American Heritage camp director Wayne Lenoff is passionate about Summer Camp, not because its his profession, but because he loves the idea that each camper can have an amazing and active summer experience doing a variety of things that are both fun and engaging.
Hosting summer camps for more than 30 years, American Heritage’s summer sessions begin June 9 and continue through August 8. They are divided into three 3-week sessions, each one different from the other. One aspect of the camp is a traditional day camp where children will experience a variety of activities including various field sports, drama, art, swimming, a video arcade and more. The camp supplies healthy lunches, with appetizing choices and snacks throughout the day. Day campers range in age from 3 to 13 and, beginning at age 6, go on a variety of field trips throughout the summer. American Heritage also features specialty camps for children who would like to concentrate in one area for a 3-week session for just once or as many as all three.
“There’s a robotics camp for that Techie child who would like to build a robot and get it to do different tasks,” Wayne offers. “Each session has its own unit that they will focus on.” Going through the list of offerings, he continues starting with the sports activities available. “We host a tennis camp for the enthusiast who wants to get out on the courts every day and sharpen their skills, a soccer camp overseen by a former professional player and Olympic development coach, as well as a lacrosse camp.” And the choices don’t stop there. Wayne says,”We also have a young artist’s camp where they will study and create with different mediums throughout the summer, a science and adventure camp where each session will concentrate on a different aspect of our local ecosystem, for instance marine life and Everglades life and they will also be doing different science experiments in our science lab. And this year, for the first time, we have a session three video production camp for ages 10 to 14.” Wayne is especially proud of the level of each instructor’s professional accomplishments and what they offer to the children. “Because we are successful college prep school, all of the instructors in charge of our specialty camps are experts in their field. For instance, our soccer camp is overseen by a former pro soccer player who also worked coaching in Olympic development, and our robotics instructor runs our pre-engineering lab during the school year.” An important point to note, Wayne points out, “This is not a classroom instruction type of thing… Everything the children will be doing throughout the summer is hands-on.”
For the 9-week camper, Wayne emphasizes that the first goal of American Heritage’s program is for every camper to love their experience. “Every three week session is different, and every 3-week session stands alone. All of our specialty camps include one hour a day to get the kids out and involved in something else. Most of the time we try to get them in swimming pool because it’s right here on campus.” When asked, Wayne shares his personal favorite. ” I love the day camp! It lets you experience a variety of activities every day and gives you the most well-rounded summer experience. “
Beginning at age 3 there is also a summer school/summer camp combination for campers who may need to reinforce some classroom work or get ready for the next school year and still enjoy camp in the afternoon.
In addition to a free central bus service, which picks kids up at a variety of local shopping centers and drops them off there later in the day, choices for transportation are also parent pick up and drop off and a door to door bus service that is available for an extra fee.
Involved with the camp for 15 years, Wayne began as a senior counselor and has continued to be a vital part of every summer season. His passion for the campers and the activities available to them is evident in the energy with which he speaks. Definitively focused on his role in making sure that every child attending American Heritage’s camp has the best summer of their life, he puts it simply, “We want every child to look back and say, ‘Wow! That was amazing!'”
For more info. call 954-472-0022 or visit www.AHSschool.com
