CCISD’s summer camps kick off

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

CCISD’s summer camp program kicked off this week with more than 30 different classes for students to choose from.
CCISD students were invited to participate in the camp/s of their choice with options including art, theater, coding, fishing, hiking, video game design, coding, chess, first aid, and a lot more. They also have various athletic camps.
One of many one-week options was Plants 101 for 3rd-5th graders, taught by Fairview/Miss Jewell Elementary School special education teacher, Doyle Fitz, and paraprofessional, Paoloma Nielsen.
“I chose this because it’s in my wheelhouse. I have a degree in horticulture from Texas A&M and my first love was plants before I fell into education,” said Fitz about why he wanted to teach the Plants 101 class. “I think that every person, not just kids, should know where they live and what’s in their environment…These kids seem to really enjoy it and they’re having fun.”
Students in Plants 101 learned about soil and different soil components, plant parts, biomes, insects and critters that live in and around plants, and more. The class culminated in a special escape room session on Friday.
“I love it,” said Fitz. “If you truly love what you’re teaching, the kids are really receptive to it.”
“I think it’s really nice. We just got to plant morning glories. The teachers are really chill,” said Isabele Farias (11) who will be attending classes at Copperas Cove Junior High School next school year. “All the people are nice. It’s very fun.”
Farias said that she really enjoyed planting morning glories during Tuesday’s class and learning all about types of soil and how they benefit the plants. She said that they added things like worm castings, coconut husks, and more to their soil to give their morning glories the best chance of thriving.
“Me and my mom like to plant stuff and I just feel like I have a connection with them,” said Krystalyn Bell who will attend 4th grade C.R. Clements/Hollie Parsons Elementary. 
Bell likes planting wildflowers with her mother. She said that when she attends her sister’s softball games, she sees a lot of people picking the flowers and wants to do her part to plant more flowers to replenish the wildflower population.
“Wildflowers are pretty and they’re my favorite flowers,” said Bell.
Another one-week option for students was the Reader’s Theater taught by House Creek Elementary School 4th grade reading teacher, Adrian White.
“I love reading,” said White. “I can’t just read a story; I have to bring it to life.”
White introduced her class to the story of Little Red Riding Hood and showed them two adaptations of the story. She asked the students to identify which portions of the story are essential and asked them to be creative and add their own voice to the tale. Her students crafted their own props making a path through the woods, trees, the door to Grandma’s house, and even a little welcome mat for Grandma. They also chose to add a bear to the story and a bear/wolf fight scene. After lots of practice, the students were able to act out their own story.
Naomi Williams (9) played the role of Little Red Riding Hood.
“I’ve learned how to be more creative. I also learned how to compromise,” said Williams. She said that she also learned about how to improve her focus and how to follow stage directions. She said that her favorite part of the story was the end when they all got to chase the wolf out of town.
Next week, Williams plans to take part in the school’s Math Coding Camp.
The school is offering several more camps with some starting next week. For more information on the available camps, check out the following link.
https://sites.google.com/site/ccisdportal/students/summer-camps-2023