While most kids are happy to flee their campus when the final bell announces summer vacation, just under 800 elementary and middle Hollister School District students look forward to returning every day from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays to participate in the Summer Day Camps held at Sunnyslope, Calaveras and R. O. Hardin schools.
“There are various components that we provide during the five hours of the program,” said Colleen Myers, the district’s director of educational services. “They include dance, music, art tutoring, math and robotics. It is the first time we have offered this and it has exceeded my expectations.
The $600,000 program, which began June 14 and runs through July 14, is funded by an Extended Learning Opportunities Plan Grant through the state of California that targets English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students and foster children.
There are 10 activities for the students scheduled in 30-minute blocks, along with snack breaks and playground time.
“Keeping the kids active and engaged was my philosophy,” said District Coordinator Stacey Bonara. I wanted to be sure the kids had many opportunities available to them each day. Thirty minutes actually ends up being a perfect time because when they get in they are already accustomed to the schedule and they are always ready to roll to the next activity.”
By partnering with organizations including the San Benito County Arts Council and San Benito Robotics, Myers said she wants to make sure her students have well-rounded exposure to the opportunities in the community.
“These programs can be a child’s entryway to a lifetime interest,” she said. “We had a little boy at Calaveras who said the reason he was going was for the robotics classes. Who knows what he’s gonna do in the future? He could be an engineer, solving some of the world’s problems.”
The robotics program makes use of $1 million in Lego SPIKE (Science Planning Intelligent Knowledge-Based Environment) kits already owned by the district. They are used to create and program machines to perform various simple activities. The instruction is handled by high school students who are in the San Benito Robotics program, including 15-year-old Kami Tapia.
“They start by learning how the pieces work, then go into coding,” Tapia said. “For example, we have a mat with thick black lines, and we use sensors on the robot to train it to follow the line. We hope it will get the kids to engage in other STEM activities and I have had some of them tell me they want to do this kind of thing in high school.”
Instruction in music and dance is being offered to students this summer through Forxa, a San Jose-based performing arts group that has recently expanded into San Benito County. The Beats program, one of the most popular at the camp, teaches basic music theory. While sometimes veering into some complex concepts, instructor Tom Fowler says that he tries to keep the lessons fun in order to keep the students more receptive.
“They are learning through doing,” he said. “We use daily sheet music lessons, exercises, repetition and interactivity. We use GarageBand, too, along with the physical instruments and teach them looping, recording instruments and how to produce songs. Even after two weeks, I can see them grow.”
While the program serves only about 15% of all students in the district, Myers said that she would like to expand it next year as much as she can.
“From the feedback I have gotten from parents and the smiles on the children’s faces,” she said, “I feel that it has been a success and look forward to extending it throughout the year. I would love to tackle the problems of facilities or staffing so that anybody who wants it, gets it.”
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