Summer has wound to a close, but many Massapequa kids still have their camp smiles with them on the first day of school. The village hosted a variety of camp programs this year, from sports to the arts.
The Summer Fine Arts Program welcomed 500 students, led by certified teachers and about 40 high school student assistants. The program was in partnership with Nassau BOCES, and aimed to provide students with unique experiences in the arts.
“One of the biggest draws is that our teachers plan activities that aren’t necessarily offered during the school year,” coordinator Jessica Wyman said. “Our students can branch out and try new things.”
That’s how music classes like acoustic guitar and Irish tin whistle and fine arts classes such as iPad Claymation and mosaic art were born.
“It’s really fun because your friends are there, and the teachers teach you really good music,” said eighth-grader Anisa Raghubeer, who took summer band, flute choir and musical theater workshops. “They help me improve on my instrument and express my feelings through music.”
Also in full swing all summer were the district’s sports camps, with hundreds of campers taking part. The camps included baseball, basketball, cheerleading, field hockey, football, gymnastics, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, speed and agility, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.
Each session was led by varsity and junior varsity coaches, and supported by high school athletes and even some recent graduates.
“I like working with the kids, seeing them have fun making the experience the best for them,” said incoming ninth-grader Sienna Erker, who volunteered at the girls basketball camp. Due to high demand, this year’s girls basketball camp was expanded to include students entering second and third grade.
The baseball camp ran for several weeks at the high school, where children traveled from station to station to learn skills like bunting, hitting, fielding, baserunning and pitching. They were guided by current and former athletes from Massapequa baseball. “All I did when I was younger was play baseball,” said 2022 graduate Tim Dorman, who attended the camp as a kid and still serves as a counselor.
Tim said his goal was to make camp as fun as possible for the children, so they were excited to learn the fundamentals. He had them play games related to learning a specific skill because “anything you turn into a competition for them, they love.”
student assistants.
