This week at the Woodside Priory Peninsula Bridge Program, our staff hosted its first tour of the campus on Thursday, July 1. Sherri Shaner, the development director, and Grainger Marburg, the Executive Director, welcomed a tour group to the Woodside Priory Campus. Our guests included parents and grandparents of students, long time sponsors of the program, and as a surprise, Paul Trudelle. Mr. Trudelle is a veteran Peninsula Bridge teacher and the father of the current algebra teacher here at the site, Laura Trudelle.
Sherri Shaner opened the tour with a talk about the mission of Peninsula Bridge, which is to extend the hand of opportunity to kids who are academically motivated but otherwise do not have adequate resources to pursue their dreams. The tour was then lead by TA tour guides up to the classrooms where T.A.s from each class welcomed them and explained what the students were studying in each class. The tour group was then allowed into the classroom to see the teachers at work. Kindra Briggs' English class was a big hit because the tour group got to see the students at work on their Story Board project, where they made a story out of pictures they cut out of magazines.
The tour was able to also see the break activity, which was a school wide water balloon toss. After this the tour came to a close with some testimonials from students Finau T. and Dominique J. as well as some words from Peninsula Bridge alum and current Priory T.A. Douglas. Grainger Marburg left the tour with words of thanks for the parents of Peninsula Bridge students. He shared the following:
"We talk about the merit of the students, but I always feel it's important to recognize the parents for what they're doing, and to give them credit as well. To say, look you guys have been doing a lot of hard work with a lot less than some of us might have had growing up. I want them to feel elevated by that, to feel like they are also being recognized as being part of that partnership and that its not just the success of their child but also the success of what they have done."
Woodside Priory site director Gulliver LaValle also showed a positive reaction, saying, "I think the parents and sponsors took away that this is really a good program. We are what we say we are. We are utilizing the Bridge resources we get and created the best possible opportunity."
In the REC program this week, the Construction and Design class has begun. The students enrolled in the class are beginning to design and build bridges out of Popsicle sticks. Matt Hill's fashion class has also begun to design dresses and work with material, and of course the swimming pool has been a constant favorite for students, especially on particularly scorching afternoons.