Friday, May 27, 2011

Check Out Last Summer's Memories!

Thanks to Sally Fodor for putting together pictures from last year.

We'd love your help in 2011!

Love a child, change a life!

They'll never forget you, and you'll be surprised how much you'll learn.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

This Year's Theme!

The theme for this year will be centered around the book Sadaku & the 1000 Paper Cranes.

A few new developments for 2011:

  • We'll be assigning a Team Leader for each segment and a lead volunteer for the day. By doing this, we hope to make the day a bit easier for volunteers as they arrive to help.
  • We will also provide a description or lesson plan for each segment as well.
  • Lastly, we aim to schedule an Orientation Day for all volunteers at the school for those who would like to see the space and hear what a typical program day is like (tenatively June 29th at 12 pm at our new site for this year: University Park School across the street from Goddard)
We can't wait to team up with the staff and amazing kids at Goddard!

Friday, October 23, 2009

2009 Program Slide Show

To see the slideshow of 2009 with amazing pictures put together by Sally Fodor, go to Pilgrim Church's website and on the left side of the home page, scroll down, click and enjoy!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Final Updates

Meeting Minutes
The Goddard School’s Summer Program
Wednesday, June 3rd

Attendance: Marion Guerra, Ann Marie Walsh-Pierozzi, Rev. Rick Whitefleet-Smith, Rev. Dan Wilson (Aldersgate), Jon Wortmann, Sally Fodor, Eileen McHenry,

We had another productive meeting today as we continued planning this year’s summer program. The confirmed dates are listed below along with the highlights:

Theme: Three Cups of Tea (Pennies for Peace) www.penniesforpeace.org.
In June, all students at the Goddard School will either be reading Listen to the Wind (K-4) or Three Cups of Tea (Young Reader’s Edition 4-8) by Greg Mortenson. (He also wrote an adult version too). This book is about one man’s mission to promote peace…one school at a time. Pennies for Peace have provided funds to help build over 57 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to date. This book will be our inspiration as we create the theme for this year’s summer program.

When: Here are the program dates:

Thursday, June 25 – Friday, June 26
Monday, June 29 – Thursday, July 2
Monday, July 6 – Thursday, July 9
Monday, July 13 – Thursday, July 16

Time: 9am – 2:30pm / 3pm; our volunteers will be arriving at noon.

Group Size: There will be 4 groups of 15 students each; one for second, third, fourth and fifth grades (a total of 60).


Segments:

1. Community Garden- Always a Staple! Joanne and Rick to see about adding a worm project for the kids. They have also found a number of great books fitting for both the garden and our theme.
2. Reading – Along with the kids suggesting or bringing in their favorite books to read to us, we will have access to the school’s library for more books.
3. Arts & Crafts – We want to confirm 4 projects for the kids to work on relating to the story (one for each week). We will also have a couple extra to choose from just in case kids choose to do something else. Our hope is to make this segment easier for the volunteers. Eileen McHenry, Nici Hornblower and me will work together on planning the activities and will purchase materials for them. We will assign a lead volunteer for each date. Detailed information for each activity will be available ahead of time explaining the project and materials needed click on http://goddardsummerprogram.blogspot.com/ to learn more. During the first couple of days, we will provide supplies to make leaf name tags and materials to make 4 trees (one for each grade). The kids will list their names / nicknames (along with a picture) and 3 things about themselves to be placed in the cafeteria. Once the leaves are done, we will hang each on the appropriate tree. Ann Marie could you see to it that the kids provide a picture of themselves for the leaves? This will help us to connect the face to a name along with getting to know the kids better and will link to our theme nicely (great idea Eileen). At this time, we have designated the following projects:

Sock Puppets – Make your own character from the book come alive
Clothes Pins Puppets – same thought different variation
Clay – Build your own school, build a bridge, etc.
Iron on Beads – A true favorite from last year!
Collage – Design your favorite scene with fun materials

4. Indoor / Outdoor Games - Along with teaching the 4th & 5th grade students golf (thanks to the Pros at WCC) on June 29, July 2, July 6, July 15 (and possibly July 8); we will have access to tennis, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and volleyball. The school does have equipment for these recreational activities and given the weather could either use the gym or surrounding areas outside. Ann Marie please make sure the 4th and 5th grade students are scheduled for the golf segment on the dates listed above. I will let you know about the July 8th date.

