June 22-26 (Week 2)
THE COVID-19 SITUATION LEADS US TO REPLACE AT LEAST OUR FIRST THREE SESSIONS WITH VIRTUAL OPTIONS (EACH 10-HOURS A WEEK). THE REVISED COURSE DESCRIPTIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE AS SOON AS SATURDAY 16 MAY.
All courses are dependent on minimum enrollment. For more information, please see our Courses page.
Counselors-In-Training (CITs) and Interns do need to register through our CampInTouch system.
When enrollment is within three students from full capacity, we'll indicate the number of remaining spots next to the title of the course or that the class is waitlisted. CampInTouch always has real-time numbers as you move through the enrollment process. The numbers below are current as of 4/17/20.
Here are pdf tools you may find helpful in comparing options across weeks:
- the Course List by Age (e.g. four year olds)
- the Course List by Category (e.g. Culinary, Sports Fun).
- the Course List by Instructor (to see what your favorite teachers are offering throughout the summer)
Happy exploring!
- Design and Engineering for Kids (4-5) | 2 spaces
- Junior Outdoor Adventurers (6-9)
- Jurassic Park: Mesozoic Meltdown (6-9) | Waitlist
- Sports Shorts: Girls Zone (6-9)
- Lucy’s Lil’ Chefs: Delish Desserts (6-10) | Waitlist
- Making Messes Into Masterpieces: Art for the Adventurous (6-10) | Waitlist
- Musical Magicians (6-10)
- Christmas in Summertime (7-11)
- Simple, Sensational DIY Projects (8-11)
- Polly’s Picassos: Elements of Art (8-12)
- Comic Design (9-16) | 2 spaces
- The Art of Nature (10-14)
- Improv 101 (10-14)
- Clay Works (10-15) | Waitlist
- Minecraft Community (9-16)
- Sports Action: Soccer (10-15)
- Celebrating Queer Culture (11-16)
- Magic the Gathering, Math, and More (11-18) | Waitlist
Design and Engineering for Kids (4-5) | 2 spaces
Tuition: 320
Course: We put the excitement in S.T.E.M. education. Children dive into age-appropriate, inquiry-based, hands-on-learning through FUN designing and constructing activities using Legos, blocks, Thinker Linkers, and more!
As a pilot, during Weeks 1 and 2 two experienced Summer Programs early childhood teachers (rather than the usual one) will serve a larger number of four and five-year-olds (closer to the school-year population of our Campus Early School).
Co-Instructor: Williette Zigbuo graduated in 1997 from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky with a bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. She received her Master’s degree in Special Education from Bay Path College in Burlington, Massachusetts and has over 15 years of teaching experience with children in Liberia, West Africa and in the United States, including now at the CFS Campus Early School. She especially enjoys working with pre-k to second grade.
In addition to her passion for teaching, she finds personal fulfillment by helping educational programs in Liberia; Williette has been instrumental in mobilizing others to help obtain donations and school supplies for orphanages and schools in Liberia. Whenever she returns from Africa, she finds that sharing her pictures and discussing her trip is rewarding for herself and also for her students, to help them understand and see the world outside their community, neighborhoods, and the United States.
Co-Instructor: Natasha Anderson, a 2012 Carolina Friends School alum, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 with a teaching license in birth through sixth grade and special education and a degree in Early Childhood Development and Family Studies. Natasha has had pre-kindergarten and/or kindergarten teaching experience at Carrboro Elementary School, The Morningside School (also in Carrboro), Yung Wing International School in Zhuhai, China, and Lakewood Avenue Children’s School in Durham.
Natasha spends her time these days as a professional photographer of families and children, weddings, graduates, and fashion. She is very much looking forward to having the opportunity to come back to Friends School and take on a bigger role in the community with another teaching stint in Summer Programs. She’s excited to dive in and explore with the students during an adventure-filled summer!
Junior Outdoor Adventurers (6-9)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26
Week Four / July 6-10
Tuition: 295
Course: There is an adventure waiting for you just by going outside! Come prepared to engage with the great outdoors through hiking, gardening, and lots of fun games. During our time together we will be leaving campus to travel to the Eno Quarry where we will hike and swim. Students will have a chance to practice leadership and will develop an intuition for wilderness navigation.
Not only can nature teach us a lot about ourselves, but we will also learn lessons in teamwork and the importance of taking care of our planet. Campers should bring a notebook and closed toed shoes that can get dirty.
