ISLAND TREES SUMMER YES PROGRAM
Grades 1 to 6

SPONSOR
The Island Trees Youth Education Summer (YES) Program is sponsored by the Island Trees Board of Education for the students residing in the Island Trees School District.

GOAL
The goal of the YES Program is to EXTEND the educational experiences for the students of Island Trees through the month of July. The program is designed to offer exciting summer learning activities in the areas of reading, math, computer skills, and science appreciation. Recreation and arts & crafts are inherent components of the program.

DATES AND TIMES
The Summer YES Program is scheduled to run from Tuesday, July 1, 2008 through Friday, July 25, 2008 from 8:30 AM to 12:15 PM at the Sparke School and 8:45 AM to 12:30 PM at the I.T. Memorial Middle School. The summer program will be closed on July 4th.

STUDENT GROUPS
Students will be grouped by grade. Each group of approximately 25 children will be assigned a high school counselor who will be their group leader throughout the summer. The counselor will meet the children each morning and then accompany the childen all day from class to class.

STAFF
The program will be under the direction of the Island Trees school administrators. Certified teachers, specially trained staff and high school counselors will be responsible for the various program components. A district nurse will be on duty for the elementary children.

SITE
Youngsters entering grades 1,2, and 3 in SEPTEMBER will be utilizing the SPARKE SCHOOL while students entering grades 4,5, and 6 in SEPTEMBER will be housed in the MEMORIAL MIDDLE SCHOOL. TRANSPORTATION WILL NOT BE PROVIDED.

STUDENT BEHAVIOR
Not all children are able to adapt to a summer program, and sometimes have difficulty working with other children in group settings. If a child cannot assimilate into the program, the parent may be asked to remove the child for the well being of the child and other children in the program.

PROGRAM OFFERINGS
The goal of the Reading Experience is to engage ALL children in reading, sharing, discussing and enjoying literature. Each reading class will be staffed by a certified teacher with experience in literature-based language arts instruction and assisted by high school counselors.

Storytime will be offered for first grade students. They will engage in activities involving puppets, storytelling, dramatization, etc. The goal is to immerse the students in language-rich experiences.

A Reading Support (Grades 1-5) is specifically designed for selected students who could benefit from a more intensive reading support program. (Teachers will identify the children who could benefit from the reading support class.) A Reading Support Teacher will work with small groups of children each period. The identified students will receive the reading support in place of the reading experience.

The Computer Lab Experience (Grades 2-5) will include hands-on access to computer software that is designed to improve students' grade-appropriate math and language skills.

The hands-on Science Laboratory (Grades 2,3 and 6) will allow students to be involved in creating and performing science experiments using the concepts of measurements, volume, simple machines, and much, much more.

The hands-on Social Studies Program (Grades 4 and 5) will involve interpreting maps, graphs, charts and cartoons. Exciting software programs will also be available for student use.

The Math Program will involve hands-on math experiences and games that will be age and grade-level appropriate.

The Math Support Program (Grades 2-5) is offered for students who could benefit from math intervention. Teachers will identify students for this class. Small groups of children will work with the math support teachers daily. Math support is offered in place of the regular math period.

The academic portion of the Summer YES Program will be balanced off by a period of Recreation and a period of Arts & Crafts.

DAILY PROGRAM
At 8:30 AM (Sparke) and 8:45 AM (Memorial Middle School) all students will assemble in the gym or cafeteria for a 10-minute homeroom. Attendance will be taken, snacks collected, and announcements will be shared. Student groups will then move throughout the morning to their five (40-minute) activity periods. A fifteen-minute snack break is scheduled every day after 3rd period. At dismissal time student counselors will escort the youngsters to a designated meeting area.
Please Note: All students MUST wear sneakers.

COST
The ONLY cost to each Island Trees student who wishes to participate will be a $3.00 registration fee.

REGISTRATION
Registration forms are available in the Main Office of each building. Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. Once classes are filled, the program will be closed.