FRIDAY FOLDER: july 10

During week five of the never-ending adventures of Fairmont Summer Programs, campers had a blast under water, examined shark teeth, and had fun with our wonderful camp counselors!

Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools

FRIDAY FOLDER: june 26

Highlights of the Week:

Watch as Josiah G. announces "Play ball!" before Wednesday's Angels game!

Watch Activities Director Jonna Powell throw out the first pitch!

This week our campers enjoyed watching the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim beat the Houston Astros 2-1 at Angel Stadium! Every year, campers attend one Angels game, but this year's game was particularly special because the opening honorary traditions of throwing the first pitch and announcing "Play ball" were conducted by Fairmont camper Josiah G., and North Tustin Activities Director Jonna Powell! Campers cheered from the stands as Josiah and Mrs. Powell represented Fairmont on the field!

Next week, campers will travel to the Sky Zone and Sky High trampoline parks, as well as enjoy the weekly Swim Day, and show their patriotism with Red, White, and Blue Thursday Theme Day! As a reminder, there will be no summer school or camp on Friday, July 3rd due to the Fourth of July holiday!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools 

FRIDAY FOLDER: june 12

Weekly Highlights:

 Swim Day with North Tustin

 Swim Day with Historic Anaheim

Swim Day with Anaheim Hills

With the first week of summer camp completed, campers had a great time swimming, dressing up in surfer attire, and playing together during the beach party hosted by the Anaheim Hills campus! Next week campers will enjoy a whole host of new activities such as surfboard canvas art, tie-dye camp shirts, and a Friday field trip to the Camelot Theme Park in Anaheim! 

Visit the Fairmont Summer Programs' Facebook page or Fairmont Flickr for more summer photos!

Contributed by Rebecca Stokes, Fairmont Private Schools

FAIRMONT FIVE: planning a kid-friendly vacation

One of the rites of spring is figuring out this summer’s family vacation. Planning can be as simple as loading up the car for a fun road trip, or as complicated as making airline and hotel arrangements around busy schedules for a trip across the country or overseas. Either way, we have provided some tips to make your next vacation extra-memorable for your children.

1.       Avoid over-planning and focus a little more on being flexible—Arranging a tight travel schedule might squeeze out unexpected pleasures such as visiting a country fair, shopping at a farmers market, or attending a concert in the park. Block out a couple of days to be spontaneous and experience life as a local.

2.       Involve your child in the vacation planning process—While mapping out the itinerary, discuss possible places of interest with your child. Encourage them to practice geography skills and test their knowledge of history as they research potential sites to visit. Math skills can be exercised while determining the distance and the time it will take to drive to a particular destination.

3.       Follow the 15-minute rule—For every one hour on the road, plan 15 minutes to stop and get out of the car. If pulling over every hour is not practical, drive three hours and take a driving break for half an hour. This offers opportunities to stretch the legs and fully appreciate scenic spots along the journey.

4.       Take a break from the screen—Provide alternative traveling activities for children to prevent them from being completely glued to their smartphones and iPads. Encourage them to pay close attention to points of interests during the drive. Have them create a photographic journal of the different sights along the trip. Bring books, puzzles, and word games to occupy their minds while on the road. When visiting relatives, ask your child to put on a reporter’s cap and interview grandparents, aunts, and uncles. This will open the door to some great storytelling and provide the child with fascinating insights related to their family’s heritage.

5.       Don’t leave healthy habits home alone—Be sure to bring a bag of snacks for the road that includes nuts, carrots, string cheese, fruit, and crackers. Sometimes vacations bring out the desire to indulge in junk food that is not common fare in the home. Keeping candy consumption to a minimum will prevent kids from getting too “sugared up” in the back seat.

By the end of vacation,  your child will have a detailed journal of wonderful memories, stories, and discoveries.

Please note If you are planning for your child to join the adventure at Fairmont's Summer Programs, enroll by April 30th to save 10% on summer camp and school. 

Contributed by Doug Fleischli, Fairmont Private Schools

Image credit: fueld

CHALK TALK: how summer camp boosts self-esteem and builds social skills

The end of the school year is fast approaching. How will you keep your child engaged during the three months of summer vacation? Summer camp is the perfect answer. More than just a daycare provider, summer camps are extremely beneficial for all types of children to foster what the American Camp Association calls “resiliency skills.”  As noted in their post Benefits of Camp: Psychological Aspects, the ACA states that summer camps provide a great environment for children to learn to apply life skills, pro-social behaviors, and boost self-esteem and self-reliance.

Just how do summer camps grow your child’s social skills and self-esteem? By removing the structure of the classroom, children are more apt to explore new situations and develop new methods of creativity. Camp allows children to reach beyond their immediate peer group and make new friends. Summer camps also create “risk-taking” situations, such as learning a new game, going to a new place, or introducing themselves to new people. By engaging students in these potentially unfamiliar activities, summer camps gently stretch children to explore areas outside of their comfort zone and help them to grow emotionally.

Summer camp also works to make your child feel special and involved in a specific community. Children who attend summer camp are immersed in a camp culture that is unique, which creates a collective identity and comradery among campers. This teaches children the importance of teamwork and taking pride in the group to which they belong.

