Kennedy students receive variety of mini-courses

More than 40 community residents and teachers began three-session "mini-courses" at Kennedy Middle School last week, and Sgt. John McCord from the Aiken County Sheriff's Office definitely kept his program interactive.

He provided some basic instruction on boxing but also stressed physical fitness.

"I enjoyed it more than I thought I would," said eighth-grader Justin Mealing. "I liked the workout, and it can help me get ready for football and basketball."

McCord serves as a mentor at the Warriors boxing club and previously had the same role at the Aiken Boxing Club.

"I'm trying to show them about conditioning and comparing that to conditioning for life," McCord said. "You can't just come into school. You should be prepared. If you have a dream you want to pursue, you must always work hard at it. I look at this as keeping your mind and body conditioned."

The mini-course program began 23 years ago, said Andy Watford of Watford School of Karate. He helped get the program started, and, after a modest beginning, it kept expanding. Watford hasn't missed a year since then.

"As long as they'll have me, I'll keep on coming," he said. "It's all about giving back to the community."

Other visitors included Ute Samuel, bread-baking; Michaela Berley, horticulture; South Aiken High NJROTC cadets; Sam Erb, cooking demonstration; Brian Bernard, car tools and fun; Angela Snelling, beading; and Laura Phillips and Elizabeth Burgess, dog training.

Several students walked through the hallways with dogs Phillips and Burgess provided, including a poodle, bird dogs, several mutts and a friendly pit bull.

"Elizabeth and I teach dog obedience," said Phillips. "We've been teaching the mini-course for about six years, and it's interesting to work with the kids. We use techniques to help kids train their dogs."

Guidance counselor Paula Deen has helped coordinate the mini-course program for the past nine years.

"A lot of kids who attended Kennedy said some of things they remember most are the mini-courses," she said.

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.