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Successful Summer Enrichment Program Comes to a Close
WEST ORANGE, NJ - The 2019 West Orange School District Summer Enrichment Program will come to a close after a successful three weeks that provided for 456 students in athletics, academics, and the arts. The program ran from July 1-26.
The enrichment program first began over twenty years ago as a way to provide music, art, and educational opportunities for students just completing second through eighth grades. PTAs have raised money to provide scholarships and teachers have long enjoyed meeting students from across the school district. The program also helps to bridge the summer gap and help students hone their musical skills in orchestra and band.
The wide variety of programs are interesting and split into Prep for the lower grades and regular for the upper grades. High school students volunteer their time to assist teachers and students.
Saxophone, clarinet, oboe, Symphonic, percussion, horn, violin, cello, trombone, violin, and viola represent specialty classes, along with Band and Orchestra. There is even a Piano Lab class for burgeoning keyboardists and songwriters.
Dance, drama, and musical theater offer other performance art options. The popular art classes include painting, crafts, ceramics, art design, and calligraphy.
Technology, Math Quest, and computers provided academic enrichment and Chinese was back, offering a good introduction to Mandarin with crafts, cooking, culture, and characters. ESL students continued working on their language skills.
Physical fitness, Gym Jamboree, and Baseball/Softball rounded out the courses available.
Scott Tomlin (St. Cloud music teacher), Denise Makri-Werzen (WOHS Nurse) and Maxwell Jean-Baptiste run the program from the West Orange High School Nurse’s Office. The school was a flurry of activity as youngsters changed classes like long-time high school students.
“It takes a lot of work to get the program up and running, but we’ve got it figured out,” said Tomlin, who has been running the program as Assistant Director for five years.
“I’ve been part of the Enrichment Program since its beginning, and we all love doing it. All the teachers want to come back every year.”
Students in all classes were enjoying the wide variety of activities and opportunities. Newly-appointed Superintendent, Dr. Scott Cascone, visited the program on July 23 and was impressed with not only the offerings, but the students.
"Our students were so respectful and easy to talk to," he noted.
Each program works on a presentation for parents and students, whether a dance, musical performance, slideshow, or activity. Parents are invited to attend the performances, which take place throughout the last week of the program.
See all the photos from Summer Enrichment here.
Read more about Summer Enrichment here.
Scott Tomlin, Denise Werzen, and Maxwell Jean-Baptiste run the Summer Enrichment Program.
The Orchestra plays "Clocks."
Dance Class.
Guitar.
July 23, 2019