ALL ABOUT US

How we have worked with Community Partners

The 4-H (Penn State Cooperative Extension), led by Barbara Aldredge, has been a part of our program through the late spring and now for several weeks in the fall. She and her colleagues have instructed all of our children in the subjects of nutrition and physical fitness, but the way they have engaged the children is really something special, using art, mathematics, and hands-on activities, all with their insistence on civility and politeness. Instead of simply being visitors and presenters, they have become an integral part of our program.

Visit the 4-H website

The Franklin County Bookmobile has been with us on a regular basis throughout our history. The bookmobile gives the children a chance to select books they choose for pleasure reading. We keep the books on site for reading occasions and discussions about their content.

Visit the Franklin County Bookmobile website

Christina Hans is our resident professional artist. She teaches art and art appreciation to each of our groups on a weekly basis. She is wonderful at engaging our students and exposing them to the joys of creativity. Her teaching is carried out as a hands-on learning activity that allows students to take pride in their creations.

Camp of Champs is represented by Greg Manning, a former University of Maryland basketball star who comes to us from Atlanta, GA. Greg teaches life skills using basketball as a metaphor. Greg begins his work with everyone seated on the gym floor, gaining their rapt attention. (Try that with a group of 100 elementary school students.) He follows up by having the students write about their reactions to a book of true stories about heroic individuals.

November 14 is our celebration of “Lights On After-School,” a national program that promotes support and participation after school. We’ll be inviting parents, community members and leaders, administrators, and board of education members to a program that includes Greg Manning and his inspirational instruction, kids artwork and slide shows and videos of their activities, the unveiling of our new web site, the opportunity to observe our kids at work, and of course, a healthy snack. We’ll shine our lights (energy-saving, of course) brightly on the importance of after-school programs.

Coming up are visits from the Franklin Fire Department, a professional animal trainer, the Pennsylvania State Police, and a children’s magician.

Our service-learning project for this year has begun. We are landscaping a special garden area of an old cemetery that just happens to be within walking distance of both after-school sites. So far, we have cleaned up the brush and weeds that covered the space, prepared the ground, and hauled away the debris. We will plant daffodil bulbs and the major shrubbery this fall. The kids have learned about the history of the cemetery and have created written reflections on their experience. They will be doing rubbings of the tombstones to finish out their fall work. The hands-on nature of this projects helps create teamwork, more interest than schoolwork, and plenty of constructive thinking about the tasks carried out.

Visit the Camp of Champs website