Post Tagged with: "Summer Cougar Camp"

Registration Underway for our Awarding-Winning Summer Cougar Camp

For summer fun and learning, ACS is the place to be! Register today online for our award-winning Cougar Camp for children entering grades 1-7.

Cougar Camp will be open from June 26-August 25 and filled with lots of exciting activities, including weekly field trips and lake days, arts and crafts, STEM projects, Bible lessons, music, and more. Reasonable rates and daily or weekly options available.

Cougar Camp is located on our beautiful, 37-acre campus in Egg Harbor Township and our gym and indoor facilities are air-conditioned.

CLICK HERE to register.

 

 

ACS Wins Best of the Press 2022 Awards in Three Categories

We’re in the Winner’s Circle! Atlantic Christian School was a big winner in the Press of Atlantic City’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards, placing in three categories — for Best Child Daycare Center, Best Summer Camp, and Best Place to Work. The award winners were announced on Sunday, November 6 and published in a special pull-out section in The Press of Atlantic City.

Our summer Cougar Camp and our Early Education Center both received 2nd place Silver Medals and ACS received a 3rd place Bronze Medal in the category of “Best Place to Work.”

Thank you to our ACS families and the many friends in our community who voted online in two rounds of the contest from July-September. Our desire is to honor God in everything we do as we serve our students, our school families, and our local community.

This past summer, children entering grades 1 to 7 enjoyed a 9-week Cougar Camp program that included field trips to the Cape May Zoo, King Pin Bowling, Estell Manor Park, and other fun and educational destinations, water foam fun, STEM activities, swimming at the lake at Sleepy Hollow Family Campground, working in the school garden, sports, Bible stories and worship, and much more. We’re very proud of our Cougar Camp staff, led by faculty member Eric Tardif, and our Early Education teachers and aides, led by Early Ed Director and Elementary Principal Gail Alford, for their dedication and love for each of the students who are in these programs.

CLICK HERE to read the online article on the awards in the Press of Atlantic City.

ACS Summer Cougar Camp Wins Best of the Press 2021 Silver Medal; Early Ed Center Places in Top 5 for Best Child Daycare Center

We’re in the Winner’s Circle! — Our Summer Cougar Camp and Early Education Center recently received special honors in The Press of Atlantic City’s 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards. Cougar Camp received a 2nd place Silver Medal for “Best Summer Camp” and our Early Education Center placed in the Top 5 of “Best Child Daycare Centers” in the region. The award winners were announced on October 31, 2021 and published in a special pull-out section in The Press of Atlantic City.

Thank you to our ACS families and the many friends in our community who voted online in two rounds of the contest from July-September.

We’re very proud of our Cougar Camp staff, led by faculty member Eric Tardif, and our Early Education teachers and aides, led by Early Ed Director and Elementary Principal Gail Alford, for their dedication and love for each of the students who are in these programs.

This past summer, children from grades 1 to 6 enjoyed a 10-week Cougar Camp program that included field trips to the Cape May Zoo, roller skating at Young’s Skating and other fun and educational destinations, movies days, water foam fun, STEM activities, working in the school garden, sports, Bible stories and worship, and much more.

Cougar Camp, Under the Sea Early Ed Program Wrap Up Fun-Filled Summer

The ACS campus was buzzing with activity all summer long as children from preschool to the sixth grade attended our popular, award-winning Cougar Camp and Early Education summer program. Faculty member Eric Tardif, in his second year as Cougar Camp Director, put together an exciting schedule of weekly-themed activities for nearly 90 campers who attended two or more days a week. “It was a summer filled with laughter, joy, and making memories,” said Tardif on the final day of camp on August 27. Early Education Director and Elementary Principal Gail Alford oversaw the Early Ed summer camp program for nearly 100 preschool and kindergarten-aged children.

In Cougar Camp, the children enjoyed field trips to Young’s Skating Center, Birch Grove and Estell Manor Parks, the Cape May Zoo, the Funny Farm Rescue, bowling at DiDonato Family Fun Center, and more. The campers also looked forward each week to water days on Wednesdays and Fridays, especially enjoying the Big Kahuna water slide and “foam fun days.”

Thursdays were STEM days and the challenging projects included constructing a tower using popsicle sticks, making a flashlight, and designing an aluminum foil boat that could hold marbles and float in a basin of water. The students also enjoyed learning more about alpacas, who visited the campus in June, and experienced the wonders of magic performed by Mr. Magico. The campers cooled off on several hot summer days with treats provided by Kona Water Ice.

