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Springfield Connection ● April 2016 ● Summer Camps ● Education & Activities ● 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com online at www.connectionnewspapers.comLocal Media Connection LLC

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Education&ActivitiesSummer●Camps

Education&ActivitiesSummer●Camps2016

2 ● Summer Camps ● Education & Activities ● April 2016 ● Springfield Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

A child’s first residentialsummer camp experience can be fraughtwith emotions that run

the gamut from excitement to ter-ror. While glee at the thought of asummer filled with sports, swim-ming, crafts and new-found friend-ships can be the dominant feeling,the thought of an extended periodof time away from home can causesadness and anxiety for both par-ents and their children.

An American Camp Associationstudy showed that 96 percent ofchildren who attend sleep awaycamps experience homesickness atsome point during their stay. Whilethese emotions are normal, par-ents can help children tame thepre-camp jitters. The life-long les-sons gained from such campsmake it worth the effort.

“Becoming comfortable withyour child being away at summercamp, perhaps the first extendedseparation you have had, is a mat-ter of trust,” said David Kaplan,Ph.D. of the American CounselingAssociation in Alexandria, Va.

“Trusting your child that theycan handle themselves withoutyour supervision. Trusting thatthey can handle relationships withother children. Trusting that theycan get up in the morning, take ashower, wash their clothes, andchange their sheets without yourprodding.”

ACKNOWLEDGING THATHOMESICKNESS is normal andmany campers experience it, can

Preparingfor SleepAwayCamp

“Remind yourchild they arestronger than theyfeel in the momentand that engagingin camp activitiescan be helpful.”

See PREPARING,

Camps Page 7

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Springfield Connection ● April 2016 ● Summer Camps ● Education & Activities ● 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Summer●CampsiEducation&Activities

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

This summer dozensof elementaryschool-aged chil-dren will travel back

in time to the Colonial Erawhere, among other things,they’ll learn to spin cotton intocloth for garments.

Learning how to run a lem-onade stand like a Fortune 500company and use the profits toinvest in the stock market willbe on the agenda for other lo-cal children. Both activities areoffered by local specialty campsaimed at giving children oppor-tunities to explore their inter-ests in a way that they cannotduring the school year.

“I think summer camps are agreat way to promote thrivingif it is done right,” said CarolynLorente, Ph.D., Professor of Psy-chology at Northern VirginiaCommunity College in Alexan-dria and a camp consultant.“During the school year, thereis so much emphasis on testingthat the creative and collabora-tive nature of children gets lost.A great camp can create spacefor our children to flourish.”

SPECIALTY CAMPS offeryoung campers a chance to fo-cus on a specific area of inter-est such as cooking, financialliteracy and even gaming.

For example, Spark BusinessAcademy, a Northern Virginia basedorganization that teaches financial lit-eracy to young students, is offering itsFuture Millionaires Camp in Arling-ton. Students learn about money con-cepts that range from setting up a lem-onade stand that makes a profit to un-derstanding the stock market.

“The name is definitely tongue incheek,” said Chuchi Arevalo, theorganization’s founder. “We teach per-sonal finance, leadership and innova-

tion. We give them life skills that they aren’tlearning in school and promote financialliteracy that is fun even for students in firstand second grade.”

RISING FIFTH- and sixth-grade studentswill get a chance to take a trip back in timethis summer at Mount Vernon’s Camp Wash-ington. During each of the three one-weeksessions, campers explore the history ofGeorge Washington’s estate and learn abouthis legacy.

From farming and spinning fibers intocloth to making ice cream and meeting theestate’s heritage breed animals, hands-onactivities will give campers a glimpse ofmany aspects of early American life atMount Vernon.

“The summer camp is designed to helpengage students while having fun,” saidMelissa Wood, spokeswoman for MountVernon. “[It] gives kids the opportunity togo behind the scenes and experience his-tory in their own backyard.”

Campers can explore diverse interests in specialty summer camps.

From Colonial History to Future Entrepreneurs

Photo courtesy of Visit Fairfax

Camp Washington at Mount Vernon gives campers a glimpse of earlyAmerican life.

Photo courtesy of Mason Game & Technology Academy

Students in the Mason Game & Technology Academy Summer Camp will beoffered classes in Game Design, Creation and Entrepreneurship, Minecraftand Cyber Defense.

YOUNG GAME DESIGN aficionados canspend the summer with Mason Game &Technology Academy’s (MGTA) camps. Stu-dents take classes such as Game Design,Creation and Entrepreneurship, Minecraftand Cyber Defense.

“We run our classes at Mason in Fairfax,Loudoun, and Prince William,” said VeraLichtenberg, Director of the Mason Game& Technology Academy at George MasonUniversity.

