Summer fun on campus (Fall 2001)
By Judith Jaeger
Photos by Patrick O’Connor
Children running, yelling, laughing, as they play capture the flag or freeze tag. The sounds of so much fun come from neighborhood children attending summer camp at Clark. Their laughter, mixed with the patter of feet running across the campus green, floats up to the administration offices in the Geography Building and Jefferson Academic Center, where faculty and staff occasionally catch themselves listening longingly to someone else’s summer freedom.
This eight-week camp has been offered to the children of Worcester’s Main South neighborhood for the last five years. Approximately 120 children participated in the first four weeks of the camp this year. They gathered on the campus green at 9 a.m. for the first games of the day, and then broke into groups that rotated among several different supervised activities. Campers played kickball, worked with computers, played board games and worked on arts and crafts projects. They also spent time in the University’s pool learning water safety and swimming techniques, and just splashing around, too.
Between 50 and 60 children attended the second four weeks, which is part of the August Academy at the University Park Campus School (UPCS). New and returning UPCS middle and high school students participated in academic enrichment programs in the morning and came to campus in the afternoon for games and other activities.
The camp also included a community service component. At the end of the day, campers went to a nearby nursing home to visit with the residents. In addition, campers enjoyed two field trips this year, one to Rutland State Parkin Rutland, Mass., and the other to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, N.H.
As part of the University Park Partnership neighborhood revitalization initiative, the camp is another example of the University’s commitment to its neighbors in Main South and the city.
Clark students serve as camp counselors,and Sarah Pierce ’98 and Gregg Marcotte ’95, who also teach at UPCS, served as this year’s head counselors. In addition, 25 UPCS high-school students and five students from Worcester’s South High School worked as assistant camp counselors.
“This camp has integrated so many different components of the neighborhood and the city, and I think that has enriched everybody,” says Pat Glispin, Clark’s head women’s basketball coach and camp coordinator. “The program has really grown both in the number of participants and the level of commitment and responsibility to the community.”
The summer camp was established with funds from a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded to the University Park Partnership neighborhood initiative. Continuing support has been provided by a grant from the Nellie Mae Foundation. Breakfast and lunch for all campers were provided by Worcester’s free-lunch program.
“I enjoyed working with the kids,” Morrison says. “Through the camp, I really do think I want to teach.”
The early start to the camp day didn’t leave much opportunity for sleeping late this summer, but that didn’t bother Morrison. “It was a job I could definitely get up for in the morning,” she says.
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Clarknews Fall 2001
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| Camp clark! Stephany Surrette, 11, Van Nguyen, 12, Sokol Ruqi, 13, and Belmaris Torres, 12, spent the summer at the camp at Clark. They enjoyed the games and being on the Clark campus. “It’s big,” says Surrette, who has attended the camp for three years. And they all agreed on the best part of each day: “Swimming!” |
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| This summer, Erin Morrison ’03 worked as a counselor at the Clark camp for the first time. The history major and basketball player is considering becoming a teacher, and the camp experience has helped her decide that teaching is the right career. |
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