Capitol News

Charlotte Public Schools issued the following announcement on July 15.

Campers enjoyed fun, interactive learning while working to close any learning gaps that may have occurred during the school year due to the pandemic

As our DK-8 Summer School is wrapping up, we wanted to celebrate this wonderful program and the fun that these students had!  I would like to thank the teaching and support staff that were willing to put off their summer break and support this program for our students.  A special shout out to Mrs. Kali McKenna, our Parkview Elementary principal, who led this first-time programming with great success!

This face to face program was very important to support the learning gaps that may have occurred during the 2020-2021 school year due to the pandemic, but also to let our kids just have some interactive FUN! Below are some highlights from the last four weeks, from Mrs. McKenna:

• Students successfully completed Project Invention and Camp Invention, and loved every minute of it!  They were able to free build, use hands-on experiences to learn (even though they thought they were supposed to be only having fun). When I visited, I got to see the live Virtual Reality machines that were able to try, and lots of outdoor fun!
• Teachers used the curriculum, created room transformations, played with the students, and utilized the "art" of teaching.  When speaking with them, they truly had a great time, and said the lessons were fun to teach.
• The students and staff successfully participated in a wide variety of career enrichment activities with many of our District partners including: Eaton RESA Welding, Granger Construction, Charlotte Aquatic Center, CPS Technology Team, Michigan Department of Transportation, Thrun Law Firm, City of Charlotte, Charlotte Police Department, Charlotte Performing Arts Center, and AL!VE.  
• The students were the first student group to swim at the Charlotte Aquatic Center since COVID started.
• Students participated in Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons that included weekly topics of: Uniqueness, Sportsmanship, Empathy, and Mindfulness.  
• Each day, all students had the opportunity to have free breakfast and lunch.  
• They had multiple opportunities daily to have physical activity (recess, PE, other games through Camp Invention).  I would say that they spent more time outside than they did inside.  They also utilized both of the gym spaces daily to play games! 
• Our 7/8th grade groups went to Eaton Theatre for an experience to watch Treasure Island, after reading the novel during camp.  
• Students received t-shirts from Camp Invention and also were able to tie-dye their own shirts. 

Mrs. McKenna added “I would ultimately say the biggest highlight for me is that 168 children had the opportunity to have a safe space to go for the start of their summer.  We were able to provide them with consistency and love for 16 days, and you can't top that!”

While we also are providing GRASP correspondence work, credit recovery for High School students, and free Kids Read Now books, this special interactive experience was new to CPS, and we hope to be able to offer it again next year.

Thank you for all of your support! Go Orioles! Oriole Pride

Dr. Mandy Stewart- CPS Superintendent

Original source can be found here.