Students in the second day of summer school are conducting experiments, using creativity in writing, and practicing their musical skills.

About 260 students are in the 13 classes that are running during the first session of summer school, from June 15 – July 2, each focusing on their own curriculum. A second session of summer school will run July 6 – 23.

“Summer school is not that bad,” Gretta ‘Mama Love’ Haynes, security guard, said. “It’s just that you try to cram eight weeks of work in three, which is more work than you realize because you have a short time to do it, but you do what you have to, to get it done. It’s not hard. Most kids make it hard.”

Although some students may make summer school difficult, according to Haynes, if students have a positive attitude, they will enjoy summer school more. Bear Facts checked in with several summer school classes to learn more about the specific activities each class is doing on the second day of summer school.

Honors Biology

Honors Biology, taught by Anne Hopkins and Laura Cohen, have students examine the bess bug, a large black beetle, to test its strength. This lab measures the amount of weight the bess bug can pull in a given time. The bug walks approximately 48 centimeters. Students are challenged in the lab by determining how much the bug can endure in a specific amount of time and specific amount of mass.

“I like how [the lab] is more sped up,” Eshwar Tikoo, freshman, said. “I think it is a little bit more challenging, but it’s a lot easier to get it done in a shorter amount of time, like we have in summer school.”

Band Camp

Middle school students are participating in band camp that lasts from 9am to 12:15pm, lead by Sheri Conover, band director. Payton Gagliardi, sophomore, is volunteering to help the students become better musicians. According to Gagliardi, asking for help is a key to becoming a better musician.

“I would’ve loved to have had this in middle school. I [didn’t think] to do it, but I want to help the kids who do it. It’s a really good experience for them, and it’s a great learning experience,” Gagliardi said.

Creative Writing

Students in creative writing are beginning to create a complexed character by analyzing and ‘layering’ the story with details about the character’s encounters, personal thoughts, and journeys. Shannon Eichwald, english teacher, is teaching the summer school students about fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writing.

“In Creative Writing, I think you really get in touch with what story you want to tell,” Eichwald said. “Even if I give them a prompt that says, ‘Write a story about a girl who is at the circus with a green balloon’ ; that’s where they start, but wherever they take that character, really tells a lot about them, and kind of their own story and their own voice.”