The campers also held their own Camp Olympics, coinciding with the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and even made their own Olympic medals out of oreos and fruit leather. The school garden was a favorite place of activity each week, where campers watered, weeded, and harvested tomatoes, beets, carrots, and much more, with some of the produce donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Southern Branch.

Each day in Cougar Camp began with the worship and devotions. The older campers led the group in several worship songs and devotions were presented by one of the camp counselors.

“One of the most memorable parts of camp for me was seeing the hearts of a number of children transform to desire to know God and to learn about what He wants for their lives,” Tardif said. “The seeds of the gospel were sown and we started seeing fruit from that.”

Congratulations to our camp directors and camp counselors for a memorable and life-changing summer.

 

Summer Program Starts June 21, Register Now to Reserve Your Child’s Spot

The 37-acre ACS campus is a busy place all summer long with students participating in various programs!  Our Cougar Camp summer program will begin on Monday, June 21 and conclude on Friday, August 27, 2021. The Cougar Camp hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with daily Camp Activities running from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Our Early Education Summer Program will begin on Monday, June 21, 2021 and conclude on Friday, August 27, 2021. The Early Ed Summer Program hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

For more information on our summer programs, click here.

 

Click to Register for Cougar Camp (grades 1-7)

 

Click to Register for Under the Sea Camp (ages 3-5)

 

Cougar Camp Wraps Up Safe, Fun-Filled Summer

The ACS campus was buzzing with activity for seven weeks this summer as boys and girls from the 1st through 7th grades attended our popular, award-winning summer Cougar Camp program, which concluded on August 21. Cougar Camp Director and ACS faculty member Eric Tardif put together a fun-filled schedule of activities, including daily Bible lessons and worship time.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no field trips were permitted this summer, but there were plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to enjoy including STEM projects, playing ga-ga ball in the air-conditioned gymnasium, drawing and painting, hands-on learning in the school garden, and sliding down the Big Kahuna on Wednesday Water Days.  Thank you to Mr. Tardif and our Camp Counselors  — Katherine Kong, Ola Oguntuase, Lola Oguntuase, Joanna Sheldon, and Amy Williams — and to ACS staff member PJ Santos, who led the STEM projects, for making this a memorable summer for all our campers. See you next summer!

 

 

 

How Do You Spell Fun? — ACS Summer Cougar Camp

The ACS campus is a busy place this summer with the laughter and smiling faces of boys and girls who are enjoying a variety of fun, safe activities as part of Cougar Camp, which got underway on July 6.

“The kids are enjoying spending time with each other in a safe environment,” said ACS faculty member Eric Tardif, who is heading up the seven-week camp program. “They’re having fun and they’re engaged in everything we’re doing — including arts and crafts, daily Bible devotions and worship, cooking, playing games, and outdoor water activities.”

Tardif said the camp is following the COVID-19 health and safety guidelines of the CDC and the Atlantic County health department. Tardif said each morning upon arrival campers answer a health screening questionnaire and have their temperature taken.  Throughout the day, camp staff are also cleaning and sanitizing tables, playground equipment, balls, and other shared items. 

Tardif said each week has a different theme, such as shark week, space week, and beach week. For shark week, campers created boats out of aluminum foil and tested them to see how many marbles they could hold before they sank. For space week, campers made moon phases with Oreos and space mobiles to hang in their bedrooms.

Tasty Tuesdays give campers an opportunity to create a delicious edible craft that matches the weekly theme. For shark week, the campers created an ocean scene using graham crackers and icing and they made fishing poles out of pretzel rods and Twizzlers.

Tardif said Water Days on Wednesdays and Fridays are very popular with the campers, when they can cool off with water cannons and the Big Kahuna water slide. 

With three weeks of camp left in August, the campers will be spending at least one day a week in the school garden, weeding and planting fall harvest vegetables. “There’s nothing better than seeing the kids smiling and laughing. This is what summer is all about,” Tardif said.

There are still some spots open for camp in August, so parents can still register a child to attend. The Cougar Camp hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with daily Camp Activities running from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. All participants must bring their own lunch, but every Friday is pizza day (cost included in the camp fee). Snacks are provided daily.

CLICK HERE for more information about Cougar Camp and to register.

School Garden, Greenhouse Ready for Summer, Fall Growing and Learning

The ACS school garden and greenhouse are ready for new opportunities for children to develop their green thumbs this summer and fall thanks to grant funding from the AtlantiCare Healthy Schools, Healthy Children program and revitalization efforts by our Garden Club advisors, school groundskeeper, and the ACS Boy Scout Troop Scoutmaster.