5. Three Cups of Tea – Rick has secured Tuesday, July 14th for 32 kids/chaperones for a field trip to Heifer International Farm. They will be leaving at 9am and returning right after lunch. This will have no impact on the afternoon activities. He will also see if they have a speaker who could bring in any small (caged) animals or speak to us on their past / future home projects. Other activities for this segment include:

Teambuilding – Outdoor Games, Tug of War, Obstacle Course – Eileen, Nici and I will give more thought to other teambuilding events that may be used during the program (project adventure).
Sipping tea & eating cookies – This will target specific areas as it relates to manners / etiquette, eye contact, shaking hands, respecting others, etc. We will also have the children discuss with us their own customs growing up in their own country before moving to America.
Building a Spaghetti Bridge – Jon has provided a list of materials (marshmallow, spaghetti, stirrers, and straws) and helpful rules we may use. The goal is to build a strong enough bridge together!
Write and Illustrate your own story – The kids can be their own author as they write and create their very own books.
Write a letter – The kids can write a letter to a student in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The program will end with both the BBQ lunch and Luau (Carnival Theme) on Thursday, July 16th. We will use the center courtyard to build sand castles, hula dance, hula hoop, bubbles, sack races, and face painting, etc. The luncheon will be organized by the members of Aldersgate Methodist Church; expect 125 people and add chicken to the menu.

We are certainly open to all creative ideas as we continue to modify and build on this year’s summer program. What’s the saying…it takes a Village…

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Meeting Minutes from April 15th

Meeting Minutes
The Goddard School’s Summer Program
Wednesday, April 15th

Attendance: Ann Marie Walsh-Pierozzi, Rick Whitefleet-Smith, Rev. Dan Wilson (Aldersgate), Jon Wortmann, Sally Fodor, Eileen McHenry, Nici Hornblower

Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 3rd at 11:00am, Goddard School

We had another productive meeting today as we continued discussing this year’s summer program. We have confirmed dates. Here are the highlights:

Theme: Three Cups of Tea (Pennies for Peace) www.penniesforpeace.org.
In June, all students at the Goddard School will either be reading Listen to the Wind (K-4) or Three Cups of Tea (Young Reader’s Edition 4-8) by Greg Mortenson. (He also wrote an adult version too). This book is about one man’s mission to promote peace…one school at a time. Pennies for Peace have provided funds to help build over 57 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to date. This book will be our inspiration as we create the theme for this year’s summer program.

When: The program dates are confirmed:

Thursday, June 25 – Friday, June 26
Monday, June 29 – Thursday, July 2
Monday, July 6 – Thursday, July 9
Monday, July 13 – Thursday, July 16

Time: 9am – 2:30pm / 3pm; our volunteers will be arriving at noon.

Group Size: Similar to last year (100-125) students.

Segments:

1. Community Garden- Always a Staple! Joanne and Rick to see about adding a worm project for the kids.
2. Reading – Nici Hornblower has agreed to see if we are able to initiate a pen pal program with the kids from Goddard and the kids from Pakistan / Afghanistan. She will report her findings at the next meeting.
3. Arts & Crafts – We want to confirm 4 projects for the kids to work on relating to the story (one for each week). Our hope is to make this segment easier for the volunteers. Eileen McHenry and Nici Hornblower will work together on planning the activity and will purchase materials for them. Detailed information for each activity will be available ahead of time explaining the project and materials needed click on http://goddardsummerprogram.blogspot.com/ to learn more. We will need supplies to make name tags and poster paper / board for each grade so we may have the kids names listed (along with any nick names) and 3 things about themselves to be placed in the cafeteria. Ann Marie is it possible if each child brings in a photo or school picture to display by their name on the board? This will help us to connect the face to a name along with getting to know the kids better (just a thought). At this time, we have designated the following projects:

Sock Puppets – Make your own character from the book come alive
Clothes Pins Puppets – same thought different variation
Clay – Build your own school, build a bridge, etc.
Iron on Beads – A true favorite from last year!

4. Music – Kelli this segment was a huge hit last year. We could introduce more multi-cultural music, etc. The talent show will need your expertise and we will have access to the house system this year. Knowing how creative you are we’re sure you will come up with some new things that the kids will enjoy.

