By Cara Pattison
Contributing Writer
Even though school’s out for the summer, kids and parents are banging on the Yukon High School doors to keep kids coming for Yukon Public Schools’ annual Community Engagement Summer Camp.
Now with over 40 years of camp stories under their belt, the program is a long-standing and highly regarded Yukon tradition.
“Our children’s program coordinator, Aimee McElhaney, was a camper here when it was began over 40 years ago under the direction of the first Community Engagement director, Wanice Gibson,” YPS Community Engagement Director D’Lynne McDaniel said.
“It’s been fun to see the program grow over the past 10 years that I’ve been here, to see what it is today.”
YPS Community Engagement offers this camp to help parents have a safe and fun place for their children during the summer months. McDaniel said her team begins fielding calls regarding camp attendance months ahead of time.
“Families start calling in January to get on the waitlist for summer camp!” she said. “Our staff does a fantastic job of trying to accommodate all families that want to take advantage of our camp.
“In the past 13 years, our attendance has grown from 80 children to over 220 attending camp.”
The YPS Community Engagement Department offers the fun camp for children going into kindergarten all the way through eighth grade.
The camp consists of four mini-camps divided by grade level – Millers at Camp (MAC) 1-3 and Camp Next.
MAC-1 is for kindergarteners and first graders, MAC-2 is for second and third graders, MAC-3 is for fourth and fifth graders, and Camp Next is for sixth, seventh and eighth graders
“We are located at the Yukon High School and are fortunate to be able to use all the facilities it has to offer, such as the gym, track and classrooms,” McDaniel said.
Campers spend the months of June and July engaged in fun-filled themed days, such as carnival day, kickball tournaments and glow stick parties.
They also attend off-site activities, like swimming, bowling, skating, visiting area parks, and field trips to the OKC Zoo and Science Museum Oklahoma.
Older campers deliver food for Yukon Mobile Meals and hop on the bus to destinations like White Water and Frontier City.
WHAT A STAFF
McDaniel believes her staff is a big factor in keeping the YPS summer camp a success.
“I am blessed to have an amazing office staff in office manager Morissa Vanhoutan and children’s program coordinator Aimee McElhaney,” she said. “Morissa takes care of all the billing and buying of supplies. Aimee hires and trains the staff of 25 supervisors and aides, as well as plans the nine weeks of field trips.
“Our camp supervisors and aides consist of teachers, paraprofessional staff, and Millers Afterschool staff from the Yukon school district. We even have some former campers and Yukon alumni that have come back to work at camp.”
The YPS Community Engagement office also is getting ready for Millers After School at Yukon’s elementary and intermediate schools, Reality Check for high school students, driver’s education, and karate during the 2023-24 school year.
