Spring brings new beginnings, warmer weather and for our local students, a two-week break from school. This can mean a much-needed family vacation, beach and outdoor time or an opportunity for a unique camp experience.
However, for those students whose parents cannot afford travel or specialty camps, spring break can be a time of atrophy, boredom and missed opportunity for innovative learning experiences.
This year, Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood’s (CVPromise) Camp Promise hosted 40 fourth, fifth and sixth grade students for a two-week enrichment program. The camp is intended to provide a safe place for students to continue their education while also maintaining and creating friendships with fellow classmates. It focused on STE(A)M education, literacy and leadership, plus fun and healthy indoor and outdoor activities.
Because CVPromise is data driven, the camp also provides valuable insight into the impact of such programs on student achievement.
“We are seeing that our students are growing not only academically, but they are feeling more confident in their abilities to succeed,” Natalia L. Jones, CVPromise coordinator said.
During the second week of Camp Promise, librarians from the Chula Vista Public Library provided a unique hands-on chromatography lab experience for campers. Chromatography works by separating the individual parts of a mixture so that each one can be analyzed, identified and studied. Scientists use this technique in a variety of ways including synthesizing proteins such as insulin, or even investigating criminal cases.
With Librarians Joanna Ritchie and David Janning, campers and potential future scientists learned how to separate and identify different color pigments from colored markers using inexpensive materials such as coffee filters and rubbing alcohol. The experiment was intended to show how components of the solution separate when mixed with a solvent.
Ritchie said experiments such as these can be done at home too and ideas can be found at Pinterest.com or other websites. Students also learned about photosynthesis and were able to use a digital microscope, an educational tool that many students wouldn’t have the opportunity of using if they didn’t attend Camp Promise.
“It’s really fun getting to do the science experiments. I’ve learned about photosynthesis and the process,” said Frida, a Camp Promise student. “I like the marker experiment a lot.”
Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood (CVPromise) is coordinated by South Bay Community Services and is proud to partner with Castle Park Elementary, Castle Park Middle, Castle Park High School, Hilltop Middle and Hilltop High School to bring new opportunities and pathways of success for their students and families. For more information, please visit CVPromise.org or call 619-422-5005.
Hernandez is a SDSU student and intern at South Bay Community Services.
