Week 1: June 21 - 25

Tuition: 345

Course: Water, water, everywhere! Activities will revolve around exploration with water, science experiments, and adventures in small pools and our on-campus creek. Children create beaches, relax, and have fun!

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.

Tuition: 320

Course: Welcome aboard the CFS Cruise Line! Passengers will learn to play their favorite songs on ukulele, guitar, bass, keys, or percussion, all while taking part in fun and often hilarious dockside games. Limbo, snowball fights, popsicle making, arts and crafts, exploring, and more will have us smiling as we set sail to our marvelous musical destinations.

Instructor: Leites Chiong has been playing guitar for almost 30 years and teaching guitar for over a decade, with stints in various bands along the way. He's a father of four, including two children at CFS.

Leites teaches all styles of music for acoustic and electric guitar, as well as bass guitar and Ukulele (including in CFS’ after-school music program for children AND adults). He helps beginner through advanced students learn how to play and how to write songs. Leites enjoys working with children and seeing the love of music grow within them.

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25
Week Three / July 5-9

Tuition: 320

Course: Help ignite a lasting interest in the most beautiful things our planet has to offer. During this exciting week-long program of activities we’ll see, hear and feel nature first hand. Fresh discovery awaits our young explorers through games, art, observation and adventuring. This introductory course is based on the Scandinavian Forest School model where direct outdoor experiences help to foster social skills, confidence, creativity, problem solving and much more.

Program Sessions Days

Nature’s Playground
Students participate in ecologically themed games that help build interpersonal relationships, collaborative skills and curiosity of the natural world.

Wildlife Detectives
On this fun day out, participants will learn some of the basics field skills needed for experiencing nature. We’ll learn how to use camouflage, stealth and listening skills to get up close and personal with those woodland creatures.We’ll look at tracks and signs and undertake the bird olympics challenge.

Creative Creatures
Through a variety of artistic methods, this arts-based day will use nature to inspire and encourage students to explore and celebrate their unique sense of creativity.

Micro-adventures
Students set out on a small adventure designed to cultivate basic outdoor skills (shelter building etc) and to encourage local nature exploration and a continued curiosity in the natural world.

Life aquatic
We will explore the creeks around school and use nets and tanks to catch amphibians, crustaceans, insects and other aquatic life.

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)

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25, Tony Arias Sorto
Week Two / June 28-July 2, Tony Arias Sorto
Week Four / July 12-16, Tracy Schledorn
Week Six / July 26-30, Achiri Acha
Week Seven / August 2-6, Sefton Dennis
Week Eight / Aug 9-13, Markeith Gary
Week Nine / Aug 16-20, Tony Arias Sorto

Tuition: 320

Course: An active, fun-filled week of sports adventure just for you! 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!

Instructor: Tony Arias Sorto is from Honduras and moved to Massachusetts in 2014. He moved to North Carolina in 2018 and is now the Before and After Care Program Coordinator at Leesville Elementary in Raleigh. Tony earned his A.A. in Education, B.A. in English and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Leadership for Sustainability. Tony believes in creating spaces for children to fill with laughter and he’s very excited to join the CFS team for the first this summer.

He was raised playing soccer but enjoys playing anything from volleyball and basketball to slackening and trail running. Tony lives in Pittsboro where he enjoys running with his two dogs and exploring the woods.

Tuition: 320

Course: LEGO camp is just around “the block” for us! We’re going to have a fun-filled week of challenges building with LEGO. Imagine you are floating on the LEGO Coast Guard Station fishing and watching for sharks. Be Emmet or Wyldstyle, a figure from the LEGO movie, and look for the piece of resistance...it’s there somewhere. Become a Star Wars spaceship and zoom around with the enemy fighters. Into super heroes? You can enjoy building with Captain America, Batman, and Superman as you battle in Smallville. Feeling animal-like? Create cool battles with the Chima Scorpion Stinger or the Spider Stalker. Ninjago anyone? Be a master builder with the Ninjagos as they try to bring order to the LEGO environment. We can create our very own LEGO City and invite all the action figures to join in the fun. New sets appear each year- from Minecraft to Star Wars, playgrounds to monster trucks that fly apart, builders will have fun creating and playing. Come and Play and Build!

