By Ruth Castillo, Program Director
The Horizons at CA staff has been hard at work getting ready for our 24th summer program, and we can’t wait to get started! We have put together culturally responsive curriculum, an extensive Henning Health and Wellness program, a range of field trips, and hired amazing new staff.
We have lots of new field trips in store that we think our Horizons students are going to enjoy. Aside from various excursions for our “field trip Fridays,” we are also very excited to bring back our overnight trips, which we haven’t been able to do for the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
One new overnight trip we will be offering to our high school students is a collaboration with TRIO Upward Bound of Eagle and Lake Counties for an immersive two-night, two-day overnight trip. The goal of this trip is for students from different regions, but similar socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, to get to know one another, take part in new activities, and explore potential college opportunities offered by the Colorado Mountain College consortium.
New teachers bring new enthusiasm
Another aspect of summer we are really looking forward to is connecting with all of our new and returning staff! In addition to returning staff, we have hired many brilliant new teachers who are excited to work with us this summer. In preparation, they have been attending professional development sessions and brainstorming new curriculum.
During one of our professional development opportunities, we partnered with Lincoln Hills Cares to learn more about the intersection between environmental education and social emotional skill building. Our staff learned different ways to implement practices in daily activities and curriculum. It is wonderful to see how passionate and dedicated our staff are, and we cannot wait to see their enthusiasm with the students.
Also, thanks to our generous donors, Horizons at CA will be able to provide dynamic programming that will bring joy and learning to all of our students. We are eternally grateful to all of our donors who make this possible! With this continued support, our students will be able to have the tools that they need to advance academically, socially, and emotionally. And Horizons parents will have peace of mind that their children are involved in a program that has their children’s best interests in mind, always.