Activity for ACS students in the school garden and greenhouse usually goes into high gear in the spring, but due to the coronavirus outbreak, the school campus was closed from mid-March to the end of the school year. The roofing of the greenhouse was damaged by inclement weather and the raised garden beds were in need of weeding and new planting.

New, heavy-duty plastic sheeting for the greenhouse roof was purchased with the AtlantiCare grant funds and installed by Scoutmaster Mike Jorgenson. Jorgenson had led a team of scouts that built the greenhouse, which first opened in October 2018. Repairs and clean-up of the raised garden beds were carried out in June by Garden Club Advisors Bethany Kiefer and Eric Tardif and groundskeeper Brandon Stevens. Using grant funds, Kiefer and Tardif also purchased and planted a variety of vegetables and a few flowers in the garden, which they will maintain during the summer months.

Tardif, who is an ACS 4th grade teacher and the Cougar Camp Director, said campers will have the opportunity to water, weed, and learn about how to grow plants organically in pesticide-free soil as part of their camp experience. Some of the vegetables growing in the garden include tomatoes, squash, beans, eggplant, peppers, and watermelon. Tardif said produce harvested from the garden will be used in camp cooking classes and donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Southern Branch.

Kiefer, who is an ACS 5th grade teacher, said activity in the greenhouse will get underway in the fall, and maintaining and harvesting produce from the garden beds will also continue. Both teachers said they are looking forward to seeing students back in the garden again when the after-school Garden Club gets underway.

Summer Cougar Camp Opens Monday, July 6, Register Now to Reserve Your Child’s Spot

Our popular summer Cougar Camp will get underway next week — opening on Monday, July 6. It’s not too late to register for a great place to spend the summer enjoying fun activities that combine faith, fellowship, exercise, and learning. Spots are filling fast and camp is now fully booked on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but there are still openings on the other days.

Cougar Camp will run for seven weeks to August 21 and is open to boys and girls who are entering 1st grade through the completion of 6th grade. Campers can choose to attend one or more weeks and must also choose two or more days each week that they will attend. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACS is implementing new health and safety procedures and guidelines that comply with NJ Department of Health recommendations. Campers will be provided with a copy of the procedures and guidelines bulletin and the bulletin is also posted on the ACS website.

Favorite Cougar Camp activities include STEM projects, playing ga-ga ball in the air-conditioned gymnasium, drawing and painting, hands-on learning in the school garden, cooking healthy snacks, and plenty of outdoor water play activities. Worshiping God through music and Bible story time are also part of the daily program.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no field trips are permitted this summer. All participants must bring their own lunch, but every Friday is pizza day (cost included in the camp fee). Snacks are provided daily. 

CLICK HERE to register online for Cougar Camp. 

ACS Summer Programs Are A Go!

Our popular Summer Programs will be offered again and registration is open online. A late May announcement by Governor Phil Murphy has relaxed COVID-19 restrictions and is allowing Early Education Centers to reopen and is permitting children to participate in summer camp programs.

Our award-winning Cougar Camp summer program will run from Monday, July 6 to Friday, August 21, 2020. Cougar Camp is open to boys and girls who are entering 1st grade through the completion of 6th grade. This summer,  campers will enjoy 7 weeks of organized activities with varying themes each week that combine faith, fun, fellowship, exercise, and education. Campers can choose to attend one or more weeks and must attend at least two days per week.

Our Early Education Summer Program, for boys and girls from PreK3 to entering kindergarten, will run from Monday, June 22 and will conclude on Friday, August 21, 2020. Enrollment is for the 9-week program and children must attend at least two days per week.

CLICK HERE to visit the ACS Summer Programs webpage to learn more and to register!

Register Now for ACS Summer Programs

Registration is now open online for our popular summer Cougar Camp and our Early Education Summer Program, which are both scheduled to begin on Monday, June 22, unless delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The award-winning Cougar Camp, which has received multiple “Best of the Press” awards, is open to boys and girls entering the 1st to 7th grades.  The Early Education Summer Program is open to children from PreK3 to entering kindergarten. 

CLICK HERE to visit the ACS Summer Programs Website Page for more information. For questions, please contact Admissions Director Jessica Martin at jmartin@acseht.org.

CLICK HERE to register for Cougar Camp 2020.

CLICK HERE to register for the Early Education Summer Program 2020.