APS Student Spotlight of the Week - E. Rivers Elementary

Grade:  1st

School:  E. Rivers

Anyone in search of E. Rivers student Chloe Park need only ask for the tiny girl with the big golf clubs. Every Monday, Chloe lugs her clubs to school for her weekly afterschool golf lesson.  On Tuesdays she unwinds with a little afterschool tennis, and Friday is chess day for the for the future chess master. Add- on her weekly piano lessons and her international travels, and it is clear that Chloe is one well-rounded first-grader.

“I like talking to people, so they can get to know me,” says Chloe.  She, is eager to invite others into “Chloe’s World,” which includes lots of smiles and giggles, enthusiasm, exploration, comical impressions and non-stop learning.

“My favorite thing about school is that you can read books and make friends –and we do a lot of writing. But, I love reading the most.”

And it shows.  The six-year-old is an impressive vocabulary, and she is already reading chapter books.  She can even spell advanced words like condensation and imagination.  The key, explains Chloe, is understanding that “tion” produces the “shun” sound – the rest is easy.  Her favorite book, “Judy Moody,” is a chapter book that follows the humorous adventures of a third-grader.

Like Judy Moody, Chloe has her own exciting adventures to share.  She recently visited Thailand and Korea, and she says she especially enjoyed visiting Korea, because she was able to meet her cousins, and she made a lot of new friends. She also recently traveled to Arizona, where she toured the ranger station and learned about various desert animals.  Chloe even touched a live snake, which she says was not too scary, since she knew it was not poisonous.

“It was non-venomous. That means it can’t bite you and poison you. So I touched it, but only for a little bit,” says Chloe.

Chloe also enjoys learning new things, like different languages. She speaks English and Korean fluently, she learns French at school and she has taught herself a little Spanish and Chinese, which she will happily demonstrate upon request.

More than anything else she is learning right now, Chloe says she “loves, loves, loves” Chess.

Chess instructor Ben Johnson calls Chloe a “careful and thoughtful chess player.”

“Chloe takes her time and analyzes her options before making a move. These are important strategies for chess as well as for life.”