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Several RIS team members (and many others around ZSR!) have been involved in outreach programs this summer. In July, Bobbie provided a library tour for students participating in the Great American Writers’s Camp (see the post “Creative Writing Adventure Draws Students to Campus“). Additionally, Sarah, Mary and I gave a tour of ZSR to a group of students visiting from China, and Megan, Beth and I gave tours to groups from the Junior Classical League, just to name a few!
In June, Bobbie and I started planning with Michelle Klosterman, Ryan Shirey, and Leigh Stanfield for the third summer LENS program (A program that teaches rising high school juniors and senior about both the issue of sustainability and about writing at the college level). As part of my outreach efforts, Once again, I participated in the ropes course with the LENS students.
Bobbie conducted an IL class for the 32 students attending the LENS program on July 17. This year there are six project groups. Two groups partnered with Campus Kitchen at WFU while two other groups worked with WFU University Campus Garden. The other two groups were involved with the Shalom Project of Winston-Salem. The Shalom Project runs one of the largest food pantries in Winston-Salem.
As part of the IL class, students again were assigned library resources to retrieve from various locations in the library. This scavenger hunt also required students to answer three questions that were posted on the four whiteboards in Room 476. These whiteboards are great and so flexible! Also the new furniture and tables enhanced the learning experience this summer.
This year for the first time office hours were incorporated into the LENS schedule. The hours were announced to the students in advance. Several groups took advantage of these hours to receive research assistance. In addition to office hours, the week before their concluding ceremony and final presentations, we met with the students for two hours to assist them in mastering presentation software, creating their presentations and using the projection technology in the electronic classrooms.
On Friday, August 3, Bobbie and I attended the LENS Concluding Ceremony. During the buffet breakfast, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the parents who attended the program. As part of the ceremony, the six groups presented their solutions for their projects. All of the groups did an excellent job summarizing their projects. Hard work, enthusiasm, creativity, and team work contributed to the overall success of each group’s presentation.The ceremony concluded with an entertaining video of the 2012 program. This was a great group of students, and we hope that they enjoyed their three-week experience at WFU.
-Bobbie Collins and Hu Womack (mostly Bobbie!)