Beyond the Bell 21CCLC Summer Camp Junior Journalist Camper Summaries

One of the Beyond the Bell 21CCLC Summer Camp weeks was Junior Journalist week.  The students learned about newspapers and reporting the news. They also discussed how local newspapers serve the communities they are in. 

Novaree Christopherson is the program coordinator. She explained that the students interviewed each other and reflected on the memories and experiences of the camp. “Their responses showed a summer filled with curiosity, adventure, and new friendships. Our campers loved exploring the Aerial Museum, the Big Horn County Courthouse, hunting for fossils with local geologist Myron Cook, traveling around the world with the UW extension office, and learning to cook foods like bread, pizza and macaroni & cheese with One Health. They shared that they learned about teamwork, kindness, community, different cultures, cooking and even CPR. Many said they were proud of trying new things, making new friends and building confidence through hands-on activities.” 

When asked what they would tell future campers, their message was simple “Join! You’ll make friends, learn something new every day, and have lots of fun!”  Christopherson added that “Their enthusiasm perfectly captures what beyond the bell is all about- creating meaningful learning experiences, building confidence, and making lifelong memories through community partnerships. Here are some things our campers shared about their favorite parts of summer camp.”

Below are the students summaries: 

Logan Workman–2nd grade. Logan had an exciting summer exploring airplanes and learning about aviation. He also enjoyed touring the courthouse, interviewing others as a Junior Journalist, and making new friends while sharing his love of toy cars. Logan says camp was fun and encourages others to join.

Annie Jackson – 3rd grade. Annie enjoyed playing outside, visiting the library, learning to cook, and trying new activities. Around the world Week with the University of Wyoming was her favorite, and she described her summer as fun, happy, and exciting.

Hayden Aron – 1st Grade. Hayden loved searching for fossils with local geologist Myron Cook, learning about airplanes and touring the Museum of Flight and Aerial firefighting, she also enjoyed cooking macaroni and cheese with our friends at One Health, and making new friends. She was proud of trying new foods and said her summer was fun.

Leif Olsen – 3rd Grade. Leif enjoyed learning about the different countries with our friends at the University of Wyoming extension office about the different countries, drawing flags, visiting the museum, and cooking pizza. He loved creating marble runs and spending time with friends and called camp awesome.

Evy Olsen – Kindergarten. Evy loved cooking, visiting the courthouse, learning about countries, and making treasure chests. She made new friends and learned important safety lessons, describing camp as fun, adventurous, and helpful. 

Delilah Alexander – 1st Grade. Delilah enjoyed building crafts, trying new foods, meeting new people, and creating projects. She loved laughing with friends and said she would happily come back next year.

Jesse Jackson – 5th Grade. Jesse enjoyed learning about airplanes, the courthouse, countries, and cooking foods from around the world. He said camp helped him interact with people better and recommended it to everyone. 

Dean Olsen – Kindergarten. Dean enjoyed visiting the courthouse and museum, learning CPR with our local paramedics, cooking scones with the University of Wyoming extension office and making new friends, and discovering fossils with Mr. Cook. He described camp as great.

Micah Christopherson – Kindergarten. Micah loved finding fossils with Mr. Cook, baking bread with Leandra at One Health, learning about countries with UW extension, creating artwork, and playing games with new friends. He described camp as fun, exciting, and super.

Sophie Powell – 3rd Grade. Sophie enjoyed field trips, learning about countries, making water pets and fruit salad, and building projects. She said camp is a place where you can craft, draw, cook, and have lots of fun. Sophie also enjoyed their town hall mock meeting and being the mayor of the town.

Aspen Olsen – Kindergarten.  Aspen enjoyed our summer reading program with the library, picnics at the park with friends, the Fossil adventure with geologist Mr. Cook. Learning CPR from our local EMTs. Making homemade pizza at camp and meeting new friends. Aspen recommended Beyond the Bell to everyone and said, ‘i love it”. 

 Lucas Olsen - 3rd Grade.  Lucas loves visiting the airplane museum and the courthouse, cooking pastries, learning about the different countries and cultures with Cory at the UW extension office and making new friends. He also said camp taught him to be respectful, cook and explore new places, and he hopes next year includes a water park.

Caden Christopherson - 3rd Grade. Caden’s favorite part of camp was civic week and touring the courthouse. He enjoyed learning how marriage licenses work, property records, registering brandings for local farmers and how records are stored for future use. He also enjoyed the summer reading program with their friends at the Basin Library and making his very own treasure chest. He says the courthouse was the highlight of his summer and encourages everyone to learn more about our duties and responsibilities as citizens in our community.