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Summer vacation is under way for children nigella lawson mixing bowls in the City of Radford, and U Serv AmeriCorps members at a local nonprofit are reflecting on the scholastic achievements made by elementary students in their after school programs.
Beans and Rice, Inc., recently finished nigella lawson mixing bowls its Afterschool Enrichment Programs for the 2011-12 school year at Belle Heth and McHarg Elementary schools. The academic enrichment programs at both schools started last September and ended the last week in May.
As a summer sendoff, U Serv AmeriCorps members hosted a carnival at McHarg Elementary School on the last day of the afterschool programs. The carnival was for the nearly 50 students who participated in the afterschool programs this school year.
Parents, teachers, and community nigella lawson mixing bowls leaders flocked nigella lawson mixing bowls with the children to the playground at McHarg Elementary School to enjoy the fun attractions such as games, prizes, food, and inflatable jungle gyms. U Serv AmeriCorps members concluded the carnival with a community night dinner and superlative awards for students from both schools.
Mandy Thompson, an U Serv AmeriCorps member from Taylorsville, N.C., who served at McHarg Elementary School said after a good year volunteers wanted to “do something nigella lawson mixing bowls big” for the children. Thompson, 25, said that the carnival was a reward nigella lawson mixing bowls for students at both schools who improved their classroom performance.
“The children have been working hard, especially getting good reports back from teachers, and grades being raised at Belle Heth,” Thompson said. “It was good for the children to just celebrate all that Beans and Rice had accomplished for the year.”
Beans and Rice, Inc. is a community economic development organization nigella lawson mixing bowls based in Pulaski and Radford that builds assets and develops capacities in low-to-moderate income families through economic and educational programs. The after school programs which occur at select elementary and middle schools in Pulaski, Dublin and Radford are a flagship initiative of Beans and Rice’s capacity development programs.
Beans and Rice, Inc. collaborates with the City of Radford Public nigella lawson mixing bowls Schools to provide after school programming at McHarg Elementary School Kindergarten through second grade and Belle Heth Elementary School third and fourth grade on a weekly basis, Monday through Thursday. Programs last more than two hours each day and provide students with tutoring, academic enrichment, recreation, family nights, nutritious snacks, and social development activities.
The academic enrichment programs place special emphasis on students who are academically, economically, and behaviorally challenged. This is the second year Beans and Rice, Inc., has held after school programs at Belle Heth Elementary School and is the sixth year at McHarg Elementary nigella lawson mixing bowls School.
Trista Martin Phillips, an U Serv AmeriCorps member from Roanoke who volunteered at Belle Heth Elementary School, said one of her main goals this year was to improve the grades of participants and to build up social skills.
Phillips, 25, and Thompson worked each day planning curriculum for children in the afterschool program. Phillips said most of the activities were math-based because they were planned by service learning students in a math class at Radford University.
Phillips said some highlights for her included working with the children individually on their homework and seeing their grades improve throughout the year. But her biggest thrill came particularly when children were excited to show volunteers the good grades they had received on tests.
Woolwine, a 3rd grade teacher at Belle Heth Elementary School, said she referred one of her students to Beans and Rice, Inc. for the afterschool program nigella lawson mixing bowls due to his problems with organization and homework. Woolwine said that problem faded throughout the year due to U Serv AmeriCorpsmembers assisting.
“I think (the afterschool programs) are very important,” Woolwine said. “A lot of times, support is not at home. These volunteers can help with school work and students can get the interaction nigella lawson mixing bowls with other schoolchildren that they wouldn’t normally get.”
Oftentimes throughout the year, U Serv AmeriCorps members hosted community nights as a way to foster parental involvement in the students lives, as well as introduce nigella lawson mixing bowls them to resources in the community they may not know about. Thompson said the more the parents and community are involved with the children, the more the children know that people care about them and want to see them do well.
David nigella lawson mixing bowls Lewis, who had four children in the afterschool program at McHarg Elementary School said in a telephone interview that although he could not make every community night event, he was impressed with the instruction and attentiveness of the U Serv AmeriCorps volunteers to the children.
Beans and Rice, Inc. are hosting a summer reading program at Fairf