The Final Day

Today is the last day of Champion week and the last day of camp. The campers have learned new things about other cultures and class options that they would had never been exposed to. They have grown and matured in the past 3 weeks and all of the counselors and teachers are honored to have had the opportunity to teach such a great group of kids. This group of kids has represented the camp extremely well and we are excited to see them all again next year!
-Dani Planer(CIT)

Challenge & Champions: Day 13

Congratulations to the Daily Challenge winner, Matthew Musey. He wrote about the things he learned about college on yesterday's Campus Immersion. Good Job!
Today Ms. Jamie's class acted out the experiences they learned about in her class, Man vs. Wild. The campers acted as if they were in a river, racing through the jungle, calculated amounts of needed medicene, and applied scientific notation. Mr. David, Mrs. Heather, and Mr. Sam's class all finalized their projects for the Final Celebration of Learning. Everything is looking great!
-Nia Freeman (CIT)

Olympic Week!

This week the campers are split into 4 groups to compete in the week long Olympics. Each camper was assigned to either the red, blue, green, or yellow team with a counelor as their leader. They will get to compete in events like tug-of-war, football, soccer, relay races, basketball, and even more! The final scores and the winning team will be announced at the final Celebration of Learning. Good luck to all teams!

-Nia Freeman (CIT)

Champion Week!

Congratulations to our daily challenge winner, Jade Wurupa!
Today is the first day of Challenge and Champions third and final week, the champion week! This week the campers will be asked to take all they've learned in their classes and apply them to projects assigned by the academic teachers. These projects will be presented on the final day of Challenge and Champions when family and friends gather to watch the campers graduate from the camp!

-Dani Planer(CIT)

Challenge and Champions: Day 8

Congratulations to Ryan Wurapa for being today's Daily Challenge winner! The challenge was to recommend a good book and find out one from a friend. We got a few really good entries, but his was one of the best. He recommended I am Number Four and a friend suggested he read Matched. Good Job Ryan!
Today will also be the second time we celebrate birthdays. Everyone will sing to those with October, November, December, and January. Every camper and councelor gets a cupcake!
Also Mr. David's class went to the Michael C. Carlos Museum. It is a great experience fot the campers to see artifacts and historical pieces from other cultures around the world. It should definately help with their class projects!
-Nia Freeman (CIT)

Challenge an Champions: Day 7

Congratulations to taday's Daily Challenge Winner, Kayla Adams. She wrote that she challenged herself by withstanding the heat, assisting others, and being a role model for younger campers. Good Job Kayla!
In Mr. David's class today campers worked on creating a poster for one of the given countries, using pictures and statistics on AIDS, culture, death rate, and demographics. The campers could choose from South Africa, Chile, Brazil, India, Spain, or China as their country. In Mrs. Jamie's class they learned about creating tangrams, which are 7 piece puzzles used to make pictures. They also took facts they learned about the Amazon and turned them into scientific notation problems. In Mrs. Heather's class campers used their own characteristics and personality to create a "personal recipe" representing themselves. In Mr. Sam's class they created paper rockets using soda straws and paper. The campers then did multiple trials to test the distance that their rockets would fly. Some of his campers were also working on their STEM, Science Technology Engineering Math, career brochures.
All of the campers had productive academic classes!
-Nia Freeman (CIT)

Challenge & Champions: Day 6

We brought the explorer week to an end by choosing 5 exceptional campers to win the honorary title as camper of the week! These campers are Chase, Katerina, Kira, Kayla, and Dilan! Congratulations!

Today is the first day of the challenger week! This week the campers will be focusing on challenging themselves in not only academics but their physical education classes too. The daily questions will progressively get more and more difficult and the team building exercise will be more difficult than last week. We know that the campers will begin this week with a smile on their faces and end the same way but with a greater knowledge of their subjects and a greater motivation to get out and try new things.
- Dani Planer (CIT)

Specials

Day 5: Today the campers had the opportunity to go to their second specials class. They have a choice of spending 45 minutes in cooking, jewelry making, African drumming, yoga, drama, or art class. In cooking class they learned to make salad dressing with tofu. The campers in jewelry making made friendship bracelets.  The yoga class learned different ways to stretch and relax. In drama, the campers learned to act as different characters in different situations, like being a clown or a pregnant woman. Art class allows the campers to express themselves through painting, sketching, or coloring. The African drumming class learns beats and songs for the final Celebration of Learning presentation.
- Nia Freeman (CIT)

Challenge & Champions: Day 3

Day 3 is a very special day in the three weeks that the campers will have at Challenge and Champions! Every year the campers have the opportunity to learn about protecting themselves from the sun in a clever and creative presentation that a group of medical students at Emory put together! The kids will be well educated on how their health can be affected by these hot summers in Georgia and how they can prevent sunburn and dehydration, so don't be surprised if your kids come home asking for a sombrero and a higher proof sunscreen!
-Dani Planer (CIT)

Challenge & Champions: Day 2

Monday turned out to be a great first day! On Day 2, I got a chance to take a walk with Mr. David's Urban and City Spaces class. We walked down to the Emory Hospital to sit for a while and observe the surroundings. The campers took notes on the people, buildings, and activities going on near by. This helped them to learn about how people act different in different surroundings. The campers also used the website http://www.theplaceswelive.com/ to understand the different lifesyles of people in different countries. I found his lesson very intriguing!
-Nia Freeman (CIT)

Hi! Stay tuned. We did counselor interviews this weekend and they will be announced in a few days!

