‘Today you are my hero’

Shell Museum seeking Adopt A Class donors

Published in Sanibel-Captiva Islander Sept. 2, 2015 issue

More than 35,000 fourth grade students from the Lee County School District have had an opportunity to visit the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum since 2003 when Ginny Avery began the Adopt A Class program.

Although the program serves schools throughout Lee County, it mainly touches low income families and those who are on free and reduced lunches. For many of the students, a trip to the museum is the first time they cross the bridge to visit Sanibel.

Last year, Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum Assistant Director Melanie Moraga, who runs the program, said she took into consideration how far and how long it takes the schools to arrive at the museum. She said she gave schools in such places as Lehigh options to visit anytime besides February and March when the traffic is more congested. During those months she provided the option for The Sanibel School and Heights Elementary School with the opportunity to participate in the program.

“I love this part of my job. This is what fuels me. I love kids,” Moraga said.

Every year the museum sends out an annual Ask Letter requesting donations to help sponsor the Adopt A Class program. This year, the letter will be sent out after Labor Day.

“We send this to past donors, all members of the museum and for the second year, island residents on Sanibel and Captiva,” Moraga said.

For $350 an individual or business can Adopt A Class. The contribution pays for the entire field trip, so there is no cost to the student or the school. Last year roughly 60 donors provided funds for the program.

“I want to be able to get every kid in Lee County a visit in their elementary years, again in their high school years, or middle school. I would love for all of them to come here twice. That is my ultimate goal,” she said. “It’s an amazing program and I hope we can reach out and master getting every kid from Lee County here. I would love to go to Collier, Charlotte and then be able to do outreach programs via Skype.”

This year the Adopt A Class will feature a new component that allows the donors to tag along with their class when they visit the museum.

Development Associate Paul Gulbrandsen said the walk along is being included because they want to get the donors more involved by showing them exactly what their gift is doing for the kids.

“That is really what it’s all about,” he said. “To give the donors the option to go along with their class. They can see these kids and talk to these kids.”

From October through May, with this year going through June, fourth grade students arrive at the museum at 10:30 a.m. and stay until 12:30 p.m. for their field trip. Before arriving on their scheduled day, the teacher and students watch a movie supplied by the Shell Museum, so the children have a better understanding of where they are going.

“Last year was the first year we tested it and it worked,” Moraga said. “Instead of getting here and watching a movie, they already watched the movie. We ask that they watch it either the morning of, or the week before, so that their minds are fresh.”

Once they arrive, the students are gathered on the steps leading up to the shell museum for a group photograph. The students are then divided into groups before exploring the museum.

The students visit the live tank where they are educated about live mollusks and have the opportunity to touch and handle them with a marine biologist. The students also visit anywhere from 10 to 15 exhibits depending on the curriculum they are learning at school. From there they participate in Hands-on Science where they handle large shells that are no longer alive.

“They learn about the parts of the shell and feel inside the shell and see the babies and egg casings,” Moraga said about the scientific makeup of the shell after the mollusks dies.

A favorite of the field trip is the art project.

“They loved the art,” Moraga said of the kids painting a shell. “They thought this is the coolest thing in the world, that they were able to express their creativity and bring home something to mom, so they can have something to talk about over dinner.”

Once the project is completed the kids either eat outside under the new umbrellas or inside the museum.

The program not only touches the museum’s staff, but the teachers and students as well. Moraga shared a letter she received from one of the teachers last year.

“Today you are my hero. Because of your generosity my fourth grade students were treated to a day at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. From the moment we arrived excitement and awe was evident on everyone’s face and the question they asked were igneous.”

A special part of the program is putting together a package for the donors. The packet includes a letter from Moraga, a picture of the class, thank you letters from the kiddos and pictures of the shell magnets the fourth graders made.

“The program is awesome because you get to see the kid’s reaction and excitement and wanting to learn because it’s fun,” she said. “They all kept saying this is so much fun. This is cool. When you come to a museum that is not what you normally have in mind.”

For those interested in becoming an Adopt A Class donor can email fieldtrips@shellmuseum.org.

“We accept donations for the program all year long,” Moraga said. “If the donation comes in after May, I apply it for the upcoming school year.”

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‘Building a bigger community’

Extracurricular programs, clubs will help enhance a student’s educational experience

Published in Cape Coral Daily Breeze Aug. 14, 2015 issue

A plethora of extracurricular activities and clubs are offered at the elementary, middle and high school level throughout Cape Coral, allowing the kids to stay active while building relationships with others from their school and community.

