Welcome EXPLO Families Grades 2-7

Welcome EXPLO Families Grades 2-7

Welcome EXPLO Families! My name is David Torcoletti, Head of Programs for EXPLO Online for grades 2-7. This is my 20th summer at EXPLO and I am excited to welcome you to our 2020 program. At EXPLO, we have spent more than 45 years finding ways to associate learning with joy . There is a Finnish proverb that we often refer to around EXPLO’s HQ, the Exploration Center. “That learned without joy is forgotten without sorrow.” We are looking forward to ensuring this summer will be an opportunity for learning and joy to be mixed together and celebrated. During our on-campus summer programming, EXPLO actually has an Office of Magic. Our definition of magic is flexible, but we know it when it is present. When we have theme days, or community meetings, or in our classes or electives, our students leave the world of being “just a kid,” and become engineers, or artists, or poets or spies. They immerse themselves into these roles, and soon, they are no longer looking in from the outside at these roles, but instead, are practitioners, at a developmental level where it makes sense to them. They can problem solve as an engineer or artist, rather than read about how engineers and artists solve problems. It is a world of difference in a relatively short time. EXPLO Online is a well-rounded experience for our students. We know that our students do not exist from the neck up - or from the neck down for that matter. Besides our classes and electives, we will have activities that they will choose on the spot, as well as a daily community meeting where they can see what their fellow students in other classes have done, laugh at some of the sketches and performances of EXPLO staff and students, and generally feel a part of something bigger. We hope that you child will stay with us for much of our 4 hours of “live” offerings, and even poke around on the “Virtual Quad” when they are looking for something else to do when we are through for the day. It is our goal for our classes, electives and activities to engage the head, hands and heart. Welcome to EXPLO Online!

With warm regards, David Torcoletti

P.S. We want to hear from families -- students, parents, and guardians. We want your feedback. What works? What could we do better? The more we understand, the better we can respond. I encourage you to reach out at [email protected]