Riverhead students excel at summer programs
This summer, special education students in the Riverhead School District kept themselves busy with constant learning and activities.
Students attended a six-week extended school-year program in an effort to develop and maintain the skills they learned throughout the school year, according to the Riverhead School District. For students in kindergarten through eighth grade, that meant receiving individual instruction in reading, writing and math skills.
Additionally, the children learned about the Earth with each individual classroom focusing on a different feature the planet has to offer, such as states, continents, communities, sea life and endangered species.
Older students studied the states during the program, and completed related projects. For example, during their study of Maine the classes had a map study, learned about the states agricultural crops and made “spicy wieners” since the state is famous for it’s red-hot wieners, according to their teacher, Tim Paige.
Additionally, all students participated in the Riverhead 2016 Summer School Olympics. Deborah Smidt, the summer director, said the events focused on friendship, or understanding each other’s similarities and differences, respect, through taking care of themselves and their school, and excellence, by taking part and doing their personal best.
“We hope that our learning here will spark interests that continue to blossom and grow,” Ms. Smidt said.
A gold medal ceremony for the special education summer program is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Friday at Phillips Avenue Elementary School.
Lastly, the district ran its summer intern program as part of the transition services five-week program. Here, students took part in pre-vocational training and internships at local businesses including Applebees, Old Navy, Home Depot and the Hyatt Hotel three days a week and had the opportunity to explore different jobs that may interest them.
Top Photo: Bryan Salas de La Cruz (holding the sign) and Abrahan Vigil Martinez (holding the flag) celebrating at the year-round special education students’ Olympics event. (Credit: Riverhead School District)
