Don’t Rock the Boat summer camp challenges students to use STEM skills

Media Contacts: Michele Gedrose, Continuing Education program manager, 509.682.6906, Pat Strand, Chelan Douglas Retirees’ Association president, 509.884.6159, or Libby Siebens, executive director community relations, 509.682.6436 (Mon. – Thurs.)

July 12, 2016

Wenatchee Valley College Continuing Education has teamed up with the Chelan Douglas School Retirees’ Association to offer a new summer camp for fifth through seventh grade students. Don’t Rock the Boat, which runs from July 11-14, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will challenge students to use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

The Chelan Douglas School Retirees’ Association sponsored the camp so that students can attend free of charge.

Don’t Rock the Boat includes hands-on classroom activities from physics to buoyancy, water safety to engineering and design. The students will participate in a field trip to the Wenatchee Boat and Paddle Club to view a variety of boat types and to learn water hydrology and safe water education. The camp will culminate in a boat race at the WVC fountain on Thursday, July 14, from 1-2:30 p.m. The boat race is open to the public.

The association became involved when Dr. Sue Kane, an administrative assistant for the association and a WVC biology instructor, made the association aware of the Continuing Education summer camp project. Michele Gedrose, WVC Continuing Education program manager, gave a presentation to the association to request funding.

“We support scholarships and classroom grants for teachers, but this gave us the opportunity to support kids,” said Pat Strand, the Chelan Douglas School Retirees’ Association President. “This gave us a chance to sponsor children who can’t afford these kinds of camps. There are [students] who may not have the finances to afford the camp but have wonderful minds that need to be nurtured.”

In addition, volunteers from the association will participate throughout the week to support students in the camp.

“Most of us on the board volunteer time in classrooms,” Strand said, “and so even though we’re retired school employees, a lot of us have continued to be involved in education.”

The Chelan-Douglas School Retirees’ Association is part of the Washington State School Retirees’ Association, which awards scholarships to future teachers, provides classroom grants to active teachers in local schools and fosters volunteer activities with Washington’s school children.