Gilley’s Classic Car Restoration course is just one of many fun activities the school system is offering as part of its summer program, aimed at addressing students’ social-emotional needs that have gone unmet during the coronavirus pandemic. Cooking, model rocket building, crime scene processing, photography, summer camp and many more courses also are on the roster, in addition to academic classes, such as those focusing on math and reading skills.

Schools Superintendent Eric Haley is encouraging students to enroll in the program, which is possible because of federal COVID-19 relief money the school system has received.

Enrollment is lighter than educators had hoped, likely because students tend to think of summer school as a place where they go if they fail a class or must retake courses, according to Haley. The summer school schedule and course descriptions are available on the school system’s website.

“These are not that at all,” he said. “I can’t believe what skills some of my teachers have that I had no idea they were interested in.”

Gilley is also teaming up with high school band teacher Sue Barre to offer a modern rock band class in which students will play instruments, choose a song and perform it for the public on the last day of the course, at the new outdoor bandstand outside the tech center. Gilley is a guitarist.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” he said, “and a bunch of the students I have in class who share that interest also are pretty excited.”

Students in grades nine through 12 at Waterville Senior High School are being offered enrichment-remediation programs Monday through Thursday during the weeks of July 12, 19 and 26, according to Principal Brian Laramee. The morning program is called Waterville PEP, or Panther Enrichment Project. All programs are free, with food and transportation also provided at no cost to students.

The overall program is designed to spark creativity and expose students to programs or activities to which they might not otherwise be exposed in normal classrooms, Laramee wrote in a letter to families. The hope is the program will help students reconnect with peers and members of the school staff.

“Waterville PEP is far from traditional ‘summer school,'” Laramee wrote. “In fact, as you can see from the many sessions being offered, many sessions take place outside of the classroom.”

Courses offered July 12-15 include those related to robot building, creative writing, credit recovery, processing a crime scene, electrical controls, fitness, percussion instruments, mathematics in games, Waterville history, making homemade pasta, money matters, reading skills, precision instruments and lathes, art and tabletop gaming.

Courses for July 19-22 include beginning band, cooking around the world, creative writing, credit recovery, electrical controls, fitness, GoPro filmmaking, photography and photoshop, reading skills, art and more.

For July 26-30, courses include beginning band, creative writing, credit recovery, fitness, GoPro filmmaking, Waterville history, mathematics in games, ocean health, art and model rockets.

A weeklong, overnight River Rats Adventure Camp also is offered.

Laramee, Haley and Regional School Unit 18 administrators are working on afternoon programs with Tom Edwards and Ed Cervone of Thomas College; Craig Larrabee, CEO of Jobs for Maine’s Graduates; Ken Walsh, CEO of the Alfond Youth & Community Center; Patrick Guerette, chief operating officer of the Alfond Center; and others, according to Laramee.

Afternoon offerings are the result of an effort to provide after school opportunities for students in grades six through 12. Programs include free lifeguarding certification, counselor-in-training, cardio pulmonary resuscitation and babysitting — all geared toward providing students with employable skills.

Students completing the courses will be eligible for paid work. The Alfond Center will offer intramural activities, free access to their fitness center and many other activities. Thomas College is offering free college courses, access to esports tournaments and career fairs, and JMG is planning a variety of activities in and around Waterville and Oakland.

Special education sessions for the high and junior high schools are planned for July 12-15, July 19-22 and July 26-29, with programs focusing on academic and functional skills, using hands-on activities. Weekly swimming activities are part of the program. Activities at Pine Tree Camp in Rome are offered for all grade levels.

Title I students are being offered learning camps on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks, beginning June 22. Reading, writing and math through integrated, hands-on learning, will be part of academics, and afternoon enrichments sessions at Day Camp Tracy or the Alfond Center will be offered.

Program enrollment is full so no additional students can be accepted , according to organizers. The students will take part in courses focusing on story retelling, language, math, how to be a learning detective, gardening, photography, space exploration, art and history. Students also may do activities at Day Camp Tracy and take part in an enrichment program at the Alfond Center.

Junior high school students — grades six through eight — are scheduled to meet Monday through Thursday for four weeks, beginning July 5 through the week of July 28. They will have opportunities to explore nature, use multiple indoor resources, hike trails and do other adventure-related activities.