With most Summer Camps on the island now in full swing, for children who are on school break, the Library’s Camp ended last Friday, July 19th, as the participating youngsters enjoyed the fun and frolic of the last day. Apart from displaying magnificent works of art and crafts, the children enjoyed a bouncing castle and were treated to a camp-end party.
All regular library services had been suspended for two full weeks to accommodate the activities for the children. The Anguillian spoke with the Camp’s Coordinator, Ms. Julianne Leveret, who explained this year’s activities, and gave an overview of the origins of the Summer Camp programme: “This is the twentieth year of our Children’s Summer Library Camp,” she noted. “This camp was initiated by Ms. Jane Violet Grell, a former Reference Librarian, and was first coordinated by Jamaican librarian, story-teller, and dramatist, Ms. Adziko Simba.
“The launch of the pilot programme was primarily for teachers, and then for children. The ages of the participating children range from 5 to 12, and we have had an average of 65 children every year. This year, our theme was Shout it Everywhere; it’s our 20th year.
“Of course this year’s theme centred on our 20th anniversary, and we combined some snippets from all of our twenty past camps to make a massive 20th-year collage celebration. So, celebrating is what we have actually been doing this year, bringing it all to a close today with a fantastic children’s party. The party this year is in place of the regular closing ceremony programme when we would have featured concert-like items by the children who would display what they would have learned during the camp.
“The children have had a most wonderful time in the programme this year. Among many other exciting activities, they took a fun trip to Shoal Bay where they had a tour on the glass-bottom boat. They had a trip to Levrock Recording Studio in Sachasses, they participated in tree planting, and they enjoyed a picnic on the beach in Rendezvous.”
Leveret
Many of the children expressed that they enjoyed the fun-filled atmosphere and the 20th year celebrative activities that marked this year’s Children’s Summer Library Camp.
Ms. Leveret stated that on behalf of library services, she would like to thank all the contributors who have supported the camp. These include: Anglec, the Anguilla National Trust, the National Commercial Bank of Anguilla, SOL Gases, the Department of Environmental Health, the Education Department and Sunset Homes. She emphasized that she appreciated all who made the 20th anniversary of the Children’s Summer Library Camp such a resounding success.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
