George Mason University's New Horizon's Summer Enrichment Camps

Ages/Grades: 3-5th grades and 6-8th grades

Camp Season: July 12-16th, 2009 and July 19-23rd, 2009

Setting: On George Mason University's Fairfax Campus in Fairfax, Virginia. The camps are facilitated in various locations on campus, throughout the day, with one day field trip to a local park for more outdoor adventure!

Gender: Co-Ed

Camp Capacity: 25 campers/camp

Pricing: $400 per camp/week and an additional $80 for the optional After- Camp Computer Club. There is a 10% discount for any Mason faculty, students or staff.

Activities: Leadership Camp: New Horizons Leadership Camp is a week long enrichment day camp open to all students in 6th to 8th grades. The focus of the camp is on discovering the students’ interests and strengths, rather than focusing on working on weaknesses. They begin the week with a StrengthsQuest®, a short computerized questionnaire, which identifies their three top strengths. Throughout the week, counselors will facilitate exciting activities and exercises that focus on their group’s leadership strengths. At the end of the camp week, we provide StrengthsQuest® Student and Parent Workbooks, which are useful tools for the continuing development of leadership skills. The cost of this exercise is included in the camp registration fee. Through a range of indoor and outdoor activities, campers learn to interact effectively with their peers and gain insight into their own behaviors. The camp provides a rich multicultural experience through the diversity of the campers and counselors. At New Horizons Leadership Camp students develop life skills that help them: * Accept responsibility * Grow more confident * Understand others * Think creatively * Set goals * Solve problems; resolve conflict * Think creatively An important component of leadership is giving back to the community. Each year, campers take part in a service learning experience, which highlights a special program or group that needs help. This “service learning afternoon” increases campers’ awareness of the larger world and encourages civic engagement as a life-long journey. Every year on the last day of camp, we celebrate the achievements of the campers and showcase their projects at a Family and Friends Party. Check out last year’s schedule for a preview of what the rest of the week might hold in store. Creativity Camp: New Horizons Creativity Camp is a week long enrichment day camp open to all 3rd to 5th graders. Through a combination arts and crafts projects, story dramatizations, journaling and games, campers gain confidence in their ability to use their imaginations in productive ways. Working in groups of four, with two counselors, campers enjoy individual attention. Counselors are trained to focus on the strengths of each camper and to encourage stepping beyond what they know into what they can imagine. Through indoor and outdoor activities ranging from creative movement to international games, campers learn to work with their peers with confidence and to celebrate the accomplishments of others. The camp provides a rich multicultural experience through the diversity of the campers and counselors. At New Horizons Creativity Camp students develop life skills that help them: * Understand and praise others * Grow more confident of their strengths * Think more creatively, without fear * Learn to solve problems creatively * Reflect on the needs of others in the larger world An important component of becoming more imaginative includes figuring out ways to give back to the community. Each year, campers take part in a service learning experience, which highlights a special program or group that needs help. This “service learning afternoon” increases campers’ awareness of the larger world and encourages civic engagement as a life-long journey. Every year on the last day of camp, we celebrate the achievements of the campers and showcase their projects at a Family and Friends Party. Check out last year’s schedule for a preview of what the rest of the week might hold in store. "Get Your Hands Dirty" Environmental Camp: Get Your Hands Dirty Environmental Camp is a weeklong enrichment day camp located on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University. Students will gain an appreciation and understanding of our natural world. the camp will accomplish this mission through hands-on environmental education programs, interactive lessons, and dynamic outdoor activities. Science, Engineering and Technology Camp: SET Camp is a week long enrichment day camp located on the Fairfax Campus of George Mason University. The camp is designed for middle school-age students to learn about applied science and engineering through hands-on creative activities and experiments. The approach is to introduce students to various science, engineering, and technology fields through a "learn by doing" model of educational activities. This camp emphasizes innovation, ingenuity and creativity as prerequisites for good science and technology. We will also integrate leadership skills, esteem building, goal-setting, and a "can-do" attitude into the science and engineering sessions. New Century College faculty and student mentors provide a fun and innovative curriculum. Math Mania Camp: New Horizons Math Mania Camp is the perfect camp for discovering creative ways to work with math. Whether the camper is skilled in math experiences “math anxiety,” this is a camp that turns math into an adventure. Students will be exposed to multidisciplinary and multicultural problem- solving through hands-on activities, mathematical games, pattern recognition, paper and pencil techniques, historical connections, “Mathemagic” and a lot more! Campers delight in learning to do math through art, building an abacus, and estimating the height of buildings on campus. The Math Mania Camp also includes outdoor games on campus, swimming in Mason’s Aquatic and Fitness Center, and time for review and reflection. At New Horizons Math Mania Camp students develop life skills that help them: * Demonstrate greater confidence in their mathematical abilities * Problem solve in creative ways that goes beyond mathematics. * Work cooperatively with others. * Understand the larger world. Optional After- Camp Computer Club: The Computer Club meets after each of the camps from 3:30 until 5:00 in the New Century College Computer Lab in Enterprise Hall. Counselors work with the campers on special assignments, depending on the camp’s subject matter. For example, students in the science camps complete projects related to the science activities during the week. The creativity and leadership campers work on projects related to their interests and strengths discovered during camp. All of the activities are adapted to the camper’s individual skill level. Some campers may produce a PowerPoint presentation; others may enhance their existing web pages. Counselors do not allow Internet surfing or game playing on the computers. The cost for the Computer Club is $80.

Slogan: "Have Fun While You Learn!"