VENTURA : A Break From Rules, Not From Learning

Carlos was absent with the chickenpox, and talk around the arts and crafts table turned quickly to a discussion of pox and measles, mumps and flu.

Inspired by her classmate’s bouts with childhood diseases, 5-year-old Kristina Snyder glued tiny macaroni on the monkey face she was creating. “It has chickenpox too,” she said.

At E.P. Foster Elementary School in Ventura for the last two weeks, students have not had to worry about doing homework, being graded or sticking around for the afternoon.

During “Break School,” the 150 kindergarten to fifth-grade pupils have been getting an education as untraditional as the new school calendar that gave them a two-week October vacation.

“It’s more hands-on learning and less a paper and pencil kind of thing,” Principal Gregory C. Kampf said. “We want the kids to enjoy exploring and discoveries.”

Foster and Sheridan Way Elementary School, which the students normally attend, adopted a calendar this year that cut summer vacation to six weeks, while providing two weeks off in early October, a three-week break during the winter holidays and another three weeks off beginning in late March.

Unlike the Oxnard Elementary School District, whose year-round students are offered remedial classes during three one-month breaks, the west Ventura schools offer a combination of enrichment classes and child care from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

At a cost of $100 per student for the two weeks, six teachers provide loosely structured lessons in language arts, writing, math and physical science that steer away from strict right or wrong answers.

Science teacher Sheri Allen demonstrated the power of surface tension last week by having her third- and fourth-graders put drops of water on the face of a penny. Most thought the coin would hold three or four drops, and were amazed when some pennies held up to 40 drops.