Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Kim Wyman's summer school class (l-r) Kameron Wagner, Kim Wyman and Kael Berg participate in an ice breaker where they grabbed one another's hands and had to untangle themselves Wednesday at Worland Middle School.
WORLAND - Worland Middle School elective teacher Kim Wyman is giving her summer school students hands-on out-of-classroom experiences.
"We are working and learning together this summer at WMS. I teach an elective where we turn many opportunities into enrichment with technology, hands-on projects, and tapping into our prior background knowledge while learning new things," Wyman said.
Wyman invited 4-H Extension 4-H / Youth Program Associate Amber Armajo and summer intern Kellynne Doyle to her classroom to teach the students about birds.
"On this occasion I invited the community program to teach us about nature and ecology," Wyman said.
Armajo talked with the students about local birds common in the Washakie County area while Doyle showed the students what each bird sounds like.
Students learned about the bald eagle, American crow, American robin, western meadowlark, ring necked pheasant, great horned owl, red tailed hawk and the Eurasian collared dove.
After the lesson about birds, the students made birdseed ornaments.
Wyman said, "I love that they are collaborating with us. We are so blessed that we have community members that are willing to come and teach the children."
A visit to the community garden, talking with Agriculture & Horticulture Extension Educator Caitlin Youngquist and a tour of a Bureau of Land Management fire truck is on Wyman's agenda for other hands-on experiences for the students.
Summer school overview
Summer school runs through the month of June, with every school having a different end date, according to the Washakie County School District No. 1 curriculum and grants manager Jody Rakness.
Rakness said there are about 125 students attending in the elementary grade level (k-5), 60-70 in the middle school level (6-8) and 40-45 at the high school level (9-12).
Rakness reported the middle school and elementary school student attendance is up from last year, with the high school staying about the same.
"We are also running a migrant summer school program, which is the only migrant school in the state of Wyoming. We have roughly 50-60 students attending. We have 35 students registered in Worland that we pulled from all of the surrounding areas. We also operate a satellite program out of Burlington, which has about 15 students," Rakness said.
