's identity: iguana.

Research has never been so much fun for Justin and the 280 other students enrolled in the summer school program at South Elementary in Jackson.

While many Missouri districts maintain remedial summer programs for students who weren't up to par during the regular year, Jackson and Scott City school districts also offer enrichment courses, which students voluntarily sign up for.

The programs, which last from three to four weeks, reinforce what students learn during the regular school year with one major difference: They're fun.

Over the past few weeks, students could be spotted lounging in bean bag chairs, reading books on the front lawn at Scott City Elementary. They crafted tin foil boats and baked race car-shaped cakes at South Elementary.

The carefree summer atmosphere brings out the inventiveness in many teachers. At South Elementary, teachers put together a lesson plan called "metric Olympics." Students participate in a variety of Olympic-type events, from paper plate discus throwing to plastic straw javelins and cotton ball shot put.

"With fewer students, teachers get to do things they may not get to in the normal school year," said Courtney Kerns, principal at Scott City Elementary. "The pressure's not there, so they get to be creative."

Students in Sarah Pruden's sixth-grade class at Scott City Middle School are learning what appear to them to be distant eras, like the 1980s. A student-painted mural dedicated to that decade pays homage to Madonna, Ronald Reagan, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Bill Gates.

Pruden is also teaching her 12 students about forgotten games and toys, such as Rubik's Cube, the Slinky and marbles.

"I wanted to give them something to do for the rest of the summer that didn't involved setting in front of the TV," Pruden said.

Jackson superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson said the enrichment courses help block some of the loss of learning that occurs during summer vacation.

"We try to do anything we can to prevent that," Anderson said. "But the kids have a lot of fun, too."

Jackson's summer program wrapped up Friday, and Scott City's will end Wednesday.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128