“We also do a great deal of communityoutreach to train teachers, engageunderserved students, and generally, helpstudents realize that Game Design is a STEMfield that not only engages those who lovetechnology, but also those on the artisticside: writers, music composers [and]designers.Ó

MGTA is part of the Mason ComputerGame Design Program and the CommunityOutreach Youth Program for the VirginiaSerious Game Institute.

For More InformationGame and TechnologySummer Camps

potomacacademy.gmu.edu/mgta/summer/

Future Millionaires Bootcamp/Stock Market Acres

moneynewsforkids.com/

Camp Washington and more atMount Vernon

www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/calendar/events/camp-washington-summer-day-camp-at-mount-vernon/

“During the schoolyear, there is so muchemphasis on testingthat the creative andcollaborative natureof children gets lost.”

— Carolyn Lorente, Ph.D.



By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

One summer Ana Lado createda summer camp activity forstudents at her neighborhoodpool. The Marymount profes-

sor set up a picnic area, and included ac-tivities and books. Her plan was to engagethe students and give them the opportunityto read and build reading skills while stillenjoying fun activities traditionally associ-ated with summer.

“I got six kids who were older to read tosix kindergartners. I chose kids who hadpotential, but who were at risk,” said AnaLado, Ph.D., professor of Education atMarymount University in Arlington. “Read-ing with a kindergartner or first grader for15 minutes got the students reading andbuilt their confidence.”

This summer Lado and her colleagues atMarymount are offering “3E: Explore, En-rich, Enjoy,” one of several area camps withan academic component. Their goal is toenable students to brush up on, gain ormaintain academic skills in a relaxed envi-ronment.

Marymount’s 3E camp enables campersto choose what they focus on at camp. Inaddition to traditional camp activities, thecamp will include academic projects likeexploring science through nature and elec-tronic gadgets, studying math by makingboats, language arts by writing their ownstories and fine arts by creating plays andcartoons.

For those who want an in-depth reviewof a school subject and the chance to par-ticipate in hands-on summer camp activi-ties, academic camps fill both needs.

“[Academic camps] supplement what stu-dents are getting during the school year andallow them to experience subjects and top-ics that they’re not getting in public school,”said Dan Stalcup, Associate Director forFairfax Collegiate, a Herndon-based orga-nization that offers summer programs forstudents entering third through ninth grade.

Programs at Fairfax Collegiate run thegamut from filmmaking and robotics toengineering and classic children’s literature.For example, third and fourth grade stu-dents can learn to craft their own short sto-ries during a Story Writing course in Alex-andria, Chantilly and Ashburn.

Campers who enjoy reading and want todelve into award-winning novels by authorssuch as Madeleine L’Engle or Rebecca Steadcan take “Reading Newbury Winners” withsessions in Chantilly, Ashburn, Fairfax,McLean and Reston. Students can spendtwo weeks reading books that have been

awarded the Newbery Medalfor excellence in literature forchildren.

Fifth and sixth graders wholove math and want to honetheir analytical and logicalthinking skills can spend theirtime engaging in chess,Stratego and

other mind-bending activi-ties in the “Brain Games”camp, which will be offered inChantilly, Reston, Herndon,McLean, Alexandria andOakton.

Future detectives might en-joy taking a forensic scienceclass in Alexandria, Chantilly,Herndon, Ashburn, FallsChurch and McLean. “Stu-dents learn about the sciencein criminal justice, like blood-typing and fingerprinting by actually doingthe experiments and seeing them in action,”said Stalcup.

“Students get a lot of personal attentionbecause the classes are small, and the in-structors either have or are pursing a de-gree in the topic they’re teaching,” saidStalcup. “They’re all very passionate aboutthe subject they’re teaching.”

Academic camps might be a good fit forstudents who are curious about a particu-lar area of study. “Many parents want some-thing that is both fun and educational,meaning it will help their child keep [busy]and develop skills needed during the schoolyear,” said Tina M. Morris, Child Develop-ment Programs Consultant at George Ma-son University. “I think both parents and

educators realize that summer vacationdoes not have to be a break from learning.”

The decision to send a child to a campthat focuses on reading, science, math oranother school subject instead of a purelyrecreational camp is a personal one, saysLado. “There are some kids who can visittheir grandparents in Maine all summer andthey come back to school in the fall and pickup where they left off,” she said. “Then thereare other kids who can’t pick up easily.Those are the kids who would benefit froman academic program.”