If you have LEGO you would like to bring to camp, please visibly mark them well so they will not get mixed in with the Summer Programs sets.

Instructor: Sherry Wilshire-Eshelman lives in Orange County and is a graduate of Virginia Tech (VPISU) where she received a B.A. in Russian Language and a minor in chemistry and math. Sherry home-educated two sons and received her teaching certificate from UNC-CH. She taught third grade at Duke School for 10 years and then became an academic tutor in the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools at CFS.

Sherry loves to build and create with LEGO. This is her fifth year as LEGO teacher; she always hopes to ignite master building in the students. Everything is awesome in LEGO camp!

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25
Week Seven / August 2-6

Tuition: 345

Course: Take home projects you design, engineer, and build! You’ll learn how to safely use an electric drill and hand tools to craft and customize your own tents or scooters, bee houses, marble mazes, catapults, and more. We’ll also enjoy plenty of outdoor activities. If you like to build and specialize your projects, this course is for you.

Instructor: Cyrise Davis holds a B.A. in Art Education K-12 and a B.S. in Commercial Art and Photography. In addition to her freelance photography, she worked for 10 years as an art and photography teacher at The Hawbridge School in Saxapahaw, as a site coordinator and lead teacher for a middle school after-hours program, and as a YMCA summer camp counselor.

Seven years ago Cyrise joined the CFS family as the Extended Day (AfterHours) Director, substitute teacher, and Summer Programs instructor. Currently, Cyrise is the CFS art teacher for Fountain class (3rd and 4th years) while working with teachers and students throughout the school day. Cyrise employs her child-centered style of teaching (and passion for art, engineering, and science) to help CFS summer students and Lower and Middle Schoolers learn to explore and create.

Course: Exploring the ways to use wet media on absorbent paper. Brushing, watching, changing our tools, appreciating what starts to happen. We’ll be creating art, as well as a base for more art. Using a range of pigments, brushes, pens, inks, and absorbent papers... the WOW starts to happen! Unpredictable and fascinating. It is a step off the path of painting pictures. Opening up and imagining more things to create.

Instructor: Rowena Bowman grew up in the vibrant culture of New Orleans where everyone is deeply influenced by storytelling, music, and visual art. She studied at the Corcoran and the Torpedo Factory in Washington, DC, held studio space at Glen Echo Park, and taught at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. In 2018 she brought her spirit and energy to our area where she now works with our young students at CFS. She is a teaching specialist, a mixed media artist, and a lover of art made by children.

Tuition: 335

Course: Help create a kids' e-cookbook this summer through hands-on experience in the kitchen! Would you like to give your parents a few days off cooking after all the food preparation they have done during the COVID-19? Would you like to honor them on their special day? Then, come join us in this culinary adventure and learn creative dishes inspired by Persian, Mediterranean, Asian, and French cuisine.

Instructor: Lydia Nethercutt majored in anthropology, and is especially passionate about forensic anthropology and applying anthropology to social justice issues. She has also studied music and theatre, and enjoys participating in these arts in the community. Lydia has previously worked at camps at the Montessori School of Raleigh SummerScape program. In her free time, Lydia loves to cook and bake, particularly enjoying making soups, baking bread (she fell hard into the 2020 sourdough craze!), and experimenting with new recipes, as well as creating her own. 

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25
Week Two / June 28-July 2
Week Three / July 5-9 (Advanced)
Week Four / July 12-16
Week Five / July 19-23
Week Six / July 26-30
Week Seven / August 2-6 (Advanced)

Tuition: 320

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.

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25, Achiri Acha (in-person)
Week Five / July 19-23, Marshall Wilfong (in-person)
Week Seven / August 9-13, Achiri Acha (in-person)
Week Nine / August 16-20, Marshall Wilfong (virtual)

Tuition: 350

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.

