Enrichment Program Keeps Kids Learning Through the Summer

More than 85 children from the Bayport-Blue Point School District and surrounding areas are staying productive during their summer break by participating in an Eastern Suffolk BOCES-run Summer Enrichment Program at Academy Street Elementary School.

The program consists of three sessions, the first of which began on July 6. Though this is the first year Academy has been involved, the program has been held at schools in other districts for the last eight years, said On-site Director, Anthony Melfi.

According Director of Educational Support Services for BOCES, Marilyn Adsitt, the daily program consists literature and science components during the morning hours and recreational activities after lunch.

From July 19 through 30, kids ranging from first to seventh grade participated in candy making, aviation, picture book, Legomotion and crafty tales classes.

First and second graders learned about aviation with teacher Nicole Ranieri, who teaches at William Floyd School District during the school year.

"We learned about Amelia Earhart and the Wright Brothers," Ranieri said, "Each day, we construct a different kind of airplane. The kids had fun making paper planes the other day."

After lunch, the children are given a break from the class structure of the program and participate in outdoor and indoor physical education activities, arts and crafts, board games and outdoor water activities (on Wednesdays and Fridays).

The prior and future sessions offer classes such as rocketry, kite building, Lego Land, weather, puppetry and chef shop, among others.

In a July 30 candy making class, kids used melted chocolate to create snacks with pretzels and other food items.

The summer enrichment program's candy making teacher Lillian Behonick, who works in the Connetquot School District during the school year, said that the kids not only had the opportunity to make confections, but learned about them as well.

"I taught them the science behind melting sugar and how to convert measurements, they loved it," she said.

Roy Johnson's Legomotion class was filled with kids racing their newly crafted Legomotion cars equipped with the mechanism to "drive" in both forward and reverse.  "They're learning mechanical skills, it's really hands on," he said.

Eastern Suffolk BOCES Summer Enrichment Program runs though Aug. 13.