“They are so important because it is not just academics,” Skyline Elementary School Principal Secretary Lois Skaf said of the extracurricular activities. “It makes us all better and well-rounded. Kids are meeting other kids, exchanging information and thoughts and you are building a bigger community.”

Although many of the schools offer similar clubs and activities, each campus tailors them around the students’ and teachers’ interests. With the teachers donating their time after school, many of them offer new club ideas as they stumble upon them for the students.

Cape Elementary School Principal Nicole Osterholm said for the first time they are kicking off the school year with four clubs as a result of an interest survey the students and teachers answered. The top four clubs are Chess, Lego, Drama and an online newspaper. The free clubs will be offered twice a week for an hour from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Osterholm said the kids will enjoy a snack before the clubs are held.

The after-school program will continue at Cape Elementary School offering kids an opportunity to participate in a slew of activities both indoors and outdoors. Osterholm said the after-school program affords the students with the opportunity to choose what activity they would like to do.

Gulf Elementary School began offering clubs a few years ago for its students before and after school. Principal Kim Verblaauw said they offer a minimum of 10 clubs, which are always being updated on the school website.

The school offers an assortment of extracurricular activities because the staff knows the school is a safe place for the children to be, she explained. Verblaauw said if they can instill the love of school at a very young age it will carry on with them through high school.

“We want them on their campus as much as possible,” Verblaauw said, adding that she hopes that extra time will help them interact with other kids of different ages and abilities while building relationships.

Some of the clubs are community natured offering support off of the campus. Other clubs, such as the Run Club and Kids on the Move, gets the kids moving while enjoying a cardio workout.

Skaf said they try to offer a little bit of everything to spark everyone’s interest with additional clubs offered every year. This year a basketball club is being added to the lineup of the already existing clubs – gardening, Kidterest, Cooking, Fun and Fitness.

Caloosa Middle School Principal Ann Cole said her school offers an assortment of intramural sports, as well as clubs.

“Our students need opportunities for extended day with adult supervision,” she said. “Many of our parents are working and our students have an opportunity to interact with community agencies and guest speakers.”

The intramural sports – basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field, golf, tennis and soccer – provide opportunities for the kids to exercise, socialize, form teamwork all while practicing for the high school level, Cole said.

One of the clubs, the Young Gentlemen’s Club, meets two to four times a month to discuss career opportunities, host guest speakers and discuss various responsibilities.

The Lovely Ladies Club is offered for girls who are interested in hearing guest speakers share information about topics they are interested in.

With Caloosa Middle School receiving $100,000 worth of fitness equipment from the National Foundation for Governors Fitness Council, Cole said they will have the opportunity to offer additional programs and activities after school.

The high schools also offer an abundance of clubs, sports and other extracurricular activities to keep the students busy, while oftentimes building their interest in a certain area they may want to explore after graduation.

“I think extracurricular activities promote student success, promote a well-rounded student,” Mariner High School Assistant Principal Beth Gedde said. “If a student is involved in their school, it supports their academic success and ensures they are successful academically by keeping them involved. It also supports them being a part of the community, which is important.”

Popular programs at Mariner High School are the variety of academies the students can get involved with, which range from a biomedical academy to a vet assisting academy to a visual arts and multimedia academy. Gedde said when the student completes one of the academies, they earn a certificate for that specific program.

“We let them explore as many as they like and as many as their schedule allows,” she said. “They usually hone in one specific academy or interest.”

The clubs offered at Mariner are oftentimes student driven. Some of the clubs include a Book Club, Ceramics Club, Key Club and Pause for Paws.

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VPK options abound

Voluntary VPK options abound

Published in Cape Coral Daily Breeze Aug. 14 issue

More than 100 sites throughout Lee County have programs to give 4-year-olds a jump start on their education through the free voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida Chief Quality Officer Gayla Thompson said there are 143 facilities in Lee County that offer the VPK program, 45 of which are in Cape Coral. Approximately 4,500 4-year-olds will take advantage of the program throughout Lee County.

Of the 143 facilities, the Lee County School District has 19 sites, which includes a few in the East and South Zone. Jeanne LaFountain, director of intervention programs for the Lee County School District, said the West Zone has very few and the greatest need for VPK programs is in Lehigh Acres.

Although the district receives funds from the Early Coalition of Southwest Florida, it partners with other programs, such as Head Start and Title I, because VPK only pays for three hours.

The district has a waiting list of children every year who want to participate in the VPK program, a list twice as long as the number of children that they actually serve.

