Early start to summer in Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT – Hadley School first-grader Jamie Andrews spent Monday dressed in summer clothes as she burrowed deep into a wet, sandy hole on Fisherman?s Beach.Andrews was not taking a day off from her studies to get a jump on school vacation. She was celebrating the last two days of the academic year with a beach trip that has become a Hadley tradition.Dressed for the heat and the water and toting shovels and buckets, 180 Hadley first-, second- and fourth-graders spent Monday morning engaged in decidedly un-classroom-like activities – building sandcastles, playing ball and digging tunnels.?I like getting my hands all dirty,” explained Andrews.Hadley kindergarten and third grade students hit the beach last week, and Principal Stacy Phelan said the fun excursions offset the goodbyes that get said to teachers and fellow students at the end of the academic year.?It?s a nice way for them to unwind with their teachers and wander and be curious,” Phelan said.Hadley second grade teacher Rebecca Bucklin said the end-of-the-school-year beach visits began before she started teaching in the school 15 years ago. Although Monday was all about playing and fun, Hadley students visited the beach during the school year to study tidal pools and apply classroom science lessons.?It?s such a great resource for the kids,” Bucklin said.Theo Graff helped Andrews dig a hole in the sand on Monday and said he is looking forward to a summer that, he hopes, starts with a trip to the movies to see “Jurassic World” and includes plenty of time spent playing with his friends.Andrews said she explores the beach with her parents year-round and keeps a fish tank at home to house her discoveries.?I find interesting sea creatures and save them,” she said.Hadley first-grader Claire Slomski also likes exploring the beach where she has found water beetles and hermit crabs with her father, Jake. Lainie Wood?s daughter, Addie, is a Hadley second-grader and son, Ryan, is moving on to the middle school. She said the beach trip is one of her favorite ways Hadley teachers and administrators include parents in school activities.?I just love that I get to come with them every year,” Wood said.For Phelan, the beach trip was a chance to reflect on her first year as Hadley principal. She said the commitment to the school by Wood and other parents impressed her.?There are so many additional hands to help,” she said.