Hinkletown Mennonite School

Empowering Children through Christ-centered Education

SCHOOLWIDE ENRICHMENT TIME

Each spring, HMS offers students a chance to gain educational experiences outside of the classroom. All students in grade one through grade eight have an opportunity to choose a topic that interests them.   During a seven week period students explore that topic once a week for 90 minutes in a cluster of multi-aged students. Clusters are led by teachers, administrators, parents, grandparents, and community members. Some students travel off campus while others congregate in classrooms or work outdoors. Clusters provide an experience that is not only educational but fun and help meet an HMS goal of educating the whole child. Sample clusters that were offered previously are listed below along with a brief description.

All That Glows Grade Level: 1-8 Facilitator: Mrs. Anette Raiser
Educational Objectives: The students will combine science and the arts as they learn the science behind black lights while creating a visual routine with music, drama and dance.

Lights, camera, action! This cluster gives you the opportunity to combine dance, drama, and science. We will creat a routine to perform under black lights. The group will choose the music and develop the routine together. We will also learn the science behind black lights that results in an awesome visual display!

American Sign Language Grade Level: 1-3 Facilitator: Mrs. Patty Answer
Educational Objectives: Students will learn basic sign language skills and develop an awareness of deaf and deaf/blind people.

Want to learn to talk with your hands? In this cluster you will learn to sign the alphabet, numbers and basic communication. We will use fun games to practice sign language and have a visit from a deaf person who till tell stories in sign and will give us practice using our newly acquired sign language for communication. As a group we will learn to sign a song which we will perform for the Grand Finale.

China Surprise! Grade Level: 1-8 Facilitator: Miss Anna Wang
Educational Objectives: learn about another culture through the five senses, compare and contrast similarities and differences between cultures.

Want to learn more about China than you can in your monthly lessons? Want to explore China's history, geography, arts/culture, Chinese massage, food or language? Take advantage of having a China expert in our midst to learn more about the third largest country in the world! In your first meeting you will decide as a group what you want to learn about China.

Exploring Graphic Design Grade Level: 3-6 Facilitator: Mrs. Gina Lusk
Educational Objectives: learn to communicate through information technologies; explore electronic communication methods; create images that shows emotions or actions

Explore what it means to be a graphic designer with activities such as photography, creating collages, writing in calligraphy, designing a logo, laying out a book cover, proposing a stamp, and maybe even design a T-shirt to keep! Put your creativity to good work and consider being a graphic designer for life!

Fables and Parables Grade 1-3 Facilitator: Mrs. Karen Burkholder

Educational Objectives: Students will be exposed to the parables of Jesus and to some fables. Students will read to understand the meaning of the fable or parable. Students will use a variety of creative methods to describe the meaning of the stories.

Love reading? Enjoy mysteries? In this cluster you will be reading some of the parables of Jesus and some fables and figure out the meanings of these stories. You will use a variety of techniques--art, writing and acting--to bring the parables and fables to life. Expect to learn life-long lessons on how to treat others and the value of hard work. Be surprised at what you can learn!

Geometric Design Grade Level: 5-8 Facilitator: Mrs. Anna Ruth Martin

Educational Objectives: Participants will gain a better understanding of shapes used in geometry. Students will: use graph paper to make a design with geometric shapes, use color coordinating skills in choosing fabric, use sewing machines for construction and hand sewing for quilting. They will become more aware of geometric shapes in things around them.

Participants will use geometric shapes to design a quilt block for a wall hanging, placemat, etc. Using fabric scraps, the design will be cut out, sewn together and quilted.

Greening of HMS Grade Level: 3-5 Facilitator: Mrs. Phyllis Nofziger

Educational Objectives: Participants will: use research skills, work together to complete task, and develop communication skills.

How do we take care of this beautiful planet God gave us to live on? How do we responsibly use the resources available to us? This cluster will research what it means to be "green" and look for ways we can be more green at HMS. The cluster will decide which direction we will go but options include: creating a Green Patrol to educate our classmates, make a solar cooker, make a compost pile for lunch waste, find ways to be a "zero-waste" school or discovering our "carbon footprint" and taking active steps to reduce it.

Jewelry Design Grade Level: 5-8 Facilitator: Mrs. Elisabeth Fry

Educational Objectives: Students will design and create their own pieces of jewelry. The students will keep a journal to sketch designs and reflect on each piece. The students will explore the business aspect of jewelry.

Do you consider yourself stylish or fashionable? Are you creative? this cluster is for you. We will brainstorm designs for unique necklaces, bracelets and earrings in a journal. We will take a field trip to the Craft and Flower Warehouse during our second meeting to purchase beads. We will be having a special presenter come in and teach us some unique techniques. Each student will design and create at least 2 pieces of jewelry.

Kids Can Cook Grade Level: 1-3 Facilitator: Mrs. Kathy Stoltzfus

Educational Objectives: Learning fundamentals of cooking - terminology, tools, and methods; learning about nutrition and making nutritional choices with food; following directions; enjoying tasting new foods.

Students in the Kids Can Cook cluster will learn some basic terminology with cooking, how to handle kitchen tools and equipment properly, and basic nutritional information. We will prepare at least one food item each week in different categories, inluding snacks, breakfast, salads, dessert, baking, and beverages. Students will compile a cookbook of the recipes they used to they can duplicate their work at home.