The district has at least 825 students enrolled in the VPK program. The district provides transportation, as well as breakfast and lunch for the youngsters registered.

According to the Florida Department of Education study, 77 percent of Florida 4-year-olds enrolled in the VPK program last year. In 2013, 82 percent of children who completed the VPK program were ready for kindergarten, compared to 53 percent who did not attend the program.

Youngsters who live in Florida and who turn 4 years old on or before Sept. 1 this year are eligible to register for the free program.

To sign up, parents can log onto www.elcofswfl.org and click on the “for families” link on the homepage, or stop by the Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida office at 2675 Winkler Ave., Suite 300, in Fort Myers. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thompson said parents need to bring proof of their child’s age, such as a birth certificate or passport, and proof of residency, such as a utility bill, lease or notarized letter from someone with whom they live if it is not their home.

“Our staff will assist people to use the portal to register their children for VPK,” she said.

Florida Early Learning Center Communications Director Cynthia Sucher said the voluntary pre-kindergarten program is offered to prepare 4-year-old children for kindergarten through emotional, developmental and social skills, so they hit the ground running their first year of school.

“Kindergarten today is what first grade used to be a number of years ago,” she said, adding that a conversation with a teacher revealed that she could not teach kindergarten today if VPK was not offered.

VPK is offered over the course of an entire school year and during the summer.

The school year program has 540 hours of instruction and the summer school VPK program has 300 hours of instruction, which is accumulated during a standardized three-hour-a-day program.

The VPK program has certain credentials that teachers have to follow in order to teach the students. Instructors must have a birth through 5-year-old Florida Child Care Professional Credential, as well as complete early literacy and performance standards special training to be eligible to teach the program.

The program offers readiness activities for the youngsters.

“Children from homes of poverty come to school typically 18 months behind their peers,” LaFountain said. “Kids that live in low income homes hear 30 million less words than their peers, so that puts them significantly behind.”

Those statistics have placed a lot of the district’s focus on such areas as vocabulary development and numeracy. She said a big part of reading readiness is teaching the students vocabulary, so they understand what they are reading.

The standardized program is offered at private and public child care centers; charter schools and public and private schools.

Although many of the sites have hours first thing in the morning, other locations offer various times to help accommodate the parents schedule.

Nicaea Academy Director Darline Pinheiro said the nice thing about the program is parents can choose where they want their child to go. Some parents chose a location that is closer to home, while others might chose a facility that is closer to their work, she added.

“It’s a free choice where they go because every school has a different feeling,” Pinheiro said.

Pinheiro said they found that there were quite a few children going through kindergarten that had never held a pencil or a book of their own prior to their first year of school. She said kids who attend their program will learn to play, socialize, negotiate and think outside of the box, so when they go to kindergarten, it is not quite as big of a step.

“We stay in close contact with the parents, so they understand what we are doing with their children,” she said, adding that for many parents enrolling their child in the VPK program is their first introduction to childcare.

Yolanda Castillo at Bella’s Kidz Academy said they offer a VPK program from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. during the school year, which lasts for 180 days.

They also keep the parents involved by doing portfolios of the children’s accomplishments and achievements. A parent conference is also held three times a year to update them on their child’s progress.

Their portfolio includes such items as the child’s writing, school work and pictures they create, Castillo said.

“I take a lot of pictures of their activities for the parents,” she said.

Both schools, like many in the private-provider sector, keep their VPK classes small.

They keep their teacher-to-student ratio low with nine students to one teacher to offer one-on-one interaction with the teachers, Castillo said.

The program offers a variety of activities, ranging from music to arts and crafts, as well as learning letters and numbers.

“We get really good feedback from the moms,” Castillo said. “They are very happy they did the VPK because it has helped them when they start school.”

At Nicaea Academy, hands-on instruction is also offered, with a 10-to-one ratio of students to teacher.

“It needs to be because this is our last hope in making the child comfortable because they don’t learn if they are not happy and comfortable,” Pinheiro said of the small classrooms.

Children there also participate in a variety of different centers, including science, math, reading, dramatic play and water play.

And if an instructor is walking around the classroom and notices one of her students is stacking a column of blocks, she might stop and say, “Let’s count the blocks.”

“It’s so amazing to watch them when they enter and when they leave,” Pinheiro said of the children. “Their social and emotional skills . . . self regulating better and their vocabulary has increased. A good VPK program gets them so excited about everything.”

Bella’s Kidz Academy at 2523 SE 15th Place. Their number is (239) 772-8884.

Nicaea Academy, is at 3221 Chiquita Blvd S, Their number is (239) 540-9400

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