We will be using Minecraft: Education Edition on Chromebooks.

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.

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25, Adam B
Week Two / June 28-July 2, Achiri Acha
Week Three / July 5-9, Achiri Acha
Week Four / July 12-16, Adam B
Week Five / July 19-23, Adam B
Week Six / July 26-30, Tony Arias Sorto
Week Eight / August 16-21, Tony Arias Sorto

Tuition: 320

Course: Can’t get enough of sports? We totally understand. Some of our students take sports all summer. So we get it. We introduce basic rules, strategy, and techniques of basketball, soccer, and some indoor gym games (as well as Capture the Flag!) for the fun of playing. We focus on technique, skill development, and team building. All activities take place on our outdoor playing fields (using cooler morning temperatures) and in our two air-conditioned gym facilities. Sports experience is absolutely not necessary. Our goal is for you to learn how to play so you’ll feel comfortable knowing the rules, understanding the strategy, and practicing good teamwork. We don’t stress competition. We're here to help you improve your game and have fun.

Instructor: Adam B is from eastern NC and grew up sailing and tinkering -- living on a sailboat for 5 years as a kid. They spent much of the following decade bicycle touring all over the place. Now they live on a working farm near Durham continuing to tinker on sewing projects, building projects, bicycles, and an old sailboat. They volunteered at the bicycle co-op in Carrboro for years and helped put on a bike and skateboard component of a summer camp there. Their favorite thing to do is work on projects with other people outside.

Tuition: 320

Course: Lights, camera, action! Join us to learn the basics of script-based acting and perform in scenes! Students will learn improvisational games and other warm-ups, character development, vocal exercises, and other performance skills that will help them gain confidence on stage. On Monday, we'll choose several two- and three-person scenes and rehearse them throughout the week to prepare for a performance on Friday! 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.

This course is offered in multiple weeks:
Week One / June 21-25
Week Two / June 28 - July 2
Week Six / July 26-30

Tuition: 320

Course: What makes you a more effective leader and team player? Let us show you some tools. Using group building games, art, theater, movement, discussion, and individual reflection we learn and practice leadership techniques. We will work as individuals and as a group to enhance confidence, cooperation, and communication. The workshop is an excellent exercise in developing leadership skills for jobs and community roles. 

If you're interested in being a counselor-in-training in CFS Summer Programs this year or next, this course is a prerequisite. We work through some basic “how to deal with” situations, focusing on conflict resolution and effective ways of listening and responding. And no, we do not sit in chairs throughout the day listening to lectures! This is an active course culminating in a "shadow day" as a CIT and a certificate of successful leadership training completion.

Instructor: Julia has been working with children since 2012 when she began working at the summer camp in her hometown. Since then, she has graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. After completing her undergraduate program, she moved to Athens, Ohio to pursue a Master’s degree in Critical Studies in Educational Foundations from Ohio University. Julia traveled around southeastern Ohio interviewing expert teachers about establishing and maintaining democratic practices in their classrooms. She learned (and absolutely loved) the teaching philosophies of John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Ira Shor! Upon graduating, Julia moved to Santa Barbara, California to teach at a school focused on experiential learning. Julia has always wanted to live in North Carolina after spending time hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail during her graduate program and was thrilled to accept a job at Carolina Friends School. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, running, doing yoga, and reading.

Tuition: 335

Course: We’ll make piles of pies and other pastry pockets in EASY AS PIE. Some will be sweet, others spicy, tart, creamy, or fruity. Any way we slice them, they’ll have our taste buds singing! We’ll learn to make an old-time favorite—apple pie—mixing up a flaky pastry, rolling, forming, and filling it. But that’s just the beginning; we’ll also try our hands at making galettes, empanadas, quiches, and more. We’ll be making, baking, and tasting...and, basically “filling” fine! Get your taste buds ready!

Instructor: Bo Newsome is a musician, an oboist, composer, and educator, teaching students at his home (or on Zoom) and at Duke. He frequently creates and presents programs and residencies for young people, and attended workshops presented by Kennedy Center’s program for teaching artists. He developed a general music program and created original operas with children in a remote public school on an island in Maine. 