Since the creation of Fairmont Private Schools, Fairmont Summer Programs has fostered a special feeling of community steeped in the Fairmont culture of academic success and character building. Visit www.fairmontsummerprograms.com to view summer school and camp offerings, and register before April 30th to receive an automatic 10% discount!

Contributed by Rebecca Merrell, Fairmont Private Schools

Image by Poconomoms

FRIDAY FOLDER may 16

Highlights of the week:

Bookmark Contest Winners!

During the month of April, our campuses hosted an annual Bookmark Contest. Students created their designs for the bookmarks inspired by their favorite books. The entries this year were so spectacular, the judges had a very difficult time choosing winners. Grand prize winners bookmarks are printed and distributed throughout the community.  Congratulations to our fabulous reading-artists!!

 

Anaheim Hills Campus Winners

North Tustin Campus Winners

 

Historic Anaheim Campus

Fairmont Summer  Programs:

It's not too late to reserve your spot in Fairmont Summer Programs' summer school, summer camp, or enrichment workshops! Programs begin in just a few weeks!!

Log on to www.fairmontsummerprograms.com to register. 

Connect with us on Facebook  www.facebook.com/FairmontSummer to witness all the camp fun!!

Weekly Newsletters

Anaheim Hills Campus 

Historic Anaheim Campus 

North Tustin Campus 

May Lunch Menus 

Anaheim Hills (2nd - 8th Grade) 

Anaheim Hills (P - 1st Grade) 

Historic Anaheim Preschool 

Historic Anaheim Campus (1st - 8th Grade) 

Historic Anaheim Campus (Kindergarten) 

North Tustin Campus (1st - 8th) 

North Tustin Campus (P - K) 

Contributed by Neha, Fairmont Private Schools

 

FAIRMONT FIVE benefits of summer school

Did you know that students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months?  When you compare standardized test scores for tests taken at the end of the school year and the same test taken at the end of summer--there's a significant dip in student achievement.  Summer brain drain is a fact, but it's not inevitable.  

Studies also show that quality summer programs keep the learning going all year long and can actually boost a child's academic achievement and confidence by the start of the new school year.  Here are five good reasons to consider summer school for your child:

1. Extra practice and review of key concepts in reading, writing and math helps reinforce academic skills and fill in any gaps in your child's education over the past year.
2. The smaller class sizes often available in summer school classes allow for more one-on-one time between teachers and students.  Children may feel more confident speaking up and asking for help in areas where they just don't "get it".
3. Kid's brains actually don't need "downtime" from learning.  The steady stimulation that summer school provides is much more beneficial to your child's brain development than, say, hours of unstructured time watching TV or playing video games.
4. The slower more relaxed pace of summer school allows kids to "play" at learning, discovering new areas of interest and ways of solving problems.
5. Summer school helps children build confidence in their academic abilities and a little confidence can go a long way to helping your child succeed in the coming school year.

Find out more about Fairmont's summer programs including day camp, summer school and enrichment programs by visiting www.fairmontsummerprograms.com.

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

A TO Z saying goodbye to summer

The end of summer is such a bittersweet time for me. I love the excitement of "back-to-school" and the promise of growth and new experiences in the next grade level. But it’s still tough to box up the super-soakers, UV-beads and Model Magic. And when the tattered friendship bracelets get cut off, I know that another great Fairmont summer is coming to a close.

Summer at Fairmont Schools is about building confidence—and depending on the student, this may have an academic or social focus. To develop confidence, summer may mean experiencing or succeeding at things for the first time. At the elementary level, this may mean sharing a writing project up in front of the class or working independently in different learning stations in summer school. It may mean riding a school bus for the first time or actually being at a field trip destination for the first time without a parent! It could mean the first jump off a high dive, the first shriek on a roller-coaster or the first time petting a manta ray at the Aquarium.

Developing confidence over the summer also may mean experiencing academic success. This summer, a record number of Fairmont junior high students took advanced math courses at Fairmont Prep which will allow them to progress to the next subject level during the school year. This sense of accomplishment is the essence of what summer at Fairmont is about to me.

Just like our students, summer is a great time of learning and skill building for our faculty and staff. Fairmont teachers experienced teaching the new grade level they will teach this upcoming school year or had extra practice using Accelerated Math or technology tools. Summer Camp Counselors returned after another year of college under their belts, ready to take on new roles in teaching students and supporting families.

