Urban kids find academics can mix with fun at Stuart Country Day School.
By: Jeff Milgram
Ray Montgomery, 12, learned about respect. Marilu Rivas, 14, discovered Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. And Shakina Coakley, 8, found out that there are 51 million trees in Sweden.
Such learning experiences are all part of the day at the Summer at Stuart program that brings 178 Trenton students, from kindergartners to seventh-graders, to the Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart for the month of July.
The program has brought more than 1,000 urban children to the campus of the private girls’ school in Princeton Township over the past 15 years.
The program offers an "exceptional education experience," said Sheila Goeke, director of summer programs at Stuart.
And the "experience" isn’t all academic work. It recently involved some "clowning around" too, as a group of the younger children were entertained Tuesday by two members of Caring Clowns of Central Jersey, who did balancing tricks, taught the children how to make a "kazoozaphone" and twist balloons into animal shapes, and even dressed up the children as clowns.
On a more serious side, the kindergartners through fourth-grades are learning about diversity, with each group studying a different country. The culmination of the class will be a trip to the United Nations.
Fifth- and sixth-graders in the Stars classes will go to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and learn about early American heroes. The seventh-grade Masters class is identifying the characteristics of champions and researching specific individuals who they have identified as such.
Classes are laid-back, the children say, and there is no homework.
For the younger children, the program offers academic enrichment, Ms. Goeke said. The older children are all considered to be "gifted, talented and resourceful" and they must be recommended for the program by two teachers, she said. Many of the children are repeat customers, she said.
The school tries to maintain a low ratio of students to teachers, and there are rarely more than 10 or 11 students in each class, she said.
Ray and Marilu said that one of the best parts of the program was Ms. Driscoll’s class, a combination of language arts and social studies. Denise Driscoll gets something out of the program too. A high school history teacher, she said she enjoys the opportunity to work with younger children. But that’s not all.
"I also feel this is a beautiful environment … and this is a chance to … give back what we’ve been given," she said.
Ms. Driscoll gives the students a chance to do independent reading and writing, and the time to do their own research on the Internet.
Marilu said the program exposed her to things she may not have normally learned.
"Stuart opens your eyes to more things, like acting and art," she said. "I didn’t know that much about Picasso."
Ray learned something about himself.
"It taught me how to respect myself, as well as my classmates and counselor," he said. "It also taught me how to express myself and not to hold anything back."
A group of third-graders, dressed in bright red T-shirts that proclaim "Diversity: The Language of the Millennium," are learning about Scandinavia and the nation of Sweden in particular.
"We’re learning about different countries," said Lyosha Allen.
Irene George, 8, proudly tells a visitor that Sweden is ruled by King Carl Gustave XVI and Queen Sylvia.
Shakina Coakley confidently proclaims, "There are more than 51 million trees in Sweden and more than half are pine trees."
Lyosha also notes, "In Sweden, they speak French, English, Swedish and German."
Claire Henderson, 11, who attended last year’s program, made friends during the summer program. Claire has a different perspective. She attends Stuart.
"The kids are a lot different. The learning is a lot different. It’s a lot more laid-back," she said. "Some of the people are very nice. It’s nice to have friends in a lot of places."
A number of sponsors have helped pay for the cost of the program. The largest contribution this year – $45,000 – came from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Other supporters include the Mary Owen Borden Memorial Foundation, the Harbourton Foundation, the J. Seward Johnson Sr. 1963 Charitable Trusts, the Society of the Sacred Heart and Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Zindulis Jr.
A number of Bristol-Myers Squibb executives were on hand Tuesday to present a check to the school and to see where the money was going.
They liked what they saw.
"We’re very committed to supporting educational initiatives," said Patricia N. Haugeto, a senior associate in the company’s community relations department. "This kind of program gets the kids involved … They gain a lot of self-confidence.