Monday, January 9, 2012

192 Chances To Inspire


For our second project, my team is going to the Eldorado National Forest in Pollock Pines, CA. The 11 of us are going to be chaperones at Sly Park, an outdoor education school for 5th and 6th graders. Here is an excerpt from my press release that was actually published in the Mountain Democrat, the oldest newspaper in California!...



An AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team upholds a tradition and returns to Sly Park Environmental Science Camp for eight weeks from January 9th to March 9th.   During that time, the team will help 5th and 6th graders of the El Dorado County school systems increase their in-classroom science grades through hands-on experience with nature.

Each week, the team of 11 Corps Members will be split up among different cabins and will, with the help of a parent chaperone, assist a new group of 24 students.  The NCCC team will lead forest hikes, belay the rock wall, and attend arts and crafts sessions.  They will also lean about astrology in the planetarium and facilitate groups of kids writing and preforming their own songs and skits.

Sly Park is a residential, outdoor science camp, established in 1970, that annually provides a hands-on learning experience to diverse groups of students from 23 different school districts and 18 private schools. The camp's mission is to provide its students with a meaningful and sustainable environmental education.

ShaunaKaye Sayles, one of the Corps Members on the arriving team says, "I'm really looking forward to this project since with AmeriCorps NCCC,  I'm away from home for a year.  I’m learning and growing but I miss playing with my younger siblings and teaching them the ways of life. Now, for 2 months, I'll have a total of 192 students to mentor and have 192 chances to inspire! I just can't wait!"