DC Campus: THEARC – Session 1 Newsletter

Dear Camp Levine families,

What a joy it has been to be part of your campers’ summer!

As we explored our theme, Sights, Songs, and Sounds of the City, it has been incredible to watch our campers grow, create, and gain confidence in just a few short weeks. From Spirit Week and Games Day to our end-of-session performances, they truly brought the magic of Camp Levine to life through their creativity, enthusiasm, and hard work.

Thank you for trusting us with your children this summer and for giving them the opportunity to explore, learn, and express themselves through the arts. We hope they leave camp with wonderful memories, new friendships, and a lasting love of music and the arts.

We wish you and your family a wonderful rest of the summer, and we hope to see you again next year!

Best,

Jazmin Goodson, Director of Camp Levine.

Dear families,

The last 3 weeks have been a blast. As Site Director, I am able to float around to each class and really spend observing campers learn and have fun. This camp is an awesome experience every child should have a chance to experience.

Looking forward to session 2. For those who aren’t joining us we hope to see you again next summer!

-Mr. Juan

Hi families!

Session 1 was an absolutely awesome introduction to Camp Levine! I loved assissting in every way I could. The bandaids, ice packs, emails and phone calls were all worth it because that got us to our final performance last Friday!

These kids rock and I can’t wait to see what they do next!

-Ms. Graziella

Hello, my name is Miss Lauren. I am the pre-K teacher, a.k.a. the go-go teacher for this summer session.

Our first session was lots of fun. I introduced the kids to some Go Go music from DC and some jazz from New Orleans. The kids had lots of fun learning the traditional call and response song Little Liz on a Jane and , the peekaboo song which means of course that I had fun. I can’t wait to do more singing this session. The children will also learn a dance and do some street art inspired by Keith Haring.

Hi families!

In Music +, the students are learning about the sights and sounds of the city through various Michael Jackson songs such as Man in the mirror, can you feel it, and black or white! They are also working on percussion and dancing for the gogo song “Lock It”!

This first session of camp has been fantastic! It has been so much fun getting to know all of my piano campers. My Focus Piano students learned piano finger numbers (1-2-3-4-5) and discovered they’re different from trumpet or violin finger numbers! They also learned that the piano has 88 keys, how to identify groups of two and three black keys, and began reading music to play songs on the piano. Many have even memorized their performance pieces for next Friday’s showcase!

We also reviewed and learned note values, including quarter notes, half notes, dotted half notes, and whole notes, along with musical dynamics such as forte (loud) and piano (soft). I’m so excited to see them share everything they’ve learned during their performance next week.

Our Sampler Piano campers had the opportunity to explore the piano at a more relaxed pace. They learned proper piano posture, the musical alphabet (C-D-E-F-G-A-B), and how to find their way around the keyboard. One of the funniest moments is when they accidentally start singing the regular alphabet instead of the musical one!

I’ve especially loved working with our Pre-K and Kindergarten campers. They are full of energy and excitement! They’ve already learned their piano finger numbers, can identify groups of two and three black keys, and know musical dynamics like forte, piano and even pianissimo. “Pianissimo” has become our classroom favorite because it means “very soft” and whenever everyone gets a little too excited, all I have to do is say, “Let’s be pianissimo!” and they immediately know what to do. 

Trumpet students have been covering the basics of sound production, technique, and rhythm while we work towards preparing music for the final performance. The Dukes and the Ellingtons have learned Hot Cross Buns and Rolling Along and will be covering Oh When the Saints, Bag’s Groove, and London Bridge. The Marvins and Robertas have learned So What and Moanin’ by jazz greats Miles Davis and Art Blakey, respectively.

We had a fantastic start of camp, exploring violin in different groups, from sampler students to focus students, who get to bring their violin home every day — and sometimes even practice at home for the performance coming up next week. We are so excited! 

Violin can be fascinating: coming in two parts, a violin and a bow, the latter made out of horse’s hair, we discovered how sound is made through friction on the strings, with natural arm weight, a chosen bow speed and a precise spot on the string, all well set between the bridge and the fingerboard. Such a world! 

I am so grateful to work with your kids at Camp Levine for the 4th year!

Hello Families,

My name is Ms. P, and I am the Art Teacher at Camp Levine! I am so excited to work with your campers during both Session 1 and Session 2.

Throughout camp, we have been exploring the artwork of Keith Haring while learning that art is a powerful way to express ourselves. We’ve been focusing on emotions by using colors and paint to show how we feel and communicate our ideas creatively.

One of the most important lessons we’ve discussed is that there is no such thing as “perfect” artwork. Art is unique to each individual and is all about how we see, imagine, and visualize the world around us. Every camper’s creativity is valued, and I encourage them to express themselves with confidence and without fear of making mistakes.

I look forward to continuing to create, learn, and have fun with your children throughout the summer!

Thank you,

Ms. P

Great morning! Last session, we played soccer (World Cup Wednesdays), enjoyed the playground, the basketball court, and learned a new board game (Monopoly Jr.)!

The last few weeks have been an exciting and creative experience for all of our Drama campers! Campers have learned stage directions, explored how to portray a variety of characters, and developed their acting skills through engaging activities.

They also had the opportunity to help write scenes and incorporate some of their favorite interests into our upcoming performance, making the production truly their own.

In addition to theater skills, campers have learned about major landmarks and museums in Washington, DC, while exploring the city’s culture, music, and unique style. They have created storyboards by drawing and writing their own ideas to help develop the theme for our upcoming performance.

The campers have shown tremendous creativity, teamwork, and enthusiasm throughout the session. Everyone in Drama is excited and looking forward to performing at the end of Session One!

Vocal/Choral Dukes are working on learning the song and dance movements to human nature. Ellingtons are learning when I’m in your arms by Cleo sol. Roberta’s and Marvin’s are learning Counting Stars by One Republic to relate to the Air and Space Museum for the play! All students are learning the jazz version and gogo version of “It Don’t Mean a Thing”.