Tag: summer camp

Boundless Connections to offer summer technology camp for teens

Boundless Connections Technology Center will offer a technology summer camp for teens from July 26 to July 30.

The TECH Unleashed program is for kids aged 13 to 17 who are interested in computer programming, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, graphic arts and video/audio editing. The camp will take place at the technology center at Sibley Square in downtown Rochester from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

“This camp is a kickoff to our year-round TECH Unleashed after-school program,” Boundless Connections CEO Christina Lopez said in a statement. “Giving young people the opportunity to engage with technology at their pace is part of our goal of developing a pipeline of tech-savvy people who want to live and work in the Rochester area.”

Participants also will receive guidance on project and time management, leadership and team building, public speaking, research and industry networking.

“Our Olean pilot tech center started around TECH Unleashed and it’s been a turning point for many of the young people who have participated,” Lopez said. “We’ve had members go on to pursue careers in different tech-based fields, from video production to web and app design to rocket science and everything in between.”

Full scholarships are available and camp space is limited to 20 participants. Year-round membership is not necessary to attend camp. More information is available by emailing [email protected]

“Part of what sets our programs apart is the autonomy we give members,” Lopez said. “As facilitators, we help guide them and keep them on track with their goals, but this isn’t a class, so everyone is learning and exploring what they’re passionate about at their own pace.”

TECH Unleashed members receive a junior membership giving them access to the tech center during staffed hours without a parent or guardian. Boundless Connections’ goal is to help community members keep up with the rapid pace of change in technology, meeting the demands of a dynamic and evolving workforce while helping members develop essential skills.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

Writers & Books to hold filmmaking, social justice virtual camp for teens

Writers & Books plans to roll out Deaf Children’s Books through its flagship program for youths, SummerWrite.

The two-week camp will mentor deaf and hard-of-hearing teens on the ins and outs of filmmaking with a social justice theme, and is conducted in American Sign Language (ASL) by teaching artist Stacy Lawrence. The camp will take place in the virtual classroom while Writers & Books remains closed for the summer.

Through ASL-conducted conversations about race, deafness and disability, and by analyzing illustrations and identifying stereotypes in children’s books, campers will learn more about how and why racism, audism and ableism happen. Participants will meet writers, visual storytellers, educators and artists from around the county, as well as create and publish in MP4 their own storybooks.

Campers also will learn how activism can transform and impact communities.

Lawrence in a statement said she was “thrilled to be back at Writers & Books,” where she said her life was changed when she watched Peter Cook and Kenny Lerner perform as the Flying Words Project at the venue in the late 1980s. Lawrence developed a first-of-its-kind film camp for deaf and hard-of-hearing teenagers and helped make the Deaf Rochester Film Festival one of the world’s primary venues for showcasing films about and by individuals who have hearing impairments.

“We couldn’t be more excited that Stacy has found creative ways to continue leading this incredible camp,” said Writers & Books Director of Youth Education Sally Bittner Bonn. “Her work with campers is extraordinary, and now, thanks to a virtual platform, we not only can reach youth in Rochester but also can engage teens and tweens from all over the state and country.”

The camp will take place from Aug. 2 through Aug. 13.

Writers & Books is one of the oldest and largest community-based literary centers nationwide and the only one of its kind in the Greater Rochester region.

[email protected] / 585-653-4021
Follow Velvet Spicer on Twitter: @Velvet_Spicer

Horizons at Warner program produces 1st graduating class

The program at the University of Rochester Wednesday afternoon will look like the end of an intriguing summer camp, but the Horizons program’s “Animal Athenaeum” will be a whole lot more meaningful.

The exhibition for students to show the work they created over six weeks this summer also will signify the graduation of the first class of students to come to Horizons every summer from kindergarten to ninth grade.

The program is run by the university’s Warner School of Education and is designed to prevent learning backsliding over the summer for students in the Rochester City School District in grades K-9. Students actually end up having a two-month jump on their peers in reading and math when they return to their schools in the fall, according to the Horizons at Warner program.

The summer enrichment program, which began at the Harley School in 2010, started with 15 kindergarteners from School No. 33.  The program later moved to Drama House at UR, and then to the Warner School’s LeChase Hall, where it is headquartered today.

This year 155 students in K-9 attended, and 13 of those original kindergarteners will be graduating.  The students are exposed to a variety of cultural, academic and social enrichment programs, taken on field trips, and participate in swimming lessons and other sports.

Horizons is part of a national program that is 54 years old. UR was the first college campus to join the national network of Horizons programs.

Students from the city schools in the Horizons at Warner program considered animals, such as this millipede, this summer.
Students from the city schools in the Horizons at Warner program considered animals, such as this millipede, this summer.

One of the program’s graduates, Julissa Loucks, entered the program on the recommendation of a kindergarten teacher.

Julissa’s mother, Edith Muniz, told a UR writer, “I was looking for a place where my Julissa could spend time with other kids like her because she was so articulate. I needed her to be someplace where she could express herself, form healthy relationships, and make new friends.”

Today, Julissa is a student at the School of the Arts, blogs regularly and is writing a book online.

“She has learned skills here that you would typically expect your child to obtain in college,” Muniz said.

The “Animal Athenaeum” program will show libraries of books on animal subjects collected by the students, as well as exhibit their crafts and other work. Each year Horizons features a different subject to study in depth during the enrichment program. This year was all about amazing animals.

[email protected]/(585) 363-7275

Roberts’ high school program extends scholarship deadline

Roberts Wesleyan College has extended its deadline to March 31 for scholarship applications to a summer college experience camp for high school students.

The college is offering 35 scholarships to students who qualify for the free-or-reduced-lunch program at their schools and have a grade point average of 2.5 or above. The scholarships are funded by the John F. Wegman Fund of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, Roberts’ board of trustees and individual donors.

The sleepaway camp, July 30-Aug. 3, allows high school students to choose a focus on nursing, pre-med, crime scene investigation, social justice or worship. Students who will be entering their sophomore, junior or senior year in high school in the fall are the target audience. The deadline for non-scholarship students who want to attend the camp is July 13. Tuition is $395.

Applications for the scholarships are available online.

[email protected]/(585) 363-7275

Deadline near for scholarships for summer college experience at Roberts Weslyan

Scholarship applications are due Friday, March 16, for a summer camp for high school students at Roberts Wesleyan College.

Up to 35 scholarships are available to participate in the sleep-away college experience program at Roberts July 30 to August 3. Applications are online.

A total of 120 students entering sophomore, junior or senior year at high schools in the fall can participate in the summer program. Students can choose one of five academic and career paths at the camp: nursing, pre-med, crime science investigation, social justice and worship.

The John F. Wegman Fund of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, individual donors and the Roberts Board of Trustees are funding the scholarships.

Amy A. Kovach, director of academic summer programs at Roberts Wesleyan College, said, “Students leave these camps with a greater knowledge of college life and concrete experience in a potential field of interest.  We are so excited to offer many scholarships this year. This allows us to make this educational opportunity an option for all students.”

To be eligible for a scholarship covering the $395 cost of the camp, students must:

  • be qualified for the free or reduced lunch program at school
  • attend a school in the Rochester City School District
  • attend a church within the Rochester city limits
  • have qualified as an Early Recognition Black Scholar
  • hold a grade point average of 2.5 or better.

Applicants will be notified by mid-April about whether they won a scholarship. Students who pay for the program themselves have until July 13 to apply.

[email protected]/(585) 363-7275