Grand Island Public Schools POWER Camp is like summer camp – amped up several notches.
There’s zoo class ... wilderness class … theater class … liftoff class … the list goes on ....
More than 180 kids converge on Starr Elementary School in the afternoons for four weeks. The camp is open to any GIPS student between second and fifth grade, space permitting.
“(They’re) with all of the other students in your grade level throughout Grand Island Public Schools,” explained Hannah Luber, who helps coordinate POWER Camp. “I think that's been the best part for kids to not only to meet other staff members, but they're meeting several other kids within the community that they would have never probably crossed paths with.”
Last week fifth-grader Karen Mazariegos was in movement class, where kids play dodgeball and do other physical activities. She said she’s made several friends through POWER Camp. This is her second year attending.
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“I'm proud of all the friends I've made because last year, I didn't really talk to anyone. I was very shy,” Mazariegos said. “But I'm very talkative now,” she added, smiling.
Bianca Ayala, who co-coordinates POWER Camp with Luber, said there is a social-emotional benefit to having kids “scattered with different schools.”
“We've had some students that need help learning to problem solve with other kids that they're maybe not used to collaborating with,” Ayala said. “We're just giving them life skills and learning how to work through their emotions.”
A different kind of work goes on when looking at the curriculum side of camp. Twelve certified GIPS teachers – most of them elementary teachers – wrote curriculum for the programming.
“It's a lot of cross-curricular things,” Luber said. “Initially for POWER Camp, it was more of the STEM hands-on experiences.”
Since its beginnings several years ago, POWER Camp has evolved, Luber explained. “For example, in the zoo class they're having to do math and science.”
In zoo class, students get a budget and create a plan to operate a zoo.
The teachers’ and classified staff members’ efforts don’t go unnoticed.
“I really like the teachers and how much work they put in classes,” Mazariegos said. “The teachers work really hard to spend the summer here.”
One paraeducator shared a unique experience in Lego class, Ayala recounted.
“One of the paras was telling me that she really enjoyed the Lego lab,” Ayala said. “The students had to make food out of Legos.”
One student’s Lego build didn’t have any resemblance to food. The para asked about the student’s project.
“They're like, I'm making a food truck. That is how we deliver food,” Ayala recounted.
POWER Camp is less about summer learning loss than summer school at West Lawn Elementary, a separate program that takes place in the morning.
“I think the learning loss specifically would be more of the mission for the West Lawn summer school,” Luber said. “We are that hands-on piece. We tell them, you are learning, even though you probably don't think you're learning right now. Project-based learning is more of our focus.”
Aubrie Roe, a second grader, described one of her favorite classes: wilderness class.
“We build shelters and we do scavenger hunts,” she said. “Today we're going to be building lanterns and telling spooky stories.”
Having a full roster of staff working at POWER Camp, along with materials, costs money, of course. POWER Camp 2023 costs about $77,600.00 (approximately $4,900.00 per day), according to the district. It is funded by the 2023 Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment federal program grant, which specifically lasers in on well-rounded, safe and healthy student experiences.
Listening to Mazariegos and Roe – each attending POWER Camp for a second year – that is money well spent.
“I just think it's really nice coming here for the summer and having fun,” Mazariegos said.