Instructor: Adam Ramsey is a North Carolina native who grew up in Roxboro and moved to Chapel Hill to study psychology and creative writing at UNC. Adam is passionate about working with youth, and especially enjoys helping young people make connections to nature, service, and creative expression. Last summer, he led youth hiking and service trips in the Berkshires. The summer was spent camping, working on community service projects, and sharing lots of riddles and jokes!Adam is super excited to be working at CFS and can’t wait to share his love of nature, music, and riddles with all of the CFS campers
Jurassic Park: Mesozoic Meltdown (6-9) | Waitlist
Course: Dinosaurs have been set loose on the CFS campus this summer and it is your job to put a stop to them! The aspiring paleontologist in you will hunt for fossils, track down dinosaurs, and learn all about the creatures that used to rule the Earth.
Over the course of the week we will dive into the Triassic period and learn how dinosaurs came to be as well as debating and questioning the different theories as to how they became extinct. The week will end with a field trip to the Museum of Life and Sciences for an adventure on their dinosaur trail!
Instructor: Coco Casey (she/her/hers) graduated from UNC - Chapel Hill this past May in Sociology and History, with a minor in Education. She’s enjoyed getting to know the CFS community through her time working in Extended Day with the Lower School this school year, and is so excited to spend more time there this summer!
She has worked with Student U Durham in a variety of extended educational roles in the past four years, and is also currently a kids’ bookseller at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. When she’s not reading or spending time with kids, you can find Coco cooking and baking, making crafts, and playing with her cat, Pepper (but don’t bring him up around Coco if you don’t want to spend five minutes looking at pictures of him).
Sports Shorts: Girls Zone (6-9)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 15-19, Kyle Lewis
Week Two / June 22-26, Leslie Atherholt (Girls Zone)
Week Three / June 29-July 3, Markeith Gary
Week Four / July 6-10, Will Anderson (Let’s Play Soccer!)
Week Five / July 13-17, Markeith Gary
Week Six / July 20-24, Natasha Anderson
Week Seven / July 27-30, Markeith Gary
Week Eight / Aug 3-7, Natasha Anderson
Week Nine / Aug 10-14, Leslie Atherholt
Tuition: 295
Course: An active, fun-filled week of sports adventure--just for girls! We learn how to play a variety of sports, focusing on skills and learning the rules. We work on team building and create some crafts that go along with our new indoor and outdoor games! We concentrate on learning how to play, building confidence, keeping in shape, and receiving guidance and encouragement from our coach. An excellent class for the active or wannabe active camper!
Sorry, fellas, you're not included in this one, but do check out our other co-ed Sports Shorts offerings!
Instructor: Leslie Atherholt works in the Durham Public Schools. She came from Washington, DC where she taught physical education and other subjects to elementary school students. She has also worked in schools in Central and South America. Leslie attended East Carolina University for her undergraduate program and holds a Master’s degree in Education. She has been teaching for 20 years. Leslie has spent many summers in camps and loves camp! When not working Leslie is learning and exploring North Carolina with her family.
Lucy’s Lil’ Chefs: Delish Desserts (6-10) | Waitlist
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26 (Delish Desserts)
Week Three / June 29-July 3 (Around the World)
Week Six / July 20-24 (Holiday Eats)
Tuition: 310
Course: If you have a sweet tooth, this is the camp for you! We will be baking all sorts of goodies, including cookies, cakes, bars, and crumbles. At the same time, we will practice kitchen safety, skills, and tips while baking the day away. Get ready for outdoor play too, to counteract the sugar rush! Throughout the week, we will also craft recipe books so kids can recreate these culinary masterpieces at home.
Instructor: Lucy Clark grew up in California and graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. degree in Family and Human Services and a minor in Special Education. She earned her teaching credential in California and then moved cross-country to start her career in Washington, DC as she was ready for a new adventure in a big city!
In 2018, Lucy and her family relocated to Chapel Hill, and she currently teaches first grade in Hillsborough at Cameron Park Elementary. In her free time, Lucy enjoys cooking, baking, and exploring her new home state!
Making Messes Into Masterpieces: Art for the Adventurous (6-10) | Waitlist
Tuition: 295
Course: Join us as we create life-size and miniature sculpture and assemblage out of strange and mysterious materials from the forest, the lost and found, the attic, the land of broken and beautiful toys and gadgets, and everywhere you’d least expect. Be prepared to think and jump out of the box as we create new and exciting installations of mystery and magic!
