SMOC and AMSA Team up with Enrichment Programs

Five Advanced Math and Science Academy School 9th- 10th grade students and South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) Marlborough Child Care & Head Start Services division administrators have been working together to create science enrichment programs for children ages 4 to 8.

Lisa Thibault, an AMSA biology teacher, brought together a small group of students to run science lessons for the kids at SMOC. The two groups share a building, making it a very convenient match. They have just started the sessions on Wednesday’s, but they will continue to meet once a month for the year and cover topics that correspond to the seasons: leaves, snow, amphibians, etc. AMSA students teach the children using a variety of creative methods, including looking for insects to identify to a puppet show about birds.

This program is mutually beneficial; SMOC has the opportunity “for children to connect with the natural world and kindle love of science.” At the same time, the AMSA students involved are gaining a greater appreciation for science and learning the material even better through teaching it. Furthermore, for AMSA students, “it was really inspiring to have them want us to teach them.”

Linda Leblanc, the SMOC School Age Coordinator, commented that it was a “great collaborative work.”

 AMSA is not waiting for the world to change…we are changing the world one student at a time…every day. www.amsacs.org