Knitting at the Village Grade Level: 2-8 (older than 8 years) Facilitator: Bethany Reiff

Educational Objectives: following multi-step directions; relating to older adults; fine-motor dexterity.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to knit a scarf or hat? Then this cluster is for you! Each week we will be visiting some expert knitters at Garde Spot Village who will teach us how to knit. If you already know how to knit then our knitting experts will be available to guide you through a new project. Knitting needles and yarn will be provided for you to learn with, but cluster participants will need to pay for their own yarn and needles for their projects. We will take a field trip as a cluster group to buy these supplies.

Penguin Discovery Grade Level: 1-3' Facilitator: Mrs. Crystal Heisey

Educational Objectives: Students will: Identify penguins as birds; locate and describe penguin habitats; discriminate between several species of penguins; explain the penguin timeline from egg to adult; identify penguin prey and penguin predators; explain human interaction with penguins.

Want to learn more about those unusual birds of the Antarctic? In this cluster you will interact with all parts of penguin life through activities and experiments. You will learn the characteristics of penguins, touch the things penguins eat and attempt to clean feathers that have been in an "oil" spill. Be prepared to share your learning by creating a life-like penguin of your own!

Play/Outdoor Cooking Grade Level: 3-5 Facilitator: Mr. Jack Willett

Educational Objectives: Students will: memorize lines; read and follow recipe directions; use cooking utensils while preparing basic foods over the campfire. Students will demonstrate

campfire cooking skills (heat and duration), proper campfire safety and the importance of following these guidelines.

This group will be involved with the preparation of a small play (already written) with the intention of performing it at the Grand Finale. In addition this group will experience the hearty outdoors (good weather) with basic campfire cooking.

Podcasting Grade Level: 5-8 Facilitator: Mrs. Melody Hartman

Educational Objectives: learn to work collaboratively in small groups; learn to use current technology to create podcasts; research, write about and create a podcast on a topic of interest to the group.

Become a broadcaster and reporter by joining the podcasting cluster! Students will thoroughly research a topic, and then report their findings in a podcast (a recorded audio format). Students will learn about podcasting by researching and viewing podcasts. In small groups students will create podcasts on various subjects including enrichment clusters. Students will become broadcasters, and will get the thrill of listening and watching their recordings on a computer or iPod. This cluster will use the students' creativity, curiosity, and confidence to produce excellent podcasts.

The Science of Sports Grade Level: 5-8 Facilitator: Mr. Jeremy Horning

Educational Objectives: Research and determine the scientific causes of elements of different sports, such as the curveball in baseball and the spiral pass in football. Use their knowledge of the sports elements to attempt to perform them accurately.

Did you ever wonder why a curveball curves? Do you want to learn how to throw a perfect spiral pass? Can you score a goal from a corner kick in soccer? In the Science of Sports cluster, we will first expolore how science influences sports and find out why things like curveballs and spirals happen. Then we will try to use our research to throw the perfect spiral and score a goal from a corner kick. (Student health is a priority, so no students will actually attempt to throw a curveball. However, you may take a whack at Mr. Horning's if you wish.)

Spanish Grade Level: 1-8 Facilitator: Mr. Kevin Boll

Educational Objectives: help HMS students meet our goal of enabling our students to enter high school ready for Spanish II.

Improve your Spanish and have fun in the process! Possibilities include: games, food, posters, skits, puppet shows and much more! through it all, we'll have fun with this beautiful and useful language.

Survival Skills and Theory Grade Level: 5-8 Facilitator: Mr. Kelly Martin

Educational Objectives: how to survive in emergency environments by properly prioritizing in stressful settings, to apply critical thinking skills, to learn practical skills and knowledge for survival.

Come learn both practical application and theory of emergency survival skills. We will focus on the survival mindset, practical application and theory of emergency survival skills. We will focus on the survival mindset, practical first aid, shelter, and water and food procurement in different environments. We will apply the "Rule of Threes" and design our own survival kits. We will create our own survival scenarios and brainstorm responses. You will receive handouts and book suggestions.

Note: this cluster may contain information sensitive to some people. For example, there will be instruction on trapping and killing animals for food. Please be aware of this before signing up for this cluster.

Swimming at the Rec Grade Level: 3-5 (at least 8 years old) Facilitator: Ms. Tracy Carlson; Mrs. Cheryl Landis

Educational Objectives: basic water safety skills; basic swimming strokes, appreciation of water sports/activities.

Do you want to learn how to swim? Now is your chance. We are offering swimming lessons at New Holland Rec Center. You will learn basic water safety as well as swim skills that follow the American Red Cross guidelines. All swim levels are welcome. The beginning of class will be the instruction time and whatever time is left will be used for free swim including the use of their waterslide. Girls: modest one-piece swim suits are required.

Wonderful World of Legos Grade Level: 1-4 Facilitator: Ms. Cheryl Leaman

Educational Objectives: To work together cooperatively toward a common goal; to learn how use of color affects the way we perceive things; to learn how to build a sturdy structure; to learn how to build an arch.

Come and enjoy building with Legos. We will put our creativity and cooperation to work as we explore building principles with Lego construction. We will learn how to best connect our structures to make them strong. We will explore how to best combine colors to make the final project visually attractive. We will plan a final project to display for the Grand Finale.