Harbor Country Day School Rebrands Summer Camp Program –

St. James, NY…

Harbor Country Day School (www.hcdsny.org, St. James, NY), one of Long Island’s premier independent schools for preschool through eighth grade, has a surprise in store for youngsters from PreK-3 year olds to eighth graders. It is the school’s newly rebranded summer camp program – Camp Harbor. Its motto, “Explore. Discover. Create.”captures the true essence of the Camp Harbor mission.

According to Harbor’s Director of Summer Programs and Marketing & Development Officer Dave Romero, “Our goal is to inspire and motivate Camp Harbor campers to explore the world around them, discover new and interesting things and then, in some way, create something of their own to positively influence the world.”

Romero noted that his goals for Camp Harbor are for it to continue to grow into an academic summer haven where campers enjoy the traditional fun of camp – from sports and swimming to arts and crafts – while at the same time, learning things in workshops to enhance what they experience during the school year. Camp Harbor campers also benefit from its low student-to-teacher ratio affording more personal attention to each camper in a warm, family-like setting.

He continued, “I’ve always seen the summer as an opportunity to engage in pure teaching and learning. There are no tests or grades and students and teachers have the opportunity to explore subjects that truly fascinate them just for the love of learning. Our plans for Camp Harbor include building on our existing Workshop Program, expanding our science and academic offerings, and enhancing our already strong music and arts program.”

At Camp Harbor, each group will be led by a certified teacher who will plan the group’s activities based on the teacher’s individual strengths and interests, along with those of the group’s members. Additionally, Camp Harbor will assign a special theme for each summer. For the summer of 2014, the theme will be, “Around the World in 7 Weeks.” Among the activities planned to reflect that theme will be learning simple words in various languages including Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish, and Mandarin and then using them throughout the week.

Romero added that, “Beyond each group’s independent time, each scheduled activity will be built on an academic foundation. Our Nature Program, for example, will make science exciting by giving our campers a way to learn about the world around them through hands-on experiences in such areas as marine biology, entomology, geology and meteorology. Whether meeting a horseshoe crab brought in by our enthusiastic Nature Teacher, or investigating life in our outdoor classroom pond, Camp Harbor campers will love learning more than they ever thought possible.”

As for some of the other programs, Camp Harbor’s Arts & Crafts curriculum will give campers the opportunity to work with Camp Harbor’s Art Teacher who will guide them through lessons in painting, sculpting, drawing, etching and coloring. Camp Harbor’s Music Teacher will present new, fun music and old camp favorites, and encourage the campers to play simple instruments, dance and sing. The focus will be on helping students learn basic musical foundations and history, and have a great time doing it.

Camp Harbor also places a strong focus on athletics believing they serve a crucial role in a child’s education and development. Age appropriate skills training will be emphasized in a non-competitive environment across diverse sports, from soccer, lacrosse and tennis to basketball, kickball, archery and capture the flag. Swimming will be led by Camp Harbor’s Aquatics Director and a staff of four Red Cross Certified Lifeguards and Water Safety Instructors. There will be Athletic Workshop Trainers working in small groups to build individual skills, while also instilling a spirit of teamwork.

Among the Academic Workshops planned are Kindergarten Readiness, English Language Arts and Math Workshops. The Science and Technology Workshops offer campers the opportunity to become more tech savvy. For example, a Robotics class will enable the campers to build and program robots to follow simple commands and perform simple tasks. 

Camp Harbor has featured special activities such as the Brain Challenge, an academic trivia game; a visit from the Guide Dog Foundation to teach campers about service animals; and local children’s authors doing readings from their books; and even a visit from Jungle Bob to introduce the campers to some of his special animal friends. Also on the agenda are weekly field trips to such local treasures as the Cradle of Aviation and Vanderbilt Planetarium. Philanthropy is also taught through Camp Harbor’s “Adopt-A-Cause” initiative in which the campers collect donations for a local nonprofit. This year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation will be the beneficiary of Camp Harbor’s contributions.

Camp Harbor doesn’t leave out the parents either. Planned are “Date Nights” for parents, enabling an evening of fun for campers while parents enjoy a night out.

Camp Harbor will begin its seven-week program on Monday, June 30th, 2014. The last day of camp will be Friday, August15th, 2014. Registration for Camp Harbor is already underway with 2013 rates applying for camp registrants paid in full by January 31st, 2014. There will also be an Early Bird discount offer for campers registered and fully paid by April 24th, 2014. For more information, contact: Dave Romero, Director of Summer Programs, and Marketing& Development Officer Harbor Country Day School’s Camp Harbor at: 631-584-5555, X-132 or DRomero@hcdsny.org

About Harbor

Founded in 1958 by conscientious parents, Harbor Country Day School provides a dynamic, academically-enriching Independent Day School experience for Prek-3 students through Grade 8. Harbor’s beautiful, 11-acre campus is located in St. James, on Long Island in the Village of Head of the Harbor.

With its legacy of education rich in tradition and innovation, Harbor nurtures happy, confident students encouraged to strive for excellence, embrace their natural curiosity and interact respectfully with others. “Harbor cherishes childhood, cultivates wonder and inspires confident learners and leaders,” is the Mission that guides Harbor Country Day School.

Harbor is like a second family for its students in which children thrive under the caring, nurturing and personalized attention of dedicated and skilled administrators and faculty in small classes. The emphasis is on educating the whole student in an environment where every facet of a child’s learning experience is enriched with proven, yet innovative and differentiated instruction. Harbor combines traditional teaching methods with leading-edge technologies to inspire and cultivate each child’s personal best. This standard is reflected across the school’s curriculum and offerings including its exciting summer camp program, Camp Harbor.

Harbor’s goal is to give students an experience, not just in academics, but in life. In fact, Harbor graduates do go on to succeed in their secondary and college education, careers and life. Many of Harbor’s alumni have gained prominence in fields of business, public office, education, science and The Arts.

Harbor Country Day School is chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and is accredited by and a member of the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS).  It is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS Code governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees.  For more information, visit www.hcdsny.org.