The 1998 film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai showed millennial kids at a dreamy summer camp. It was a bunch of fun and unlimited sports for kids from various schools on an outskirt retreat for the summer season. While millennials were not able to materialise it, kids and youngsters from this generation, specifically from Odisha, can surely do so. With the mercury soaring up steadily, schools have announced their summer holidays early. And this is that period of the year when students can break their day-to-day monotony and engage in more fun-productive activities. Many organisations and schools have armed themselves to provide this holistic experience of providing physical, emotional, intellectual, adventurous and exciting activities that can enable the kids’ overall growth while steering clear of the heat.
This summer, Sunday POST takes a look at a few schools and organisations that have been conducting summer camps for years and are now adding various other activities to keep their students engaged during this break.
Summer Scape 2.0
Empires Hotel Bhubaneswar, in association with Delhi Public School Kalinga, is once again coming up with the second edition of Summer Scape 2 (summer camp 2023) with fun filled learning activities for students like singing, dancing, yoga, swimming, a magic show and a little master chef session this year.
Sanjay Mishra, Vice President of Empires, says, “The objective of this summer camp is to provide an extramural activity-oriented learning platform for school students to dive into the deep ocean of worldly activities outside their academic curriculum. During the summer vacation of 2023, the aim is to enhance and enrich the hidden potential of kids by expanding their capabilities. All we want to do is bring out their quintessential God-gifted intrinsic hidden talent.”
Narrating the perks of the camp, Mishra adds, “Students from classes 1 to 7 can participate and will receive ‘Summer Scape’ t-shirts on the first day of the camp. As we all know, prizes and tokens are always motivational and give a chunk of happiness to the youngsters. Hence, we have trophies, certificates and gifts on Grand Finale Day from the celebrity judges”.
“We believe parents’ involvement in the activities with their kids is equally important and for that, we have a ramp show on the Grand Finale Day, the Parent-Kid Duo. The finale will showcase extravagant performances including Odissi dance, music performance, yoga performance, master chef session and magic show by the instructor/gurus along with respective category participants,” Mishra informs.
SAI Summer Fiesta 4.0
SAI International, the leading education group, began a pioneering revolution in the K-12 educational scenario in Odisha. SAI Summer Fiesta, which is in its fourth edition, entails the most cherished ten days that not only help kids develop 21st century abilities and learning skills but also give them a much-needed break from their monotonous routine schedule. “Our continual goal has been to make sure that learning never stops and has a lifelong, profound impact. Encouraging the children to utilise the long summer vacation not in the sun but indoors, enjoyably learning new skills and engaging in immersive activities that develop kinesthetic, creative, communicative and critical thinking skills,” says Sr. Principal Nilakantha Panigrahi.
He further adds, “The school is fully equipped to propagate hybrid learning (both online and offline) via engaging, immersive teaching and learning processes. However, owing to the government’s announcement of an early summer vacation due to the heat wave, we have organised a twelve-day virtual Summer Fiesta for our students this year. We have invited luminaries from national and international forums representing different segments to make the sessions more engaging, intellectually stimulating and productive.”
This Summer Fiesta will have participation from students in Standard III to VIII. The institution believes it is necessary to provide the children with physical and emotional wellbeing through immersive and joyful learning. The school’s virtual infrastructure for the so-called “New Normal” is instrumental in catching up with the uncertain future possibilities. The call of the day is to ‘reorient’, ‘reinvent’, ‘relearn’ and ‘re-process’, in order to build the Gen Z human resource. This camp aims at augmenting experiences and opportunities that help make the enrolled students future-ready and armed with a new set of life skills that focus primarily on developing the spirit to fight against adversities, strengthening resilience, building confidence, understanding and self-introspection.
Elaborating on the curriculum for the programme, Panigrahi adds, “For SAI Summer Fiesta 4.0, we have hands-on learning sessions on art and craft, diverse dance forms, musical instruments, cooking, indoor plant decorations, interior designing, web designing, photography, video editing, coding, magic with science, storytelling, puppetry, communication workshops and expert sessions on leadership, motivation, emotional well-being and a lot more. We try our best to inculcate pedagogies that involve art-integrated learning and music-integrated learning to foster socio-emotional learning amidst young minds, thereby unlocking every child’s inherent potential by making learning a pleasant activity to participate in.”
Having fun while learning life skills
Ashani Abacus is a complete brain development programme that started its operations in Bhubaneswar in 2005. It has garnered a name for child skill development in the state of Odisha. Founder-Director Gitanjali Gouda says that the programme was set up by women entrepreneurs in order to develop the mathematical and brain skills of young children using the magic tool of the abacus.
Detailing about it, Gitanjali says, “Ashani Art and Abacus is affiliated with Ashani Abacus Trust. We provide mental arithmetic (abacus) to 4–14-year-old children. It is an off-time course for children. We also provide the Kalfun math tool, an abacus/mental arithmetic course, a vedic mathematics course, fine art, a handwriting course, robotics for students from standard 3 and spoken English. Due to the heat, Summer Camp 2023 has been scheduled for the second week of May. Apart from the activities mentioned, we have a delightful time with nature. Crafts, painting, plantation and snack preparation are also included for the involvement of kids.”
“Summer camps enable children to develop confidence, independence, social skills, leadership skills and physical fitness. Summer camp is a specially crafted programme designed for children and teenagers during their summer vacation holidays as they come together and have fun while learning lifelong lessons,” claims founder Rabindra Nath Gouda.
Breathing life into education
Unmukt Foundation started functioning in 2013 with a small act of kindness: distributing traditional oil lamps during Diwali. Soon it was on the way to achieve its goal of providing education to children in need while also keeping environmental sustainability a priority.
Like many other organisations involved in educating kids, the Foundation also conducts an annual summer camp to teach hands-on skills to the growing up children.
Describing about its three-day camp, Founder Shweta says, “Our summer camp is based on Unmukt’s flagship model, PEACE. We offer a diverse range of activities over three days, including martial arts, coding, painting, dance, meditation, journaling, and more. Our camp is a fantastic opportunity for children to learn new skills, explore their interests, and get ready for the upcoming academic year. We also invite external guests to conduct sessions and provide wholesome, healthy food for the children.”
She further adds, “At Unmukt Foundation, we believe in providing a holistic experience to children at our summer camp. Instead of just focusing on fun, we aim to help children develop their physical, emotional, academic, and creative skills while also encouraging environmental action. We work with underprivileged children between the ages of 7 and 15 in Bhubaneswar. We group the children according to their age and understanding to ensure they have a meaningful and enjoyable experience.”
Asked about the need for such events, she says “Summer camp is an essential opportunity for children to learn new skills, open up, and explore their interests in a non-judgmental and pressure-free environment.
“We focus not only on academic learning but also on important human skills such as collaboration, communication, and leadership. We provide a loving, safe and nurturing environment for children to learn, grow, and have fun. We also offer creativity kits, journals, and gifts to help children start the new academic year with positivity and hope,” concludes Shweta.