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Claremont secondary school students lead summer camp

Claremont holding Little Spartans Summer Camps for elementary-aged students, running July 6 to 24.
59130saanichwebLittleSpartan
Jessica Liao

Sunscreen, water, and a peanut-free lunch.

The rules for summer camp participants may be universal, but Claremont secondary has changed the game with its Little Spartans Summer Camps for elementary-aged students, running July 6 to 24.

“It started a couple years ago with Claremont’s new summer advancement programs for traditional classes such as math, science and English,” said camp director and Claremont athletics teacher Phil Ohl.

“Once the school was open in summer, we had the opportunity to add programs, such as this one.”

What makes the Little Spartans program unique is that the camp counsellors are actually Claremont secondary school students such as Stephanie Macaloney, who is earning leadership course credits towards her upcoming Grade 12 year.

“Actually I’m not going to make use of the extra credits, this is just a fun way to spend the summer,” Macaloney said.

“I’ve worked at (summer) camps before and this one is a great group of kids and a ton of fun.”

Twenty Claremont students from Grades 10 to 12 will lead more than 100 Little Spartans during the three-week camp.

Meanwhile, there are advancement classes running in a few of the classrooms, though the school is virtually empty.

“The camp has access to both gyms, the art room and any area outside, so it’s a very ideal setup,” Ohl said.

Camp runs 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with two snack breaks and a lunch break. Registration remains open for the weeks of July 13 to 17 and 20 to 24. The cost is $20 per day or $100 for the week. Visit claremont.sd63.bc.ca or call 250-658-5521.

Claremont’s Summer Session for Academic Advancement runs June 29 to July 23, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

All courses are at the Grade 11 level, in social studies, English, French, biology, Spanish, pre-calculus, chemistry, physics and recreational leadership.

reporter@saanichnews.com