This past semester I graduated from the University of Regina with my BEd focused in Middle Years Education. I have learned so many tips from my internship last fall and have been able to use many of these techniques with my groups. I think one of the most useful things about this job is the experience with discipline and management that I get to experience everyday.

I’m sure this summer will be full of surprises and excitement and can’t wait until we get into the full swing of things!

Dave N.

Thinking hard about Summer Sports School!

Jay and Chas

Campers have been making creative and innovative projects, such as; clay and wire sculptures,   paper mache, masks, mobiles, stepping stones, finger puppets, sidewalk painting, etc….

Everyday, I am pleasantly surprised by the imaginations and creativity of the campers.  This is my second year instructing in the art room and I love it! I finish my Arts Ed. degree in a year and am entering my internship this fall. Summer Sports School allows me to prepare, have fun and gain knowledge from all the children I work with through out the summer.

We are having a fantastic summer. I am looking forward to the next 3 weeks.

Sincerely,

your art instructor

Alicia

The second session of camp has began with many different faces all around. It is so exciting to meet such diverse children with so many different background and experiences. This is my second year at summer sports school and even though last year was awesome, this year is becoming one that I will never forget!
The first week of camp I was absent because I was in New Brunswick and I missed being here! I was super excited to meet my groups in the second week when I got back. That full week was just as i expect, exciting and tiring at the same time! So many 4-5 year old’s to chase and so many different sports to teach. It hasn’t helped that it has rained a majority of the time either.
However this rain didn’t stop my group from doing an outdoor boot camp. Many of the kids came outside in their swimsuits and we ran around on the field, did push up’s, sit up’s and played blog tag. It was cold to begin with but with all this activity we warmed up real quick. I think the best part about this was when one of the kids told me that this was the best day of his life!!
This is just one small portion of the life of a leader at summer sports school. I’m sure I will talk to you later!

Dave Nelson, out

First off, I can’t believe that week one is already over. The first week of camp went well thanks to our awesome staff, and of course because of the kids! They always bring such energy and enthusiasm each day and  our instructors truly appreciate that.

So far at camp, the participants have been involved in a wide variety of activities. Whether they are in visual arts program, sports program, science program or a combination, each participant is raving about their experience thus far.

In the visual arts program, the participants can’t stop talking about clay. Each individual had the opportunity to create whatever they wanted out of clay, with the only limitation being their imagination. Another highlight from the arts program was the creation of Popsicle stick treasure boxes and picture frames. These are items that the participants can take with them and enjoy them at home.

The sports program has seen a diverse set of activities so far. The instructors are using the knowledge they gained from staff training by incorporating new and exciting activities such as lacrosse, field hockey and handball. This year our instructors are trying their best to focus more on skill development and specific sport instruction, while still maintaining an element of recreation.

Science, the new addition to Summer Sports School this year is blowing everyone away. Science is bringing another dimension to the Sports School team that is making the camp more engaging than it has ever been. I think biggest highlight from science was when the participants went to Wascanna Lake to look at different water creatures. They also took time to observe the other animals and wildlife in that area. Next up for science is Lego Robots!

Like most years, the big hit at camp this year is the pool. No suprises there. Our aquatics instructors expose the participants to a wide range of water activities, ranging from exciting pool games, to relay races, and generally getting comfortable with being in the water. Some of the favourites so far in the pool are star wars, sponge wars, and cookie factory (A big hit with the rookies).

Finally, our rookie group is having an incredible experience. The rookies always bring a huge amount of excitement to camp and are always willing to try new activities. Some of the favourites for the rookies so far are parachute games, gymnastics, as well as going through mazes and obstacle courses. Of course, the rookies also love the water and the awesome games the aquatics staff always have planned for them.

Well, I think that is about it for the highlights of the first week of camp. If you have any questions or concerns please make sure to contact us. Also, keep checking the blog as we will have updates each and every week throughout the summer. We also encourage you to leave comments and let us know how your experience here at camp has been so far.

Hope everyone’s Summer is going well so far!

Jeff Moser

Scavenger Hunt - At the Academic Green each team had to lead to the other side in order to get the combination to a lock in the ED Building.

Scavenger Hunt - At gym three each team had to create a team cheer, as well as use the team walker to walk to half court and back.

Our scavenger hunt finally took us out to the sport courts where we droped the eggs from extremely high heights (not really). Each team was successful, as no eggs broke!

First of all, I can’t believe staff training is already here. Actually, I can’t believe it’s almost over. It’s already mid-week and we have done so much with our staff thus far. We have been participating in team building activities, specific sport training, going through rules and procedures, and learning how to create an  effective and cohesive group atmosphere.

I think one of our biggest highlights this week was our staff scavenger hunt / our version of The Amazing Race. On the first day of staff training we got our staff familiar with the facilities by doing a photo scavenger hunt. They also got familiar with the program and some of the procedures. Above all, our staff was working as a team in a fun and interactive way!

Another highlight was having  provincial sport governing bodies from Sask Ringette and Sask Hand Ball come out to instruct our staff regarding the wide variety of skills involved in playing these two particular sports. Both of these organizations had a vast amount of knowledge to share with our sport instructors, and we hope we will be able to pass that on to the camp participants.

Next up is our Art Instructors. We have two fantastic individuals working with the visual arts program this year. They are both experienced artists who have a lot to share with the campers. At the same time, they are busy planning some new and exciting activities for this year’s art program. Some of the crowd drawers this year are pinatas, clay, tie-dye and wire sculptures.

A new addition to this year’s camp, which is exceeding our expectations by already having such a high enrollment, is the science portion of our camp. Our Science Instructor has been busy planning some engaging science based activities over the last few weeks. Some of the feature activities for science will be creating lego robots, verma composts and working with garageband to create garageband musicals.

Finally, I just want to add that we are extremely pleased with the staff that we hired this year, as each one brings a diverse set of skills to our team. At the same time, we can already tell that each one of our staff members is dedicated to providing your child with an incredible experience here at Summer Sports School. We are all looking forward to the arrival of the camp participants next week and we can’t wait for camp to get underway!

Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us either through email (intramurals@uregina.ca) or by phone (337-2247).

We look forward to meeting all of you very soon!

Also, please stay tuned, as I will be updating this post with some pictures from staff training.

Jeff Moser