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Activities Help Students Stay Engaged During Break
May 29 2012 - 02:15:00 pm
Week of: May 28, 2012
Just the anticipation of summer can be thrilling. The allure of staying up later, sleeping longer, and enjoying all of the freedoms that come with summer break is exciting, and these days are just around the corner. Yet, as many parents with school-aged children can attest, a week or two into June, it can be challenging to find activities that keep children engaged. While summer is preciously short, the days can get long.
But if you know where to look, there are plenty of fun activities happening in our area. The LISD Community Fliers page is a great place to start. Just go to www.leanderisd.org, click on the Community Fliers link from the QuickLinks menu and check out the offerings from local organizations. From this webpage you can find information on summer camps, vacation Bible schools, flag football teams, library programs, art camps and much more. These fliers are updated constantly, so keep an eye out for more opportunities headed your way.
Also under the QuickLinks menu, you will see a Summer Information link which allows you to register your child for our academic or sports camps. Our academic camps include writing, foreign language, culinary, math, science and technology and range from three to five days. Students of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. All camp instruction is sponsored by an approved LISD teacher. Likewise, the sports camps available this summer include boys and girls basketball, baseball, dance, volleyball, softball, football, tennis, track, and middle and high school strength and conditioning. Camps range from four days to six weeks and offer skill levels from beginners to advanced. Participating in either an academic or sports camp is a great way to help keep your child engaged this summer.
Summer Information also includes the summer school classes LISD is offering for middle school and high school students. Middle school students are eligible to enroll in summer school only if they are seeking to regain credit for promotion to the next grade; however, eighth-grade students who are entering high school next fall may also take some courses for acceleration. High school students can take summer school to regain credit or to get ahead.
You will also notice that the Summer Information link has a link for assignments. If your child is in middle or high school and is planning to take a Pre-AP, AP, Pre-IB or IB course next year, I invite you check out the assignments they are expected to complete over the coming weeks, especially if you are a parent of an incoming ninth-grade student, who may or may not be used to completing school work during summer. Summer assignments offer students the opportunity to continue skill practice and help develop necessary “habits of mind” beyond the school year.
Our local libraries often host activities for children during the summer. In fact, information about a few programs is already posted on the Community Fliers page. But because not all areas of our community have access to community libraries, two LISD facilities will be opened during the summer: the libraries at River Ridge Elementary and Four Points Middle School. The River Ridge library will be open June 11, 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28; and July 9, 12, 16, 19, 23 and 26 from 9 a.m. – noon. The library at FPMS will be open June 12, 19 and 26; and July 10, 17, 24 and 31 from noon – 3 p.m. I invite you to stop by a library near you and keep your child reading this summer.
But maybe you are looking for an experience the whole family can enjoy. If that’s the case, then an upcoming rodeo may be right up your alley. The Leander ISD Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) is partnering with the Cedar Park Center for the Rodeo, June 22-24. Discounted tickets start at $8, good for adults or kids. Ten percent of ticket sales will benefit LEEF. You can purchase tickets by going to www.ticketmaster.com, locate the Rodeo and entering the promo code “LISD.”
Some of our families may be needing more than fun and entertaining activities once school lets out and could benefit from meal assistance. To help meet this need, LISD is working with the Texas Department of Agriculture to sponsor a summer food program to provide free meals for children ages 1 – 18 years old. The program will be offered at nine locations in the LISD community. Breakfast will also be served at eight locations. More specific information, along with the locations, is posted on our website’s home page.
In fact, most of the information I’ve provided to you this week can be found on the LISD website. As we head into summer, we hope to continue to provide you with information on resources that help students remain engaged throughout the break. So I encourage you to stay engaged yourself by reading your LISD Weekly Insider, staying tuned to our district’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and monitoring the website for news and information about summer activities.
Have a great week!
Just the anticipation of summer can be thrilling. The allure of staying up later, sleeping longer, and enjoying all of the freedoms that come with summer break is exciting, and these days are just around the corner. Yet, as many parents with school-aged children can attest, a week or two into June, it can be challenging to find activities that keep children engaged. While summer is preciously short, the days can get long.
But if you know where to look, there are plenty of fun activities happening in our area. The LISD Community Fliers page is a great place to start. Just go to www.leanderisd.org, click on the Community Fliers link from the QuickLinks menu and check out the offerings from local organizations. From this webpage you can find information on summer camps, vacation Bible schools, flag football teams, library programs, art camps and much more. These fliers are updated constantly, so keep an eye out for more opportunities headed your way.
Also under the QuickLinks menu, you will see a Summer Information link which allows you to register your child for our academic or sports camps. Our academic camps include writing, foreign language, culinary, math, science and technology and range from three to five days. Students of all skill levels are encouraged to participate. All camp instruction is sponsored by an approved LISD teacher. Likewise, the sports camps available this summer include boys and girls basketball, baseball, dance, volleyball, softball, football, tennis, track, and middle and high school strength and conditioning. Camps range from four days to six weeks and offer skill levels from beginners to advanced. Participating in either an academic or sports camp is a great way to help keep your child engaged this summer.
Summer Information also includes the summer school classes LISD is offering for middle school and high school students. Middle school students are eligible to enroll in summer school only if they are seeking to regain credit for promotion to the next grade; however, eighth-grade students who are entering high school next fall may also take some courses for acceleration. High school students can take summer school to regain credit or to get ahead.
You will also notice that the Summer Information link has a link for assignments. If your child is in middle or high school and is planning to take a Pre-AP, AP, Pre-IB or IB course next year, I invite you check out the assignments they are expected to complete over the coming weeks, especially if you are a parent of an incoming ninth-grade student, who may or may not be used to completing school work during summer. Summer assignments offer students the opportunity to continue skill practice and help develop necessary “habits of mind” beyond the school year.
Our local libraries often host activities for children during the summer. In fact, information about a few programs is already posted on the Community Fliers page. But because not all areas of our community have access to community libraries, two LISD facilities will be opened during the summer: the libraries at River Ridge Elementary and Four Points Middle School. The River Ridge library will be open June 11, 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28; and July 9, 12, 16, 19, 23 and 26 from 9 a.m. – noon. The library at FPMS will be open June 12, 19 and 26; and July 10, 17, 24 and 31 from noon – 3 p.m. I invite you to stop by a library near you and keep your child reading this summer.
But maybe you are looking for an experience the whole family can enjoy. If that’s the case, then an upcoming rodeo may be right up your alley. The Leander ISD Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF) is partnering with the Cedar Park Center for the Rodeo, June 22-24. Discounted tickets start at $8, good for adults or kids. Ten percent of ticket sales will benefit LEEF. You can purchase tickets by going to www.ticketmaster.com, locate the Rodeo and entering the promo code “LISD.”
Some of our families may be needing more than fun and entertaining activities once school lets out and could benefit from meal assistance. To help meet this need, LISD is working with the Texas Department of Agriculture to sponsor a summer food program to provide free meals for children ages 1 – 18 years old. The program will be offered at nine locations in the LISD community. Breakfast will also be served at eight locations. More specific information, along with the locations, is posted on our website’s home page.
In fact, most of the information I’ve provided to you this week can be found on the LISD website. As we head into summer, we hope to continue to provide you with information on resources that help students remain engaged throughout the break. So I encourage you to stay engaged yourself by reading your LISD Weekly Insider, staying tuned to our district’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and monitoring the website for news and information about summer activities.
Have a great week!
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