Summer camps at PNA

 

At PNA we know the value of a positive educational experience. We offer stimulating summer camps sure to engage even the most discerning kids.

 

PNA’s summer programs provide a safe place where students are free to imagine, invent, dream and build; a place where they can fail and start again with new ideas and inspiration. Creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and innovation encompass all aspects of the experience. Overall, we want to teach students the benefits of using their own minds, ideas and hands to create.

Create Academy offers 8 week-long intensives for students who will be going into grades K-6.

 

Our summer programs are organized around Project Based Learning. Each week poses a challenging problem for students to solve or a question to investigate, all while learning new skills.Each weekly project will focus on student learning goals, and skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving, collaboration, and self-management. Students will engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information, all at a developmentally appropriate level. The projects feature real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, and impact – or speak to students’ personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives. Throughout the week students will give, receive, and use feedback to improve their process and product. Students often will share their work with families during an end of the week Project Showcase.

 

In order to facilitate collaboration and as a source of inspiration, students at Create Academy will explore Ruth Arcand Park throughout the week. Though Outdoor Ed activities ranging from low ropes initiatives, team-building activities, geocaching, nature hikes, and orienteering, students strengthen their outdoor and communication skills. 

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Social-Emotional Needs

At PNA, we believe there is a strong link between academic success and social-emotional skills. We believe that a high-quality experience for every child is built on the foundation of a safe and joyful learning community. Our summer program shares our school culture of inclusion, respect, kindness, and responsibility. Each day we spend time developing interpersonal skills and building relationships between students and teachers. The Responsive ClassroomⓇ approach to teaching emphasizes academic, social and emotional growth in a strong community. Daily morning meetings, guided discovery and collaborative problem solving lay the groundwork for successful communication and collaboration in the classroom, higher achievement in academics, and a cohesive community with a shared purpose.