Mountain View Students Expand Horizons on Saturday

By Joel Frady

While most children prefer to spend their Saturday mornings running through the woods or watching cartoons,

some of the students of Mountain View Elementary - and their parents - have been taking advantage of Saturday classes offered by the school to explore subjects outside the daily grind.

Principal Kim Ball said that they invited 60 students into the program, which will meet for a total of six Saturdays, and that 44 of the students have attended the Saturday classes.

"These kids are the kind of kids that maybe grew a lot last year, so this year we're thinking they may have a challenge to show that kind of growth," said Ball. "Or maybe last year they didn't grow a lot and we want to go ahead and push them forward to see what it's going to take to get that growth.

"The kids really want to come in here," continued Ball. "They're cooking and doing those special projects that normally you wouldn't have enough time during the school year to do because the curriculum is so intense and the pace is so quick. But Super Saturday lends itself to experiment, and you have a chunk of time where you can really get in there and learn by doing."

Sandra Peterson, who teaches Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) students at Mountain View, said that "we were able to have a small group setting and really target some learning objectives for these kids that maybe we don't have the time to explore during regular school. We can go deeper and they really get excited about it.

"It's fun for them," she said. "It's been great." Peterson's students are currently using their Saturdays to work on a book they are designing about literary genres. With the project, they are learning about a variety of genres (such as fantasy and realistic fiction) while they learn to design book pages.

Ball noted that the state "provided a list of students that they felt would benefit" from the program, and those invited are asked to commit to the six Saturdays - along with their parents, who spend time both helping their children and learning for themselves. In addition to helping their children, Ball felt that the children appreciate the effort their parents show in choosing to spend their Saturday mornings at school.

"We really want parents on campus," she said, "it means a lot to the kids."

The school does offer perks to the students that attend. Breakfast and lunch are provided for the students and their parents, and drawings are held, giving away kid-friendly items like digital cameras, calculator watches, stuffed animals and gift certificates to local restaurants.

Ball noted that the teachers are entirely committed to helping the children, even on the weekend.

"I've never seen such a group," said Ball. "They're willing to do whatever it takes and to really make this fun for the kids."

To find out more about the Super Saturday program, contact Mountain View Elementary at (336) 982-4200 or click to mountainview.ashe.k12.nc.us.