That’s My Plan …
Today, more parents than ever work outside the home, and many struggle to secure adequate after-school care for their children. As a result, large numbers of youngsters find themselves alone and unsupervised when the school bell rings at the end of the day. Studies have shown that the after-school hours can be dangerous ones for children. After-school programs are often seen as an effective way to keep children safe and supervised. Experts also believe that the after-school hours are an opportunity to further engage students in academic, social, and physical activities. As former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley noted, “Children’s minds don’t close down at 3 p.m.”. And now, neither do many schools, especially here at ASA.
One of our very popular after school offerings is the Extended Day Program. We’ve provided this service to our faith community for many years, but this year have ramped it up so that students are not only safe and secure, but challenged physically and academically. Weekly themes appeal to the students’ natural curiosity and creativity while daily tutoring sessions help to reinforce educational objectives making up the formal school day.
Other programming new this year includes our championship robotics team (The Islanders) and our very popular Sewing Club. The robotics team constructs robots out of legos according to a prescribed plan or theme and introduces students to programming language allowing them the opportunity to compete in contests and collaborative teambuilding events. The team competes every fall at a regional competition held at Rogers Williams University.
Our sewing club helps youngsters develop their creative and coordination skills through activities like threading needles, making stitches and working with both hands simultaneously. Additionally, the meta-cogntive skills of students of all ages benefit from having their reasoning abilities challenged by having to follow written instructions and working out the best approach to a given project. Sewing activities also help youngsters with their numeracy skills. Having to measure fabric, count stitches, work out sizes etc helps kids build on their math knowledge. Finally, two new programs under consideration for the balance of the 2010-2011 school year are Introductory Yoga and Latin. The physical and mental benefits of yoga are life long and the study of Latin has been proven to assist in the development of skills associated with language arts.
Our after school enrichment programs are all part of meeting our mission statement which articulates our commitment to “wholeness and holiness”. The ASA staff continually endeavors to serve our faith community to the high level possible by offering quality comprehensive programming. Next month, more about the goings on and plans for the spring of 2010 here at ASA…………..that’s my plan!
