School does not officially start until Monday, Aug. 18 but 100 incoming sixth-graders at Rachel B. Noel Middle School are getting ready by participating in the Summer COOL School program.

COOL stands for Community of Outstanding Learners and beginning today (Aug. 5) and running through Saturday (Aug. 9), the students are participating in a series of orientation activities and mini-lessons in literacy, math, social students, science and computers. The program runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m. each day. During the school year, the COOL School program is open to all students and meets two Saturdays every month.

The spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis through the early registration process in April. The teachers in the program are the sixth-grade teachers for the 2003-2004 school year who taught at Noel Middle School last year.

For more information, please call Rachel B. Noel Middle School at 303-371-6333. The school is located at 5290 Kittridge St.