YAP YAP The Young Artist Program 2017 Parent Handbook
City of Evanston Community Arts Programs 2100 Ridge Avenue Evanston, IL 60201 T 847.448.8263 F 847.448.8051 www.cityofevanston.org Dear Parents: Welcome to the Young Artist Program 2017! As the staff prepares for this innovative immersion in the arts for Evanston teens, we want you to be informed about our program so your child can have the best possible experience. In an effort to make you aware of the nature of this program as well as important procedures, we are sending you the Young Artist Program Handbook for Parents. This handbook contains all the information you need to prepare for the Young Artist Program (also known as YAP). Please read it carefully. Our hope is that this handbook will orient first-time YAP families and provide reminders and new information for returning families. Please note that if you have not turned in a Camper Information Form, you can download it off the Parent webpage. Please make sure you return these forms to the Evanston Arts Camp/YAP office at Angela Allyn, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Dept, Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Avenue, Room 1116, Evanston IL 60201-2798 by May 31 st, 2017, or at our Orientation Drop in on Thursday, June 8, 4:00-6:00pm at Noyes Cultural Arts Center room 107. We suggest that you keep this handbook in a convenient place for easy reference throughout the season. We want to thank you for registering your child for the Young Artist Program. If you have any questions about the upcoming season, please do not hesitate to call us at (847) 448-8263. We look forward to seeing you this summer! Sincerely, Nate Buursma YAP Director nbuursma@cityofevanston.org Angela Allyn Community Arts Program Coordinator aallyn@cityofevanston.org
YAP HANDBOOK FOR PARENTS Goals of the Program: The Young Artist program offers youth ages 11-16 exposure to a variety of innovative contemporary practices in the visual and performing arts. Teens will work individually and collaboratively on integrated arts projects in a relaxed but structured day camp setting. YAP instructors are always professional artists and master teachers. Site Information: YAP is located at Noyes Cultural Arts Center room 107. The address is 927 Noyes St., Evanston, IL 60201. The central Arts Camp office is located at the Morton Civic Center and the telephone number is (847)448-8263. There will be a cell phone at Noyes and you will receive that number the first day of camp. Staff: This year the Young Artist Program is led by YAP Instructor Nate Buursma. YAP maintains a camper to staff ratio of 10:1. Management of Group Dynamic: Because one of YAP s goals is to offer collaborative group art projects, campers are grouped across grades and ages at YAP if there is need to split into groups. At YAP we strongly encourage kids to interact with kids they don t know. We recognize that for this age group, identity formation and group dynamics can be complicated. In addition to providing GREAT projects and instruction, we place emphasis on building a sense of community. It also helps them establish a fresh identity with their new friends who might not be aware of who they are before or outside of camp. We spend a lot of time the first few days getting to know one another and building community so that all participants develop new friends. Throughout the program, there are a number of both independent and collaborative projects. Themes: Every year, camp classes and activities are organized by session themes. This year our program will investigate the theme of What s Your Story. This theme will be applied to the various forms of art that are explored, in addition to becoming a lens through which we investigate our world. Visual arts experiences will take place in the mornings and performing arts experiences will take place in the afternoons, with occasional integration of both. Classes: In the past, the morning visual arts experiences have focused on installation art, print making, comic book drawing, shadowboxes, and costumes. The afternoon performing arts are improvisation, character development, scene writing, sketch comedy, spoken word poetry, and physical theater. For Family Night, campers will work together to share a bit of what they ve been working on and will have their work on display in an open gallery setting for family and friends to enjoy. Family Night: Details and invitation will come the first week of camp. Additional Activities: The YAP TREE: Every morning and afternoon after campers sign in, before they go to their first class we engage in group games and activities. Opening activities offer campers a warm up and focus to begin each morning and afternoon session.