5. Three Cups of Tea – Rick will call Heifer International and inquire about field trip dates. He will also see if they have a speaker who could bring in any small (caged) animals or speak to us on their past / future home projects. Ann Marie will see about contacting a Pakistan family to see if they would be willing to share their customs, traditions, culture with the kids one day each week. The programs we have begun to identify for this segment are:

Teambuilding – Outdoor Games, Tug of War, Obstacle Course – Nici will provide us with other ideas (project adventure) at the next meeting
Sipping tea & eating cookies – This will target specific areas as it relates to manners / etiquette, eye contact, shaking hands, respecting others, etc.
Building a Spaghetti Bridge – Jon to provide details

The program will end with both the BBQ lunch and talent show on Thursday, July 16th. This year, the luncheon will be organized by the members of Aldersgate Methodist Church.

Caddy Program: Still working on details with Ann Marie and the boys; we should know more today (Thursday). Transportation will be provided next week by Eileen McHenry on Monday, April 20th, Rick Whitefleet-Smith on Wednesday, April 22nd and Rev. Dan Wilson on Thursday, April 23rd. Plan on picking up the boys in front of the Goddard School (garden side) at noon (the program starts at 12:30pm) and pick the boys up at the Worcester Country Club at 3:30pm dropping them off at the Goddard School. The Pro Shop is located behind the pool and Allan Belden is the Golf Pro. The Club’s phone number is 508-853-5087

We are certainly open to all creative ideas as we continue to modify and build on this year’s summer program. What’s the saying…it takes a Village…

Information on the Goddard School’s Summer Program can be found at:
http://goddardsummerprogram.blogspot.com!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Meeting Minutes from March 11

Meeting Minutes
The Goddard School’s Summer Program
Wednesday, March 11th

Attendance: Marion Guerra, Ann Marie Walsh-Pierozzi, Rick Whitefleet-Smith, Rev. Dan Wilson (Aldersgate), Jon Wortmann, Sally Fodor

Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 15th 12 Noon, Goddard School (Lunch will be provided)

We had a productive meeting last week as we began discussing this year’s summer program. Below, I have summarized what we know at this time:

Theme: Three Cups of Tea (Pennies for Peace) www.penniesforpeace.org.
In June, all students at the Goddard School will either be reading Listen to the Wind (K-4) or Three Cups of Tea (Young Reader’s Edition 4-8) by Greg Mortenson. (He also wrote an adult version too). This book is about one man’s mission to promote peace…one school at a time. Pennies for Peace have provided funds to help build over 57 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan to date. This book will be our inspiration as we create the theme for this year’s summer program.

When: The summer program dates are not yet set but will most likely begin on Monday, June 29th and conclude Thursday, July 23rd; four weeks versus five, Monday – Thursday with the exception of the July 4th week being three days.

Time: 9am – 2:30pm / 3pm; our volunteers will be arriving at noon.

Group Size: Similar to last year (100-125) students.




Segments:

1. Community Garden- Always a Staple!
2. Reading – There is a big emphasis on reading at the Goddard School. The kids have been actively participating in the ERA program (Everybody Reads at Home). This has made a tremendous impact not only on the child’s confidence and comprehension but also with their parents and relationship at home. The Principal would like to continue to build on this over the summer as kids will read to us their favorite books, have reading buddies, share their favorite things, etc.
3. Arts & Crafts – Projects will be tailored around reading (bookmarks, decorating book bags, construct or build something, etc.) and the story Three Cups of Tea.
4. Music – Kelli this segment was a huge hit last year. We could introduce more multi-cultural music, etc. The talent show will need your expertise and we will have access to the house system this year.
5. Three Cups of Tea – This segment could be anything relating to the story: Leadership, Science (building a spaghetti bridge), Invite a Pakistan Family to speak to the kids on customs/culture, topics relating to teamwork, common goals, donating and tracking pennies, sipping tea / with cookies, a speaker from Heifer Int’l., etc.

The program will end with both the BBQ lunch and talent show. This year, the luncheon will be organized by the members of Aldersgate Methodist Church.

We asked both Principal Guerra and Vice Principal Walsh-Pierozzi for their help in providing specific program activities / ideas so we may better prepare our volunteers in advance. Additionally, they will try to give us general information on the children attending the program so we may have the opportunity to get to know each one a little bit better (i.e. interests, hobbies, likes/dislikes, goals, etc.).

Jon and I will speak with Verrill to see if our K-4 Sunday School kids can read Listen to the Wind in May/June. We will also speak with Wendy to see what we can do to piggy back on the same idea with our 5th and 6th graders. It would be great if we all have a basic understanding about this book so we may connect with the Goddard School students and to the theme surrounding this year’s summer program.