As the summer of 2017 is starting to wrap up, so is the ACCL's first year of summer school. Students had a blast during hands-on tutoring sessions, field trips, and other fun experiences.
See what the Summer School Teachers and Volunteers had to say about their experience with the first summer school at the ACCL:
Jake Hoffman- Summer School Teacher
I very much enjoyed working with the students at the ACCL summer school. I taught students about science. It was challenging to use basic words to describe complex ideas. We worked on vocabulary as we read and talked about measurement, electricity, magnets, and astronomy. We did hands-on activities such as testing conductivity of materials, building circuits with LEDs, and finally building a pinhole viewer for the upcoming solar eclipse. I enjoyed meeting students and watching them read and speak English with more confidence.
Bio: I graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois with a B.S. in chemistry; I also have a masters degree in Oceanography from Texas A&M University. I recently retired after teaching chemistry for 42 years at Lexington Christian Academy in Lexington, Massachusetts. I am a long-time member of Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell.
Lori Hoffman-Summer School Teacher
I am proud to have been part of the first year of the ACCL summer school. It was delightful to meet young people who are learning a new culture and language. They are bright and wonderful, and Lowell is a better place because they are here. In class I taught English, starting each time with conversation and then working on grammar, writing, and reading. On the last day each student wrote a paragraph about a place, including a topic sentence, facts to support their idea, and a conclusion. We tried to read an entire book during the summer school time, but we were not quite able to finish the books. At the closing ceremony the students will each receive a copy of the book so they can finish reading as their skills improve in the future.
Bio: I graduated from Calvin College in Michigan with a B.A. in English as well as secondary teaching certification. My work experience includes four years of high-school teaching and 17 years at Community Newspaper Company, focusing on graphic design and copy editing. I am a long-time member of Eliot Presbyterian Church in Lowell.
Joan Abbot- Summer School Teacher
Life has always been full of interesting opportunities. I had the pleasure of teaching elementary school for 25 years. I also took my deep love of animals and founded a small animal shelter, which I still run. And I have had the good fortune to be able to travel to many places in the world. While helping people that I met on my travels, I began to wonder how I could assist people in the United States, who have made courageous journeys to begin life here. This desire brought me to Lowell where I discovered an amazing network of people and organizations working with the refugee, immigrant community. I continue to enjoy learning more about the people in this vibrant city.
Elizabeth Williams- Volunteer
Hi, my name is Elizabeth Williams and I am a competitive swimmer as well as a volunteer teacher at the ACC summer classes! This past weekend I was in Ohio for a swim meet competing against the swim teams from around the country. I have trained very hard and swim a personal best time in my 50 meter freestyle (my specialty) to qualify for this meet. I swam a 27.10 sec race, and made the cut! I travelled to Ohio with my team and coaches, swam really fast while I was there and had a wonderful time!
Adjoa Adjepong- Volunteer
I was very grateful to have been part of the ACCL Summer classes for the year 2017. I had the opportunity to work with the younger kids and my partner Lizzie. The students were always excited and came in with a smile on their faces even on a rainy day. It was fun and I learned something new everyday day while working with them. In the primary class, we mostly read story books together and worked on fun activities that benefitted all students and their academic levels. The kids were always thrilled when it came to play time because they enjoyed playing against each other in soccer matches. Each day we noticed that all students had improved in one way or the other, either they learned the name of a cool animal or a new word in English. The students also got along well and in the end of the summer program, it was like we had become one family.
I am thirteen years old and recently completed Middle School at the Lowell Community Charter Public School. I will be entering high school as a Freshman at Lowell High School in the 2017-2018 school year. I have interests in helping the young Sunday school children at my church. I also love to sing and I’m in the church choir.