By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Approximately 70 students from both Caribou and Limestone participated in the Celebration of Learning and Summer School Olympics events in early August, two fun festivities that concluded four-weeks of summer school at Teague Park Elementary School in Caribou.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
It was an exciting game of Water Balloon Volleyball during the Summer School Olympics, which pitted the red team against the yellow team. Shown at center enthusiastically cheering on all participants was coach of the yellow team Rachel McGlinn-Bourgeois.
According to 21st Century Director for RSU 39 Marie Beckum, both events were well received by students and their families.
Students were able to demonstrate to their parents the skill and projects they worked on throughout summer school during the Celebration of Learning event, and the following day’s Summer School Olympics was held in accordance with the 2012 Olympic Games and its motto “Inspire a Generation.”
“The goal of the day was to inspire our students to get physically active while trying some modified Olympic events and being part of a team,” Beckum said. “Students really enjoyed showing their team pride by wearing their team’s colors and helping to make a team flag.”
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Participants in the Summer School Olympics included Dylan Levasseur, left, and Christian Blakely, pictured here. They’re shown competing in “noodle fencing.”
The Summer School Olympics included kid-friendly versions of Olympic events. Instead of volleyball, for instance, kids played water balloon volleyball and had to work as a team to launch a water balloon over a net using a bed sheet. Instead of fencing, students were given foam pool noodles and had to try to tap each other on the leg with the noodle to achieve a noodle-fencing victory.
The Olympics at Teague Park concluded with a pentathlon, in which students completed an obstacle course with five different elements before tagging their next team member.
“These fun events help to get students excited for the school year by leaving students with a positive impression of school and good camaraderie with their peers,” Beckum explained. “School should be a place that kids want to go.”
After four summer weeks of hard work, Beckum offered some encouragement for all summer school students for the year ahead.
“Never stop trying to do your best,” she encouraged. “Don’t be afraid to ask if you need more help or don’t understand something — it’s the best way to learn!”
