LOST OVER SUMMER BREAK:

2 MONTHS

of reading growth

2.6 MONTHS

of math computational

skills

CAMPERDOWN

The traditional American school schedule dates back to a time when families worked in agriculture, and air conditioning had yet to be invented. But times have changed! The enjoyable rest and relaxation that comes with summer also translates to a documented loss of the “other” R&R that students spent 9 months learning.For the dyslexic child, that summer brain drain can be even more pronounced.

Hard fought gains can be lost very quickly when weaknesses in memory, processing speed, attention, and language development exist. By the time the first bell rings in August, those losses will mean educators have to spend significant time re-teaching the old before they can teach the new.

Camperdown recognizes that the traditional school calendar means summer learning opportunities have to be purposeful,

Camperdown has run Camp Creekside as a 4 week summer camp program that has the structure of school with a laid-back, fun atmosphere and afternoon activities. The results of the camp experience go beyond the prevention of brain drain and actually show dramatic growth.

Your child’s unique gifts will dictate the approach that is best, making sure that a summer of R&R is the perfect mix of recharging without regression.

practical, and a priority. There are three different ways that the school seeks to partner with parents: summer assignments for the self-motivated learner, summer tutoring for those who require more direction, and summer school (Camp Creekside!) for those who need a more intensive program. Teacher Susan Riener says regression for dyslexics over the course of an extended break is a reality without intervention. “Tutoring is not ‘tutoring’, it is remediation and reinforcement of missing skills. Kids can focus much better during the summer months and make gains not often seen during the school year. The stress is off.”For more than twenty years,

STUDENT SUCCESS

IN THIS ISSUEALUMNI PRIDE................2

A PEEK INSIDE.................3

CONNECT IONJUNE 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS............3

BECAUSE OF YOU..............4

Summer R&R (reading & arithmetic)

JAKE MATHENY Jake is always polite, respectful, and hard-working. He commits himself to excellence in all that he attempts. He is a positive role model for his peers. He has embraced every opportunity he's been given at Camperdown using what he's learned about himself to gain confidence and skills. He truly cares for and is compassionate of others. He never enters or leaves a classroom without a smile and an eagerness to please.

Dear Friends,

We teach our students to accept and face new challenges, and I have to be prepared to do the same. In our 30 years as a school we have never wavered from our mission and our 3:1 student to teacher ratio. Even though our building is bulging at the seams, that mission and ratio remain intact. The “perfect

storm” of circumstances: proviso funding, increased identification of dyslexia, Camperdown’s national reputation, has more families knocking on our door. But we must prepare ourselves to meet this challenge without compromising the excellence we promise to deliver. The great news? We are seeing rising test scores, confident learners, and students ready for that transition back to a traditional classroom. One Dad told us last week, “I’ve seen (her) go from absolutely hating school …to loving it.” His child is ready to leave Camperdown and head back to Augusta Circle Elementary. No matter what challenges we face, I thank you for the privilege of watching students walk out of our doors ready for success.

I would like to recognize another group that is prepared for the future. For a job well done, here is one final Camperdown “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” to our graduating Y Group class.

Note from Mr. DanALUMNI PRIDE

2

Garrett Baur Southside Christian

Neill Bickerstaff Brasier Middle College Charter

Brian Bookter Bonds Career Center

Sam Cooter Brashier Middle College Charter

Grace Corbett Greenville Tech Charter

Abby Force Mauldin

Alexander Hoverath Brasier Middle College Charter

Isabelle Johnson NEXT

Jake Matheny Greer Middle College Charter

Carson Rogers Greer Middle College Charter

Livia Salle NEXT

Matthew Woznick Eastside

JAGUAR ATHLETICSThe 2016 Jaguar tennis season saw some great matches that led to a winning record for teammate Vincent Michelin. The team partnered with the tennis pro at Thornblade Country Club for some additional lesson time and the students were excited to get tips from a professional.

COREY KLINGER ‘10

Corey is graduating from Blue Ridge High School and headed off to college in the fall! She plans to work in the medical field. Corey’s mom, Tracy, says this is an unbelievable

milestone for her daughter. “Camperdown gave her the tools to get her to this point!”

LAWSON BOLING ‘01 Lawson works for Greenville Mechanical and recently came to Camperdown to complete some work on the HVAC system. He was happy to run into

a few teachers he remembered from his time at the school.

BETH CADIEU ‘13Beth is an 8th grader at Northwood Middle, and was recently chosen out of her whole class as the ACE (Advocates for Character and

Education) Award winner. The award was established to recognize students who demonstrate character and academic effort in the face of sometimes significant challenges. In an essay Beth wrote, she talked about her journey with dyslexia. Her mom, Carolyn, says “I thank Camperdown every day for her successes!”

To celebrate Pi Day, students had the opportunity to answer additional bonus questions in their math/math lab classes. If answered correctly, their name would be pulled from a hat and they would get the pleasure of throwing a “pie” in the face of their favorite teacher! Kids learned that when you add math problems plus whipped cream it equals a big, fun mess!

In Science class, students are enjoying learning about simple machines by building and then manipulating them to see how they work. The fischertechnik kits allow students to use sequences of pictures with few words to follow the steps and build projects such as a dump truck with a pulley or a ventilating fan. Then, exploratory questions are used as students experiment with the projects. Classes observe outcomes and write about what they learned.

