{"id":17628,"date":"2014-07-01T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/?p=17628"},"modified":"2014-07-07T09:55:34","modified_gmt":"2014-07-07T16:55:34","slug":"july-cover-story-young-writers-camp-gives-youth-experience-of-a-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/july-cover-story-young-writers-camp-gives-youth-experience-of-a-lifetime\/","title":{"rendered":"July cover story: No summer break for learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_17629\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Students-with-their-completion-certificates-on-the-final-day-of-the-2012-camp.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17629\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17629\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Students-with-their-completion-certificates-on-the-final-day-of-the-2012-camp-e1404320035870.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"261\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-17629\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students with their completion certificates on the final day of the 2012 camp. Photos courtesy of 'Young Writers Camp' program presented by the South Coast Writing Project at UCSB. Photos courtesy of \u2018Young Writers Camp\u2019 program presented by the South Coast Writing Project at UCSB.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>By Frank X. Moraga<\/strong> \/ <em>Amigos805<\/em><\/p>\n<p>One key to success in higher education is early exposure to college and university life. If young people also happen really enjoy what they are doing during that exposure \u2014 all the better.<\/p>\n<p>College and university exposure is the goal of the annual Young Writers Camp program presented by the South Coast Writing Project through the Gevirtz School \u2014 Graduate School of Education at UCSB.<\/p>\n<p>For more than 35 years the program has used writing to create those opportunities for young people, grades three through nine, and their families.<\/p>\n<p>This year the two-week, half-day program will begin on Monday, July 14 at UCSB, California Lutheran University, Oxnard College and Ventura College.<\/p>\n<p>The application deadline has been extended to Thursday, July 3 and businesses and organizations can still call 805-893-5899 or send an email to <a href=\"mailto:youngwriters@education.ucsb.edu\" target=\"_blank\">youngwriters@education.ucsb.edu<\/a> to make donations to sponsor individual students or families or <a href=\"https:\/\/education.ucsb.edu\/scwrip\/youth-family-community-programs\" target=\"_blank\">click here<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a fantastic experience to get the kids to a college campus,\u201d said educator and writer Amada Irma Perez. \u201cFor the summer they feel they are college kids. We start out at the college bookstore, where they buy all their journals and pencils. They love that experience and sometimes when we were at the Oxnard College campus they would take a short break and go to the snack bar and even go to the taco truck. That all adds to their experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17630\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/A-student-with-his-journal-during-a-previous-South-Coast-Writing-Project-Young-Writers-Camp.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17630\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17630\" title=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/A-student-with-his-journal-during-a-previous-South-Coast-Writing-Project-Young-Writers-Camp-e1404320555352.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"490\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-17630\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A student with his journal during a previous South Coast Writing Project 'Young Writers Camp'<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The students learn about journal writing, nature explorations, projects in creative arts, and how to make professional presentations and also develop skills and confidence, according to organizers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe write indoors and outdoors; they write about what they see,\u201d Perez said. \u201cWe do art projects, watercolor projects. We do so much in those two weeks. I really look forward to it so we can also do those activities. When the kids write the teachers write.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Certified teachers for the program have completed extensive training in writing and are SCWrip Teacher-Consultants. Some of the programs can also be presented in Spanish because a number of the teachers are bilingual, Perez said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis will be my 31st camp, not year,\u201d Perez said. \u201cI used to do them every term at C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez School (Oxnard), four every year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Perez has been involved in the program for 12 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love it. Working with children who are also writers, you feel you are in a writing camaraderie. The teachers and students all write together,\u201d she said. \u201cI have taught at Ventura College, Oxnard College and C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez School and when I wasn\u2019t teaching I was doing author presentations everywhere \u2014 at UCSB, Allan Hancock College, Cal Lutheran, Moorpark College and even one year at CSUCI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One year, when Oxnard College wasn\u2019t available, the program shifted to the Oceanview School District.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI go wherever it goes,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing to have all those kids in a positive writing environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perez said the children get lifelong learning skills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe camp is not just about writing,\u201d she said. \u201cThe kids also learn to have confidence, develop their skills and learn how to present their works. They stand and read their pieces and learn how to receive and give criticism. They set up their own writing groups and it\u2019s something they can take with them for the rest of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe final product of the camp is a class anthology,\u201d she said. \u201cThe kids all end up being published and they all feel like they are authors, which they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17631\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Students-participating-in-a-previous-South-Coast-Writing-Project-Young-Writers-Camp.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17631\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17631\" title=\"Students participating in a previous South Coast Writing Project 'Young Writers Camp'\" src=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Students-participating-in-a-previous-South-Coast-Writing-Project-Young-Writers-Camp-e1404320600532.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-17631\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students participating in a previous South Coast Writing Project 'Young Writers Camp'<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Perez said many students have participated in multiple writing camps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are some kids that have come to writing camp every year and some that have graduated,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile it maxes out at the ninth grade, they have come back to be junior assistants, but they also get to write.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perez has also stayed in touch with some of the students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is one student I had at C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez,\u201d she said. \u201cI had her in the fourth, fifth and sixth grade as a camper. We have kept in touch and that is beautiful. She is a very gifted writer and has gone onto college.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While parents usually drop off their children before 9 a.m. and then pick them up after noon, Perez said she has spent time over the years talking to parents about the positive impact the program has had on their children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou also see the parents at the supermarket and they stop and thank you,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of the teachers who have taught are from the Oxnard and Oceanview school district and they have met the parents in town. (Parents) all say it was a very positive experience in their kids\u2019 lives \u2026. They tell us how much their kids like the writing camp and they can\u2019t wait to go,\u201d she said. \u201cThe kids say they like the camp because there is no homework, no tests and they can chew gum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The camp costs $295, but scholarships and discounts are available (10 percent) for multiple enrollments in one family.<\/p>\n<p>The scholarships award fee discounts to families who need financial assistance. Students from such families must display a strong interest in writing and\/or desire to be enrolled in the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have a scholarship and partial payments. Some parents can only contribute half of it,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty good when you think it;s for two weeks, four days a week. That\u2019s less that $150 per week.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDonors are always encouraged to give so there are people who can sponsor one child or can contribute to the scholarship program,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a completely nonprofit organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Registration and scholarship applications are available in English and in Spanish at https:\/\/education.ucsb.edu\/scwrip\/youth-family-community-programs.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/July-13.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17632\" title=\"July 13\" src=\"http:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/July-13-e1404320637161.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"525\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 1.17em;\">Young Writer’s Camp 2014 schedule<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The half-day camps for students are offered:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 14 to 25 at UCSB (Grades 3-9)<\/li>\n<li>From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 14 to 25 at California Lutheran University (Grades 3-9)<\/li>\n<li>From noon to 3 p.m. July 14 to 31 at Oxnard College (Grades 4-9)<\/li>\n<li>From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. July 14 to 31 at Ventura College (Grades 4-9)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Frank X. Moraga \/ Amigos805 One key to success in higher education is early exposure to college and university life. If young people also happen really enjoy what they are doing during that exposure \u2014 all the better. College…<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/july-cover-story-young-writers-camp-gives-youth-experience-of-a-lifetime\/\">Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12,7,1006,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural","category-education","category-events","category-family","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17628"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17637,"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17628\/revisions\/17637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amigos805.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}