Instructor: Melody Smith teaches Spanish in the CFS Upper School and Middle School. After receiving a B.F.A. from UNC Greensboro, she spent three years in Central America as a language teacher and academic coordinator for a non-profit that connected education and sustainable farming. Melody then moved to Wisconsin where she taught Spanish at a Waldorf high school and also worked as the programming director for Driftless Folk School. She has also spent significant time in India and teaching Spanish in a Montessori school.Her extensive international background deepened her beliefs in environmental integrity, local and global interconnectedness, and the incredible importance of education. In her free time, Melody enjoys exploring nature and collecting new hobbies
Musical Magicians (6-10)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26
Week Three / June 29-July 3
Tuition: 295
Course: Get ready to rock in this music camp! We will spend the week playing and learning songs to play on the drums, guitar, bass, keyboards and various percussion (among other instruments). We are looking for campers who want to sing, dance, play instruments (and make instruments to take home) and write songs. At the end of the week we will perform a concert and the campers will each get a CD of their music to take home. We will have guests come in to show/play various interesting instruments and play music themed games during the week. If you like music and having fun, this is definitely the camp for you!
Instructor: Tom Latimer has been running camps at CFS for 13 years. He has been teaching for 23 years and has a Masters degree in elementary education. He currently teaches 2nd grade at Immaculata Catholic School in Durham and plays guitar in Chapel Hill band Zoltar’s Fortune.
Tom lives in Chapel Hill with his wife Alison and their two cats Nora and Lionel. Tom enjoys seeing and playing music, eating at our local restaurants, watching sports (mainly the Tar Heels and the New York Jets), collecting vinyl records, and working with kids.
Christmas in Summertime (7-11)
Tuition: 295
Course: Do you know where the Elf is during the summer? It is not on the shelf, it will be in your hands, because you will make your own Elf. So run, run, as fast as you can and also make your own Gingerbread toy. In addition to sewing we will bake and decorate Christmas cookies, sing Christmas songs in Spanish and live the Christmas spirit all together this summer.
She has taught different levels of students for 25 years in public and private settings in her native country and in the USA (including now at Carolina Friends School). She loves to dance, sing, play the guitar, cooking, arts and crafts and be outside and enjoys sharing all her talents and her native Spanish Language, during Summer Programs
Simple, Sensational DIY Projects (8-11)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26
Week Three / June 29-July 3
Tuition: 295
Course: Have you ever been asked to throw away an old pencil box, a glass jar, or a broken picture frame and you thought you could use it for something else? Welcome to similar minds, SIMPLE DIY PROJECTS CAMP. We’ll re-use/recycle old items to make them into a GREAT new craft that you can use yourself or gift to a friend, your grandparents, or a new teacher when you return to school. Or, you can enjoy an opportunity to create something new! This is a great course in which to explore all of your creativity!!! So sign up and let’s have some fun!
Instructor: Jessica Bigelow is an elementary school teacher with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System. She has 15 years of teaching experience, spanning all grade levels, and has coordinated after school programs and provided summer school instruction.
Jessica has a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her teaching certification from Greensboro College. She enjoys spending time with her family, doing simple DIY projects, shopping, baking/cooking, traveling, and listening and dancing to music. Jessica will be returning to CFS summer camps for her fifth year!
Polly’s Picassos: Elements of Art (8-12)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26 (Elements of Art)
Week Three / June 29-July 3 (Principles of Design)
Week Six / July 20-24 (World Landmarks)
Week Seven / July 27-30 (Self Portrait)
Tuition: 295
Course: Artists combine elements in different ways to create a work of art, similar to how cooks use different ingredients to make a new recipe. In this camp, using various mediums, we will explore and draw using the seven elements of art: line, shape, form, space, color, value, and texture. We will also learn some Art History, studying famous artists (i.e. Monet, Mondrian, Matisse) and creating artwork in their style.
Instructor: Polly Clark grew up in California and then traveled cross-country to Connecticut College, where she got her B.A. in English. Following that, she got her M.A. from the Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University, but after 9/11, reevaluated her career goals and decided to pursue what she had always wanted to do, which was teach! She earned her teaching credential and then taught for 14 years as a third grade teacher at Jensen Elementary School in Castro Valley, CA.In 2018, with her three kids starting their own journeys into adulthood, Polly and her husband, Kevin, decided to leave the increasingly frenetic pace of the Bay Area and move to beautiful Chapel Hill. She taught 4th grade for one year at Carrboro Elementary School and then moved to Carolina Friends School this past year, where she is a teacher and advisor in the Middle School.
Comic Design (9-16) | 2 spaces
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 15-19
Week Two / June 22-26
Week Three / June 29-July 3 (Advanced)
Week Four / July 6-10
Week Five / July 13-17
Week Six / July 20-24
Week Seven / July 27-30 (Advanced)
Tuition: 295
Course: Addicted to comics? Doodle in class? Come create your own comic book characters and stories. Bring creativity, imagination, and motivation along with your pencil. Exchange ideas, receive input, and work on technique with a professional comic artist. There’s also time for Four Square, games, and Capture the Flag. Oftentimes, campers take multiple sessions. Please bring pencils, erasers, and favorite drawing pens. (Two Advanced Comic Design sessions are available for those who want to expand their skills.)
