Weekly Media Roundup: July 6, 2016

Kids Have a Blast, Learn Cyber Basics (Pensacola News Journal, Florida)

Elementary and middle school students are learning how to better secure their computers, phones and tablets at Global Business Solutions Inc.’s (GBSI’s) Summer Cyber Camp. The program teaches students about the dangers of sharing personal information with strangers and shows them how to create complex passwords to protect their devices. The camp aims to expose young people to cybersecurity and computer science to encourage them to pursue careers in those fields. “The goal is to get them young and to get them interested,” GBSI technical writer Steve Samaha told the Pensacola News Journal. 

Free Range Fun (The Landmark, Massachusetts)

Lisa Burris thinks young students today suffer from a nature deficit, so she’s trying to give them opportunities to explore the outdoors at her Turn Back Time Farm. The nonprofit farm offers summer camps, home schooling and afterschool programs for students of all abilities, but particularly for children with special needs who may have trouble thriving in a traditional classroom. “The overarching goal is just play,” Burris told The Landmark. “It happens naturally, and it ticks all the boxes – development, gross motor skills. Kids learn, heal, negotiate through play.” The 58-acre farm boasts a trail system, a cultivated garden and plenty of farm animals for children to interact with, including goats, pigs and a pony.

Summer Camp an EPIC Way to Learn (Post & Courier, South Carolina)

Nearly a thousand Charleston County elementary schoolers are learning to be scientists and creative problem solvers at EPIC summer camp. Many of the students spend the whole day at EPIC (which stands for Engaging, Purposeful, Innovative, Creative), working on STEM projects in the mornings and art and other enrichment activities in the afternoons. The camp aims to improve students’ social skills and keep them learning over the long summer months so they don’t fall behind at the start of the school year. “I really like it because you can learn a lot so you don’t forget in the summertime,” fourth-grader Leila Nadar told the Post & Courier. “I’ve always had a hard time when I get back from the summer and I’m like, Oh my God, I forgot everything, but now I won’t forget.”

Horizons Helping More Hoosier Kids (Indianapolis Star, Indiana)

While many students lose ground in core academic subjects over the summer, 150 students in the Horizons summer program are gaining two to three months of reading proficiency, improving their math skills and learning how to be stronger communicators. The students, most of whom are at risk of falling behind their peers during the school year, spend their summer days on Butler College’s campus participating in classroom activities and field trips meant to sharpen their academic and social skills in all areas, including art, STEM, physical fitness and community service. They also get a glimpse into the college life, showing them that they could succeed after high school as well. “It makes me so happy because I get to see people eating lunch and they’re in college,” 13-year-old Quintez Tucker told the Indianapolis Star. “That makes me think I can do it. I walk past the door and see them in class, I know I can do that.”