For many Valley Stream students entering 7th grade this September, the summer months were filled with team building activities, art projects, and outdoor activities that comprised the Valley Stream Central High School District’s innovative Summer Bridge program. Designed to help ease the transition from elementary school to middle school, the Bridge program offered opportunities for both academic and physical activity, while providing a chance for incoming 7th graders to get to know each other prior to the start of school in September.
The summer program was divided into three, two-week sessions: July 6 through July 15 for Memorial Junior High School 7th graders; July 19 through July 29 for South High School 7th graders; and August 2 through August 12 for North High School 7th graders. Students met for four days a week from 8:00 AM to 9:40 AM.
“It has been very gratifying to see these students come to school to participate in our Summer Bridge program,” stated Dr. Wayne Loper, the Superintendent of the Valley Stream Central High School District. “This program offers a great opportunity to help mitigate the traditional summer learning lapse while offering these youngsters engaging days filled with adventure, physical activity and a chance to get to know their fellow classmates in a relaxed and stress-free environment.”
Besides engaging students mentally and physically, the Bridge program helps the incoming 7th graders familiarize themselves with their new school environment, new staff, and how the middle school experience will be different from what they had been used to in an elementary school setting. The Bridge program also included an introduction to Microsoft Teams and its use in the 7th grade curriculum and an overview of students’ new schools. Students were also issued their internet-connected school devices.
For more information about the Valley Stream Central High School District, please visit the District’s website at https://www.vschsd.org, and like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ValleyStreamCentralhighSchoolDistrict