Ana and I are working with a summer school program that takes place on-site at our school, but is not actually run by our school. So I have a new boss now. The program focuses on maintaining and improving literacy skills for 4th and 5th grade students. Most of the day, the students will have different reading-related activities, as well as art and PE classes, although even those classes will link back to reading. The school day ends at 3:30, and then the aftercare program begins.
Enter Beth and Ana. Our boss commissioned us to set up education-related after-school activities for our kids. So, while summer school doesn't start until June 28, we've been keeping ourselves busy with planning. For the past week and a half, we've been scouring the St. Louis area for organizations that might bring activities and presentations to our school for free or cheap rates. And by "scouring St. Louis," I mean spending many hours online, researching groups and programs and sending emails into the dark : "I don't know if you can help, but..."
I've been working out of a coffee shop, which has been fun. Meemaw introduced us to a cute one in the Italian section of town that has free wireless and, unlike Panera (known as St. Louis Bread Co. here), they don't kick you off after 1/2 hour during lunch time. So Ana and I can sit for three or four hours shooting out countless emails, calculating budgeting, and creating calendars.
We're working out some cool programming. The Humane Society is coming to talk about animal rescue; the Science Center is doing demonstrations on "Creepy Chemistry" and where you can find plastic that you wouldn't expect. The Magic House offers free programs for schools with 50% or more free and reduced lunch. The Shakespeare Festival has offered us sessions. (I am in love with our contact there. He is speed and generous, has a cool email address, and passionate about Shakespeare. I am also likely never to meet him.) Our challenge is to come up with 28 days of programming on a very limited budget.
The other challenge for me relates to timing. I will only be with the summer school program through mid-July, and we are planning up through August. Logistically, for the summer school, it works out; Ana, my new boss, and one of his interns are more than capable of handling whatever I get set up before I leave. I just have received another task in patience to set up all these exciting programs knowing that I won't be around to see them. God has given me the task of planting what others will reap a lot this year, and this ministry is another of them.
Might I suggest contacting the boy and girl scouts? They might be able to put together a couple afternoons each that are educational and practical! :-)
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