Project EXTRA
Read All About It
Happy Holidays
Woodland Heights School
Dear Project EXTRA Families and Friends,
We are back in business and charged and ready to roll! Now I understand, Thanksgiving can be a tricky time with family dynamics and logistics so I sincerely hope that all of you parents and guardians reading this had a good, restful and FUN Thanksgiving! For those of you who worked over the Thanksgiving break, Thank You! That is not an easy task and your work is appreciated.
So here we are! Our students are now back to school and we are going to be rolling out a few new enrichment activities for our students. Our first new activity is titled “Recycled Project Runway” (titled after the show). For those of you unfamiliar with what the show was about, students who chose to participate in the activity will be planning and creating their own costumes/clothes. The twist is that students will be using recycled materials to create their clothes.
Our second switch is that two days a week students are welcome to join “Strategy Card and Chess Club”. Students are taught how to play two different types of games which require strong strategy, planning, and math skills: Chess and Strategy Card Games. For those of you unfamiliar with what a Strategy Card Game is, that category includes both Pokemon and Yugi Oh Cards. Both games require building strong reading comprehension, problem solving, math and strategic planning.
Our third switch will be the introduction of the Khan Academy to our students. Students will be exploring and utilizing Khan Academy, an online learning program for students to build skills and perform daily missions to improve their rank on the website. In order to participate in this activity successfully, part of the enrichment is focused on building basic computer skills like how to navigate to specific websites on the internet, learning to log-in and shut down independently, and learning how to navigate a keyboard to accomplish tasks.
This should be a great time for our students as we progress through December!
Take Care Everyone,
~Jake Colby
Pleasant Street School
November was a very busy month here at Pleasant Street School. Students collected many items for the very successful food drive. They created beautiful thank you cards for our local Veterans, and made holiday themed placemats for the Salvation Army to use at meal time.
Whether it’s donating a new or gently used toy to local children in need, performing an act of kindness or just telling someone how you value them, December will be dedicated to giving. One of our activities will be to create our own personal ‘happy bag’; kind words about our friends in Project EXTRA will be written and placed in the bags every week.
We will be concentrating on math skills this month. Our Project EXTRA teachers will be incorporating math into all of our daily enrichment clubs and into our free-time activities.
Happy Holidays
~Pat Quinn
Making placemats
A special place at the table
A special Thanks to our Veteran's
Elm Street School
Student Leadership Committee
iWatch Fundraiser-The Student Leadership Committee is holding their first fundraiser of the year. This year students are raffling a Sport 38mm Space Gray Aluminum Case iWatch valued at $349.00. The tickets are $5 each and can be easily purchased at the ESS front office, a Project EXTRA staff member or a Project EXTRA student. The winner will be drawn before Christmas.
Team Leadership Award-The Team Leadership Award is awarded each month to the grade that exhibits the most teamwork and PAWS Pride. This is often hard to decide because they all show phenomenal leadership skills and are very supportive of each other.
Novembers Team of the Month was the 4th grade team. Congratulations, keep up the great work!
WHAT’S NEW?
Winter Session
We are starting to plan for our upcoming Winter Session which starts after winter vacation. The students and staff come together to discuss different interests. Together, they have come up with some great ideas for the new session including; Sewing, Lego Engineering and Sculpting. We look forward to updating you in January.
Games from the 70’s
Students from A Day in the Life class have been learning what life was like in the past. Recently students learned about the 70’s and what kind of games kids played back in the day and how different the games were back then.
~Aja Montague
Community Building
Leadership Awards
70's Games
Laconia Middle School
As we head into the hustle and bustle of the holidays, students at Laconia Middle School take a moment and reflect on those who will not be enjoying the holidays at home. Once again, LMS Project Extra & Lakes Region Boys and Girls Club will be collecting items to send overseas to support our troops. We will be collecting items such as: toothbrushes, deodorant, toothpaste, books, shaving cream etc. These items will be shipped out in time to bring our troops some holiday cheer. I am so proud of these young men and women looking to give to others first!
Our fall session is coming to a close on December 22nd! We will be starting up our winter session on Monday, January 4th, be on the lookout for registration forms!
I wish you all a fantastic Holiday Season!
~ Nick Resca
Laconia High School
FREEDOM FOUND:
Freedom Found is rolling strong a few months into the school year, now gearing up for the bulk of the Holiday season. We understand that for many of the teens we serve in the group, the holiday/winter months can be a challenging time for them and their families, which often means that emotions are running higher as well. We have been proactively addressing some of the factors of overwhelming emotions and negative behaviors, by incorporating certain themes into our Friday meeting discussions. These include: Personal Choice and Responsibility, Inner Power, the values of Meditation, Gratitude, and overall Strength and Wellness.
One activity, which we have recently begun to implement again, was developed last year by group leader and Guidance Counselor Mr. Reed and is aptly called Weekend Warrior. These Weekend Warrior workshops are meant to empower the student outside of school. They take place at the high school for a few hours on Saturdays, and involve lessons around what we deem to be the Four Pillars of balanced health and wellbeing: Body, Mind, Emotions, and Energies.
These workshops attract a smaller number of students and have a serious tone of dedication and diligence toward self-development. We share readings and reflections, engage in a circuit of weight-related and cardiovascular exercises from a number of different cultures and methodologies, learn and perform basic Yoga sequences, impart skills on building character and leadership, and take time Meditating and practicing mindful breathing and visualization. Weekend Warrior trainings are slated to occur every weekend throughout the colder months, and even further if there is high demand for them.
In addition, Freedom Found will be meeting with local Laconia business, Body Covers, to assess details for personalized group T-shirts! Many exciting events are taking place, with more plans soon unfolding!
LHS EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES (ELO’S):
The following is a list of ELO’s currently underway at LHS. Under the guidance of Ron Kaiser, there are numerous opportunities in-process and waiting approval so students can earn high school credit while working on a project of their choice.
Nemanja Boskovic -- doing an ELO promoting Serbian culture, will present to school board and middle school classes
Katherine Pearson --doing an ELO on Graphic Design, helping to make the LHS yearbook.
Robin Friend--doing an ELO on art education with Linda Danielovich, working to making art activities for young kids.
Isabella Lovering--doing an ELO in journalism, has written many articles, will present to school board in December, per Jim McCollum
Richard Lennon--writing a book, getting feedback on it from Mr. Kaiser, reading Steven King's on writing.
Griffin Nyhan -doing an ELO on physical training, wants to be a physical trainer, developing fitness regimen
Kaity Ann Neylon: -doing an ELO on coding with Mr. Bouffard, learning to create a website/code
Joshua Chandler:--doing an ELO on music theory with Mrs. Gibson
Going the EXTRA mile!
Free after school snacks and suppers available to all students participating in PM activities sponsored by: Project EXTRA
Looking Ahead
December 23rd- No Project EXTRA
December 24th-January 3rd-NO SCHOOL
January 4th-Program resumes
Laconia School's Project EXTRA
Christine Gingerella Program Director 832-5276
Beth Vachon Assistant Program Director 832-5282