Howard Payne University will host its annual Young and Summer Scholars programs July 16-20 from 9 a.m. to noon on HPU’s Academy of Freedom campus. The programs, for students in first through sixth grades, will feature innovative instruction in a variety of subjects, including music for the younger students and robotics for the older students. In honor of the election year, the theme for this year’s programs is “Star-Spangled Students.”
“I’m very excited about this year’s Young and Summer Scholars programs,” said Dr. Julie Welker, director of the programs. Welker is the chair of the Department of Communication and professor of communication at HPU. “We have revamped our curriculum and are offering new subject matter and a new schedule.”
Young Scholars is designed for children entering first through third grades. The campers will receive instruction in music, history, reading and physical education. In the Summer Scholars program, students entering fourth through sixth grades will study robotics, computer graphics, reading, history and physical education. In keeping with this year’s theme, both groups will study the presidential election and the Electoral College.
“We are pleased to offer robotics as one of our Summer Scholar subjects this year,” Welker said. “This has been a popular extracurricular activity in area schools. Students will get hands-on practice programming the robots.”
Cost for the Young and Summer Scholars programs is $100 per student and includes a souvenir, snacks and supplies. The deadline for registration is July 2.
“We have an outstanding slate of educators – both from the university and area schools – all of whom are experts in their fields,” Welker said. “We look forward to providing quality education for kids in a fun, summer-camp environment at HPU. We want students to be challenged, learn something new and have a great time.”
For more information about the Young and Summer Scholars programs, contact Dr. Welker at (325) 649-8508 or via e-mail at jwelker@hputx.edu. You can also join the Facebook group by searching for “Young and Summer Scholars” on www.facebook.com.
