Project EXTRA
Read All About It!
September 2014
Autumn is here and so is the excitement of afterschool in Laconia! We have had a successful first two weeks of programming. We will continue to align our program with the Common Core State Standards, offer wrap around supports through Restorative Practice, strengthen our partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of the Lakes Region and provide afterschool dinners at each elementary school and the middle school this year through the Laconia Food Service Department.
Elm Street School
Project EXTRA at Elm Street School is off to a great start! We have welcomed a lot of new students to our site this year. Our students and staff have worked together to come up with some great enriching opportunities for our Fall Session. We are offering Journalism, Collaborative Art, Cooking Essentials, Student Leadership, and Creative Building. We have a lot planned for this year and are looking forward to the 15th Annual Lights On Afterschool celebration in October.
Aja Montague
Elm Street School Site Coordinator
603-455-1694
Project EXTRA is back at LMS!
There have been many new changes to Project EXTRA at Laconia Middle School this year. First, we welcome our new site Coordinator Nick Resca to our team! Project EXTRA took a short hiatus last year from the middle school, but is back in full force! Project EXTRA has partnered with the Lakes Region Boys and Girls Club to offer a dynamic afterschool program for our students. Currently, in our Fall Session, students are exploring the world of Computer Coding with Mrs. Bean. We are getting “Earth Fit” with local yoga instructor, Jen Schongalla. Students are becoming Lego Robotics experts with Mrs. Roberts, beginning to learn a new instrument with Mr. Cardin, improving their “Improv!” skills with Mrs. Babcock, researching and designing with Mr. Morin and much, much, more! We are off to a great start and hope to see more faces as the session continues!
Nick Resca
Laconia Middle School Site Coordinator
603-455-1736
Pleasant Street School
Students are participating in exciting clubs this Fall session. Camp Fitness, Yoga Kids, Maker Space, Volleyball, Eco Art, Computer Smartz, Soccer, Kids Council, ifitness, and Creative Careers are this sessions enrichment activities. This week the Project Extra spotlight is on the Computer Smartz club. Students explored the Design Squad Fidgit Factory (pbskids.org). Mrs. Rosenfeld and her assistant Carmen Laraway showed students how to make their own fidgits by setting up a factory. They learned about energy sources, machines that use energy, and the necessity of circuits and wires that connect everything. Students also watched videos of Design Squad inventions and earned virtual stickers when they completed their Fidget Factory.
Jackie O'Neil-Viar
Pleasant Street School Site Coordinator
603-455-0125
Woodland Heights School
Students are excited about the new school year. Our theme this session is Careers. We have been getting to know each other through games and community meetings. We have some new and returning clubs this session: Game Time, What Can I Be?, Math Computing, Karate masters, Engineering Adventures, Our Community, Coding, Wirers & Readers, Reading About The Futures, DIY, Scientist, and Table Top Time. We have been reviewing and demonstrating the 4 big rules of WHS program: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Ready to Participate!
Jake Colby
Woodland Heights School Site Coordinator
603-455-9199
Freedom Found at Laconia High School
Freedom Found is off to a great start this year and already has many exciting plans underway. This month, guests from the touring humanitarian/performance group Up With People joined us for a Friday meeting and participated in activities regarding diversity, self-exploration and acceptance. We are implementing some positive changes to our weekly meetings for this school-year, including increased structure and the presentation of a particular Lesson or Theme around which each meeting revolves. These themes are meant to provide direction for the flow and discussion of the meeting, while providing valuable life lessons or topics of reflection that each member can hopefully glean insight from regarding how they approach challenges, deal with problems, and ways to live a more empowered life. The lesson themes that Freedom Found has engaged in thus far consist of: “Freedom, and what this means to each student”; “Harnessing your Happiness and Lasting Joy” (which was accompanied by the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness”); and “The Impact of Stigmas and being labeled in high school”. Additionally, we continue to incorporate field-trips and physical activities as part of our mission and monthly calendar of events. Members recently climbed Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness, NH and held a Freedom Found meeting at the summit. This was their first climb of the year and group members look forward to many more outings during the month of October; including not only hikes and outdoor adventures, but some Halloween-themed activities.
Phill Reed
Laconia High School Guidance Department
603-524-3350
Project EXTRA- Laconia School District
Christine Gingerella
Program Director
603-524-5710 ext, 314
cgingerella@laconiaschools.org
Beth Vachon
Assistant Program Director
603-524-5710 ext 321
Email: rtheberge@laconiaschools.org
Website: http://www2.laconiaschools.org/projectextra/
Location: 39 Harvard Street, Laconia, NH, United States
Phone: 603-524-5710 . 305
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-EXTRA/139898793654
Looking Ahead:
October 13: Columbus Day- No programming
October 23: Lights On Afterschool & Project EXTRA Advisory Board meeting at LMS
November 4: PEAKS Begins at elementary & middle school
Be a part of the Lakes Region Youth Symposium Movement!
Brief History: Last year on October 31st, twenty two representatives of 16 youth-serving organizations in the Lakes Region gathered to discuss the breadth of existing area resources and to explore opportunities for collaboration. Believed to be the first meeting of its kind in the region, the growing membership of the Youth Symposium has continued to meet, participated in community mapping activity and completed a needs assessment.
The Lakes Region Youth Symposium will be re-convening on October 22nd, from 10-12 pm at the Boys and Girls Club of the Lakes Region, on 888 North Main Street, Laconia NH 03246.
Please RSVP by emailing ray@teenprojectnh.org
The Lakes Region Youth Symposium is hosted by the Appalachian Mountain Teen Project, Project EXTRA –Laconia School District and the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region.