Middle School Summer Academy Ignites Learning

Press release from the Inver Grove Heights Schools:

July 9, 2021

Middle School Summer Academy builds the academic and social emotional skills of qualifying students to prepare them for the next school year. In the past few years, Middle School Summer Academy has put a focus on whole-student development and student engagement.

The Summer Academy schedule for middle school students has been refined to give students every opportunity for success. Students start and end their day in the cafeteria so that every student has access to a free, nutritious breakfast and lunch. Between 2nd and 3rd period, students have 25 minutes of Mindfulness Time. They can choose to burn off some energy in the gym or outside or recharge with a book or computer time, depending on their needs. After Mindfulness Time, students return to class ready to learn.

Teachers also include mindfulness strategies in their lessons to help students develop their social-emotional skills and stay focused in the classroom, but they also use interactive lessons to get kids energized and engaged. This summer, middle school students built rockets in their science classes. After their teacher, Mrs. Cook, attached engines to each rocket, students took the rockets outside to see them in action. Each student was able to launch their own rocket. Some students tried to catch their rocket as it fell back to Earth and some filmed the launch on their phones to rewatch later and show their friends. Each launch brought a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” with it, engaging the whole class in a memorable lesson.

This press release was produced by the Inver Grove Heights Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.