TYNGSBOROUGH — Superintendent Jill Davis is pleased to share the success of Greater Lowell Technical High School’s Summer Enrichment Program this year.
More than 100 incoming ninth-grade students participated in the program, which was held from July 11-29.
Participants explored the school’s campus, learned about the variety of technical programs offered, developed leadership skills, collaborated with peers, and made new friends before the start of the school year.
Students created projects which represented topics about the school’s core values of R.E.A.C.H: Respect, Effort, Accountability, Commitment, and Honesty.
Students were split into peer groups, with each group given a different core value to present at the end of the program. Each group created a slideshow explaining what their assigned core value meant, and what they did to showcase that value throughout the program. Students created skits, games, and participated in community involvement.
Projects included writing letters to veterans, painting kindness rocks, short skits about the values, teamwork-related games, and giving back to those in need.
“I loved feeling like we were making an impact in our community,” said incoming ninth-grader Anna DiBona, of Dracut, who was in the Effort group. “We made cards for veterans and we found that there were teachers and alumni from Greater Lowell Tech who had served and we got to send thank you cards to them, which was really special.”
Upper class members of Greater Lowell Tech were trained to be Student Leaders and guided the incoming students with their projects, giving them creative freedom and encouragement along the way. The Student Leaders also encouraged incoming students to step out of their comfort zone and be themselves.
“The student leaders really become ambassadors for the school,” said Student Leadership Coordinator Kaitlin Monahan. “They give up three weeks of their summer to work with incoming freshmen to really guide them and give them a sense of community and belonging, which helps relieve any anxieties that students have when entering high school.”
For the core value Commitment, students created the project “One Step Forward” and filled reusable bags with resources for the homeless, which included water, snacks, shoes, soap, tissues, and more. Students collected 12 bags, which they donated to the Lowell Transitional Living Center.
The Summer Enrichment Program has been offered to incoming Greater Lowell Tech students for 15 years. The program has become more project-based and student-focused in the past 10 years.
“We focus on two main goals for the program, one, having students be able to make friends and find their comfort level within the school, relieving some of their anxieties about coming to high school, ” said Program Coordinator and ninth-grade Math Teacher Stacey O’Keefe. “And two, learning those 21st-century skills, being able to communicate with others, public speaking, and having them think beyond themselves are really important.”
By interacting with peers in a creative setting, students’ nervousness about making new friends or coming to a new school were alleviated.
“It was really fun to get to know everyone, and work as a team,” said incoming ninth grader Anna Mae Keiley, of Dracut, who was in the Accountability group. “My friend and I wrote the script for the project together and we were able to work together and have fun while doing it. I made a lot of friends and it helped lessen my nerves about going into high school.”
Greater Lowell Tech faculty and staff who organized the program focused on maintaining relationships between students and helping each reach their fullest potential.
“It’s really nice to see students coming back to help with this program, whether it be student leaders, or students who participated in the past,” said Monahan. “It really shows that this program does make an impact.”
Teachers and faculty are looking forward to seeing those students return in the fall for the start of the school year.
“One of my favorite things about the program is that first day of school when I’m walking down the hallway and kids will say ‘Hi, Ms. O’Keefe,’ and they aren’t just my students that I have in class, but ones who I met through the program and those relationships really make it worth it,” O’Keefe said.
“Each of these participants embraced our school core values of R.E.A.C.H, and their projects went above and beyond,” Superintendent Davis said. “We look forward to seeing them back in school in a few weeks, and to watching them grow!”
###