THE HIKE SCHOLARS VISIT THE SARGENTTI PLAIN, THE AMAZON RAINFOREST AND THE GREAT BARRIER REEF ALL WITHOUT LEAVING SAINT PAUL

On January 16th, the HIKE Foundation hosted its' monthly HIKE SCHOLARS Meeting at the West Side Boys & Girls Club. The reading theme in January was Animal Adventures and the monthly meeting focused on utilizing the new computer lab to learn more about our animal friends.

Matt kicked the evening off, as we do every month, by recognizing the HIKE SCHOLARS who had perfect school attendance during the month of December. Each of these SCHOLARS was provided a ½ lb Ghirardelli chocolate bar for their hard work. This was a milestone month for HIKE SCHOLARS as it was the first time that more than half of the SCHOLARS had perfect school attendance in a given month.

Matt distributed a copy of Over in the Ocean: on a Coral Reef to each SCHOLAR and then he read the book aloud. Following reading time, each SCHOLAR and their parents (since its inception every SCHOLAR has had at least one parent in attendance each month) competed an internet scavenger hunt to determine where ten difference animals such as the King Penguin, Gila Monster, Wallaroo and Hedgehog live.

Each child was then given the opportunity to do some internet research about their favorite animal. They were asked to determine where their favorite animal lives and what it eats. Upon completing this project, we played animal charades. Each SCHOLAR stood, and a few lay down, before the entire group and made animal motions until their favorite animal was guessed. Matt even joined in the game with his artistic interpretation of his favorite animal, the monarch butterfly. The SCHOLARS were surprised, as they expected a little more macho animal from a 6'4", 310 lb All-Pro Center!

To complete the evening, the SCHOLARS completed a tiger maze race and shared animal stories over snacks.

As demonstrated by the perfect attendance milestone and the unwavering parental participation, the January HIKE SCHOLARS meeting was another successful step towards instilling in each HIKE SCHOLAR and their family members that the goal of higher education is within their grasp.