Ending summer school with a splash

WARDEN — The Warden School District celebrated the conclusion of its summer school program with an exciting Field Day, an event designed to showcase the social and emotional growth of students while offering a vibrant finale to six weeks of enriching activities.

“Field Day is kind of a big finale to our six-week program,” said Warden Summer School Supervisor Lisa Lucas. “The kids participate in different sports and games, practicing their social emotional skills and just bonding with one another.”

This year’s summer school program hosted approximately 200 students, with a total enrollment of around 270 when including the high schoolers. The program catered to a diverse age range, welcoming students from kindergarten through 11th grade, and provided a unique learning environment over the course of 18 days.

“We cater to students from kindergarten extended, which are those getting ready to go to kindergarten in the fall, all the way up to high school,” Lucas said.

For this year’s Field Day, the younger students engaged in a variety of activities designed to promote teamwork and physical fitness.

“They had so much fun getting wet, playing games like musical chairs and sponge toss,” Lucas said. “You can see the students enjoying themselves, which is what we aim for.”

The excitement was evident, and for many students, these days paired with the field trips were a highlight of their summer school experience, according to Lucas.

The culmination of six weeks of learning included thematic studies on cultures from around the globe, such as Kenya, Tanzania, Paris, Brazil and Mexico. Each week focused on a different culture, allowing students to engage in rich language practices and presentations.

Middle school students created PowerPoint presentations based on their research, showcasing their newfound knowledge about the countries they studied.

“I think it went exceedingly well because we had fairly small classes, with a ratio of about one teacher or para-educator for every 10-15 students, allowing for individual attention,” Lucas said.

The students were not only involved in academic pursuits but were also given the opportunity to participate in engaging field trips, which were particularly popular among the participants. They visited the local movie theater, rollerbladed in Moses Lake and even took a field trip to the public library, where they engaged in interactive storytelling and crafts.

“The students would say all the field trips were their favorite part,” Lucas said.

Reflecting on the overall success of this summer’s program, Lucas emphasized the hard work that went into organizing such events.

“Our wonderful migrant supervising teacher, Vanessa Valdez, arranged the whole thing, putting a lot of time and energy into creating different centers that ensured the students had varied and exciting experiences,” she said.

Teachers were also instrumental in fostering a positive atmosphere throughout the summer program. Lucas shared how the mix of seasoned educators and those beginning their careers contributed to a nurturing environment.

“We have highly experienced teachers as well as those who are just starting. It’s so exciting because they get that experience here at Warden, and later on, we hear they’re working in other districts because they gained valuable skills here,” she said.

The Warden summer school program operates three days a week, Tuesday through Thursday, allowing the students a long weekend. This structure helps maintain a balance between learning and leisure, giving students a taste of a traditional school day while still enjoying summer vacation.

“They have a full school day, but it’s only for six weeks, and we see them getting so much out of these sessions,” Lucas said.

    Summer school students at Warden Elementary sit in a line and try to pour water into the cup of the student sitting behind them. The goal was to see which line of students could have the most water in the cup by the end of the line.

    A Warden summer school student admires a water balloon. The students practiced throwing them back and forth in pairs. The pair who could go the longest without popping the balloon won the game.
  

    Warden summer school students fill up sponges to drench their peers during Field Day Tuesday.
  

    A group of Warden summer school students plays a competitive game of musical chairs.
  

    Students at Warden Elementary School throw water balloons back and forth. Each pair tried to keep the balloon intact for the longest time.
  

    Students run around in the sprinkler during Warden Elementary School’s summer school field day.
  

    One Warden summer school student jumps rope to an oversized Connect Four board and places one of the rings in. The green team won the game.