Our Lady of Lourdes Summer Camp offers challenges, fun

Tonni Trujillo

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Students from the Our Lady of Lourdes Summer Camp experience dinosaurs on a field trip to the Utah Natural History Museum.

By Christine Young

Intermountain Catholic

SALT LAKE CITY -Students are keeping up on their math, reading and writing skills this summer by attending Our Lady of Lourdes Summer Camp. The camp is designed to offer a safe, Catholic, nurturing environment and also offers activities such as swimming and field trips.

The camp, for children ages 5 to 10 in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, began June 14 and will run until July 30. The children also practice typing and computer skills, language arts, research, painting and board games. They meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The program was divided into three sessions and students could sign up for one or all three sessions. The first session ran from June 14 to June 25, and highlighted flora, fins, feathers and fur. It included field trips to Hogle Zoo, the Living Planet Aquarium, Red Butte Gardens, the Utah Arts Festival and the Great Salt Lake Preserve. Students learned about horticulture, native plant identification, animal habitats and conservation.

"The students learned to love all of God's creations on Earth," said Kathy Sandoval, Our Lady of Lourdes first-grade teacher and summer camp advisor. "We did a lot with plants and animals and at the Arts Festival the students made all kinds of masks, reflecting crafts and art forms of people."

The second session from June 28 to July 9 was Wonderful, Weird and Wacky Science. It highlighted field trips to the Utah Natural History Museum, the Children's Museum at Discovery Gateway and the Clark Planetarium.

Junior Counselor Angela Pope really liked the science session because she "is very into chemistry," she said. She came across chemistry on You-Tube and has been interested ever since. "I also like being a counselor and learning leadership skills. The kids really interact with you and are playful," said Pope. "This has been a good experience."

The junior counselors will be 8th graders next year and are earning volunteer hours for the Sacrament of Confirmation as well as merit badges for Girl Scouts. They wrote letters of intent telling why they wanted to volunteer during each session, and "they have been a great help," said Sandoval.

Alex Kosak, a junior counselor, loves science because his dad is a scientist and an engineer.

"I signed up for all three sessions because I love spending time with kids and I am really interested in the third session," said Michaela Sorenson, a junior counselor.

The third session will run from July 12 to July 30 and is Cooking, Comedy and Hullabaloo. "We will be going to different restaurants like Trio, Great Harvest and Smith's Food," said Sandoval. "We also have some chefs who are coming in to cook snacks with the kids. We are also going to do drama. So the kids will put on a play at the end of the session and prepare hors d'oeuvres for their parents.

The program is good for parents who work and need to find child care, Sandoval said. "We got out of school on Thursday and started the next Monday. The parents were very comfortable bringing their children here because most of the children attended school here during the year.

"All of our staff members are experienced and know the kids," she added. "Tonni Trujillo, is my assistant, and she is the Extended Day Program director and first grade aide and Danny Trujillo from the extended day program is also helping with the summer camp."