Check out this amazing snippet from dance class today. It's going to be amazing!
Ms. Alexander
Ms. Alexander
Check out this amazing snippet from dance class today. It's going to be amazing!
Ms. Alexander
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July 7, 2016 Being a TA at an arts summer camp is fun and a new experience. The kids here are very diverse and when you hang out with them for a little bit, you learn new things from them. I was sitting with a group of kids that go to the same school. They taught another TA and I how to play a new game. They were so excited to be teaching new people how to play some of their favorite made up games. Ms. Nelson presented the kids with a question of the day that was announced this morning; “What are some things you can say or do to make someone’s day better?” I find that sometimes people, especially artists, can use confident boosts every once in a while. Some suggestions I would have would be to compliment someone, sit next to someone that’s sitting alone, help someone when they look lost, and tell someone a funny story if they’re feeling down. These are just some things you can do to make another person’s day better at camp. After breakfast, when I went to my class, I found out that both the teacher and the other TA for the creative writing class weren’t here today (Miss Zaryah came in to cover). It’s very nerve wracking to try to teach a class, even with three kids, and make sure that they’re still learning something new that’s useful. You don’t want to bore the kids, but you also want to make the kids have fun. I just want the kids to know that even though the teacher isn’t there, we can still have fun in an educational way. All I could ask for is the kids to look up to me and think that class was still entertaining that day. For the second class, I was sitting in a classroom, when the short film class came in asking if they could use the room set up for a scene. It’s exciting watching a different class when they’re doing things in their element that they enjoy. You can see how many tries it took to film one scene. Watching the behind the scenes and the process it takes before getting the final product is amazing. We are almost halfway done with the first session of camp. I’ve heard of some of the things that the classes have been doing.When I hear some story about the kids in their classes from other TA’s, I forget that these kids are no older than fourteen. The kids here are just too talented for their ages, and I can’t wait to see what will be presented in the showcase. Athena Singh July 8, 2016
It's Friday! The last day of the first week of camp. Today is also when we’ll pull names from the raffle boxes and see who the lucky winners are. This is a weekly event that happens at lunch time on Fridays. Up for grabs this week are a Hawaiian shirt photo album, perfume, journals, stickers, and much more. We wish good luck to all the people who’ve entered into the raffle this week. Also, we’d like to remind everyone that next week, Thursday, July 14th is our first showcase. The campers will be displaying and performing all that they’ve been working on this week. We’re excited to see what they have prepared in this first session. Briyana and Athena Miss Zaryah asked the creative writing students this morning to write something about the Shubert Camp. Here is the amazing poem that Rebecca C., a long time camper, wrote:
So much fun Helpful teachers Underrated Blooming in the arts Entertaining Right on point Together Can't have too many friends Awesome classes My self-esteem goes up Pointing me in the right direction We totally agree, Rebecca! Kelly Wuzzardo Shubert Director of Education I had a chance to check in on a couple of classes this morning to see what they were working on. In Visual Arts, students were making their own paper! I think some of them will become books. They also had some cool small folding books they had done yesterday. So many interesting projects for the gallery! The 5/6 Short Film class was filming scenes for their project. I can't reveal anything about the plot (or they will be mad at me), but it looks pretty hilarious.
Ms. A subbed the 7/8 Digital Photgraphy class today, and they took shadow photos. Check out this cool photo that camper Carolina G. took!
We are officially half way through the first week here at camp! Today is Joke Day, so here is a list of jokes that we compiled some of our favorites that we’ve heard from other TA’s and campers, or ones we’ve enjoyed over the years.
Broken Pencil Broken Pencil who? Never mind, it’s pointless.
Lettuce Lettuce who? Lettuce in, it’s freezing out here! Briyana and Athena (with help from campers and other TA's!) The day started off with gray clouds and drizzling rain, but that didn’t stop us from
having another load of fun today. Before breakfast started, two students who’ve been in camp for three years were asked what their favorite part of camp is. Both of them answered that they’re always excited to come back and spend time with their camp friends who they might have not seen during the school year. As soon as the kids entered the cafeteria for breakfast, they ran to the board to choose their after lunch activity. This ranges from going to the gym or watching a movie in the lecture hall. After breakfast and a brief camp meeting, the kids headed off to their classes. Each class spent a part of their day doing unique activities. In Creative Writing they watched Michelle Obama’s last commencement speech as first lady of the United States. They used it as an example for when they will be writing their own speech that will include a plot twist. The students in Annie Jr. spent some of their day practicing lines and memorizing songs. For acting the kids were engaged in games of learning how to use their bodies and voices in different ways on stage. As for painting and drawing, the students, to the sound of relaxing music, sketched in their notebooks. This is only examples of what a couple of classes did today. Meanwhile, the camp quilt has started getting constructed by the dance teacher, Miss Tessa. The quilt is made out of colorful squares of paper that have the students’ answers to the question of the day that was asked yesterday. This shows how active and creative just one small part of a camp day is. Briyana and Athena Outside, the blue sky stretches from horizon to horizon with only a few fluffy clouds
dotting its surface. The sun shines its rays down on top of the buildings and people. The day is warm and comfortable. A perfect first day for summer camp. The kids streamed into the school and into the main stage where we were having our morning camp meeting. Some of them had come to camp before and excitedly hurried over to talk with old friends. There were first timers that walked timidly to the closest seat, scouting out the other people in the auditorium. Ms. Nelson, our wonderful camp director read the rules and introduced the teachers, their assistants, as well as the interns. Then it was time for classes to begin! In creative writing, we only had a couple of students, but that didn’t stop us from having a load of fun. For the introduction, every person had to say their name, why they liked creative writing, and their favorite sandwich or food. Afterwards we played a game. Even though we had some trouble figuring out which game to play, by the time we had one figured out we were all comfortable, laughing, and having a good time. Which, overall, is the whole point of camp. To have a good time even when things don’t go according to plan. Briyana Mondesir, Creative Writing TA Starting my first day as a TA is very nerve wracking. I felt confused because I didn’t know how this day would turn out. It amazed me when I came in to see all the students gathering in the main stage. You can see the excitement on the camper’s faces. They were scattered between both sections of the house. The anticipation was resonating among the campers. There was a group of girls that would run up and down the stairs whenever someone they knew got there. You could hear the chatter among the campers. Some looked very nervous and didn’t talk, while there were some that created a nice chatter.
There’s a good amount of variety throughout the campers and the teachers. Everyone just looks so different, and hearing some of the conversations, you can see their personalities. I was sitting with two of my fellow TA’s and one of them pointed out a little girl that looked no older than twelve drawing her own version of Rosie the Riveter. The drawing was spectacular even though it wasn’t completely done. It blew me away at the amount of talent this little girl has. During the introduction, the camper’s would laugh and try to joke to lighten the mood. Ms. Nelson definitely made the atmosphere calming and fun. I completely stand by the idea of rattling our lanyards as an alternative to clapping. For the introduction of the teachers and TA’s, I was kind of scared to get on that stage. I looked at the campers sitting there, and all I could hope for was to make an impact on extremely talented kids during our time at camp. I liked the feeling of sitting there with the other teachers and looking at the campers thinking of what this year’s camp will be like. I can only wish that while some campers might take a liking to me and learn something from me, that I will learn something new from some of them. The morning in the main stage was only the beginning to our summer, and I hope that it will be a good one. Athena Singh Creative Writing TA |