Starting the 2012 program and CIT announcements!

We are opening the 2012 season and this is our first posting. We welcome you to the program information, hope you are renewing or establishing your connection to us and look forward to having you with us. As our first announcement, we wish to let you know who has been selected as a Counselor In Training. CITs are those former participants with us who have shown exemplary initiative, a great attitude toward others and a willingness to serve. It is an honor to be selected as a CIT. Those who were chosen for this year are returning and new members. They are:

Kayla Cooper
Langston Daniels
Nia Freeman
Ben Furman
Jordan Johnson
Paul Kowalczyk
Taylor Lee
Nicholas Musey
Zion Perryman
Dani Planer
Bryce Sledge
Tyler Sledge
Danyel Stancil

Congratulations to all of them! We look forward to another wonderful summer with them!

The Final Days of Challenge and Champions

It's our second to last day of Challenge and Champions and all the classes are finalizing their projects for the last Celebration of Learning. We are playing competitive and non-competitive sports in the Olympic Games and at the end of the day, are practicing for the Celebration of Learning graduation. The campers practice their graduation entrance until they have it properly and then go swimming to conclude the day. The campers are excited to show all of their parents what they have been working on in their classes and to introduce to them all the new friends they have befriended throughout camp. As a reminder to all the parents, the Challenge and Champions graduation is this Friday in the gymnasium from 1pm - 4pm on the Clairmont Campus.

Champion Week

During the last week of Challenge and Champions, the students are preparing to present all that they learned for the final celebration. In each academic class, the campers are beginning to put their finishing touches on the projects that they have been working on. We also just began field week where the campers compete in a series of games with four teams each. The champion will be announced on Friday at the Celebration of Learning.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Challenger Week Comes to A Close

“Challenger Week” is coming to an end sadly, but the Champions have an exciting day ahead. Every Friday we have our Celebration of Learning. At this time, the Champions get to share with their parents and peers what they did and learned in class this week. It is also a time where the Champions can relax and enjoy each other’s company. We close the Celebration of Learning by announcing the campers of the week. These students are chosen by the teachers, counselors, MAT’s and CIT’s. The campers chosen as “Explorers of the Week” last week include Jasmine Valenciano, Gabby Wilson, Kayla Adams, Bianca Cole, Summer Hurst, and Darrel Edwards. Once again, Congratulations! While these 6 students were individually recognized, all of the campers are Champions and we foresee only great things in their future! Friendly reminder – There is no class on Monday! We hope everyone in the Challenge and Champions family has a wonderful and safe 4^th of July!

I Can't Be A Leader If I'm Not A Learner

Yesterday’s challenge was to think about the qualities one would want in a leader; this morning we discussed those qualities. In today’s society, being a leader is very important. Every student in Challenge and Champions has leadership qualities. Being a leader is synonymous with being a role model. A leader is a person that not only rises above the occasion but helps those around them reach their potential. The Champions also thought that being respectful, trustworthy, loyal, enthusiastic, and a good listener are important qualities a leader should have. Today’s challenge is to learn about another Champion’s culture. Because our society is so diverse, it is essential that we respect our peers despite any differences. When we learn about another culture, we gain new insight and perspective. The Champions continue to work hard in their academic and Physical Education classes as “Challenger Week” comes to a close.

Challenge & Champions Check-Up

Just a small recap of what's been going on so far.

Challenger Week: Day 2

On Monday, we kicked off our "Challenger Week" with team building. The Champions played "Hot Chocolate",  a team building exercise. They had to execute proper communication skills by using paper plates, the" marshmallows", to travel to the other side of the "hot chocolate river". Everyone participated and worked well together. The Champions are also learning about sportsmanship and teamwork in physical education to tie in with their team building exercise.This is vital as they begin to intensely compete in different activities as they prepare for the "Olympic Games" throughout next week. During  Morning Assembly, Dr. Karen challenged the campers to learn everyone's name and something interesting about them. Dr.Karen gave the campers a week and two days to complete the 'Director's Challenge'.Good Luck to the participants!

Another Day At Challenge and Chamopions

It is a another wonderful day at Challenge and Champions and this morning we would like to welcome back our 5 year participant, Langston Daniels. We would also like to thank the campers and staff for making this morning go by so swiftly. Classes are going well so far as it's been said, and the snack was very interesting, a new trail mix with craisins instead of raisin, but the Camper's seemed enjoyed it. As the day goes on we should expect more progress in preparing for a better tomorrow. Enjoying activities, such as the Team Build Exercise this Afternoon, like our last one which was learning each other's names without talking.... A little difficult but fun!!!  Thank you for reading, Now go and Challenge yourself to be a Champion.

End of Explorer Week. . .

Congratulations to all the Challenge and Champions campers for completing Explorer Week of C&C and getting one step closer to becoming a leader. This morning, we have a new addition to our motto: "You are not a leader if you are not a learner. You are someone special." Campers, remember that you are all "Leaders in Training" and that you have accomplished great things this week. This afternoon, we will announce the top six "Explorers of the Week". They will receive a $15 gift card to Barnes and Nobles, as a reminder that reading is a part of knowledge, which is the ultimate power. Campers, make it your goal to do the best you can everyday, that also applies to when you have graduated from the Challenge and Champions program. Again, excellent job this week; Campers, MATs, Counselors, Photography coordinators, Administration, and CITs for making this week an ultimate success!