Learning shouldn't stop just because it's summer break. The summer provides students with great opportunities for engaging learning experiences that can be both fun and academically rewarding.
Duval County Public Schools, as well as many community organizations, such as the library, zoo and museums, provide activities to keep your child busy and engaged over the summer.
DCPS' Community Education Summer Camp Program
As an extension of the Extended Day Enrichment Program, summer camps are offered at a number of select elementary, middle and high school sites throughout the school district. Summer camps are designed to assist working parents by providing participants a wide variety of enrichment activities at an affordable fee. Enrichment activities may include recreational sports, arts and crafts, special events, field trips and computer literacy.
Summer camps range in length from six to eight weeks and most provide extended hours in the morning and afternoon. For a complete list of camps, please visit our Web site or call the Community Education office at 904-858-6080.
Jacksonville Public Library
The library is always a great place for students to visit over the summer, offering summer reading programs and age-appropriate story times, as well as some other learning opportunities like photography exhibits, art clubs and events, computer classes, teen book and movie clubs, and more. Visit http://jpl.coj.net for a calendar of events and locations.
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Day Camps
Students can spend an entire week at the zoo this summer exploring the animal kingdom, conservation, zoo careers and the great outdoors. All programs include instruction, behind the scene tours, animal encounters, a train ride, hands-on activities, crafts, visits to Play Park and the new penguin exhibit. For more information about the session schedule, activities and cost, visit www.jacksonvillezoo.org.
Museum Visits
The Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens Art Connections exhibit provides students with the opportunity to walk through a painting, create patterns through dance, make a collage, listen to a sculpture, or paint with a virtual paintbrush. Visit www.cummer.org for the museum’s hours of operation.
MOCA Jacksonville offers artcamp@MOCA, nine, week-long sessions of creative art making for ages 4-5, 6-11 and 12-15. Museum educators and certified local art educators provide quality instruction in a wide variety of subjects and media. Summer artcamp@MOCA includes a variety of art-making activities, exploration of art history, tours of the museum’s collection, literacy and creative movement. www.mocajacksonville.org
JaxParks Summer Activities
Sensational summers start at JaxParks with several different types of summer camps, including art/creative, aquatics, junior lifeguard, nature/history and more. Visit www.jaxparks.com for more information.
Summer Learning at Home
If summer camp or programs are not possible this year, set up learning activities at home that your child can participate in, such as science experiments; backyard explorations; a summer-long book club; history projects; and/or supervised cooking responsibilities, which provide students with excellent practice in mathematical measurements and following directions.
Summer Food Service Program
Duval County Public Schools participates in the 2010 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) during the months of June, July and August.
The SFSP was created to ensure that children in lower-income areas could continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations, when they do not have access to school lunch or breakfast.
The SFSP provides free nutritionally balanced meals to all children 18 and younger regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. There is no discrimination in the course of the meal service.
For more information, visit the Duval County School Web site.
First Day of School is August 23rd.
