Summary of the In-Service Week and the First Week of Camp at Moneta Elementary School
Because we are off to such a good start I want to share some of the highlights of the in-service week and the first week of camp. This can be part of a “program” report for the next board meeting and some i=of this will be used in the annual program report that I will write in September.
The in-service week:
The week was very productive and the interns, camp director and program coordinator (that’s me) received valuable information and guidance.
· Chris Brinkerhoff provided a great workshop on dealing with special-needs children. She is a retired special ed teacher and one of our volunteers. Wonderful resource
· Our very own Jim Mullens provided two workshops, one on helping children write and the other on managing behavior. Jim is a great teacher and we were given practical guidelines for working with these children.
· Mrs. Inge, reading specialist at Moneta Elementary School, facilitated a great workshop on being reading mentors. This was simple, practical information and we have been applying it at camp. Great session!
· Chuck Murphy gave us a session on CPR and First Aid. As usual, Chuck educated and entertained us. Good basic information that we hope is never needed
· Michelle Hollin-Brooks, Executive Director of Unbridled Change, spent three hours providing a workshop for the interns. She and her staff guided the interns through a set of tasks/problems to be solved that gave all of us important insights about the individual gifts, personalities and styles of working in groups. The interns learned much about themselves and their community. It will serve them well in anticipating and resolving conflicts that may develop in their community. All of us were amazed by this program. It is impossible to describe. It has to be experienced to fully see its power and importance. This was given without charge this year. I will strongly recommend this workshop next year as part of the training. It is great preventive medicine.
The first week of camp:
We have 62 children registered for this camp. However, we have had no more that 52 children at camp. The lowest number was 46. So… Jim Mullens was correct in his prediction: you need 60 to 65 registrations to have a camp with 50 children.
This is the largest camp we have had. But, it is the smoothest start we have had. It was an amazing week and we should all be very proud of the program. The hundreds or thousands of hours that have gone in to planning the program and tending to the administrative details are bearing fruit. Some of the highlights of week 1 follow
· The interns are remarkable – they work well as a team, are well prepared every day, set high standards for the children and have a real sense of ownership of the program. They truly understand our mission and curricular objectives. Everyone working with them is impressed.
· Shearer is doing a great job as camp director. She is on a steep learning curve and has developed an appreciation for the dozens of details involved in managing the daily tasks of the camp. She is very good with children and quite comfortable in working in a collegial manner with the interns. She had excellent help from Sue Becker as the volunteer camp facilitator. Sue will be one of the intern assistants next week. She was a camp facilitator last year. There are so many details to manage that the help of camp facilitators and intern assistants is critical.
· The field trip to Roanoke was perfect. We took 50 children to see Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business at the Children’s Theatre and that was followed by a short tour of the Taubman Museum. We then walked the children about two blocks to Century Square where we ate our sack lunches. The children were very well behaved – not a single problem. This is a testament to the work of the interns. It was a great sight to see the kids walking two-by-two through the market area in their Good Neighbors T-shirts. They represented SML Good Neighbors very well. And – they loved it!
· The Roanoke Children’s Theatre came to camp on Friday afternoon to work with the kids. Their theme this year is The Peaceable Child. Friday’s program was impressive. As an observer I was struck by the fact that this program was bringing to life the vision the early planners had for programs that would help children learn the sources of violence and ways of living differently. The three staff members, with the help of interns and an intern assistant, filled two hours with activities that kept the kids engaged and having fun as they used drama to learn about peace.
· Friday evening we had Family Night. It was a success. About 50 adults and children attended. It was informal and we all had fun. The six interns led the program. When Hannah started the program one of the fathers yelled, “you guys rock.” That was followed by applause. What a testament to the work our interns are doing! I can think of no better evaluation. After the interns talked about the program and Shearer made a few comments, the kids, along with the interns, led the group in camp songs. It was a sight to see the parents singing the songs and using the hand gestures that go with them. It was clear that many of them had been taught the songs at home. Parent after parent told us how much they love this program and how much they appreciate it.
These are some of the highlights. All the components of Reading Buddies, Reading with Dogs, Art, recreation, Writers Workshop went as planned. And, the school is an excellent site for the camp. I had the pleasure of being an intern assistant all week as well as assisting Shearer with some of the administrative tasks. This kind of immersion in the program is the only way to fully understand what we do and to get a sense of how important we are to some of the children.
Russ Baskett
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