Lots to do @ David Gourley Elementary

Destination ImagiNation:

We are looking for SLCC students to come to our school and run Destination Imagination groups with our students.  These groups can be at any age level k-6 but we would really like to start with our upper grades.  These groups can be run before, during, or after school.  We are happy to accommodate SLCC students’ schedules.  Here is a summary of what “D.I.” is:

·         Destination ImagiNation, Inc. is an extraordinary non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork and problem solving. Every year, we reach 125,000 students across the U.S. and in more than 30 countries. Destination ImagiNation, our core program, is an educational program in which student teams solve open-ended Challenges and present their solutions at Tournaments. Teams are tested to think on their feet, work together and devise original solutions that satisfy the requirements of the Challenges. Participants gain more than just basic knowledge and skills—they learn to unleash their imaginations and take unique approaches to problem solving.  More information about this program can be found on their website which is http://www.idodi.org/

Student Council

We would love to have SLCC students come to our school to organize and run a Student Council.  The SLCC students would mentor our 5^th and 6^th grade students.

The student council helps share students’ ideas, interests, and concerns with teachers and school principals. A Student Council is a representative structure for students, through which they can become involved in the affairs of the school, working in partnership with school management, staff and parents for the benefit of the school and its students.  In elementary schools, there are typically one or two student representatives per classroom and one presiding set of officers.  An example of the structure of an elementary student council may include a president, a vice president, secretary, treasurer, sergeant of legs, fundraising officer and historian. These roles may be assigned or voted on, either within the student council or by the entire student body.

School Supply/Reward Drive

As part of our school wide behavior program our students have the opportunity to earn Panda Paws.  Panda Paws are like money that they can use to buy items from our school store.  Our students receive Panda Paws for having good behavior, being prepared for class, being on task, increasing their behavior if they have struggled, following school rules, being courteous and kind, or anything else that a teacher deems worthy of a reward.  Children get called to the school store once a month and then have the chance to spend their paws if they want, or continue saving.  By calling students once a month, we have about 150 students a week coming to our store.  We are looking for SLCC students to help collect NEW items for our store that our children can earn with their panda paws.  We are looking for items such as backpacks, art supplies, toys, games, stuffed animals, notebooks, pencils, books, musical items, sports equipment, craft sets, and anything else you think a child 5yrs old-12yrs old might enjoy as a prize that is appropriate at school.

Broadcasting/Journalism

We would love to have a school news paper and a school news broadcast on the internet.  Two of our 3^rd grade classes and all of our 4^th-6^th grade classes have a lot of technology already in their classroom that we would like to utilize more.  Those classes have one computer for every two students in the class to share.  We also have cameras, video cameras, flip video cameras, and other technology available.  Through the supervision and direction of SLCC students our students will be able to create a school news paper and a news broadcast every week.  Through this type of communication our school climate will increase and it will help build the community in the building.

Science Fair

Unfortunately, science is frequently one of the first things cut from the curriculum when a teacher doesn’t have enough time in the day to teach all the subjects.  A strong science background is necessary for success in secondary education, college, and many careers.  If our students are not receiving this foundation in elementary, they will have a harder time catching up in their later years. We would love SLCC students come to our school and teach our students about science, hopefully doing experiments with them that would enrich their education.  They could do this through a science club that meets once or twice a week before, during, or after school.  As a culminating project we would love to hold a science fair for any of our students who are interested in participating and sharing their newfound knowledge.  To do this, we would need the assistance of SLCC students to organize, mentor, and direct our students through their projects.

Music/Art/Theater

Through a partnership with SLCC students we would love to hold more enrichment classes with our students.  Some of our ideas of things we would like them to teach include the history and background of music, art, and theater.  They could teach about specific artists, musicians, art periods, musical periods, architecture throughout the world, and how theater has evolved through the years.  They can also teach our students music through songs, rhythm, music theory, etc.  We would love to have our students perform plays after learning the basics of acting/theater like voice projection, upstage/downstage/stage left/stage right, etc.  Theater and music are wonderful ways to help our students who are learning English.  Music and theater give them situations that are safe and structured to practice their English.  This would be very impactful at our school as about 75% of our students come from homes that speak a language other than English.

Community Outreach

Our school is located in the middle of a very diverse community that struggles economically.  We would like to give back to our neighbors and community by coordinating beatification of neighborhoods.  We would love to have SLCC students lead our students, parents, and teachers in becoming more involved in our community.  We could take a school day where all of our students went out into the community to plant flowers, clean up yards, etc.  This would help our community know that although we come from different cultures we can bond together and help each other working towards one goal.  There are many directions we can take this and we are excited about the ideas the SLCC students might have in developing community outreach.