School is ready to end for the summer, but there is a wealth of opportunities for students to continue to grow. Students have made many strides over this past year and it is important that they can continue to build on this. Albert Lea area schools has a wide variety of activities for everyone.

Community Education also has an endless list of camps and classes to keep students busy this summer. Make sure to check out all the listings in the Community Education brochure which should be in your mailbox next week.

There are also many other community based programs available in our community this summer. There is definitely something for everyone. The Open Arms Summer School at Lakeview Elementary serves students from kindergarten to 5th grade. Focus is on reading and math offered in a more hands-on experiential approach. In addition, there are enrichment courses including music, art, environment, bubbleology, Spanish, computers and outdoor games.

For 6th graders, there is a transition program at Southwest to help students adjust to the middle school in the fall. This program also offers experiential learning as well as review in reading and math.

There is a 7th and 8th grade summer program held at Southwest for students who need to “make-up” a core class in the area of science, math, English and social studies.

A 9-12th grade program is being offered at Brookside which allows students to catch- up on credits in required courses.

In the 8-12th grade, there is also a program offered at the high school for those students who need to re-test on the Basic Standards Tests. This session provides tutoring for each of the testing areas and an opportunity to re-test at the end of July.

Environmental Adventures is being offered for students who have completed 5th through 11th grades. This is a science enrichment opportunity held at Eagle Bluff in Lanesboro. With all of these great opportunities available in our community let’s make sure we keep our students learning and having fun this summer. Students have had a great school year and are now ready to continue on into the summer.

For questions on summer opportunities, you can call the district office at 379-4800, or Community Education at 379-4834.

For more information on how to get involved in TEAM or for questions and concerns do not hesitate to contact TEAM members or the school district. You can reach TEAM members at these email addresses or phone numbers: Dennis Dieser, dadieser@myclearwave.net, 373-7451; Terri Wichman, hickory@smig.net, 373-3530; Becky Johnson, sajohnson@deskmedia.com, 377-3812; and Tom Ehrhardt, wedge@deskmedia.com, 377-2409.

Dennis Dieser is a member of the Together Education Achieves More (TEAM) Committee in the Albert Lea School District.