To satisfy his sweet tooth in a house with few sweets, Bo started baking pies, cakes, and cookies when he was little. His favorite pies are anything citrus, chocolate, pecan, peach, peanut butter, or coconut. I guess he’s really never met a pie he didn’t like. In addition to cooking, Bo’s been a lover of animals, architecture and art, and a collector of treasures as long as he can remember.

Tuition: 320

Course: Did you know there are more possible games of chess than there are atoms in the observable universe? Spend one whole week this Summer diving into what is arguably the greatest game known to man. You will learn all of the rules, beginner strategies and nuance that goes into a game of chess as well as spend time learning and observing some of the games famous players, chess matches, and discussing the connections chess has to war, history and life itself.

Instructor: Marshall Wilfong was born and raised in Durham. An Eagle Scout from Troop 400, he’s been volunteering and working as a summer camp counselor since the age of 12. When he was 15 he got his first job as a merit badge counselor at Camp Raven Knob instructing First Aid, Search and Rescue, Safety, Camping, and Wilderness Survival. His time in the Scouts gave him a massive amount of respect for the outdoors as well as for the youth he instructs. Marshall has also been an after-school counselor at the Orange County Sportsplex and Aldersgate UMC.

He now works as the Extended Day Teacher for the Carolina Friends Middle School as well as a substitute for the Upper School.

Tuition: 320

Course: Player's Handbook sales are topping the bestseller lists! Self-published game supplements are breaking commercial records on Kickstarter! Celebrities are live-streaming their game sessions! These days, the classic fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons is experiencing a major renaissance. And it's no wonder! Playing D&D may activate a wider range of skills than any other game: puzzle solving, critical thinking, statistical analysis, interpersonal negotiation, theatrical performance, creative storytelling, and imaginative worldbuilding. And let's not forget dice rolling!

Students will build characters, play through adventures, and study the fundamentals of role-playing game design to discover what makes the best D&D sessions so memorable. By the end of the week, we'll use what we've learned to craft an original adventure for other players to experience. Whether you're a newcomer to the game or an avid fan, there's a place at the table for you!

Instructor: Christa joined CFS in 2018 as a Physics and Computer Science instructor. She graduated with a B.S. from Berry College in 2002, double-majoring in Physics and Mathematics and earning a minor in Computer Science. Christa then moved to North Carolina, studying mathematics at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2004, Christa completed her M.S. in Differential Geometry. For 12 years prior to joining CFS, she was an instructor of mathematics at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham. She is also a National Board certified teacher.

Christa has a passion for teaching physics, mathematics, and programming, but also enjoys hiking and running with her (very large) dog, Odin, spending time with her two children, and geeking out over sci-fi and fantasy themed pastimes such as Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. Christa is a life-long learner who loves to share curious facts and interesting questions with anyone who wants to listen. She endeavors to learn something new everyday.

Tuition: 320

Course: What better way to spend the summer than letting your imagination fly? Our screenwriting camp is a workshop where campers gain an understanding of the basic essentials of short screenplay writing including: act structure, dialogue, dramatic conflict character development, screenplay format and visual storytelling. We'll look at how to collaborate and be self-directed. Campers will produce a maximum of a 15 page script that will be ready to share with a film crew and can be pitched to the film safari camp in the optional following week.

Instructor: Ahmed F. Selim joined the CFS Upper School as Language Arts and Film Teacher in 2017, but taught previously with the School as a guest teacher and led the first Summer Programs Film Studio. He is an Egyptian-American educator and filmmaker now based in North Carolina.

Before his return to the Triangle, Ahmed spent 15 years teaching and filming in the Middle East. He has a keen interest in using documentary projects to bridge the East-West divide by using film to “turn conflict into discovery.” To that aim, he founded FiLMS for World Peace, where he partners with nonprofits, educational institutions, and social justice activists to empower the will for change. Ahmed has also taught courses at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.