Summer at CSUN

Summer at California State University, Northridge shined brightly with more than 1,500 eager pupils filling classrooms. But unlike the regular school year, these stellar minds were K-12 students who enjoyed making arts and crafts, swimming, learning about outer space and dinosaurs and performing in musicals. CSUN offers several summer programs for youth. Sunny Days Camp filled the summer with fun for 270 campers between the ages of 5 and 12 for nine weeks. Their curriculum included sports, field trips to such educational spaces as the Los Angeles Zoo and California Science Center, arts and crafts, games and swimming. Campers got to explore where Matadors play with visits to the Student Recreation Center, including an exploration to the top of the “Ridge” and use of the new turf field, and the University Student Union Game Room. On the other end of the spectrum, students enrolled in CSUN's summer academic programs spent the summer learning about various topics, including computer skills, foreign languages and visual performing arts. The Summer Academic Program for Elementary School Students (K-5) and the Summer Academic Enrichment Program (6-12) cultivated the desire to learn in its participants through use of fun techniques prepared by credentialed teachers. Students attending the Culturally Based Algebra Camp spent six-weeks focusing on enhancing student skills and success in mathematics. Rooted in increasing math comprehension for Valley-resident students, the camp’s curriculum, produced by Living Word Church, CSUN's department of mathematics and Pan African studies, fosters high-academic achievement and strives to improve college readiness among its participants. The Teenage Drama Workshop also returned for its 56th year of teaching and production. With more than 90 students enrolled, the program hosted two large productions—“Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” and “Jack and the Beanstalk”—and the “10-Minute Play Festival,” which allowed student playwrights to bring their pages to the stage in six-weeks.