Greetings SD GEARUP Staff, Administrators, Teachers, Students and Friends,
Here we are in April already. If you are like me, you are wondering when the grass started turning green and when did these flowers bloom? I may have to get the lawn mower out soon. Admittedly, we had a mild winter and that seems to keep the winter months a little easier to bear. As the days grow longer, everyone involved in schools is in the middle of major testing. The SD GEARUP staff wishes you the hoped for results in this yearly educational success measuring effort. Thank you for all the work from students, teachers and families in submitting incredible applications for the SD GEARUP Summer Program. The staff is in the process of scoring all the applications. Be watching for a published list of accepted students in this eblast and in our newspaper. If you have not submitted your list of your schools 8th graders or Seniors please do so immediately for their inclusion in the last SD GEARUP newspaper of the year. Until next time, live smart!
Darla Drew Lerdal Regional Coordinator and Community Media Outreach ______________________________________ Activity Report Mac Attack Update Mackenzie Casey visited over 16 schools during the school year, some of them twice! I know there are teachers reading this and saying to themselves "I didn't know we could ask him to come back for an encore!" During his visits he worked with over 1150 students. Sports and college awareness go hand in hand, at least when Casey is leading the class. Mackenzie Casey readies a group of students for the Mac Attack. Soaring to Greatness, Aviation Workshops Private pilot, Brinda Kuhn, worked with 143 students to provide a hands on science and airplane flight experience. Kuhn gives the students a quick tutorial on drag and lift, balance and velocity before the students get to the main event, a trip in her airplane. "By the time the students board, they are working through weight distribution to determine who should sit where. It's really an exciting way to learn basic aviation principles." Brinda Kuhn and students take to the skies. Family Nights Depending on your school site coordinator, SD GEARUP activities take on a different spin with each school. Regardless of the approach, the SD GEARUP staff is at the events to inform students and families about the many "need based" funding sources available to students who are considering state universities, private colleges, tribal colleges or technical institutes. SD GEARUP staffers also introduce young students to the SD GEARUP Summer Honors programs with a video of the summer camp. There is a mission for the regional coordinators while visiting schools. They are there to collect surveys from parents and students to be included in annual APR required by the US Department of Education. So help out by filling out a short survey next time you see our booth. Students and parents fill out the SD GEARUP survey. Thank you! Free Books For Adults Rockyford School and Wounded Knee District School were recent recipients of books for adult level readers. The concept, from Community Relations Coordinator Darla Drew Lerdal, is to donate books to the schools and pass books on to the community in a "Take Home Library". A parent or community member comes into the school to grab a book with no expectations of returning the book. Easy for everyone! If you are interested in a "Take Home Library" there is only one requirement to get the books. You need to have shelves to display the books. How many shelves depends on your space and funding. Other than that, the books are free. Contact Darla at: ddrewlerdal@gmail.com to talk about getting books for your community today. Yaimey Nunez and Darla discuss Rockyford's Take Home Library. |