The Young Writers Camp – a nonprofit program of the South Coast Writing Project (SCWriP) at UCSB – announced plans to expand its reach in 2016 by offering two new programs and a new location: a high school Playwriting Workshop and 7-9 grade Digital Writing camp at UCSB, and a 4-9 program at Jonata Middle School in Buellton. In addition, YWC is actively pursuing community support for scholarship funds through a GoFundMe campaign.
Now in its 27th year, the camp has traditionally been offered to incoming 3-9 graders with the aim of providing students access to the best and most inspiring writing instruction available. In 2016, the camp’s open enrollment sessions across four locations from Thousand Oaks to Buellton anticipate serving nearly 300 students.
A typical day at camp includes daily journal writing and structured writing workshops, including time for peer mentor groups. This leads to a deeper understanding of the writing process and what it means to be a part of a writing community as students engage in a broad spectrum of fiction and nonfiction that may include a variety of genres, from poetry to narrative, expository to memoir, and more. Walking field trips and guest author presentations are also incorporated to provide a rich set of experiences to write from. On the final day of camp, families are welcomed for a potluck celebration where writers read their published work from a camp anthology.
The camps are loosely modeled on practices the teachers have engaged in themselves. Every group of 20-25 students is cotaught by two teachers who have participated in the intensive month-long
SCWriP Summer Institute, deepening their understanding of the art of teaching writing while also honing their own writing skills.
Amada Irma Perez, an acclaimed local author, exemplifies the power of this process, and typifies the high caliber of instruction students receive. After 25 years in the classroom, she penned her first book during the 1998 Summer Institute. Since then, she has taught or presented to over 30 sessions of YWC camps, and published multiple children’s books.
“The magic of camp is most apparent at the end, when kids who were barely writing a paragraph at the start are turning out multiple pages,” commented Perez. “The kids begin to view themselves as writers, and walk away more confident in their writing skills and ability.”
The high school Playwriting Workshop at UCSB shifts the model of camp a bit by focusing on one genre. Every student will walk away having authored their own play under the expert guidance of Phil Levien and David Holmes, local Santa Barbara legends who led the San Marcos High School drama program until 2014, when both men retired from teaching – Levien after 20 years, Holmes after more than 30 – to continue their acting careers.
The other new offering at UCSB, Digital Writing, doesn’t so much shift the model as expand upon it. Students will still engage in all the fun and inspirational variety of writing genres Young Writers Camps are known for (and will still have a physical journal to write with paper and pen), but will also incorporate 21st Century types of composing, which might include creating blogs, videos, or other digital technologies that enhance and expand on the writing process.
Also new this year is a camp for 4-9 graders at Jonata Middle School in Buellton, the first time this school will be partnering with UCSB on a Young Writers Camp program.
“I see this as an opportunity to cultivate a community of writers, both in our district and in the Santa Ynez Valley,” stated Jonata principal Jerry Cradduck. “It will also benefit our students by extending learning opportunities through the summer.”
A final new effort this year is the first ever campaign for community support. The first half of the campaign focused on raising funds through a benefit reading, held on Monday, March 14 at San
Marcos High School with the school’s Writers’ Society to raise scholarship funds for the new Playwriting Workshop. The next phase is a GoFundMe Campaign, where contributors can earn prizes like YWC t-shirts, personalized work from students, and more. To contribute, go to gofundme.com/u4f5eppw. The campaign goal is to raise $4,000, enough to provide full and partial scholarships to at least 15 campers in 2016.
An early bird registration rate of $275 is available through April 30 for all camps, after which the price increases to $295 until registration closes on June 15. Sibling discounts, scholarships, and school group discounts are available. All skill levels are welcome, with the main prerequisite being a love of writing, or at minimum an openness to learning about writing.
Application materials are due June 15 and can be downloaded from the SCWriP website: scwrip.wordpress.com/youth For more information or help with registration, call Young Writers Camp office manager Lisseth Murillo at (805) 8935899 or email youngwriters@education.ucsb.edu.
Camp schedules and available locations are:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Session 1 July 11 – July 25 Mon.-Fri. 9:00-12:30 p.m.
● Grades 3–4 , 5–6
● Grades 7–9 Digital Writing
Session 2 July 25 – August 5 Mon.-Fri. 9:00-12:30 p.m.
● Grades 3–4 , 5–6
● Grades 7–9 Digital Writing
Playwriting Workshop July 11 – July 28 Mon.-Thur. 1:00-4:00 p.m.
● Grades 10–12
Cal Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks
July 11 – July 22 Mon.-Fri. 9:00-12:30 p.m.
● Grades 3–4, 5–6, 7–9
Jonata Middle School, Buellton
July 18 – July 29 Mon.-Fri. 9:00-12:30 p.m.
● Grades 4–6, 7–9
Mesa Union School, Somis
July 18 – July 29 Mon.-Fri. 9:00-12:30 p.m.
● Grades 4–6, 7–9
About Young Writers Camp
Young Writers Camp, a program of the South Coast Writing Project (SCWriP) at UCSB, began in 1990 as a way to inspire a love of writing in youth and provide SCWriP fellows extended professional development opportunities in the summer. The camp has served thousands of children across the Central Coast, from Thousand Oaks to Santa Maria, providing a nurturing environment for students to grow their writing confidence and skills. Learn more at SCWriP.wordpress.com/youth or at Facebook.com/SCWriPYWC.