Burke County Public Schools capped off a summer of Career and Technical Education (CTE) camps for students Thursday with four camps at various locations in the county.
Over the summer, more than 230 Burke County students took part in 19 “Summer Adventure CTE Camps” during three weeks. The camps were free and open to all Burke County rising sixth- through eighth-grade students. All campers received free breakfast and lunch each day, as well as free T-shirt.
Funded by a grant called “Summer Accelerator,” the following camps were offered by the district June 20-23 and Aug. 1-4:
- Building a Business that Cares Entrepreneurship Camp
- Impact Construction Camp
- Farm to Table Camp
- Farm to Fork Camp
- Dyeing to Learn About Color Apparel Design Camp
- Building and Empire Construction Camp
- #Computer Science #Digital World
- VEX Robotics 101
- Medical Exploration Camp
- Roller Coaster Madness
- A Week to Become a Millionaire Entrepreneurship Camp
- Firefighting Camp
- Automotive Camp
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Four additional camps, held Aug. 8-11 capped off the summer including The Baker’s Shop, Hogwarts Hall of Engineers Camp, Burke Agriculture Pathways and “Sew it Seems” Textile Camp.
At the Hogwarts Hall of Engineers Camp at East Burke Middle School, students took their magical engineering abilities to the next level by designing and testing “magic wands” and Maglev trains as well as using engineering to care for “magical creatures.” Students also saw a Glowforge laser cutter and engraver in action and learned how to make their own designs on the machine.
“They are able to take home their own Glowforge design and LED light base, so they’ll have a memory from their camp,” said Andrea Gladden, a teacher at East Burke Middle School and director of the Hogwarts camps.
For Gladden, the week was about much more than just fun and games.
“Everything that we do, regardless of what I’m teaching, I try really hard to integrate content for middle school, so we have lots of different potential ways that we can introduce STEM to sixth, seventh and eighth graders,” she said.
At “The Bakery Shop” at Freedom High School, students explored ways simple ingredients can be used to make the best bakery treats and discussed the importance of kitchen safety and sanitation. During the week, they also tasted cookies, muffins, dumplings and biscuits and visited local restaurants to see how they implement safety practices and learn about the different types of food the serve.
At the Burke Agriculture Pathways camps at East Burke and Freedom high schools, middle school students received hands-on experience in a variety of agricultural career pathways including animal science, agriculture mechanics and horticulture.
At Patton High School, students in the “Sew it Seems” Textile Camp learned to dye and screen print fabric and thread a sewing machine. Students also made their own tote bag and toured the Industrial Commons and WPCC to explore the textile industry in Burke County.
According to Career and Technical Education Director Casey Rogers, the purpose of the camps was to give middle school students the opportunity to explore a variety of different potential career pathways.
“We’re excited to showcase our CTE programs by hosting camps that provide middle school students the opportunity to explore many career pathways,” he said. “We hosted camps for engineering and robotics, foods and nutrition, apparel and textiles, business and entrepreneurship, healthcare, construction, firefighting, and computer science and coding.”
At the Hogwarts Hall of Engineers camp, rising sixth grader Marshall Johnson said that while he enjoyed the educational projects he participated in during the week, he was more excited about the camp as an opportunity to have new experiences and make new friends.
“I met a lot of new people here,” he said. “A lot of people that I think I’ll never forget in my life.”
For East Burke student Abigail Gladden, the draw had more to do with the week’s Harry Potter theme.
“I am Harry Potter addicted,” she said. “I love Harry Potter so much, I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies and I’m working on reading the books a second time.”
For Andrea Gladden, tying education and career exploration together in ways that intersect with children’s daily lives is one of the most important facets of the camps.
“I’m a Harry Potter fan. I love all the different possibilities and I’m a big fan of integrating content into the things that we do,” said Andrea Gladden. “It gives me a lot of flexibility with a theme like Harry Potter.”
Middle School student Jaia Thor said she would definitely come back to the Hogwarts Academy next year if given the opportunity.
“It gives you an experience that you only get once in a lifetime and you can expand your mind,” she said.
For more information on Career and Technical Education in Burke County Public Schools, visit https://bit.ly/3p9UqgD.