THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290227
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
WITH KIDS out of school - itching for fun, restless and raring to go ``endless summer'' may have distinctly different connotations for parents and children.
But freedom, adventure and the good times of summer are what the middle-school students had in mind when they coined that term for the Dare County 4-H and Youth Foundation's summer camp.
Geared to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, ``Endless Summer'' is designed to fill vacation days with recreational and social activities that are interesting, enriching and fun. Coinciding with the school break, the seven-week program - which is still evolving with help from the kids -is themed in weekly blocks: Surf, Turf, Culture Shock, Sci-Fi, Olympic Challenge, and Hobby Shop. A preview will be offered at Hatteras the week of June 17. The first official week of camp will be June 24.
With young teens straddling the black hole between immaturity and responsibility, working parents are stumped at what to do with rambunctious kids who bristle at being tended by baby-sitters. Ann Ward, director of the Dare County Cooperative Extension, said the camp program is designed to alleviate both the boredom and unsupervised hours that plague young teens in the summer. ``We feel, certainly, if we cut down on the time that adolescents
At a meeting March 26 with a committee of middle-school youth and two camp program managers at First Flight Middle School, Ward listened with interest and amusement during a free-wheeling session. ``We can plan all day long, but if the kids don't like it, (the camp) won't work,'' Ward said.
Lindsey Saunders, 12, was enthused about spending a day at a farm, or going horseback riding. ``Yeah, horses, horses!'' Lindsey exclaimed. ``So many people love horses.''
A trip to a planetarium and Burger King also interested to Lindsey.
Other suggestions from the seven kids ranged from trips to Ocracoke, Busch Gardens, even France. (``The Eiffel Tower would be cool,'' said one girl). But Washington, D.C., sparked some real interest. ``I think that would be one of the most fun trips,'' said 13-year-old Whit Loy.
Amy Barsanti, who jotted notes while the students noisily bounced their thoughts off her, commented that it'll ``take a lot of car washes'' to fund their version of camp.
But Barsanti, Endless Summer's assistant manager, said that woven between the youths' wild ideas were some real practical and even generous desires.
``They're really into fundraising,'' Barsanti said. ``And I was impressed with the response about community service - they want more of it than we even planned. Especially ecological things.''
The 4-H program sponsored a community service project for 20 middle-school youth last summer, said Bonnie Brown, 4-H program assistant. Saying they were impressed with the positive response the young people had to community service, Brown said they will incorporate some of the more successful parts of last summer's program into the upcoming camp program.
``I think it really opened up a whole new thing for them,'' Brown said, adding program organizers see a multitude of ways the kids can give back to the community. ``For instance, we're planning to do a play and they'll be able to present the play to little kids at the library. Or there could be a cooking component - they'll do a bake sale and then donate the money to a youth service organization.''
Targeted to youth from Duck through Hatteras, Ward hopes the camp will help link Outer Bankers together. ``We met with community leaders and school representatives, and everyone was so excited,'' Ward said. ``The excitement was in it being a county-wide program. Everyone is so segmented here - we have Hatteras Island kids, beach kids and Manteo kids.''
Basanti told the camp committee members to come back next month for another brainstorming session. She said was impressed what she has already culled from the kids.
``I think this group is fairly representative of their peers,'' she said. ``I think that in talking to them we got a much more accurate portrait of what these kids want.''
And Ward was pleased that so far, the camp schedule reflects the gist of what the kids want. ``I heard almost every kid say they get tired of going to the beach - so we read them right. They're bored.'' MEMO: Camp will be in session the weeks of June 24, July 1, July 8, July
22, July 29 and August 5, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. at First Flight Middle School in Kill Devil Hills. Transportation
will be available from Manteo Middle School. The cost is $30 per week
per child. Pre-registration is required. Payment is due in advance. A
lunch must be provided daily. For information, call 473-1101, ext. 241.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CATHERINE KOZAK
Lindsey Saunders, 12, and Amy Barsanti, assistant manager for
``Endless Summer,'' discuss ideas for the new 4-H summer program for
middle school youth.
by CNB