Ole Miss student Maggie Craze (right) helps participants at STEM Camp for Girls launch paper rockets they designed and constructed. The camp is among several popular offerings available for next summer, and the Office of Pre-College Programs is offering gift certificates for the holidays. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Office of Pre-College Programs can help make holiday shopping easier this year by offering the gift of a fun, educational experience. Gift certificates are available for a slate of 2018 academic summer camps designed for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
“These camps give students the opportunity to explore new academic fields and find out which area interests them the most,” said Ari Lugo, UM pre-college programs counselor.
Several community members jumped at the idea of giving a class last December, Lugo said.
“These academic experiences can help to jumpstart academic and lifelong careers,” Lugo said. “That’s an amazing gift.”
Registration is open for more than 25 summer programs offered to students in grades K-12 beginning in late May 2018 on the Ole Miss campus. There are monthlong, two-week and one-week camps to choose from. Some programs also offer options for students to stay on campus overnight or commute each day from home.
The popular “Rebel Quest” day camps for rising first- through sixth-grade students will host weekly sessions from June 4 to July 27. Each week includes a new theme to help shape learning opportunities and fun activities. Parents are encouraged to register as soon as possible as space fills up quickly for each week.
Academic one-week camps have increased for 2018. The new lineup was expanded to inspire students with different interests.
“We know that students can be very busy in the summer months and may not have a full month to dedicate to a program,” said Ellen Shelton, director of pre-college programs. “These various shorter camp options allow students to have an engaging academic experience and explore the Ole Miss campus with a smaller time commitment.”
Middle school students can enjoy the popular Game Development, STEM Camp for Girls, STEM Camp for Boys, Engineering Camp and many more. These one-week camps allow students to explore an academic field and make new friends while enjoying campus life.
The 2018 lineup of one-week camps for high school students has been expanded to offer even more classes for a broad range of interests.
“The Art of the Story” is a one-week camp set for July 23-27 that explores the work of Oxford’s most notable author, William Faulkner.
The “Young Naturalist” experience July 8-13 for rising 11th and 12th graders is for students who want to get their hands dirty. Those interested in environmental science and biology will be at the UM Field Station throughout the week conducting experiments and fieldwork.
The new “Young Women’s Empowerment” camp, also set for July 8-13, will explore the importance of women in leadership positions. Women leaders from various careers and walks of life will help lead discussions and guide students as they shadow them in their careers.
The full list of one-week camps can be found at http://outreach.olemiss.edu/pre_college/.
For high school students looking to get a head start on college, Summer College for High School Students and JumpStart program for incoming freshmen are now taking applications.
These camps allow students to come to campus for one month over the summer and get a head start on their college courses. Students can receive college credit in one of the numerous academic tracks to choose from, including computer science, engineering, health professions, pre-pharmacy, journalism, integrated marketing communications, intelligence and security studies, legal studies, liberal arts, or one of numerous intensive foreign language programs.
To find out more about the Office of Pre-College Programs’ Summer 2018 schedule, including a full list of classes, dates and costs, as well as gift certificate and payroll deduction information, visit http://outreach.olemiss.edu/pre_college/, email precollege@olemiss.edu or call 662-915-7621.