A Status Report from Far Hill Head Counselor, Becca "Uno Champ" Ballinger

Hey there, folks. This is Becca, head counselor, reporting from the Far Hills location! I cannot believe we are already half way through the summer. I guess they weren't lying when they said time flies when you're having fun.

Bloggin' up a storm in the office!

I am currently clad in my favorite pajama pants (elegantly patterned with tea cups). No, I didn't forget to get dressed this morning. It's pajama day! The campers and counselors are all partaking in a makeshift slumber party today. But pajama day couldn't hold a candle to our Halloween in July last week. I was surrounded by the scariest of masks and coolest of costumes.

Yesterday was quite possibly THE GREATEST WET DAY EVER. But maybe I'm a little bias. I'm pretty sure we broke the record in the water balloon toss with two campers making it up to ten--count 'em--TEN tosses! But once we broke out the water shooters I had to take shelter behind a bush. These campers came up with the ingenious idea to use three shooters at a time making our poor counselors three times as drenched.

I've been waiting all week for a few campers to finish the original stories they've been working on. Tomorrow they are finally going to let me read the final draft! So far I've heard them talking about fairies and space and adventure, oh my! Perhaps I'll be reading the first works of the
future J.K. Rowlings?! Who knows!

Well, I'm off to the playground where the campers and I are going to sprawl out under the warm summer sun and get our reading on. Stay cool, Jersey!

Classes at Caldwell: Week 3

Here are some fantastic quotes from a few enthusiastic students!

"This class is really great. I loved making comics on the first day, using the website ToonDoo on the second day and using the website GoAnimationon the third day. I made really cool videos on the third day like: The Waiter that Never Listened and The Scientist and The Girl. I am looking forward to making my next video called Space Wars!" -- S.B.

" We write lots of comics and play fun games that involve comics too in Comic Creation Class. I think the class is really fun. I get to be creative on websites like ToonDoo and GoAnimate which is great. You can just think of something simple and turn it into a cool comic." -- M.B.

"I am taking Detective Spy Lab this week. We get to take many of the cool things we create home. My favorite thing to do is use the spy gears, which was really fun. This one of my favorite Mad Science class." -- A.V.

Far Hills Camper Blogs

Here are a couple more blogs from our awesome campers at Far Hills!

Annabelle is taking Imagination Authors. She says, "I had a good time. All the teachers are nice. I wrote a story about a fairy and two girls. My teacher is named Mrs. Doreen and she is the writing teacher. We call her Mrs. D. She is very nice."

David is taking the Computer Programming class where he works in Scratch. He says, "My experience at International Ivy was great. My teacher's name is Mike. We programmed on Scratch and learned a lot of new things."

Frog dissections in Short Hills

Today in Short Hills, the Biology and Chemistry class dissected frogs! The students inspected various parts of the frogs, including the tongue and leg muscles, to apply what they've been learning in class. 

What's Happening in Web Design?

Students taking web design this week are developing their own website. Although the students are familiar with what web design is, it is their first time creating their very own website! Even though it is only day 3, students have a blast in Web Design. Check out a blog below!

"Hello! This summer, I'm going to International Ivy at Wardlaw-Hartridge in Edison. I signed up for the activity Website Design. It is so awesome! Our teacher Nicole is the best teacher ever! On the first day of Website Design, you get to learn what html is, and you get to write your top five ideas on what you want your website to be about, and you choose one of your ideas. You also start researching on your topic. On the second day, you learn HTML coding in order to start your website, and you do some more researching on your topic. On the third day, you start designing your website, On the fourth day, you do some more designing and finish your website. In conclusion, International Ivy is fun and cool!"

This Week in Video Game Creation- Edison Week 3

This week, students taking Video Game Creation were having a blast making their own video games. Some of the students decided to share what they were doing in class. Check it out below.

''In video game creation, we made video games this week and tested them out. We used Game Maker 8.1. We made our characters, walls, and sounds. I followed the online instructions to make the game. After we made our games, we played with them on the computers."

