By Frances Squire
Maybe there’s hope.
I admit it. Science stumped me. When I was in high school and my physics
teacher started talking about negative time, some of my classmates
got excited. I got out!
But today, preparing to write this story, I finally figured out why
toe jam grows, why feet smell and yes, why time can slow (ok, so I
still haven’t figured it out but I’m going back to the
website later).
I also printed my name in hieroglyphics and I know why the sky is
blue.
Jok Church, creator of Beakman’s World, a science television
show for kids, is the man I need to thank for my newfound science
wisdom.
But back to the reason for the story……
Church is coming to West Hills College Lemoore for this year’s
5C Summer Camp experience. He will spend the afternoon of Wednesday,
June 23rd, working with students on ScienceMania! If my web search
is any indication, the sixth through ninth graders will be in for
an afternoon to remember (and you can bet I’ll be there).
Church will be joined during the two week session by other local educators—many
of whom also take a non-traditional approach to interesting their
students in science, math and writing.
Science teacher Ron Zanini will help sixth and seventh graders build
rockets and race cars. Eighth and ninth graders can join Rod Atchley
in investigating crime scenes. Kristi Leyba will work with students
on writing a mystery.
Nationally recognized storyteller Kevin Cordi will be there and ventriloquist
Randel McGee will use his puppet, Groark, to encourage kids to be
kind and thoughtful, to respect themselves and others, to make ethical
choices and to work out their conflicts peacefully and fairly.
The goal of the camp, according to Jose Lopez, who runs the teacher
preparation program for WHCL, is to introduce local students to the
college experience at a young age and to make learning fun.
“Many of the students who come to our camp don’t envision
a future that includes college,” Lopez said. “Our objective
is to help change that vision.”
The camp will also serve as a “best practices” professional
development opportunity for teachers, Lopez said.
The camp is open to students who will be entering sixth through ninth
grades and it will run from June 21st through July 1st. The program
will begin at 8:30 each day and end at 4 p.m. A celebration is planned
from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on July 1st, with parents and community members
invited to share in the 5C experience.
Cost of the camp is $150 but Lopez said that scholarships are available
to a limited number of students through the Educational Talent Search
and Upward Bound Math and Science programs that are funded through
the U.S. Department of Education.
Parents who are interested in having their children attend the camp
should contact Lopez at 559 925-3144. Teachers who are interested
in the professional development portion of the camp should contact
Susan Drew at 559-