Over the years, SuperCamp has been labeled an academic summer camp, a learning and life skills camp, a summer enrichment camp, a college prep camp and a student empowerment camp—some labels coming from us and some from others. As they say, it’s all good—because we are all of these things … and more.
In fact, one more label you can attach to our summer programs is academic achievement camp. Academics, of course, are just a part of what we’re about, but it’s an important part. In fact, when parents first find out about SuperCamp, more often than not it’s the academic achievement aspect of our programs that most interest them.
So, let’s look at the academic achievement side of SuperCamp. You might ask, how can SuperCamp be about academic achievement when you don’t teach math, science, English immersion, etc.? Our answer to that is, exactly!
SuperCamp teaches students learning skills that help them with their academic achievement across all subject areas. If a parent is looking to give their son or daughter a deep dive in one particular academic area, then they probably should look at other summer academic camps. But if academic skill building is what you want for your child, then SuperCamp is the summer program for you!
As an academic achievement camp, we begin with three fundamental points: every child is capable of learning, people learn in different ways, and learning can be joyful. Another important aspect in SuperCamp’s academics is that we use our proprietary Quantum Learning system, which includes factors that influence the quality of learning. The core components of our system, which contribute greatly to the academic achievement of our students, are:
- Solid foundation – alignment through clearly defined expectations, values and goals
- Empowering atmosphere – a place where students feel supported and experience a strong sense of belonging
- Effective design – where lessons are created using elements that incorporate how the brain learns and retains content
- Engaging deliver – one that uses a multisensory approach and maximizes participation and comprehension
- Supportive environment – a learning space that is inviting, comfortable and stimulating for everyone
As stated, we teach learning skills and strategies that students pursuing academic achievement can apply in most, if not all, of their subject areas in school:
- Quantum Study Strategies – we teach the “why” behind clearing the clutter and the “how” to create a brain-friendly study area.
- Notes: TM – our specialized note-taking strategy gives students the skills necessary to take notes and to make notes meaningful and memorable once they leave the classroom.
- Location Memory – students discover how to use all three learning channels, which makes them more able to retain new information in their long-term memory. Location memory is one of many memorization techniques we teach.
- Power Pegs – this technique helps students memorize long lists of information (e.g. words, phrases or objects) within minutes.
- Mind-Mapping – students learn how to visually outline information and thoughts in a colorful tree-like format that facilitates understanding and learning.
- Quantum Reading – we show students how to gain an academic edge by reading faster and still comprehending the material through creating an ideal environment for reading, shifting their state and preparing their minds to access the appropriate brainwaves for optimal learning.
- Quantum Writing – students in our summer programs learn how to narrow the gap between what’s in their mind and what’s on the page. We teach them fast-write—how to get a lot of ideas down on paper quickly, mind-mapping to organize their ideas, cluster to expand their ideas and how to write “colorfully” to bring more impact to their writing.
While we’re fine being called an academic achievement camp or a summer academic program, the truth is that the life skills training we provide students at SuperCamp play a part in their academic success. As students learn and experience such life skills as how to move out of their comfort zones and break through personal barriers, how to set goals, and how to communicate and collaborate effectively, they’re directly impacting their academic success in a positive way. They’re gaining confidence, they’re becoming more responsible for their academic achievement and they’re transforming into more self-motivated learners.
Importantly, these life skills contribute to students’ middle school and high school academic achievement and to their academic success in college and other post-secondary school training programs.
So, how ever you want to define our summer programs, just know that we are all about academic achievement and about students becoming their best self in school and in life.