St. Andrew’s students create committee to learn opportunities not taught in classroom

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - St. Andrew’s student-led academic movement or SLAM was created in February and offers students a better understanding of real-life situations.

“I came up with a committee to learn more about things that couldn’t be taught in the classroom. It’s exciting to see how far we’ve come from February,” said Charlie Stroud, a 5th grader at St. Andrew’s.

The SLAM committee of students range in age from 4th grade to 8th grade. A boy and a girl are chosen from each grade. The students that are selected have a strong work ethic, are passionate to learn and have a desire to be a leader.

The program partners with the Academic Collaboration Experience or A.C.E. and partners students with the community to learn more about what they do.

Today, Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center was invited to talk to students about the current residents they have. Students were able to get an up close look at an opossum, a bearded dragon and a Sulcata tortoise.

SLAM committee member, Laurel O’Brien, an 8th grader at St. Andrew’s is a volunteer for Wild West Wildlife.

“I’ve been volunteering there for awhile, just depending on how busy I am. I help feed the animals, clean cages and take care of them,” said O’Brien.

The SLAM committee planned the whole event from inviting community members to present and make those connections to setting up chairs for the students.

“It was really exciting to see what they learned from it, what ideas they came up with for next time and their takeaways from what they loved about it,” said Laura Gabel, assistant head of school for St. Andrew’s.

The goal is to have one A.C.E. presentation per semester.

St. Andrew’s hopes the SLAM committee will teach students valuable skills they can use in the real world.

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