Summer school is usually something kids dread, but it doesn’t have to be.

Derry Township School District is offering summer school again to students going into kindergarten through sixth grade. The summer school program will last for one week which is June 18, 2018 to June 21, 2018 and will be held in the Hershey Elementary School 2-5 building. Students are to be dropped off and picked in the front of the elementary school.

There are many classes that will be offered, ranging from “Math Mindset” to “Harry Potter Adventure.” For some of the classes, there is an additional fee of either three or five dollars. Each class also has a range of suggested grades.

Classes for the summer school program are decided by the teachers who will run them. Teachers come up with ideas that they think the kids will like, write an outline of what they will do in the class, and then they will run the class themselves.

Some classes have shown to be more popular than others, according to Mindy Smith, summer school coordinator. A few if those classes are “Kids Cooking Fun” and “Harry Potter Adventure,” which are both full.

Another popular class tends to be the pottery class. Since it has been popular in previous years, third, fourth, fifth graders will have priority over the younger grades. DTSD says to not put pottery down as a class choice if the child is not in either third, fourth, or fifth grade. There will be a box that parents can check to signify that their child is interested in a pottery class on the registration form.

The class structure this summer will look different from previous years. This year there will be four sessions each day. Each session will be one hour and 25 minutes long. There will be two sessions in the morning and two sessions in the afternoon.

The schedule will look like:

Session 1:  9:00am -10:25am

Session 2: 10:30am – 11:55am

Lunch Break

Session 3: 12:30pm – 1:55pm

Session 4:   2:00pm – 3:25pm

For the lunch break in between the morning and afternoon sessions, students must be picked up. This is to give the teachers a break in between the morning and afternoon sessions.

Along with a different daily schedule, the length of the program will be different this year as well. In previous years, the program went for the duration of two weeks. This year, it will only be for four days. This is because many of the teachers involved with the program must attend a training for full day kindergarten during the following week.

The registration forms can be turned in to the office as well as the payment. Each class costs 50 dollars, and some classes have an additional fee. Payment should be a check payable to DTSD. The additional fee should not be paid to DTSD; it should be paid to the class instructor instead. Registration and payment are due Thursday May 31, 2018. Confirmation letters for the program will be sent home with children during the final week of school.

For any questions, contact Mindy Smith at [email protected].