Hello all,

Outdoor Fun Week was even better than expected! The students said goodbye to the July session of camp as they eagerly headed into the August session towards the end of the week! Read on below to learn about all the fun that was had and learning that took place!

The students arrived at school on both Monday and Tuesday morning with one thing on their mind – the WATER/SPRINKLER PARK! The students, wearing their water play outfits, could hardly wait to get over to the water play area! Here are some of the photographic highlights from the students time at the sprinkler park. Needless to say, the students had an AMAZING time – especially by the Pirate Ship Mast!

 

 

Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing 

Wednesday marked the first day of the August Session of Camp! The students welcomed back some familiar faces and also greeted some new friends! Wednesday was also a craft day and what better inspiration for a craft than the 2012 Olympic Summer Games! After a brief discussion about the Olympics, the students spent the morning creating their very own gold medal like the ones won by the most talented athletes in the world! They even stamped cups into paint to create the iconic symbol of the Olympics – the Olympic rings!

 

 

The medals were set aside to dry. By the time the afternoon rolled around, the medals had dried and were ready to be strung. Once the medals were completed, the only thing left to do was to present them to the students in a Park Prep Academy Medal Ceremony! Unlike in the actual Olympics, the Park Prep Academy Olympics had a classroom full of Gold Medalists! Before being presented with their medal, the students were asked which sport or event they would like to win a gold medal in! The answers ranged from swimming to archery to diving to running! Regardless of which sporting event they chose, each student was beaming with pride like a true Olympian when their medal was placed on their neck!

 

 

The excitement continued as the students arrived at school on Thursday and learned that they would be painting on the classroom easel! Each student headed to morning stations wearing a smock and eagerly awaited his or her name being called. The students created some INCREDIBLE and colorful artwork! Take a look for yourself.

 

 

During the afternoon, the students continued their discussion of the Olympics by participating in an Olympic-themed technology presentation! Focusing on American athletes, the teachers selected various memorable Gold Medal winning performances from the past week’s Olympics as well as some more easily accessible footage from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics! Some of the highlights included: 17 year old Missy Franklin’s 100 meter Backstroke win, various Michael Phelp’s swimming victories, a gymnastic uneven bars performance by Gabby Douglas as well as Shawn Johnson’s incredible beam performance from 2008 (see below). Needless to say, the students were in awe when they realized how small the beam actually is!

 

 

Each performance that the students viewed was followed by a boisterous “U-S-A” chant! This actually proved to be a great segue into the next clip that the students viewed – Jamacia’s own Usain Bolt’s World Record shattering Men’s 100 meter race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics! After watching the clip, one student said that he was upset that USA did not win the race. Miss Jocelyn explained that while we always cheer for our home team, it is important to be a good sport and cheer for whoever wins! Miss Jocelyn also explained that Usain Bolt is the fastest man on the entire planet! The students laughed when they realized that regardless of whether or not Usain Bolt is from the US or not, he would be the person we would pick to race for the Human team in a race against fast animals like cheetahs or lions! The students jumped aboard the “Olympic Spirit Train” when they realized that no matter where you are from in the world, we are still all people! What good sportsmanship!

Friday was a very special day at PPA – it was Face Paint Day! One by one, the students came over to the table to have either their hands, cheeks, or face painted! Here are some of the highlights!

 

 

Well, that is all for this week of camp! What an amazing week it was! As always, thank you for reading! Have a great weekend; see you next week!

-PPA

 

REMINDERS:

Events Next Week:

MONDAY:

Craft Day!

TUESDAY:

Rita’s Ice Walking Field Trip!

(this is a student only field trip due to space)

WEDNESDAY :

CrAzY oUtFiT dAy!

Students are welcome to come to school dressed in the CrAzIeSt (yet functional) outfit possible!

THURSDAY:

Surprise Guest Visits PPA!

FRIDAY:

Newark Museum and Planetarium Bus Trip!

All students must wear the camp shirt and pack a completely disposable lunch today!

The bus will depart at 9:00 a.m. and return at 1:30 p.m.

Parents welcome to attend – don’t forget to pack a lunch, if so!

Please notify Miss Justine if you plan to attend!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THIS WEEK!