Instructor: Jamie Charles, a working illustrator, graduated from UNC-G in Fine Arts. Besides exhibiting his own work, Jamie works at CFS as an art instructor for Middle School students. He is also a champion Capture the Flag leader, having coached his workshop groups to many victories (not that he is bragging). Jamie offers private lessons in drawing and art.
The Art of Nature (10-14)
Tuition: 295
Course: This program introduces students to visual arts inspired by the natural world. From field sketching and botanical illustration to photography and large-scale landscape installation, we'll explore different artistic media used to capture the beauty of nature. We will learn to recognize patterns and forms in our own landscape and begin to understand the ecology of our habitats.
We will also learn about different ways to capture, organize, and exhibit nature for a wider audience. The course will involve individual and group projects outdoors and in a studio-type environment. We'll conclude with a group exhibition in which young artists work together as a team to curate their pieces for presentation.
Instructor: Mike Werndly (or Ranger to his friends) introduced our popular Nature Lab environmental education classes in Summer 2017. He is a lifelong birder and practiced field biologist and outdoor educator with a passion for sharing environmental experiences that promote awareness and respect of the natural world. Working and traveling in remote areas around the globe has given Mike a wide knowledge of the Earth’s habitats and ecosystems.
He’s been hooked on wildlife since a chance encounter with an owl when he was eight and hasn't looked back. He studied Ecology and Outdoor Environmental Education at university and has worked for numerous conservation organisations, including the Aigas Field Centre, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Scottish Natural Heritage. Mike’s wildlife encounters have been numerous, but some memorable ones include being followed home one night by two otters and being covered head to foot in smelly seabird guano!
He moved from Scotland in 2016 and now lives in Hillsborough with his wife and daughter, and their friendly food-crazy labrador, Fogo :0)
Improv 101 (10-14)
Tuition: 295
Course: Love acting? Love comedy? Sign up for Improv 101 to learn the basics of improvisational theatre! Throughout the week, students will learn improv games, character development, and other acting techniques, and will apply those skills in an improv show on Friday. Campers will also learn skills such as team-building and trusting one’s scene partner that can be applied on or off stage. Register for Improv 101 to become a better performer, make friends, and make people laugh! No experience necessary.
Instructor: Abby Kameny has been involved in Carolina Friends School Summer Programs for 16 years. She started out as a camper, served as a Counselor-In-Training, was hired to work in the Extended Day program, and then became an instructor! She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and plans to become a classroom teacher. Before heading to graduate school, she's teaching English internationally.
Abby studied theatre for years and has participated in school plays and a regional improvisational theatre team. She has also had experience singing throughout high school and college in musicals, choir, and a cappella groups.
Clay Works (10-15) | Waitlist
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26
Week Three / June 29-July 3
Tuition: 295
Course: In this course we will be turning lumps of clay into fantastic and functional forms--wall plaques, vessels, and so much more. We’ll spend the week learning basics of hand building as we get creative, play games, and work hard to bring our visions to life. At week’s end we’ll glaze and fire our creations. There’s a lot to learn about working with clay, so make the most of our time. Student work will need to be picked up the following week in order to accommodate the firing process.
All skill levels are welcome, come with your minds open, and be ready to get your hands (and clothes) dirty!
Instructor: A CFS alum and Durham native, Jack Crowley (he/him) is an educator, activist, and working artist currently pursuing his degree in Art Education. After studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Jack has lived throughout the US, where he has worked variously as an educator, community organizer, and disability advocate. Besides his studio sculpture and drawing practice, Jack is also an avid athlete and adventurer, hoping to help bring creativity, vision, and fun to the CFS summer program.
Minecraft Community (9-16)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week Two / June 22-26, Achiri Acha
Week Three / June 29-July 3, Marshall Wilfong (Junior)
Week Five / July 13-17, Achiri Acha
Week Six / July 20-24, Achiri Acha
Week Seven / July 27-30, Achiri Acha
Week Eight / Aug 3-7, Achiri Acha
Tuition: 325
Course: Anyone ever told you to “get lost?”If so, there’s no better way to take their advice than to delve into the amazingly expansive and immersive world of Minecraft. For a moment, let’s step away from the term “video-game” and substitute “wildly-versatile-open-ended-world-manipulating-art machine.” Minecraft’s critically acclaimed, sandbox-style gameplay is a constant exercise in collaborative exploration, goal-setting, and boundless “Imagineering”—whether hunting and gathering to build agrarian homesteads across various landscapes or configuring an automated railway/refinement system that acquires, transports, and processes raw materials the player can use to create their own scaled recreation of the Taj Mahal.The objective of Minecraft Community is to “get lost, together,” building community. With a little direction and a lot of improv, students will enter into Minecraft’s Survival Mode, banding together to outlive the Mobs and Elements, within a democratic community. With inventive jobs (e.g. Hunters, Explorers, Architects, Artisans, etc.) and responsibilities and a community lot-casting system, students will forge ahead to establish a lasting society amidst wiles of Mobs and the unforgiving wildernesses.