"We used  GameMaker 8.1 for creating our games.  The instructions were online and, gradually, I was able to use the software without consulting the internet.  We are going to be creating our own games at the end of the week.  In the software there are sounds, characters, and monsters for us to put to use.  It's fascinating to see that this is how popular computer games came to be."

Edison Students are Busy, Busy, Busy

     It's hard to believe it is week 3 of International Ivy already! This week at Edison, students are very busy. We have four exciting classes being offered; Video Game Creation, Cake Design, Training for the Math Olympiad, and Website Design. Students are honing their skills and discovering their inner bakers, web designers, game creators, and mathematicians. The students are eager to see what is in store for the rest of the week. Take a look at some pictures of the students working hard in each class. Enjoy!

One of our cake designers!

 

An instructor looking at a student's website!

 

Math Olympiad students solving challenging problems! 

A student working hard on his video game! 

What's Happening at Far Hills This Week?!

It looks like the campers got into the markers to let us know what's happening in the classrooms at Far Hills. Check it out!

Eesha is taking Imagination Authors. She says, "I love to type up stories in writing class. It's fun making FRIENDS. I'm writing about TINIES. Tinies are a kind of people I made up."

Siya is taking two classes this week, Computer Programming and Super Reading/Study Skills. She says, "AM: I go to Computer Programing in scratch. It is the most exciting thing I do. I animate things on the computer! It is really hard, but fun at the same time. PM: In the afternoon, I go to Reading. I learn to read and write better. I love this class because (to tell you the truth) I LOVE reading. International Ivy summer camp is the best camp ever!"

                   

Alisha is taking Robotics. She says, "I LOVE robotics. I LOVE making friends. I am building a car. We are almost finished."

Fun Times at Caldwell from Week 2!

Here are some photographic highlights of the fun times at Caldwell:

Highlights from Week 2 at Chatham

We had a outstanding week at Chatham! Below you can read about some of the highlights and what some students had to say about the classes they were taking!

The Animation class worked on movie making techniques using paper, whiteboard, clay, and Lego animation. Check out the YouTube video they created to view the final product. 

>> "Really, really cool! Awesome! Five out of five stars! Number one class!" - S.K. and L.K. <<

The little ones in WeDo Robotics built a bulldozer, a bird, monkeys, a helicopter, and many other things out of the Legos. 

>> "I like the bulldozer a lot. It's extremely hard, but very fun to build!" - I.A. <<

All week long the Shark Tank Jr. class prepared sales pitches for their new inventions. These inventions included a new type of guitar, an underground hotel, and a cell watch. (You can view each of their commercials by clicking on the product in the previous sentence.)

The boys in Video Game Creation got to design their own video games on the computer and then bring them home. Similarly, in the afternoon, the Mobile App Game Design class was also able to take home their creations at the end of the week.

>> "It was fun! We got to make video games using GameMaker. I made a game where you have to enter a mine and rescue the person in trouble and defeat the bosses in some levels." - J.F. << 

The Robotics class built a different robot each day learning about sensors and programming. On the final day each student was given the challenge of building and programming their own robot . Then they competed against each other in duels to see which robot was the winner!

 >> "On day one we built the inchworm robot. It was fun and we learned how sensors in robots work. iIlearned a lot in this class!" - T.D. <<

The Chess class mastered their skills and played matches against one another on the final day. Minecraft Dan was busy teaching a Beginner Minecraft class in the morning and an Advanced Minecraft class in the afternoon. The Younsgter group learned a lot about dinosaurs and science while also doing some crafts and their daily morning yoga. Upstairs the Leadership class worked on team building and learned about what qualities make an effective leader. Handwork and Machine Sewing got to learn how to use a sewing machine as well as a sewing pattern. By the end of the week they had made many different types of bags to bring home and use! Overall, we had a great week at Chatham and are looking forward to what's to come in Week 3!