The Cognitive Classroom pilot program with C Group is finishing its second year and receiving some international attention. The pilot program consists of students in C Group completing two Arrowsmith Program cognitive exercises daily. The exercises are non-academic in nature, but specifically designed to improve weaker cognitive areas which may directly translate to future academic success. Between December and the end of April, students went from an average completion rate of 548 seconds to completing the exact same exercise in 179 seconds. When a skill designed to improve focus and processing speed shows that much growth, how does that translate academically? Am Group students who participated in the program last year are reported to consistently average faster completion time and a higher rate of accuracy with their math facts than peers who did not participate in the Arrowsmith Program. The Cognitive Classroom teachers have been interviewed for a new book to be released by an Australian publishing company in 2017. The interview focused on the success of Camperdown’s one-of-a-kind program designed to maximize outcomes by pairing Arrowsmith with the Orton-Gillingham Approach.

UPCOMING EVENTS

3

For all events, please visit www.camperdown.org for more information.

NEW PARENT SOCIAL

Parents who are new to the school in the past year or

just joining the Camperdown family will receive an

invitation to meet staff and other new parents prior

to the start of school.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Class starts at 8:10am! The first day is only a half

day but come prepared for fun and learning.

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

Parents are welcomed back with an adults-only event

designed for meeting teachers and hearing about classwork

and student expectations.

What do table feathers and top hats have to do with sending a child to Camperdown? EVERYTHING! This year’s gala at the Poinsett Club in April brought together 350 generous supporters who understand and appreciate the value of a Camperdown education. The Tinseltown, Tunes & Top Hats auction raised money for new AQUOS boards, Raspberry Pi computers, chrome books, and a laminator. But the bulk of the money raised will benefit the school’s Scholarship Program and allow more than 20 children to attend Camperdown next year who would lack the financial means to enroll without the assistance of the Scholarship Program! Thank you to all of the attendees and sponsors for making a difference in the lives of so many dyslexic children.

Because of You…

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS Annual Fund Donations (January 1 through April 30, 2016)

UNRESTRICTED CONTRIBUTIONS David and Tracy AndersonMaxine BennettDan BlanchMandy BlanchBrian BookterJames and Becky BrownRic and Cynthia BrownJeremy and Julie BullingerScott and Solange CaldwellJoseph and Connie CamunasRandy and Heather Clevenger

Meg CoffeyStephen and Rachel CookWayne and Ann CopelandMargaret CovingtonPeter and Leslie DavisHudson and Amanda DenneyCathy EichmanNate and Sugie EinsteinRuth FallsMurray and Sara FisherMichael and Tracy FletcherGeorge and Laura Floyd Greenville Gymnastics Training CenterGreg ForceMarilyn Force

Lee and Pam FosterBill and Kate FranchTom and Tracy FriedlobPaul and Carol Ann GoodChris and Dawn HarrisonHarry JonesRichard and Ashley HendersonElizabeth HolmanReiner and Maggie HoverathJeff and Shannon JohnsonClay and Tanya JonesRoy and Lynne JonesKeri KimbroughSarah KirbyMatthew and Allison KrauseMichelle Lefeld

Sherrill LivernoisLisa McGinnityGlen and Peggie MeltonMatthew and Dana NewellRosemary OhlMike and Janet PerdueLandon PerdueMason PerdueLee and Kelly PowellTodd and Allison RogersJeff and Michelle RuggieriPaul Carter and Lauren RussellJimmy and Tracie SeguraJustin and Rebecca ShawTodd and Jennifer ShriverEllison and Christine Smith

Givens and Elizabeth StewartDeeder StoneCharles and Chrissy ThomJimmy TilleryTim and Rosie UdoujJames and Alex VogtChristie WallenDerek Watson and Megan O’NeillRonnie and Nancy WatsonAndy and Cathy WestbrookMargaret WilliamsHerb and Glenda WoznickJohn and Janet YastishakDavid and Kat YoderMatthew and Cindy YoungEvon Zuppa

MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONSCarolyn CadieuKeith CallahanRobert HoehneFluor Foundation Employee Giving Matching FundsJim and Jeania SmithUnited Health Group Matching FundsMilliken & CompanyWells Fargo Matching Gifts

SCHOLARSHIP FUNDTim and Heidi Bishop

501 Howell Road Greenville, SC 29615 864.244.8899 Camperdown.org

If you would like to unsubscribe to our tri-annual newsletter, please contact Allison Rogers at arogers@camperdown.org4

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? We love to brag about former students, but we have lost track of some! If you can help, please contact Kate Franch at kfranch@camperdown.org or 864-244-8899.

Ketry MillerPeter MinkWill MitchellLindsey MoodyBrandie MooreEric MorganAislinn Morton

Eric MortonBrad MurdockMarc NelsonPatrick NewellPaul NipperBradley ParrAllen Parrish

Will ParsonsAndrew PatrickAnn PenistonChris PickelsimerMatt PooleStephanie PoseyJason Potts

David PrzybelskiJeb PuckettPilar RiddleErick RobertsChad RoddyCharlie RossRus Rushton

Jerry SerandosJacob SheetsJacob SiegelScott SmithNathan SteelmanStephen StrumTaralyn Thompson

Charles TiptonJeff ToddMark TuckerJaqueline TyerMeg WallerAndrea YoungRhett Zemp

South Carolina Tel-Con • shipDMX.com J. Hamilton & Blanche Stewart, III • Span-America • Southern First

NHC HealthCare • Portrait EFX of the Upstate • Performance PayrollNBSC • New Wave Acrylics

Thank you to our sponsors