By Annette Hinkle
Summer camp has long been a cherished rite of passage for kids. The end of the school year brings about excitement in anticipation of warm days filled by archery and swimming, and starry nights with campfires, catchy songs and s’mores.
While classic camps are always popular and there are dozens to choose from on the East End, when it comes to keeping kids minds and bodies active in the summer there’s one local camp that is breaking the mold.
Now in its third year, Summer Camp@Ross is about more than giving youngsters an opportunity to have fun — it’s also about pursuing passion. The camp has all the offerings parents might expect — soccer, baseball, horseback riding — as well as many they probably don’t — surfing, culinary arts, music, ceramics, naturalists explorations, creative writing and even fashion design. Camp director Chris Engel is an experienced educator who knows just how unique each child is when it comes to interests and abilities, which is why at Ross camp, children choose a “major” from 23 different disciplines.
“Kids can focus on one area — we have offerings in athletics, media, arts, science, performance and outdoors,” says Engel.
Campers spend mornings in their major working with instructors and counselors who have a keen interest in the field. After lunch in the Ross Café (expect lots of organic options and fresh produce), the afternoon is given over to more typical camp activities and games as well as an abbreviated taste of some of the morning majors — like African drumming, sports or arts.
“Every kid is an individual and all are supported at their level,” explains Engel. “You have a kid who's never played basketball and one that plays all the time, both are supported and given individual attention. In our music major, you can have jazz with Hal McKusick, study voice, piano and also be in a band and perform. That’s amazing, I wish I had a camp like that when I was a kid.”
It’s a unique summer camp model and according to Engel, it grew organically from the work that teachers and staff do at Ross School. In fact, many of the camp instructors also teach at Ross during the school year, and most of the counselors and counselors in training (CITs) are alumni or students.
“What makes our camp unique is that children are really given an opportunity to follow a passion and an area of focus,” adds Engel. “Our instructors, CITs and specialists all have a passion for what they do. Kids in digital photography have counselors interested in photography and teachers who are artists. When they’re taught by someone passionate about it, they get that.”
“It’s real program where kids can learn and develop,” he says. “It’s supposed to be fun — but they also get to learn and follow a passion about themselves.”
Engel notes that the camp is not only about nurturing discovered interests, but pursing new ones as well. Children can sign up for majors in two week blocks and they are encouraged to try a few different ones throughout the summer. Many kids are inspired to give a new major a try after first experiencing it as part of the afternoon rotation of activities. Sometimes, he finds, kids will be surprised at what they end up liking.
“We really want them to have a good time and have fun,” he adds. “If someone signs up for a major and it’s not working out, we switch and find the right fit for them.”
Getting that right fit is important. So Engel and his staff talk to parents about their children’s interests. Open houses give prospective campers and parents an opportunity to learn more about the majors and meet the instructors who will lead them.
“It’s like 23 different camps all going on at the same time,” says Engel who adds that among the new offerings this summer is Super Sleuths, a science based program dedicated to kids who like solving puzzles and breaking codes. He gives the campers themselves credit for suggesting the concept.
“This one came from the kids – we feed upon some of their ideas,” says Engel. “Creative writing also came from the kids. Gymnastics, which is also new, was something else people asked for — as was golf, horseback riding and fashion design.”
Rounding out the camp experience are visiting artists —storytellers, artists or yoga experts for example — and each summer, campers take part in a community service project in which they help a non-profit organization. Though the program is for ages six to 14, Ross also offers camp for the under six crowd. And this summer there will be a camp for older teens — another request from campers —as well as a teen ESL program with kids from around the world who will study (and play) at Ross.
But it’s not just the kids having fun – after parents told Engel they wanted to go to camp too, he came up with some workshops to appeal to their interests. Among the offerings? The Collectors Eye – a class in which adults visit artists’ studios where they interview them about their work and creative process.
Who said that camp’s just for kids?
To learn more about Summer Camp@Ross, visit http://summercamp.ross.org.
Naturalist Explorers seine for sea life during last summer's camp.