Students appreciate the ability to focuson one subject in a relaxed atmosphere inan academic camp. “If kids are taking a sub-ject at a fast-clip pace, but they don’t dowell, they miss key skills. The next year they

move to a higher levelclass, but the sameproblem still exists,”said Lado. “When they

take a week or two dur-ing the summer and im-merse themselves in asubject, they go strongerinto the next school year.In camp, it’s the onlything they’re doing aca-demically and they canconcentrate on it. ”

For example, The Ma-deira School in McLeanis offering summer pro-grams in Trigonometryand Geometry. “Thesecourses are intended foradvancement into higherlevel math classes, andbased on our classestaught during the aca-demic year,” said AshleySmith, Associate Direc-tor of Communications

at Madeira. “A student who is inter-ested in math and wishes to advanceto higher levels will benefit, as wellas students who need a refresher or abetter understanding before movingahead.”

When choosing an academic camp,parents should look for camps that arenot all work and no play. “I want tomake sure it has a healthy balance ofrecreational and educational enrich-ment activities,” said Morris. “If thecampers are enjoying the activitiesand the counselors are skilled, theprogram should, as a natural effect,promote the building of positive rela-tionships with their peers and theircounselors.”

Local camps helpstudents maintainschool skills in arelaxed environment.

Academic Camps Combine Education and Fun

Photo courtesy of Marymount University

Kara Dedon, a Marymount University graduate student, will be the director of theschool’s camp.

Photo courtesy of Fairfax Collegiate

A fifth grade student learns about the structure of thehuman heart during a Human Biology and Anatomy atFairfax Collegiate.

“I think bothparents andeducators realizethat summervacation doesnot have to be abreak fromlearning.”

— Tina M. Morris, ChildDevelopment Programs

Consultant at GeorgeMason University.


www.PotomacAcademy.org

[email protected]

ProvidenceElementarySTEM Lab WinsExcellenceAward

Providence Elementary School’sSTEM Lab was recognized as oneof 24 programs worldwide as aprogram of excellence from theInternational Technology and En-gineering Educator Association(ITEEA).

Sponsored by the ITEEA andPaxton/Patterson, the ProgramExcellence Award is one of thehighest honors given to Technol-ogy and Engineering classroomprograms on the elementary,middle or high school levels. It ispresented in recognition of out-standing contributions to the pro-fession and students. The awardwas presented at the ITEEA annualconference earlier this month.

The Providence ElementarySTEM Lab began in 2012. Withtwo teachers dedicated to the lab,it welcomes all students in over 40classrooms from grades K-6throughout the year to solve chal-lenging projects using the engi-neering design process. Each classrotates throughout the lab andspends five continuous days witheach rotation solving a differentchallenge. The students work inteams and collaborate to find thebest possible solution to theirproblem. Failure is encouraged toteach resilience, creativity anddetermination.

PVI’s Scott AllenNamed GirlsBasketball Coachof the Year

Scott Allen, the Varsity Girls’Basketball Coach at Paul VI Catho-lic High School in Fairfax, has beenselected as the 2015-16 AmericanFamily Insurance ALL-USA GirlsBasketball Coach of the Year.

Coach Allen has coached at PVIfor 14 years. During the 2015-2016 season, Coach Allen led thePanthers to a 33-1 finish. The LadyPanthers won the Naples Shootouttournament, their 10th consecu-tive Virginia Independent SchoolsAthletic Association title and thirdconsecutive Washington CatholicAthletic Conference title.




By Shirley Ruhe

The Connection

Amy Zang says this year all of theFlying Scots were painted in thefall and are looking beautiful.“We’re now doing the bottom

paint and then will check all of the boats tobe sure they are ready to sail.” Zang is theDirector and Owner of the Youth Sailing DayCamp at the Washington Sailing Marina.This year sailing camp begins May 31, theTuesday after Memorial Day and ends theweek of August 15-19th. “There won’t bemany kids the first week because someschools are still in session, but we’ll have itanyway.” The classes run from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 pm.. and are open to rising third grad-ers through 15 years of age.

Zang says the Sunfish is for beginners andthe Flying Scot for intermediates. “But we’regoing to continue the Skippers Club thisyear for those kids who have received theirSunfish license and are ready for a lessstructured class. It’s more like a club, moreget out and play games and have fun onthe boat.” She says this really started byaccident two years ago and became so popu- lar that they have added another class this year. It is a small class of nine kids who

have mastered sailing with instructors hop-ping on and off.

Sailing campers can move to the inter-mediate stage with a skipper or crew li-cense. The Flying Scot is a 17-foot boat withfive campers plus an instructor. It is a big-ger boat than the Sunfish with two sails andheads out to the river. “Some kids learnbetter with the constant reinforcement ofan instructor or they like the immediatefeedback.”

“The advanced class sails a Hobie Cat thatis harder to sail or some students choose

racing 420’s.” Four weeks out of the sum-mer, Adventures on a Big Boat is offered onCatalina 25. “The bigger the boat, it reactsdifferently.”

