Winston Salem Times

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools issued the following announcement on July 27.

JULY 27, 2021 – On Monday July 26, Ward Elementary was awash with sharks, whales, jellyfish, crabs, and mermaids.

It was “Dress as Your Favorite Sea Creature” Day at the R.I.S.E. Summer Camp, where students receive individual attention while they focus not only on math and reading but also participate in enrichment opportunities. At Ward, those include meditation, art, music and gaming.

“We try to make it as engaging as possible for these kids,” said site supervisor Princess Pressley, who, during the regular school year, is the assistant principal at Hall-Woodward Elementary,

With help from colorful strips of tissues hanging from a clear plastic umbrella, Lucia Rojas had transformed herself into a jellyfish.

“I love jellyfish,” said Lucia, who will be in the third grade at Clemmons Elementary.

“I love how colorful they are and how they protect themselves from predators like sharks.”

Rise 92Those stinging tentacles can indeed come in handy.

There were certainly plenty of sharks around. One of them was Zander Reese, who will be in second grade at Ward.

He likes that sharks are scary.

Aubrey Murray, who will be second grade at Clemmons Elementary, came dressed as a narwhal, or narwhale. A narwhal has a canine tooth that looks like a “tusk."

That makes Aubrey think of unicorns.

“I love unicorns,” she said.

Aanavi Manjunth, who will be in the second grade at Lewisville Elementary, came as a sea turtle.

“They are cool with their shells,” Aanavi said.

Jayla Williams, who will be in the third grade at Southwest Elementary, came as a mermaid. She loves mermaids so much that this is the fourth time she has dressed up as a mermaid.

“They have such pretty colors,” Jayla said.

Some of the teachers also dressed as sea creatures, including Vicky Hines, who is teaching both reading and math at R.I.S.E.

“I am a crab,” she said.

She chose to dress as a crab because going out to eat crab legs is high on her list of enjoyable experiences.

shark 69Hines joked that she had spent the morning running from people who wanted to drip hot butter on her.

The R.I.S.E. (Reaching Incredible Success Everyday) camp at Ward is one of 11 being held at Winston-Salem/Forsyth County elementary and middle schools. Each camp has its own theme, and, at Ward, Pressley chose a seashell theme as a way to focus on how special each person is.

As Pressley puts it, “like a seashell, we are beautiful, unique – each with a story to tell.”

Another goal for Pressley and others serving the children is make them feel valued.

“I hope they feel a sense of belonging – that we truly care about them as a person,” she said.

For the older students, one of the enrichment activities was to write a book. Some wrote books with a theme connected to the sea. Others simply told stories of interest to them, perhaps with a sea illustration here and there.

Story 76Demismar Salis, who is heading to Clemmons Middle after completing elementary school at Ward, simply had a story she wanted to tell. The name of her book is “My Brother.”

In “My Cruise Story,” Degan Rogers, who is also heading to Clemmons Middle, wrote about the ocean cruise he took with his family.

Asked what he liked about the cruise, he said, “Everything!”

Asked whether anything in particular stood out, Degan, who wants to become a marine biologist, said, “I was snorkeling and there was a shark directly under me.”

He didn’t worry about it, though, he said, because it was a bottom feeder that wouldn’t come up to bother him.

For much of the day, students focus on reading and math.

Clavenda Watson, who is teaching reading, said, “We hope they will build up their skills and use them comfortably in the classroom when they get back to school.”

Laura Potts, who teaches art at Ward during the regular school year, teaches the art classes at R.I.S.E. She has enjoyed working not only with students she knows from Ward but also with students from other schools.

Ward 6“Our theme was creatures of the sea and the sea itself,” Potts said. “We created Puffer Fish from a fork, hermit crabs, conch shells, sea otters, clown fish and the Great Wave.”

“Students gave me artwork created out of class. Which is always a treasure. Connecting with parents in car rider line was positive. I learned faces quickly and told parents how much I enjoyed their child in art class!”

Students also appreciated Potts.

“One mom said, ‘She wants you to be her art teacher.’ I was flattered. It was a great first-time experience for me.”

This was also the first time that Jamillah Spence, who teaches at Griffith Elementary during the regular school year, has participated in a R.I.S.E. camp. It has brought many enriching experiences.

“One of my many experiences is working with students and staff from different schools in the district,” Spence said.

“It felt as if I was at my home school Griffith Elementary. There was an abundance of support from the leadership team and students who were interested in learning. I had the opportunity to teach fourth-grade reading and, the materials provided create meaningful learning experiences aim at increasing student achievement.”

Yoga 99“I believe one of my memorable experiences would be when students had the opportunity to write a narrative piece that surrounded the theme ‘Every Shell Has a Story.’ Students were eager to write and share aspects of their lives in school.”

“Every shell does have a story.”

In addition to serving as a long-term substitute teacher at Hall-Woodward, Yolanda Dickerson is a Certified Chopra Center Meditation Instructor. When Pressley invited her to teach a mediation class at the camp, she readily agreed.

“I had the desire to meet the need of students' emotional well-being,” she said. “I am grateful that Ms. Pressley welcomed me on the staff which allowed me to do so.”

“It was my intention to create a safe space for students to practice self-awareness, self-love, and self-care so that they would have tools moving forward. Not only did we practice meditation, but I also incorporated my skills as an Urban Farmer and Certified Professional Life Coach by creating lessons that connected well with eating properly (by growing microgreens) and selecting nutritious foods according to the colors of the rainbow.”

“Overall, the students had a wonderful experience, and I had a delightful one!”

Turtle 71Others participating in the camp also cultivate gardens at home, Pressley said, and they have been bringing in tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers and more for other staff members to take home.

“They share the wealth,” Pressley said.

R.I.S.E. camps last for five weeks. They began on June 28 and will continue through Thursday July 29.

Original source can be found here.