HIGHER = ENRICHMENT AT RTS

Higher Enrichment at RTS

By Robyn Schmitt, Co-organizer = of=20 HEaRTS

Our HEaRTS program finished another year with two new = activities. In addition to the very = successful=20 Odyssey of The Mind (OoTM) program, RTS students participated in an = afterschool=20 Spanish class and Chess Club. Peter Patterson, the RTS = Spanish/History=20 teacher, taught 20 students in Grades 3-5 about language and culture in = four=20 classes. Stan Blicharz = led 23=20 students in Grades 2-6 through the nuances of Chess over four = weeks. All of this was possible in = part thanks=20 to the support and involvement of Rutland High School National Honor = Society and=20 Spanish National Honor Society.

Student participants in HEaRTS share their thoughts and = various HEaRTS=20 activities:

=D8 From Laurel Baker, Grade 2: I = think HEaRTS=20 is a great idea because you choose to join for the things you are = interested in,=20 like Chess. I never knew how to play chess, but now I am glad I = signed up=20 for it.

=D8 From = Taqdees Ahmad,=20 Grade 4: OoTM helped = me to be more=20 creative. Not only that, but it also helped me to not be shy to = share my=20 ideas. Spanish class was great. I learned a lot of Spanish with my = amigos, like=20 colors, numbers, greetings and sayings. We made tapas and other food = items,=20 which were very delicious and yum-my. I found chess to be a very = interesting=20 game, it made me think and it's a lot of fun.

We could not have delivered such a rewarding experience = without the help=20 and support of many at RTS including Pati Beaumont, Aaron Boynton, Pam = Mock,=20 Peter Patterson, Stan = Blicharz,=20 Stacy Baker, Cecile Howland, Jeff Colomb, as well as the students and = parents=20 who participated.

Next year=92s program will be planned this summer. We hope to = expand upon=20 these great activities with some additional ones in Spelling, Math and = Science.=20 If you have questions or program suggestions, please contact HEaRTS co-organizers, Stacy = Baker=20 (jstlbaker@comcast.net) or Robyn Schmitt = (schmittvt@comcast.net).=20

Odyssey of The Mind (World Finals Results

In the last Circle, we shared how well all three = RTS OoTM=20 teams did at State Finals including the =93Girls=94 Team which won first = place! The=20 five remarkable fifth graders competed in =93Vehicle Problem=94 = division, building=20 their solution using various machinery. In May, they placed = 12^th out=20 of 55 teams at the World Finals in Ames, Iowa! We=92re so very proud of the = team!=20 Congratulations to Paige Bohlig, Kassandra Griffin, Lilly Krupp, = Taylor=20 Krupp, Alexa McPhee, and coaches Nicole McPhee and Tim = Vile!=20