SEARCH Enrichment Classes at Woodhull for All
There's a lot more to the SEARCH program at Woodhull Intermediate School than meets the eye. There are weekly SEARCH classes for academically talented fifth and sixth graders, along with Math Olympiad classes for those who qualify. The SEARCH umbrella also includes video-conferencing enrichment lessons for the nearly 700 youngsters at the school.
For the past two years, Woodhull library media specialist Christine Amodeo has been leading her fifth and sixth grade students through video-conferencing classes with an instructor based at the New York Hall of Science in Queens.
One workshop linked science and technology. A second one consisted of hands-on math lessons. Each of these lessons, offered in the run-up to the Hall of Science video-conferencing program, occurred during regularly scheduled library classes over the span of several weeks.
"Because Ms. Amodeo has worked so well with Anthony Negron of the Hall of Science, he invited her and her students to participate in a nano-science workshop (free to the district) this school year," said Maryann Daly, SEARCH chairperson-teacher. "She recently completed the workshop with several sixth grade classes.
Additional Hall of Science video-conferencing workshops are planned at Woodhull for later in the school year. The video-conferencing program stems from a Huntington Foundation Star grant Mrs. Daly wrote several years ago.
The polycoms purchased through this generous $11,400 grant are currently being used during fifth grade video-conferencing sessions with NASA. Those sessions are now in their third year.
Through equipment it has provided, the grant has made possible still more lessons, connecting Woodhull fifth graders with the Lloyd Harbor House.
The Woodhull students are eagerly looking forward to additional video-conferencing workshops because "they are new, exciting and fun – a win-win for all," Mrs. Daly said.