Aspire’s six-week summer learning camp has started, and we’re thrilled to open our doors to 125 students for full-day programming! Our camp is a time for students to explore new interests, embrace their curiosity, build connections with peers and adults who care about them, and participate in academic enrichment that enables them to start the school year strong.

Summer is a special time for students. Carol Sabatino, with Arlington Public Schools, said “The summer slide is always a concern for both families and educators. The summer academic programming at Aspire provides our students with a fun and safe place to continue building on what they have worked so hard on during the regular school year. The summer is also a great opportunity for our students to improve their academic skills. Our community has experienced a gap in this type of service and Aspire is truly filling it in a way that meets the needs of our community and works well to support families’ schedules.”

The need is real, and Aspire is working as hard as possible to fill that gap. Aspire continues to serve a record-breaking number of students in our no-cost summer camp, however, there is also a record-breaking number of students on our summer camp waiting list. This means that many historically underserved students do not have the chance to participate in summer academic programming, which year over year can make it harder for them to catch up to their peers whose families have the resources to access paid summer programs.

This year, the theme of our summer camp is Avatar: The Last Airbender, which our students and team have been excited to explore. Our program team chooses and develops a new theme for summer camp each year so students who return year after year can participate in new projects, lessons, and activities. This theme engages with students’ interests and passions, as many of our students love the Avatar TV show. Aspire students are learning about the different elements, the environment, and the world around them. You can see some of the highlights below!

Weeks One and Two: Water Wonders

During the first two weeks of camp, students did a deep dive into the world of water. They participated in lessons including sea turtle conservation, types of clouds, and local ecosystems. What were some of the students’ favorite parts of camp so far?

• Students created their own mini ecosystem jars! During a visit to the Four Mile Run stream, they filled jars with water and then carefully added elements, including dirt, leaves, stones, and sticks before sealing them. They’ve been observing the jars and learned a fun lesson about what makes up their local ecosystem.
• The popular Cloud in a Jar activity taught students about the water cycle by using water, shaving cream, and food coloring to see how water gathers in clouds and then falls to the ground as rain. This hands-on lesson had students beaming in excitement as they took turns putting food coloring in the jar to see when it would start “raining.”
• Many of our campers knew that ocean pollution was dangerous to sea turtles, but they didn’t all know what to do about it. After watching a video about the topic, they put their knowledge into action by designing advocacy posters to convince people to protect oceans and sea turtles.
• Students learned about the history behind water-based songs, including types of songs like sea shanties and round singing, and then read each song like a poem to understand its story. After they understood all the words, they sang along to the songs and kept beat by tapping on the tables. Class favorites have included “The Wellerman” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
• How many drops of water fit on a penny before they spill over? Our campers explored the property of “water cohesion” during this fun experiment, and students broke out their scientist hats to get to the bottom of this question. They worked together to form hypotheses and then used pipettes to very carefully place drops of water on the surface of pennies. Students kept track of the data on a piece of paper and they repeated the experiment several times to ensure they had an accurate answer.
• To learn more about how water keeps us healthy and hydrated, students played Hydration Jeopardy! Categories included How Much Water Do You Need, Benefits of Drinking Water, and Fun Water Facts. These hydration tips have come in handy during the hot summer days, and students have been vigilant about making sure that they and their classmates bring their water bottles with them when going outside.

Field Trip to a Coral Reef

While an in-person visit to a coral reef wasn’t possible in Arlington, students experienced the wonders of the ocean through a virtual field trip! After discussing what they knew about coral reefs, they followed a camera through a coral reef to see schools of fish, sharks, and sea turtles swimming through the reef. When they “returned” from their trip, students talked enthusiastically about how the different parts of a coral reef are critical to its survival and what types of animals they saw. Several students said they were surprised that sea anemones are animals, since they look so much like plants, and others loved seeing jellyfish move through the water.

Community Garden

Have you heard that Aspire recently started a Community Garden? Aspire partnered with Greenbrier Baptist Church, which lent us the space for four raised garden beds for students to gain experience caring for plants, learning about healthy food, and putting their lessons about the environment into action. At the end of the school year, each Aspire classroom built raised beds, tilled the soil, and planted the gardens. Every day during summer camp, a different class walks to the garden to tend their unique plot. For instance, one of our plots has tomatoes, basil, and marigolds, while another has cucumbers, thyme, and sunflowers. Each class is eager for their plot to be the most successful, and we’re happy to report that despite the heat, these plants are thriving under the careful watch of our students, much like our students are thriving because of our community’s support.