Weekly Media Roundup: July 8, 2020

Boys & Girls Club Delivers Camp For Kids, New Haven Independent (Connecticut)

This week, about 60 students ages five to 14 started a six-week summer learning camp at the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven in Connecticut. Students are divided into small pods, wearing masks and practicing social distancing as they take part in fun games, work on crafts, engage in character education and leadership activities, and more. The program even features distanced sports such as obstacle courses and wiffle ball. “I feel in my comfort zone. It’s still work hard, play hard,” Barbara Chesler, interim executive director, told the New Haven Independent.

Upper Valley Summer Camp Provides Training Ground for Return to School, WCAX-TV (Vermont)

Elementary schoolers in Bethel, Vermont are benefiting from a comprehensive five-week summer learning camp called One Planet, hosted by White River Valley Supervisory Union Schools this summer. The program includes team-building activities, arts and crafts, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects, physical activities and more. Staff and students are taking extra precautions including masks, social distancing, regular hand washing, and keeping campers separated in pods. “To see the kids’ faces light up and not have to see it through a screen and to see it genuinely and naturally in their environment is huge,” said Stephanie Russ, a teacher, told WCAX-TV.

How Local Program Keeps Students on Track During Pandemic, WRDW-TV (Georgia)

When schools closed due the coronavirus pandemic, the Dream Academy afterschool and summer program in Columbia, Georgia stepped up with virtual programming to stay connected with students and support their learning. Students completed a wide variety of virtual activities, including physical activities, math tutoring, a COVID-19 "booklet capsule," slime-making and more. “We did anything we could to just uplift their spirits and make them know we miss them, we love them and wanted to make sure that they were happy,” Director Betty Kelley told WRDW-TV.

Attleboro YMCA Offers Virtual Summer Extended Learning Program, The Sun Chronicle (Massachusetts)

This summer, students in prekindergarten through ninth grade in Attleboro, Massachusetts will work on art projects, complete STEM activities, take virtual field trips to places such as the San Diego Zoo, design personal logos, practice math skills, and more through the free virtual Power Scholars Academy. The Attleboro YMCA program is designed to help students maintain their academic skills through active learning, get social and emotional support, and stay healthy while at home. Students will receive packages with workbooks, literature, magazines and other materials, and those without Internet access can participate via phone. “It’s supposed to be fun and allow for learning in a little less of a school environment,” Leigh Fontes, vice president of program development and operations, told the Sun Chronicle.