Classes are already more than 50 percentfull for the summer. “Last year we had thebest summer ever in my 24 years here oreven the 56 years the camp has been inoperation.” She continues, “we had justover 1,200 kids. Fantastic. It was due tomy staff. If the kids are having fun, theywant to sign up for more weeks.” Zang es-timates that more than 50 percent of thecamp attendees come back, often bringinga friend.

Looking back over the years Zang says shemakes constant adjustments. One of theseis to have enough instructors to keep upwith populations such as learning disabled.Zang is a special education teacher duringthe school year.

“A number of instructors return every yearso we can fine tune their training whichmakes new instructors this year. “ AlthoughZang has 65 staff on the rolls, on any oneday she is juggling 40 sailing counselors,70 boats and 130 campers in sailing classes.“I tell my instructors everything has to bein its place to make the camp run smoothly.”Zang says, “I feel blessed and lucky. We arelike a family.”

Zang says she is going to four weddingsthis year of previous counselors—in Argen-tina, Richmond, Alexandria and British Co-lumbia.

“The kids do it all. They put the boatstogether and take them apart.” Zang sayson the days they can’t go out because it istoo too windy they have come up with waysto occupy 130 kids on land by setting upstations where kids rotate from boat build-ing, to flag making, to other things relatedto sailing. Zang adds there were only twoof those non-sailing days last summer.

Sail Away the Summer

Sailors rig the Sunfish in preparation for beginning the day’s lesson atYouth Sailing Camp at the Washington Sailing Marina.

Summer counselors at National Marina Youth Sailing Day Camp give thesailors a safety lesson each day before heading for the Potomac.

Photos by Shirley Ruhe/The Connection


The Center for Ballet Arts, Inc.

3955 Pender Drive, Suite 105, Fairfax, VA 22030 Call: 703-273-5344thecenterforballetarts.com

Invites you to our Summer Intensive Session

July 11th through August 13th

Ballet, Pointe,

Modern, Jazz, Tap,

Core Strengthening

& Full-Day Children’s

Summer Dance camps

The Center for Ballet Arts, Inc.

Preparing for Sleep Away Camp


help children accept and cope withtheir emotions.

“Expecting to miss home andfeel somewhat anxious helps chil-dren feel less surprised and over-whelmed when it occurs,” saidBarbara Meehan, Ph.D. executivedirector, Counseling and Psycho-logical Services, George MasonUniversity in Fairfax, Va.

A child’s apprehension can beeased when parents share theirown camp experiences, particu-larly positive memories.

“Don’t let your child get caughtup in your own anxiety about leav-ing for camp,” said Linda McKennaGulyn, Ph.D., professor of psychol-ogy at Marymount University inArlington, Va. “Kids sometimesworry about the parents they leftbehind. Be positive, but not sadthat your child is leaving.”

Meehan says that developing afew self-soothing activities likeplaying outdoors or reading is onestrategy for helping children dealwith feelings of missing home.Identifying people with whom

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young campers can share theiremotions is another means fordealing with homesickness.

“Talking to a camp counselorand even peers can help ease thedifficult feelings and often theywill learn they are not alone,” saidMeehan.

Encouraging a child to makefriends and become involved incamp activities will putthe focus on the positiveaspects of camp. Packingletters and stamped en-velopes and developing aplan for letter exchangecan help a child feel con-nected to their families.

“Isolating and avoidingwhat feels hard can oftenworsen anxiety andhomesickness,” saidMeehan. “Remind yourchild they are strongerthan they feel in the mo-ment and that engagingin camp activities can behelpful.”

There are times how-ever when a child mightnot be ready for residen-

From Camps Page 2 tial camps. The American CampAssociation reports that whilemost cases of homesickness sub-side, there are cases — if a child isnot eating or sleeping, for example— when it could be time to seekhelp. “Consult with camp profes-sionals about resources if yourchild’s anxiety worsens or per-sists,” said Meehan.

NCAP Open House TryoutsJuly 7th, 19th & 26th

Starting at 7 p.m. each day www.burkeclub.com

To honor Mom on Mother’s Day, send us your favorite snapshots of you withyour Mom and The Connection will publish them in our Mother’s Day issue. Besure to include some information about what’s going on in the photo, plus yourname and phone number and town of residence. To send digital photos, go to:

www.connectionnewspapers.com/mothersdayOr to mail photo prints, send to:

The Springfield Connection, “Me and My Mom Photo Gallery,”1606 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314

Photo prints will be returned to you if you include a stamped, self-addressed envelope,but please don’t send us anything irreplaceable. ~Reminder: Father’s Day is June 19~

“Me and My Mom”


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summer camps - ellington cmsconnection.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/news/... · 4/29/2016 ·...

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