Programs
Planet 7
Planet 7 is a summer program for kids going from 6th to 7th grade. There are three, one-week sessions held at Indian Hills and Stilwell Junior High Schools. There are two goals for Planet 7. The first is to meet new friends since there are four different elementary schools that attend Indian Hills. The second is to learn the layout of the school. During the week, the 7th graders build self esteem, learn how to deal with peer pressure, learn time management and study skills, learn what color personality they have so they understand why they and their friends act the way they do, and do a community service project. Students in the class do activities with kids they don't know so they can make new friends and also do a mystery hunt of the school to learn the layout.
Classes are held at the school in the mornings and then field trips are taken in the afternoon. Students go skating, swimming and take a charter bus trip on Friday to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. The afternoon outings are taken with the students from Stilwell so that they have a further chance of making even more new friends.
Students wanting to get into the class must register with West Des Moines Parks and pay a fee. Due to the popularity of the program, registrations are handled by a lottery system and not all students get into the class.