Lewis and Clark Summer
Program
June 19 through June 22
Fifty to 60 students from Lewis and Clark Middle School this summer
are involved in a variety of activities designed to introduce them to college
and motivate them to perform well academically.
Students who have not performed in the classroom, but who have high
ability, are invited to participate in the program. UNO faculty members and
staff from Lewis and Clark collaborate to make the project a success.
Funded by grants from the University of Nebraska, the Experimental
Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and Omaha Public Schools,
the project is in its second year. UNO faculty and staff deliver most of the
activities. The program begins with a campus tour and moves on to a virtual
scavenger hunt. A motivational speaker, library activities, cognition
exercises, satellite and robotic activities, writing activity, participation
in the biomechanics lab, physical education activities, and art activities
provide a well-rounded experience for the students. When asked at the end of
the 2006 project, "What was the best thing about the UNO experience?" one
student answered, "Everything."
UNO students serve as interpreters for any middle school student who
is enrolled in an English as a second language class. All students receive
backpacks, water bottles, lunch on one day and snacks on other days, and $1
with which to begin a college savings plan.
Dr. Connie Schaffer is the program's coordinator with assistance
from Brooke Lampe and Brandy Klipfel, both of whom work in the College of
Education Student Services Office. Other UNO personnel involved include:
Brooke Wiseman Dowse, Mel Clancy, Melissa Cast-Brede, Jeannette Seaberry, Jim
Wolfe, Nancy Chalupa, Joseph Siu, Leslie Decker, Mike Messerole, and Shari
Hofschire, Metta Volker-Fry and Bob Goeman.
Lewis and Clark staff participants include Principal Lisa Sterba,
Summer School Principal Mary Claire Morgan, Rita Murphy, Holly Ortega,
Elizabeth McKeone, Phillip Taylor and Barb Brimmerman.
The four-day event concludes with a commencement exercise that
includes "Pomp and Circumstance," mortar boards and certificates.
Parents are invited, observing participants as they are recognized
for completing the activity.
Principal Sterba wrote in 2006, "Thank you for providing an
incredible experience and opening up possibilities for Lewis and Clark
students. The students who were able to participate in the activities were
provided a multitude of possibilities throughout the very fast four days they
spent on campus. They now have in their minds they can do and be whatever
they put their minds to."
The program theme for this year is "An Excellent Connection!" The
theme rises from the mottos of the College of Education ("Building a Legacy
of Excellence") and of Lewis and Clark Middle School ("A Tradition of
Excellence"). "It is a privilege to have these bright, energetic scholars and
their teachers on our campus," Schaffer notes.
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