Summer Dreaming at the SHS Summer Activities Fair

As many parents know, deciding how to keep your children active and engaged during the lazy days of summer can sometimes feel like an overwhelming task. Well PTA volunteer extraordinaires Melissa Eisenberg, Jocelyn Gibian, and Rachel Fingeroot helped to make that decision a whole lot easier when they hosted Scarsdale High School’s annual Summer Activities Fair on January 14th.

As a result of the organizers' terrific effort, this year’s fair had 55 representatives from a wide variety of exciting summer programs including teen travel, pre-college enrichment, community service, internship programs, performing arts, sports, language immersion, outdoor adventure and other specialty camps, all there to discuss their offerings and answer questions from parents and students alike. New this year, the organizers made a concerted effort to invite students from surrounding districts making it a larger, community event.

No matter how old your children, or what kind of activities spark their joy, the Summer’s Activity Fair had something for everyone. A few of the various vendors included:

Adelphi’s Summer Pre-College Program is open to rising sophomores, juniors and seniors in high school. Our credit-bearing program allows students to explore an academic area of interest, participate in college preparedness workshops, and discover all that Adelphi University has to offer. Both residential and commuter options are available. Take an amazing class, make new friends, and earn college credits all in our summer program tailored just for you! Learn more

Some of the other Pre-College Programs on hand for the evening included Dartmouth, Purchase, Barnard, University of Michigan, Columbia, and Lehigh just to name a few.

There was no shortage of options for sports enthusiasts with everything from local day camps like Future Stars, to pre-college athlete programs at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. A former SHS alum has even co-founded and runs a speciality tennis program called Atlas Tennis.

Atlas Tennis offers teens the chance to travel through Europe playing tennis, experiencing new cultures, and seeing some of the world’s most iconic sights. Trips are 2-3 weeks, and are designed for all levels, with multiple opportunities to compete in European tournaments. Stops include London (with a day at Wimbledon and a chance to meet some of the pros), Barcelona, Paris, and more. Atlas is run by SHS alum Ben Shapiro and co-founded by four tennis industry leaders, all of whom are experts in college, junior, and professional tennis. Learn more

Athletes and adventurers could also learn more about summer programs like Sababa Beach Camp, Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) Teen Summer Camp, Summer Discovery & Discovery Internships, Sail Caribbean, and ActionQuest.

Considered one of the highlights of the evening, students from School of Rock performed several songs as if they were on stage at the Govenor’s Ball. If you think your kiddo is the next Chris Martin, you might want to check out this local camp and after school program.

School of Rock White Plains’ summer music camps are an excellent way for young musicians to get the revolutionary School of Rock experience. We offer performance camps, artist-themed camps, songwriting and more. There's a camp available for every interest and skill level. Utilizing "METHOD", our patented music education system, students practice in a band and are taught popular songs as a proven way of learning to play music. Our music camps end with an epic, live rock show where you'll see how much they have learned. Start your child's musical journey today! Learn more

Other programs for the creative types included the Music Conservatory of Westchester, University of Michigan, Stamps School of Art & Design, One River Art and so much more.

If global travel and a summer abroad seems intriguing to your teen, then Where There Be Dragons has everything you could be looking for.

Where There Be Dragons was founded in 1993 and runs immersive travel programs in Asia, Latin America and Africa for students aged 15-22. Our unparalleled 2,4 & 6-week summer abroad programs and 3-month Gap year semesters give students the opportunity to travel with intention & create meaningful connections with the people and places they visit.

SHS student Sam Broff was on hand to answer questions and said that Where There Be Dragons “has the greatest programs he has ever taken part in” calling their excursion to China, “Out of this World.”

There were loads of other travel programs to choose from including Camp Sol Spain, The Road Less Traveled, Travel For Teens, Westcoast Connection, and Hudson Lab Ventures. But if sticking closer to home seems more appealing there were also a wide variety of day camps and job opportunities to learn about like Discover Camp, Oasis Day Camp, Camp Ramaquois, and Mohawk Day Camp. Several of these camps are both great for the younger campers and hiring teens as camp counselors!

What’s spotlighted in this article is truly only the tip of the iceberg! For a complete list of all the vendors at this year’s Summer Activities Fair, check out the webpage here.