On March 19, a dozen lucky Eagle Nest Elementary students were surprised at home by a visit from the Math Game Patrol. Eagle Nest teachers and administrators, along with student athletes from Fort Dorchester High School, delivered bags containing math related games and activities for the students and their families. Eddie the Eagle, the Eagle Nest mascot, was also there to swoop in to help with the deliveries.
All of the students visited receive services through the Title I Targeted Assistance Program at Eagle Nest. Title I is a federally funded program that works to provide a high quality education for all students. In Eagle Nest’s Title I program, students needing extra help in math receive daily intensive small group instruction. Their parents are also provided with training sessions and workshops. For the Math Game Patrol, families filled out a registration form. From those registrations, 12 students’ names were drawn randomly.
Those chosen students were greeted by a series of honks from the Fort Dorchester High athletic bus pulling up to their residence. The high school athletes poured out of the bus clutching balloons, games and books. Students were happy to see their elementary teachers and principals.
After high fives and hugs, the families gathered around Eddie the Eagle and other Game Patrol members for a quick photo. The students then waved goodbye, happily holding their game bags and a little shocked about the whirlwind of activity that had just left their home.
The contents of the game bags were specially chosen to encourage students to practice math skills at home with their families in a fun way. Monopoly, Trouble, Skip Bo and other games, as well as dice, play coins, number lines, pencils, math related literature books and flashcards filled the bags. These students will play at home and reinforce skills learned in school such as counting, addition and subtraction, money and place value.
The Math Game Patrol would not have been possible without the help of the Fort Dorchester High School athletic department including Coach Rick Nobbs, who served as the driver. The event was planned by Eagle Nest Title I staff members Kelly Nobbs, Sandy Richardson and Kathryn Rumble.
Eagle Nest students can be on the lookout for the next prize patrol, the Reading Prize Patrol, which delivers baskets of books to students and their families.