The Forest Dale Elementary ESE program is in full swing and ready for another exciting year. There are many new faces this year, with a new group of children as well as our returning students. We are looking forward to our first site celebration in September as we kick off another fun and exciting year in the ESE program.

We also have some new staff members joining us this year. Miss Laura Perry has come over from College Wood Elementary to work with us this year. Miss Perry and I have worked several different after school programs together and I am very excited to be working with her again. Mr. Michael Moon is a new facilitator to the ESE program. He will be assisting Mr. Nolan with many of our sports and mechanical mayhem clubs this year. Mr. Moon is an expert buffalo wild wing maker, and we are looking forward to putting his cooking skills to the test!

Last year, we did a production of High School Musical, and this year will be no different. We have another musical program planned for this year with Mr. McBane as our director.

The summer went by so quickly and now it is time to focus on the school year ahead. We are looking forward to the time we spend with your children. We’re ready to have some fun, are you?

Does your kindergarten student come home and talk about his or her homework, but you cannot find the paper? Don’t worry; you are not losing your mind! We are doing something different this year during homework time with our Kindergarten students. One of our facilitators, Miss Darla Dunn, is a licensed elementary teacher who has completely revamped our Kindergarten homework program. Miss Dunn has created an atmosphere of fun and excitement with our youngest program participants.

In addition to reinforcing what is learned in the classroom, they are also getting lessons in character development, the R.I.C.H.E.R. principles, and improving their problem solving skills.

The kindergarten students’ minds are eager to learn and soak up everything like little sponges. It is a pleasure to walk into their room and watch them. They also set a great example for our older students. Yes, I said they set the example for our older students. I have had several fourth and fifth grade students comment on how well the kindergarteners act during homework time. We are very excited about this new element to our program, and we have ordered several games and activities from Discovery Educations toys to enhance what we are offering.

This group of kindergarteners is the largest we have had since the ESE program started. They have so much energy, and I am very happy that my staff has the energy to keep up with them! We are off to a great start with this group and are looking forward working with them throughout the school year!