Cool Kids kick off annual summer camp

With summer now in full swing, the Cool Kids Club/No Limits program began its annual summer camp this week, offering a variety of educational and entertaining activities to area youth during the next two months.

"We started on Tuesday, and it has been great," program director Coleen Langdon said. "Very busy."

The Cool Kids Club began in Oct. 2001 when school administrators from Sidney and Chadron wrote a joint grant to begin a before, after and summer school program in their communities. A $1.5 million three-year grant was awarded under the "No Child Left Behind" federal initiative.

The program started out during the school year with a dozen children in kindergarten through third grade and one classroom at North Elementary. By the summer, participation grew to 65 students for their first, and soon to be annual, camp.

In 2004, the program was extended to students in fourth through eighth grade, and later all the way through 12th grade. Dubbed "No Limits," the new group allowed for higher level projects and activities aimed at an older crowd.

Now in its 15th year of operation in Sidney, the Cool Kids Club averages more than 120 active participants daily in their after school program and has spread out to two additional sites at Central and South Elementary schools.

The program is now also independent from state funding, and thrives through private grants as well as donations from local individuals and businesses.

With its summer camp, Cool Kids Club/No Limits offers students nine weeks of activities, held eight hours daily at North Elementary, located at 434 16th Ave in Sidney, and is open to children both inside and outside Cheyenne County.

"They're here from 7:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon," Langdon said. "It's like a regular school day, but every day is different."

Last year, the summer camp brought in 180 students. While this year's attendance is down from last summer, Langdon said she anticipates the number increasing as they move forward.

"A rough estimate is we have about 120 kids here," she said. "It'll go up, but it doesn't surprise me that the numbers are down a little bit (from last summer) with all of the people that lost their jobs."

Cheyenne County Extension office is providing three interns and one AmeriCorps volunteer for the summer camp to help with a variety of activities. In 2014, the Cool Kids Club/No Limits partnered with the Cheyenne County 4-H program as an active club, which allows the program to use 4-H curriculum, expanding the activities they are able to offer their members.

Langdon said including the interns, 18 people are working together to make the summer camp stay active and on schedule.

"It's a mixture, from high school kids to certified teachers," she said.

The weekly schedule includes a variety of projects focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, along with other activities such as gardening, sewing, physical education, outdoor skills, team building, nutrition, agriculture and more.

One of the more unique activities that are available is a weekly lesson on proper etiquette and decorum.

"They learn how to shake hands, look people in the eye, that sort of thing," Langdon said.

Tia Pritchard, who will be starting as a freshman at Sidney High School in the fall, teaches the class on decorum. She said a lot of children do not understand the importance of manners, and she wants to educate them so they can have a head start.

"Today, I'm teaching them how to walk properly, how to introduce themselves and will talk to them about the end-of-the-summer tea party, which is awesome," Pritchard said.

Pritchard said the tea party is the culmination of the lessons, where the students will have an opportunity to show off the manners and behaviors they have learned.

Afternoons in summer camp include fun group activities such as matinees at the Fox Theatre or taking a swim at the newly opened Sidney Aquatic Center.

Kevin Skinner, 6, was so excited for his first trip to the new aquatic center, he made sure a drawing of a pool was front and center as he wrote about the things he wanted to do at the camp during the summer.

"I like to go under (the water)," Kevin said.

Kevin said he was going to jump off the diving board, but was not sure if he would try out the 20-foot slide. His friend, Dean Kitt, then chimed in that the slide was the best part.

"The slide is fun," said six-year-old Dean, who had visited the aquatic center on Tuesday. "It's dark and you can't see anything. I tried to climb back up it, but I couldn't. It was like somebody was trying to pull me down."

The camp will also include a field trip to Hot Springs, S.D., for students in second grade and above to visit the wind cave and mammoth site, as well as participation in the annual Gold Rush Days and Cheyenne County Fair.

The Cool Kids Club/No Limits Summer Camp continues for nine weeks through Friday, July 29.

Costs for the camp are set at $2 per hour, or $16 per eight-hour day. Students with reduced lunches are set at $8 per day, and those with free lunches through the schools have a fee of $4 per day.

Breakfast and lunch are also provided as part of the summer food service program with Sidney Public Schools at no extra charge.

While payment is done in arrears, or after the end of the camp, children still need to be registered before they can attend.

Registration forms are available at the Cheyenne County Community Center located at 627 Toledo St. Completed forms should be returned to community center or at North Elementary School.

For more information, contact Coleen Langdon by cell at (308) 249-6572 or by email at [email protected].