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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1998)
Honors college students tutor middle school kids By Teri Meeuwsen Higtier Education Reporter Students involved in the Honors Col lege Student Association have become role models by helping students at Kelly Middle School with their math homework and other subjects after school. Since last spring term, students have been helping kids in the McStudy Pro gram at the West Eugene school, and it’s starting up again this term, HCSA co chair Corrie Nichols said. "The Honors College Student Associa tion wanted to get involved in the com munity, and we wanted to do it through schools,” she said. “We wanted to do it with a school not wrapped up in the Uni versity. That's why we chose Kelly.” The McStudy Program, sponsored in part by McDonald’s, gives Kelly students a chance to concentrate on homework two days a week for 45 minutes. During that time, they receive help from HCSA volunteers and snack on McDonald’s hamburgers. Lynn Lockhart, a parent volunteer for Kelly and a coordinator for the McStudy Program, said the HCSA is really helping by volunteering its time. “1 feel really strongly the more commu nity involvement there is in schools, the better,” she said. “A lot of these kids need role models, and they respond well with the honors college kids.” The only problem the HCSA has run into is transportation. Out of the 50 peo pie interested, 15 to 20 have volunteered their time to help at Kelly. But with more students getting involved soon, trans portation will need to be improved, Nichols said. "We're trying to use vans, but there's no binding," she said. “So we’re making up a schedule to work it out.” Besides helping Kelly students with their homework after school, the HCSA plans on matching volunteers with Kelly teachers for in-class help, Nichols said. Students who are interested in physical science would be paired with a teacher who needs assistance with dissections in a science class. With HCSA volunteers in the class rooms, teachers will be able to reach stu dents at all different learning levels, Lockhart said. “We got flooded with e-mail from teachers who wanted help,” she said. "[The teachers] are just so gratebd. They have students who need help with basic reading comprehension, or kids who do extra work in the library because the work in the classroom is too boring. “With 30 to 35 kids in one class, it’s re ally hard to hit all the levels.” Teachers are excited to have help, Nichols said. “It’s going really well," she said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm from both sides, from the [HCSA] and from the teachers. The teachers and the parents are really excited for us to be over there." A dance for luck ROSE FUNG/Emerald Celebrating the coming Chinese New Year, the Chinese Student Association pre sented a Hon dance durring China Night, Sunday. Ihe heating of the drums, gong and cymbal, andfierce movements of the lion scare away the evil spirits and bring good luck to the new year. /uuHini n ■' /x i uofo EMU Fir Room Tuesday & Wednesday January 13 & 14 ) 10 am-3 pm SAVE LIVES Bring picture ID.
