Over 40 Campers Learn the Arts at Saint John
This camp was by far our best music and arts camp to date. It was incredibly special and moving to have the Gargiulo campers there, and having all of the teachers, some of whom were volunteering their time, to come together to make this a reality for those children. They are amazing children and were so grateful and loving. I will never forget one little girl walking into the painting room for the first time and screaming, “This room is my dream, Ms. Jennine!” That brought me to tears. The other children were fantastic as well, and had such wonderful energy. All of the campers had such good spirits and came together to make it an amazing week of music and arts.
All of the children learned a lot in one week. They were playing melodies on the guitar while reading the music on staff lines, and some of the older campers learned chords in addition to individual notes. They learned how to play songs on the piano; learned singing techniques; put together a mini Lion King show (which included the kids making their own costumes); and created some beautiful paintings. Parents commented after the showcase on Friday on how this is one of the best summer camps in the area. Many of the parents also commented on how much their children learned in one week and how it’s worth every penny because we brought in highly-qualified, professional instructors. All of our instructors are State of Florida-certified teachers. We had a couple kids with special needs, and our professional instructors were able to accommodate them in order to ensure that they learned and made progress along with the other students. It was also very kind of Ovidio and Jesus to pick up the students every day, and especially to pick up the parents from Gargiulo on Friday so that they could come see their children perform in the showcase. Saint Johns did good this week for both the Gargiulo children and our parish family children. We served the children in our own backyard and that’s where it all begins.