World Photo by Lou Sennick Above, Katie Whitty writes down measurements she took from the potato plants behind her at the Millicoma Intermediate School garden. Once a week, she records the plants’ progress in her journal. Below, Katie’s mom, Shannon Gutierrez, helps her water young fruit trees at Millicoma Intermediate School.

Katie Whitty can't get enough of Millicoma Intermediate School.

Once a week, the ex-fifth grader heads back to school with her mother, Shannon Gutierrez, for some summer work.

They don't have to go into the building or take any tests or anything like that.

Katie, along with fellow students Hailee Woolsey and Tori Hall, are taking care of the garden on the north end of the school building.

On a sunny Monday morning this week, Katie and her mother biked from their home across town to the school in Eastside to do the chores.

The youngster started watering the vegetables in their beds. The hose from the school building does not reach all the way to the thirsty fruit trees growing nearby, so she lugged buckets full of water to them.

Katie will be working in the garden all summer and the other two young helpers will spend several weeks doing their part to help out, too.

Part of Katie's job this summer is to collect data on the garden's growth in a journal. Each week after watering and weeding, she grabs her notebook and tape and "measures the plants and stuff." She carefully records the height in both inches and centimeters in her journal - a school requirement of the summer gardener.

All three girls will be in the same sixth grade class when school starts in September.