(above) Special Services teacher Amita Lluveres
Reporting out from last summer’s Watchung Hills Regional High School (WHRHS) Extended School Year (E.S.Y.) program, WHRHS Special Services teacher Amita Lluveres says the response from 20 to 25 students to the proverbial start-of-school-year question, ‘What did you do over the summer?” is: An enviable list of memorable living/learning experiences, both inside and outside the classroom.
“Every day, our students were greeted by our wonderful summer staff,” Lluveres said. “Each day of the week had something special to offer. Our students looked forward to our daily lessons in a variety of subject areas such as Language Arts, Mathematics, Meal Planning, and Career Exploration. Students were given the chance to work collaboratively with a variety of peers throughout the summer days in the E.S.Y. program.”
On Mondays, students had the opportunity to learn and practice skills in the classroom. “They continued to develop their computational skills, including in personal budgeting, and were given the task to read and discuss the selected summer reading book. The book was, ‘The BFG,’ by Roald Dahl,” she said. “We wanted to show our students the connection between print and electronic media simultaneous with the release in July of the feature film, ‘The BFG,’ directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg.”
Tuesdays were devoted to going to the local ShopRite Supermarket in Stirling, where the students learned about and developed skills in going to the market. They experienced what it is like to purchase the necessary ingredients and food items to then cook meals on Thursdays in the program’s kitchen.
“Meal planning is a major life lesson that we want our students to be prepared to do as they continue to grow into adulthood,” Lluveres said. “By engaging in this activity every week, students gained the knowledge and skills to help them make smart choices when food shopping. Students not only located items on their list, but also compared prices and made decisions on which items were best to fit into a weekly budget.”
On Wednesdays, the program focused on educational trips to local businesses such as the Prestige Diner in New Providence and Norz Hill Farm and Market in Hillsborough Township. “Other trips included Menlo Park Mall in Edison Township, as well as to Red Mill Historical Museum in Clinton, and the Somerset Patriots Stadium in Bridgewater Township,” she said. “We wanted to give our students a summer full of great memories and a wide-variety of learning experiences.”
‘All the while,” Lluveres said, “we were also working on communication skills, on skills necessary to build confidence in being independent, to better understand the value and the worth of things, and just to have an enjoyable summer.”
On Fridays, the program went on recreational trips throughout the local community. “We visited sites of interest such as Bowlmor in Green Brook Township and Bowcraft Amusement Park in Scotch Plains,” said Lluveres. “We also had the opportunity to visit the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, an all-time favorite trip we all look forward to in the summer.”
The E.S.Y Program was meant to help bridge the gap between the end of one school year in June and the start of the next school year in September, Lluveres said. The half-day program was offered five days a week, for six weeks, from July 1 to Aug. 12.
“Through the whole process,” she said,” we had the support and assistance of the students’ parents, the great cooperation of the staffs of the businesses and sites of interest that welcomed the students during their field trips, and the professionalism and education skills of her staff and volunteers. Among them are WHRHS Director of Special Services Marianne Sales, Jon Bedi, Stephen Eng, Andrew Tronzano, Jack Beckert, Erin Ferrara, Jane Giannelli, James Granuzzo, Patrick O’Halloran, Nurse Angela Valerio, and Student Volunteer Katie Holz. We also want to thank our substitute staff members: Carl Bird and James Hurley.”
