Subject: HIGHER ENRICHMENT AT RTS
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Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:15:17 -0400

Higher Enrichment at RTS

By Robyn Schmitt, Co-organizer of
HEaRTS

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

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

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

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

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

Next year’s program will be planned this summer. We hope to expand upon
these great activities with some additional ones in Spelling, Math and Science.
If you have questions or program suggestions, please contact  HEaRTS co-organizers, Stacy Baker
([email-masked]) or Robyn Schmitt ([email-masked]).

Odyssey of The Mind (World Finals Results

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