26
Youth
March 15 - April 4, 2014
www.SanTanSun.com
RAK Summer Camp Fair brings camps to community
Academics key to Seton wrestling program
BY TRACY HOUSE
BY MAX KRAUST
Celebrating its 11th year of helping families find the right summer camp, Raising Arizona Kids magazine brought its 2014 Camp Fair AZ to Chandler Preparatory Academy at Warner and Alma School roads as part of its two-day summer camp fair. The first day of the summer camp was held at Tesseract School in Phoenix and more than 80 camps were represented, says Brandy Collet, circulation coordinator and camp fair organizer for Raising Arizona Kids (RAK). The Chandler summer camp fair brought in 55-plus camps for parents and children to visit and learn what options are available for the summer. RAK has been promoting the camp fair for six months, ensuring there are a variety of camp options to meet individual camper’s interests. Camps are able to sign up with RAK, which has a summer camp directory, and then come to the fair to meet the families to provide information on the camp. Whether families were looking for fullday, half-day, overnight, out-of-town, or out-of-state camps, there was something for everyone. Camp offerings included music, arts, science, gymnastics, dance and cheer, Spanish learning, drama, engineering, physical fitness, sports, academic, animal fun and more. “The nice thing about this is most of the people at the camps or at their
booths, they are the owners, they are the directors, so these parents come, they know who the people they’re working with, where they’re going to send their kids this summer,” Collet explains. “That’s the nicest thing about it. You’re not just sending your kids off into somewhere you searched on the internet. I think that’s really the nice thing, you get a chance to meet with the directors and really get a feel for the camp.” Camps for consideration are for preschool age through high school. Families were able to interact, ask questions and get a sense of what each of the camps has to offer and what might be the best fit. Children got a chance to pet a bunny, iguana and snake, build with LEGO, rock climb and try their hands at some crafts and guitar playing. For a parent considering sending a child to overnight camp, this was an opportunity to talk with the camp representatives, Collet says. “They’ll talk with your kids and help them work through the insecurities and not being sure whether they want to do it or not.” Offering a variety of camps for parents to come and find something for kids, Collet says, “A lot of parents don’t think to send their kids to camp. This just offers a way to get involved and start thinking about ‘Hey this is a really great experience to send SEE SUMMER
CAMP
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Seton Catholic High School’s wrestling team is one that prides itself on academics and it was able to excel on and off the mat during the 2013-14 season. The Sentinel wrestling team had four wrestlers finish in the top five of their weight class at the 2014 AIA D3/D4 State Championships. And all of them were also honor roll students. Freshman Quentin Hovis and junior Sergio Chavez were
crowned champions in their individual weight classes, the school’s first two wrestling champions. Freshmen Vincent Dolce and Brandon Konecny also placed at the state tournament, finishing second and fifth, respectively. “Our priority is making strong studentathletes. We push our kids to get all A’s in school,” says SCHS Head Wrestling Coach SEE SETON
WRESTLING
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TOP-NOTCH PROGRAM: Coach Jack Cardinal, Vincent Dolce, Brandon Konecny, Coach Kellan Fluckiger, Quentin Hovis, Sergio Chavez and Coach Eric Larkin after the 2014 AIA D3/D4 State Championship wrestling tournament. Submitted photo