ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9604010104
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
The Fabulous February Saturdays at New River Community College brought nearly 150 participants and many of their parents to the campus for classes in art, music, nature, dance and computers.
Pam Selleck, a teacher at Dublin Elementary School, had her daughter enrolled in three classes: guitar, creative movement and clogging. She said the idea was to find out what her 9-year-old was most interested in, before investing a lot of money in it.
She said the youngsters seemed eager to move from one class to the next. "They can't wait to go to the other class."
Selleck said the classes "provided opportunities that a lot of children wouldn't have had" to learn a variety of subjects - all of which were better for them than watching Saturday morning television.
"I learned quite a bit," said Arlene Crockett of Wytheville, who accompanied her son, John. "I think I learned more than he did." Parents with children taking a class could sit in on the class with them, or sign up for other activities provided during the day.
One of those was provided by Trooper Steve Hall, a crime prevention specialist with the state police. As he moved through the campus, he held informal sessions with parents on safety and precautions that could deter criminals.
Clyde Kessler, who taught the nature in winter classes, said the unusually cold winter had not kept the youngsters indoors. "When the snow was on the ground, we saw so many animal tracks that we just forgot about being cold," he said.
"Even [in early February] when it was very, very cold, we just bundled them up," said Debbie Douthat, assistant division chair for the community college's Division of Arts and Sciences.
It was Douthat who organized the Fabulous February minicourses from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and recruited teachers like Kessler for the hands-on nature studies, Peter Golladay for beginning guitar (which probably had the largest parent participation), Virginia Tech veterinarian Charlotte Crittenden teaching creative movement, Giles County art teacher Odessa Kendall showing children arts from painting to molding clay, Melanie Ondich teaching clogging, and community college faculty member Dave Cooper handling computer classes.
Douthat is already planning a month of similar activities for next year, working with school systems and parents on other ideas for minicourses and activities. One suggestion has been kite-flying, she said.
She thought the Fabulous February program had lived up to its name but, considering the weather, next year's Saturday minicourses may be a month later. She has already come up with a name: Marvelous March.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB