Motivating students to work together to develop their strengths, encourage collaboration, build trust, mitigate conflict and improve communication are among the goals of Team Primetime, a free summer enrichment program for Oaklawn and Cooper Elementary Schools. Team Primetime is a joint project of Derby School District and Derby Recreation Commission located at Oaklawn Elementary School and coordinated by Siobhan Fugle, Oaklawn Elementary staff member.
The Derby Community Foundation awarded a $500 Community Enrichment Grant to Team Primetime to support purchasing supplies for weekly themed team-building activities.
“Showing students how to engage in team building activities will help them in their future lives,” said Fugle. “Team Primetime focuses on teaching lifelong skills.”
Oaklawn and Cooper Elementary schools qualify as Title 1 due to the large concentration of low-income students who need assistance meeting educational goals. Team Primetime provides free academic support as well as social and recreational opportunities for 120 students each summer.
The team building activities supported by the grant from the DCF present each team of students with a goal that can only be accomplished by all team members working together. In 2021, the team building themes were “WE are Family,” “Goin’ Green,” “Superheroes,” “Hawaiian Hullabaloo,” “Survivor Week,” and “Olympics.