The Gazebo Gazette
LONG BEACH (GG) — Coast Episcopal School is offering two new programs that enhance opportunities for students on the campus of the only independent school on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Located in Long Beach, the school, which serves students from 18 months through Sixth Grade, is expanding the use of its Seemann Makerspace to the school’s three and four year old preschool students and is offering, in the month of December, indoor soccer clinics for kindergarteners through 5th grade students, including young athletes who do not attend Coast Episcopal School.
Since October of 2020, when the vision and generosity of Bill and Wynn Seeman, brought to life the stand-alone classroom, the Seemann Makerspace has provided Coast Episcopal elementary students with endless, hands-on opportunities for STEAM-based (Science-Technology -Engineering – Art – Mathematics) learning. Five years later, Head of School Jake Winter and Early Childhood Director Marcie Power decided that exposing preschoolers to the technology-filled facility is a great prelude to the hands-on learning experience they will have when they move from Williams Hall Preschool Building up the the CES Elementary school.
“To the best of our knowledge,” stated Winter, “no other preschool on the Mississippi Coast offers this opportunity for preschoolers.” Director Power added, “STEAM-based learning is all about exploring, building, creating, and asking ‘why?’ Through simple activities, our preschoolers will practice problem-solving, teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking while having tons of fun. Their hands-on experiences help spark curiosity and will build a strong foundation for the exciting learning adventures ahead in elementary school.”
Teamwork also will be the focus of December’s indoor soccer clinics, planned through the month of December. To be held in Coast Episcopal’s gymnasium, fledgling Kindergarten through Fifth Grade athletes will improve their soccer skills and tactical understanding of shape and space, under the direction of Coast Episcopal School Art Teacher Mark Wilson, a USSF (United States Soccer Federation) Licensed Coaching Instructor. No stranger to the sport, Mark was awarded a Soccer Scholarship to University of Louisiana Monroe, after honing his skills in high school. Today, when he is not influencing the artistic skills of his Coast Episcopal School students, Wilson is working with U8-U12 Elite Youth Academy coaches and players as the Technical Director of the South Mississippi Soccer Club (SMSC).
“I started playing soccer when I was eight years old,” stated Wilson. “Having the opportunity to introduce similarly-aged children to indoor soccer is exciting.” The clinics will include 30 minutes of work on receiving, turning, dribbling, passing and shooting the ball, and then for 45 minutes, the players will start to learn shape, space, and movement of the ball by playing 5 vs 5 games.
Families with children who are not students at Coast Episcopal School are welcome to sign up online for the indoor soccer clinics at Indoor Soccer Registration
Coast Episcopal School has been dedicated to a life-long love of learning by developing the whole child – mind, body and spirit – and providing a joyful, unique, and nurturing Judeo-Christian community that inspires its students to imagine and create a better world. Founded in 1950, CES is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS).
(Photo: Tarah Herbert, Seemann Makerspace Teacher, introduces CES Preschoolers to the fun that awaits them when they experience STEAM-based learning.)
