Taking summer school to a new level

BELLE PLAINE — Josie Smith, 13, and Stori Herman, 12, are both in seventh grade this year, but during the summer, they found themselves on the Coe College campus in Cedar Rapids.

Their Talented and Gifted teacher, Gina Miller, recommended Coe’s College for Kids program to the girls, and they both signed up.

Students in the program can take up to four classes, said Herman. There are a lot of classes to choose from, and the girls chose based on their interests.

Herman’s interested in math and mysteries while Smith leans more toward history.

“I took a Holocaust class,” said Smith. “It was really interesting.”

Smith already knew a bit about the Holocaust, she said, but the class gave her more information about what it was and how it affected people.

“We dove into more survivor experience,” said Smith. “Survivors are the way that people know it’s real.”

The class was Smith’s favorite of the four she enrolled in. The material was dark, she said, but it’s an important thing to know about.

Herman took a math class, a class about Sherlock Holmes, architectural kitchen design and mock trial.

The math class required students to figure out operating costs for a zoo attraction, said Herman, and in the kitchen class, she designed her ideal kitchen and picked out appliances.

In the Holmes class, students read some of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories featuring the sleuth he created, but they also watched videos of other mysteries, such as the television show “Psych.”

“Our teacher was super fun,” Herman said. “He loved mysteries.”

“Mock trial was a lot of work,” said Herman, “but in the end it was amazing.” The students tried a man for arson.

“I wanted to be defense,” said Herman, which is why the teacher assigned her to the prosecution. She presented closing arguments.

In addition to the class about the Holocaust, Smith took embroidery, mythology and Harry Potter Debate.

In the latter class, the students discussed J.K. Rowling’s characters and their morality while learned debate terms and techniques. They debated whether or not Severus Snape is a good person.

“I believe he’s not all bad,” said Smith, but he’s not all good, either.

The mythology class covered all kinds of mythology, said Smith. She chose Roman mythology for her final presentation.

As for needlework, “I quite enjoy it,” Smith said. “I’ve grown a lot more from this course.”

The girls spent nine mornings on the Coe campus and worked on projects at home in the afternoons and evenings, they said.

Though they crammed a lot into nine days, they didn’t feel rushed. “It feels like you have a lot of time,” said Smth. “My people were really light on homework.”

Herman said at first she didn’t want to take part in College for Kids. Summer is for fun, not for school, she told her mother.

“I turned out to really love it,” Herman said. She’d be interested in doing it again.

The girls had a long drive every day, said Smith, but it was worth it.

“I’d do it again,” said Smith. “It was really fun.

As a seventh grader, Smith isn’t sure what career she wants to pursue. She didn’t choose classes based on a future vocation.

“These were mostly for fun or what I’m interested in or what I want to improve on in my life,” said Smith

Herman wants to be a teacher or lawyer or detective, she said.

Herman takes part in basketball, volleyball, golf and choir. Outside of school, she participates in Girls Who Code.

Smith is a volleyball manager, a band member and is joining FBLA and Leos Club this year. She also helps with lights and sound for theater.

The girls had to pay for their classes this year, but Herman said the Belle Plaine Athena Club has offered to pay for next year’s students.