Rising ninth grader Shaun researches court documents in preparation for being a judge in his class’s upcoming mock trial. Students practice for Horizons’ jazz band concert. Students made kimchi, learned the science behind hand-tossed ice cream, and practiced sight reading while playing th e recorder last week during some of the many lessons offered at the Horizons summer program at Foote School. The Independent recently took a tour of the Horizons program, as led by assistant director Christina MacLean and including Horizons Board of Directors Chair Francie Irvine. There are 71 Horizons programs around the country aimed at providing six intensive weeks for youth to access joyful and enriching programming, MacLean said. On Wednesday, the tour included stops at several classrooms as well as the school’s gymnasium/lunch room. Since 2015, the Horizons program has been partnering each summer to open the Prospect Hill private school’s campus to students to engage in enrichment classes and clubs, field trips, and swimming from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program enrolls students from kindergarten to the summer after their 8th grade year. This year the program has 177 students, which is up from 144 students in 2022. At least 90 percent of the student population, MacLean said, are from New Haven Public Schools. In 2021 and 2022, the nearby Albertus Magnus College hosted a sister Horizons program on their school’s campus. In 2023 it ended the campus program, leading the Foote site to take on the Albertus campers. Thus the recent spike in enrollment. Horizons at Foote offers swimming to all students at Albertus Magnus College or Goldfish Swim School in Hamden. To assess the program’s impact beyond student attendance, Horizons uses a STAR system when students arrive and leave the program after six weeks to assess their growth. MacLean said that by the end of the camp, students typically see 8-12 weeks of growth. Some Horizons students picked Korean as their enrichment class this summer. The course is taught by Jenny Cho, who on Wednesday taught her class how to make kimchi. In advance of the class Cho prepped kkakdugi — a diced radish kimchi — which she scooped a spoonful of into a cup for each of her nine students. “Say kkakdugi!” Cho said aloud, prompting the students to repeat it back to her. Students then suited up in gloves before mixing in Korean chili pepper powder and green onion in with the kkakdugi. Each classroom for the summer camp contains a lead teacher, teaching assistant, a teaching assistant in training, and a volunteer to aid students one on one as often as possible. In an eighth grade ELA classroom taught by middle school educator Sasha Fisher and teacher assistant Ruth Rivera Morales, a group of students searched through dozens of legal documents in preparation for an upcoming classroom mock trial. The idea for the class lesson came after the group read the book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. The group learned about the legal system and courts throughout class lessons and decided on doing a mock trial of the West Virginia 2012 murder of 16-year-old Skylar Neese, later found to be done by her two friends Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The class watched video footage from the case and researched court documents on Wednesday to prep for a mock trial where Shaun, a rising ninth grader who has been with Horizons since kindergarten, will be the student-judge. “Siri, remind me at 6 a.m. to get my gavel for 8th grade,” MacLean spoke into her Apple Watch Wednesday while visiting the class. In a second-grade STEAM class, students worked with lead teacher Kate Kozey and TA Florence Polak to learn the science behind making ice cream. They then put that science to the test in the classroom. Kozey walked the students through the scientific bonds that happen when salt is added to ice. She asked the class of rising third graders, “What is heavy whipping cream solid, liquid, or gas?” The group responded in unison: “Liquid.” She next asked why the instructions would include adding salt to the ice. “So it melts?,” one student guessed. Kozey told them it was to actually do the opposite. The rock salt would help the ice cream to get colder, she explained. With their plastic bags full of heavy whipping cream, Kozey told them to next put the small plastic bag of cream into a bigger bag with the ice that they’d shake for 5-10 minutes. This year Horizons had a budget of about $880,000 to host the free program for students as well as monthly events during the school year for families. MacLean said around 40 percent of Horizons revenue comes from grants. Horizons had a waitlist of 130 students this summer. In an art class on Wednesday, rising fifth graders worked with local artist and first-time Horizons teacher Faustin Adeniran. Wednesday’s group worked to draw out with pencils an art piece responding to the question, “What is home?” Adeniran then planned to have the students learn more about painting by working on a canvas to replicate their responses and later make art into 3D models. Rising fifth grader Le’gend described Horizons as fun and exciting. His favorite ways to spend his time are swimming and enjoying the program’s food, which provided by Yale hospitality. Whether eating delicious pasta and waffles or falling in love with swimming, Le’gend said he’s enjoying his fifth year at the Horizons camp. He joined the Foote campus site after Albertus’ program ended. Le’gend concluded he looks forward to the field trips on Fridays, like to the Connecticut River Museum. Music teacher Carlos Diaz gave his students an informal test Wednesday, having them practice their sight reading and performing on the spot as the group learned to play the recorder. “Get in ready position,” Diaz said before calling out notes like “G” and “A” to the same rhythm the group played them. This summer Diaz has been teaching all of his classes to sight read. As a part of the summer camp schedule, students have specials like art and music. For her second summer, middle school reading specialist Jasmine Morrison, who is also a special education teacher during the year, offered reading intervention to the Horizons campers most in need. With up to five in a small group at a time, Morrison works with Horizons K-5 to “nurture the areas in which students have difficulties” which often are with phonics or comprehension. Morrison’s first goal is to build relationships with her students when she pulls them from their English classrooms to work with her. The camp also has two full-time social workers to support student behavior and social-emotional regulation. On Wednesday in a theatre class, educator Ty Scurry led students through an improv activity. Scurry called out different roles for the students to immediately step into. He called out things like being a clown in a circus and a tiny crab on a beach. When the students heard that they had to become old people walking in a park, many of them immediately put their hands on their hips and backs and called out, “My back!”  Scurry is working with his students to put on a performance of Annie this summer. Milford physical education teacher Jesse Cala on Wednesday introduced pickleball to students a week after the group practiced soccer in honor of the World Cup. Cala noted that Milford has six pickleball courts and New Haven’s sites continue to grow. His goal is to teach his students that they too can learn to play. Legend at work in art class taught by artist Faustin Adeniran. In a seventh grade math, class students learned a new multiplication game called Blockout. Horizons at Foote leads Francie Irvine, Christina MacLean, and Rashana Graham. Horizons’ phone lock boxes equipped for all classrooms to remain distraction free. Pickleball 101. Making ice cream in science class. Diaz preparing with students in jazz band. Credit: Janday Wilson Photo The post Summer Campers Reach For The Horizons appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less