This year, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is running a three week summer camp for students in grades 1-5 until July 24th. As well as offering programming for literacy and numeracy, there is also an Aboriginal Art and Literacy camp, which is designed to include literacy games and activities with culturally relevant curriculum including the Seven Grandfather teachers, Métis history, culture and the Pow Wow experience. All three programs are infused with technology and are geared to meet the students’ individual needs. What gives this summer camp its unique spin is that the board was able to hire some of its own students as youth counsellors. These counsellors are given the opportunity to learn as well, while getting on the job experience working with the younger students. Some of these students are currently enroled in the SCDSB Peace program. The PEACE program, which stands for Personalized, Experiential, Alternative, Catholic Education, is an alternative program for secondary students who are disengaged, on a long term suspension or expulsion, or are behind in credit accumulation. The students learn techniques to overcome obstacles all while earning credits towards their secondary school diploma and are supported with their social and emotional needs, and learn how to give back to the community through community partnerships. “We are so fortunate that the Ministry of Education was able to fund this program allowing for our students to gain on the job experience,” Christina Raso, Special Education consultant for the SCDSB stated. “These elementary students enroled in our programming are having so much fun with all of their hands-on learning, and our students who have been hired as counsellors are really gaining great work experience that they will be able to take with them to their next job opportunity.”
The camp currently has 95 students enroled with 6 teachers, 6 student tutors, 8 youth counsellors. The students also get 45 minutes of physical activity a day with 6 taekwondo instructors teaching the students.