In my five years as Director of Summer Programs at Fairmont Schools, I’ve never experienced a summer so magical as the Summer of 2013--Fairmont’s 60^th Anniversary Summer. This summer seemed to fly by...but for a few moments, time stood still. I’d like to share a few of my favorite Summer 2013 memories:

• Sitting in on Ms. DeVane’ 6^th grade Language Arts class discussion on The Giver at the North Tustin Campus. As a kid, it was one of my favorite books but I hadn’t thought about it for years. After hearing our students’ discussion of the novel, I had to re-read it myself. 
• Seeing videos of the Jedi Training Academy taught by summer camp counselors Mr. Evan and Mr. Cody during an afternoon camp rotation. I love the creativity of our staff and the unique moments it creates for our Padawans, I mean campers! 
• Watching Oliver in swim cap and goggles give me a huge grin and thumbs up while “body surfing” at Corona del Mar Beach. It was a perfect summer moment for him and became one for me too.
• Hearing Mr. Al speak with a southern drawl all day on Western Wear Dress-Up Day.
• Having a pretend “tea party” with preschool campers while waiting for their pony ride and pictures. Since I was dressed up as Snow White for Fairytale Dress Up Day, I was treated as part celebrity, part best friend by the preschoolers.
• Pointing out sight words in Miss Dodson’s JK summer school class with “witchy fingers". Who knew plastic finger sleeves could be such fun and so educational?!

 I’ve already begun a countdown for Summer 2014…43 more weeks! See you then!

Contributed by Jamie, Fairmont Summer Programs

THE FAIRMONT FIVE benefits of summer school

The last day of school--it's something kids look forward to all school year long (even if they secretly love to learn).  Students, teachers and parents yearn for the slightly less structured days of summer.  There are no tests to study for, no special projects to complete at the last minute, and no homework for the dog to eat!  The tricky thing about summer is that as soon as the last school bell rings, kids brains begin to suffer from what is known as "summer learning loss".  

Did you know that students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months?  When you compare standardized test scores for tests taken at the end of the school year and the same test taken at the end of summer--there's a significant dip in student achievement.  Summer brain drain is a fact, but it's not inevitable.  

Studies also show that quality summer programs keep the learning going all year long and can actually boost a child's academic achievement and confidence by the start of the new school year.  Here are five good reasons to consider summer school for your child:

1. Extra practice and review of key concepts in reading, writing and math helps reinforce academic skills and fill in any gaps in your child's education over the past year.
2. The smaller class sizes often available in summer school classes allow for more one-on-one time between teachers and students.  Children may feel more confident speaking up and asking for help in areas where they just don't "get it".
3. Kid's brains actually don't need "downtime" from learning.  The steady stimulation that summer school provides is much more beneficial to your child's brain development than, say, hours of unstructured time watching TV or playing video games.
4. The slower more relaxed pace of summer school allows kids to "play" at learning, discovering new areas of interest and ways of solving problems.
5. Summer school helps children build confidence in their academic abilities and a little confidence can go a long way to helping your child succeed in the coming school year.

Find out more about Fairmont's summer programs including day camp, summer school and enrichment programs by visiting www.fairmontsummerprograms.com.  Save 10% on summer school and summer camp if you enroll by April 30th!

Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

THE FAIRMONT FIVE fairy tale summer

This year, Fairmont's summer program has taken its inspiration from fairy tales.  From Jack in the Beanstalk to the Princess and the Pea, we let our imaginations take us far, far away on a journey to a world compete with knights-in-shining-armor, fire-breathing dragons and, of course, princesses.  

The story of how Fairmont Private Schools came into being back in 1953 is a kind of fairy tale.  There was a humble schoolteacher with a big dream.  He worked  long and hard and found lots of other great teachers along the way who shared his dream.  Sixty years later and Fairmont Private Schools is now educating bright, imaginative, courageous kids in Southern California and all over the world.  It's a happily-ever-after story that continues this summer at Fairmont Private Schools.  

Whether you enroll in our incredible summer program or create your own DIY summer camp at home, we think you'll love these five fairy tale activities, for more inspiration head to Fairmont's Once Upon a Time Pinterest board.

1. Fairy wand tutorial
2. Mini-crown craft
3. Crystallized "dragon" eggs
4. Monster slime recipe
5. Red riding hood snack

Image from weheartit
Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools

SCHOOL NEWS happily ever after summer

I know what you're thinking...it's not officially spring yet, so it's much too soon to start thinking about summer!  I guess that depends upon who you are.  Most of our students here at Fairmont think it's NEVER too soon to start thinking about summer.  And Fairmont Summer Programs' staff have summer on the brain all year long, dreaming up ways to make summer break fun, exciting, and educational for the children who attend Fairmont's camp, school and enrichment workshops.

This year, we put our heads together to create a whimsical "Happily Ever After" theme complete with dragons, princesses, castles, and knights-in-shining-armor.  We were inspired by the Albert Einstein quote, "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.  If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." (Follow our Pinterest Board for fairy tale-inspired crafts, activities and more)

Studies show that today's kids need more practice using their imagination, developing their creativity, and strengthening their relationships with others.  These skills are must-haves for the big, wide 21st century world where our children are headed one day. In addition to building academic skills and confidence, Fairmont's summer programs help kids think beyond the textbook and learn how to connect with others.

If you're just warming up to the idea of planning your kids' summer schedule, visit fairmontsummerprograms.com for all the details about Fairmont Summer Programs.  Fairmont offers flexible scheduling to suit the needs of busy families with programs at all four of Fairmont's Orange County campus locations. Enroll before April 30th, and you can take advantage of 10%-off summer camp and summer school!

Image artwork created by Sarah Anderson
Contributed by Danyelle, Fairmont Private Schools