Instructor: Achiri Acha has been at CFS since he was six years old! He mentored with Jordan Shamp in Sports camp, became a counselor-in-training, and then moved on to become a camp assistant and instructor for the past seven summers. Achiri has worked in Extended Day at Lerner School and School’s Out Camps at the Jewish Community Center and currently works at USA Ninja Challenge during the school year. Achiri's goal is to be an elementary school physical education instructor and coach.
Sports Action: Soccer (10-15)
This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 15-19, Achiri Acha
Week Two / June 22-26, Jochen Wachter (Soccer)
Week Three / June 29-July 3, Achiri Acha
Week Four / July 6-10, Achiri Acha
Week Five / July 13-17, Natasha Anderson (Girls, Goals, & Glory)
Week Six / July 20-24, Jack Crowley
Week Seven / July 27-30, Sports Action
Week Eight / Aug 3-7, Markeith Gary (Basketball)
Week Nine / Aug 10-14, Sports Action
Tuition: 295
Course: Are you interested in playing soccer for your school? Do you want to work on your skills before entering tryouts? Do you want to get into “soccer shape?” Do you love soccer? Then this camp is for you! We’ll work on some individual skills, run games, watch soccer movies, and play futsal. Participants should have some prior knowledge of soccer, like to work out, and enjoy playing and interacting with others.
Instructor: Jochen Wachter is a father of two CFS students (Middle and Upper School) and a soccer coach at CFS since 2016. After getting married in Germany in 1997, Jochen and his wife Lizzette moved to Chapel Hill. He teaches high school German and Latin in Wake County.
After playing soccer for almost 25 years in Germany, Jochen started coaching at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, where he coached JV boys and girls for 15 years. He also coaches soccer at the YMCA, Rainbow, and Triangle United levels, trying to spread his enthusiasm for the “beautiful game.
Celebrating Queer Culture (11-16)
Tuition: 295
Course: Join us for CFS’s first camp exploring and celebrating the many ways we express and understand gender and sexuality. We will learn about past and present expression of gender in our lives and in the world through films, fashion, visual and performing arts, games and activities, talking circles and panel discussion, and a field trip to our local LGBTQ center. We end the week with CFS’s very first Pride Parade/fashion show on Friday open to all!
Instructor: Rinah Rachel Galper is a licensed Special Education teacher and Visual and Performing Arts educator, healing practitioner, activist, and Founder of Our Sacred Circles (OSC), a brave space in Durham for women and girls healing themselves and the world. Since 2006 at CFS and throughout the Triangle Rinah has been providing creative summer camp adventures that nurture young people’s love and need for magic, mystery, mindfulness, curiosity, creativity, connection, and a sense of their own power and worth.
Magic the Gathering, Math, and More (11-18) | Waitlist
Tuition: 295
Course: Math, mental discipline, and subject knowledge are necessary for success in any card game. In this camp we will work on all three with an emphasis on how we can use statistical analysis to improve our skills at the popular card game "Magic the Gathering." We will learn why and how math is important in card games, formulas that will help us succeed, how to use online calculators and tools to assist us, and, of course, we’ll play lots and lots of Magic.
Students are free to bring their own cards but do so at their own risk! We will provide physical cards and use electronic tools to simulate card games as well. We won't limit ourselves just to Magic either; in this course we will also learn to apply our math skills to a broad range of standard 52-card deck games such as Texas Hold 'em. Get ready for a week of learning, collaboration, and intense competition!
Instructor: Zander Hall is a former camper who no longer can attend as a student, so has ascended to Instructor-dom. He holds a degree in chemistry from Warren Wilson College, where he also taught an after-school science and math program for children.
He has a passion for learning and seems to be destined to teach as well. No matter where he goes, he sees lessons to be learned and enthusiastically professed to anyone who’ll listen! Games, both in digital and nondigital forms, have more to teach us than many people give them credit for. Onward to magic--and don’t forget to have fun!
Contact Us
tel: 919.383.6602 x*263
fax: 919.383.6009
ExtendedLearning@cfsnc.org