Sunday, May 6, 2001
|
Sunday, May 6, 2001 |
|
Writing project brings unexpected enrichment By CAROLYN CARY
"Enriching Azalea Estates" was a writing partnership between the third-grade enrichment students from Kedron Elementary School in Peachtree City and residents of Azalea Estates, an assisted living and retirement community in Fayetteville. The enrichment teacher, April DeGennaro, felt that it would be good for her students to sharpen their literary skills by having each of them establish a relationship with an older adult. "One of the unexpected benefits," said DeGennaro, "was the three-way relationships that began to form between the parents, who chaperoned the field trips, the children and the residents of Azalea Estates. "The parents enjoyed their chats with our Azalea buddies and made arrangements to be able to go each month. The parents enthusiasm to visit and the obvious joy they got from the chats, modeled for our students how to interact with the residents. "Modeling was the very best 'teacher' for the students. Many of our families have asked if they can visit on their own this summer!" Elaine Poitevint, activities director for Azalea Estates, said the children would visit once a month for about 45 minutes, beginning last October. About 20 to 30 residents would attend, listening to the students' stories and giving feedback in order to help the children expand on their stories. "Although most of the visits were about their writing," she said, "at Christmas we decorated cookies and had a party at Valentine's Day." Representing the Mentoring and Tutoring Program for the Fayette County Schools, Donna Worcester got the funding for the program. "This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to share their talents with the senior citizens," she said. "I feel that all of us that participated in this enrichment program, seniors, children and staff, benefited from the experience. Not only did we make new friends spanning generations, but we were blessed with seeing the children blossom as they worked on writing their books." This past week seniors and students got together for the last time this school year and shared their finished product. A number of awards were given best non-fiction story, Samantha Matsey; wildest imagination, Sam Sheikali; best science fiction, Corey Couch; best adventure story, Lexi Hayob; most humorous, David D'Allesandro; best fantasy, Sarah Lee; and best illustration, Tiffany Liao. The seniors also were recognized perfect attendance, Frances Foster and Lucile Stapleton; most enthusiastic, Jenna Derrick; most dedicated, Chandler Hewell; best writing support, Marie Risher; and most photographed, Florence Smith. The consensus by all participants was to repeat the program again next year.
|
||