Summer camps thrive at Klager, Riverside for 2023
Muralists at work! Photo courtesy Katie Altherr
by Marsha Chartrand
A summer full of fun, coordinated by Katie Altherr, has been happening at Klager Elementary School ever since school let out in June. Summer Camps have thrived again this year for kids in grades K–6, winding up in Week 7 with a special project that will be a part of Manchester Community Schools for a long time to come!
In Week 1, Amie Armstrong led Project Aquatic and helped kids catch tadpoles in Manchester’s many wetland areas surrounding the school.
Learning about the Aquatic world was one of the first camps this summer. Photo courtesy Katie Altherr.
The theme for Week 2 was Explore the World Around Us, led by Sarah Duffing. Each day was filled with fun, crafts, experiments, and more.
Ashley Rickert led off Cheer 101 in Week 3 of Summer Camps. Girls got a chance to learn some great skills that will help them become future cheerleaders!
Cheer camp was exciting for aspiring cheerleaders! Photo courtesy Katie Altherr.
Arts and Crafts was the theme for Week 4 and Bella Lehrer was our leader. Kids had a great time exploring their creative side in so many different ways.
Week 5 was STEM week and Ellen Supers shared her knowledge of Robots, coding, and Lego building at STEM Camp, which was incredibly popular with both younger and older students.
Robots, coding, and LEGO building were all part of STEM camp. Photo courtesy Katie Altherr.
During Week 6 at Magic Ink camp, campers mastered the skills of penmanship and cursive writing with leader Monica Kominars.
In Week 7, preschoolers got to have all the experiences that Safety Town has to offer, with Michelle Champagne at Klager Elementary School, while the K–6 groups had an incredible opportunity to paint an entire mural in one week, on the cafeteria wall at Riverside, with Manchester’s own mural artist Alexa Daluz.
“This is something that will last forever,” said Altherr. “The kids were so enthusiastic about the idea, and they did an incredible job. We hope that next year we can do another summer camp and add another panel that will continue the mural.”
The kids who worked on the mural will be able to see it every day as they eat lunch, and for years to come. What a great reward for their time and effort!
K–2 mural artists with the finished mural at Riverside cafeteria. Photo by Marsha Chartrand.
Grades 3–6 mural artists in front of the completed mural at Riverside cafeteria. Photo by Marsha Chartrand.
The caterpillars are the kids’ “signatures” on the artwork and are created from the thumbprints of each of the mural painters. And each student knows which thumbprint is his or hers! Photo by Marsha Chartrand.
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