Pictured: Superintendent Dr. William Brennan met with campers and counselors at the Summer Recreation program at Birch Lane Elementary School.
Photos courtesy of the Massapequa School District
It’s fun for all ages at Massapequa’s six elementary schools, where the Summer Recreation program is in full swing. Campers and counselors spend six hours a day together playing games, doing arts and crafts, going on field trips and enjoying special events.
The five-week program is open to students entering kindergarten through fifth grade. Many of the campers attend for all five weeks, while others mix and match with the district’s other summer programs, such as the Fine Arts and Sports Skills camps.
Counselors include high school leaders and volunteers, college assistants and a director and assistant director. Each camp director is a certified teacher.
An important part to the success of the Summer Recreation program is the strong bond formed between the campers and their counselors. At Birch Lane, they enjoy spending time outside playing games.
Many of the counselors were once campers themselves, such as Eden Price, a 2023 Massapequa High School graduate who is working her fourth summer at Birch Lane Elementary School. This year, she supervises a group of third grade boys. Eden first attended the camp in 2010, right before she started kindergarten.
“I hope they have a really nice summer here,” she said of the elementary students. “The camp is an amazing experience. A lot of the activities that we do are really fun.”
In a typical day, each group rotates between different activities. There are stops in the game room, the arts and crafts room, the playground, the fields and the gymnasium. Lunch and snack time are also part of the day. They switch every 30 to 40 minutes which Eden noted, “Is the perfect amount of time where they stay stimulated.”
A visit from Fun Stuff Express at the East Lake camp on July 20 allowed students to make their own stuffed animals.
Each camp has weekly field trips. Destinations include the movies, Massapequa Bowl, Dave and Buster’s and the Long Island Children’s Museum. There are also many special events at the camp where students make ceramics, sand art and tie-dye T-shirts, enjoy magic shows and science demonstrations and eat Ralph’s Italian Ices. One popular program is a visit from Fun Stuff Express in which children get to make a stuffed animal to take home. Carnival Day is also a favorite, with the counselors organizing games for their campers.
“We do very fun stuff,” said Michael Florio, a third grader at East Lake Elementary School. “It’s a good way to spend your summer and you’re with your friends.”
Michael, who is attending Summer Recreation for the second year, said his favorite activities are baseball and handball. He also likes forming a bond with the counselors.
One of his counselors is Jace Pivarnik, who recently graduated from high school and is working at the camp for the third summer. His primary responsibilities are keeping the campers safe and making sure they are having fun.
“It’s a lot of fun getting to know them,” Jace said. “They like to tell me stories.”
Emilia Sheridan, a fourth grader at Birch Lane, added, “The counselors are really nice. They’re really fun and they care about us.”
The swings get lots of use at the Birch Lane playground during Summer Recreation.
Marissa Spalletta, the director of the East Lake camp, said the relationships between the campers and counselors are very important. Since many of the leaders are working at the elementary schools they once attended, it helps create a strong sense of community. A typical week, she said, features 150 to 200 campers, along with about 35 counselors, so there is a lot of support for the children.
Birch Lane’s camp has more than 200 campers a week, as well as a staff of more than 40 high school and college students.
“This program doesn’t run unless I have a fantastic staff,” said Chris Siemsen, the Summer Recreation program director at Birch Lane for the past decade.
Superintendent Dr. William Brennan noted the success of a new online registration system, with strong enrollment at the various summer camps.
The game room is a popular spot at the East Lake camp.
“All of our summer programs are thriving,” he said. “It warms our hearts to see our students enjoying themselves, making new friends and creating lasting memories. A special thanks to our directors, our counselors and our volunteers. This is truly a team effort.”
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