FREEDAY FRIDAYS: YAP programs are also supplemented by field trips and on-site performances and workshops on Fridays. Campers will participate in special master classes with guest artists and staff mentors, attend on and off-site performances and tours of innovative artists spaces. We will also go to Lighthouse Beach on alternating Friday mornings and afternoons, traveling by foot. On the last Friday of each session YAP holds the bi-annual YAP Olympics: creative and silly, competitive Olympic games. More details on Friday events and field trip forms will go home with campers in weekly camp newsletters, called The Yapper, on Tuesdays. Sunscreen Policy: Please make sure your child has sunscreen on before they arrive at camp. Our staff will remind our campers to wear and reapply sunscreen, and we can supervise its application but we will only allow campers to put on sunscreen that belongs to them. THEME DAYS: Every Wednesday will be a costume theme day. Games and activities will ensue, related to the theme. Campers will explain highlights of their costumes - participation is encouraged but optional. Our Newsletter The Yapper: During the camp sessions, newsletters will be sent home every Tuesday with campers. Be sure to watch for them and read them carefully, as they contain important information about field trips, special events, Open Houses and Family Night, progress in classes, and additional fun topics! Food at Camp: Lunch is held from 12pm to 1pm at YAP. On sunny days, we will eat outside by the playground, and on rainy days we will eat in our multi-purpose room. Full-day campers should bring their lunch, needing no refrigeration, including a drink, from home. No one will be allowed to leave camp to purchase lunch at neighboring stores. Visits to any vending machines on site are also not allowed at any time. Please contact the Arts Camp Director if your child has special dietary needs requiring snacks at other times during the day. Food is not permitted in the classroom (exceptions for medical conditions), but snacks from home can be eaten during breaks between classes. It is a long day, and we suggest you bring snacks as well as a water bottle. And remember: You are what you eat. YAP believes in healthy eating. Please also let us know if your child has food allergies. Arrival at and Departure from Camp: Daily Sign-In and -Out Procedures: We will have a printed list of campers with spaces for parents to sign each camper in and out. As a safety precaution, we are asking that parents and guardians either sign each child in and out of camp, or give written permission for the camper to sign him or herself out. If someone besides a parent will be picking up any camper (i.e. carpool, babysitter, grandparent, etc.), the camper s parent or guardian must provide the mentor with a written release stating that he or she is allowed to leave camp with that person. The person picking up the child will be asked to show photo ID when they arrive on site. There is space to list people with whom one s child may leave camp on the Camper Information Form, as well as a release for campers to sign themselves out, at the end of this packet. With older students, once they sign themselves out, they may depart and we do not keep tabs on who they leave with. Bikes: Campers who will be riding their bicycles alone to and from camp must have written permission from parents to do so, which can be indicated on the Camper Information Form. If your child will be biking to camp, please purchase a kryptonite lock as a safety precaution. No camper will be allowed to bike home from camp without a helmet as per the City of Evanston ordinance. Traffic and Parking: As a consideration for others as well as your own children s safety, please follow all the traffic regulations and drop off or retrieve your child only at the
appropriate curbside. Finally, please escort your child through the parking lot; it is not safe for small children to run through the lot alone. Please do not double park. Emergency Contacts: Please provide at least one emergency contact near the camp location to ensure that your child will be picked up promptly if an emergency or illness is to occur. We have no sickroom facilities and sick children just want to go home. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The City of Evanston welcomes the participation of all individuals in our programs, including those with disabilities. We are fully committed to complying with the ADA and providing reasonable accommodations to facilitate participation in our programs. The sooner we know about your special situation, the more time we have to make reasonable accommodations to improve your child s recreational experience with us. It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to contact the Camp Director or Myra Gorman, Special Recreation, to make arrangements for any accommodations at the time of registration; those registering closer to the start of camp must make arrangements no later than three weeks before the start of camp; otherwise, camp attendance may be delayed. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Myra Gorman, Special Recreation Inclusion Coordinator, at (847) 448-8045 (voice); (847) 448-8064 (TDD) or (800) 526-0857 (IL Relay Center voice transmission). First Aid and Health Care: The staff makes every effort to provide a safe environment for YAP campers; however, occasional injuries do occur. All mentors are required to be certified in Standard First Aid and CPR, but the staff is not equipped to treat serious injuries. Please know that there is no nurse on site, and we are not permitted to transport children to the hospital. If an injury occurs that may require advanced medical attention but is not life threatening (i.e. a sprained ankle), the administrative staff will contact parents first, followed by the emergency contact if parents cannot be reached, to arrange for transportation to a medical facility. In the event of a more serious injury (i.e. a head or back injury), staff will call the Emergency Medical System immediately, followed by a call to parents. Sick Children: Children who have fever, diarrhea, nausea or a suspicious rash should not attend camp. We ask that when a child becomes sick at camp, you make the arrangements to pick them up promptly as we have no place to keep them comfortably if they are not feeling well enough to participate. YAP does not want to risk infection of other campers. If a child will not be attending camp due to illness or for any reason, please call the Director to make them aware. Lice: If your child is found to have lice, they will be sent home immediately and not allowed to return to camp until proper treatment is given. Medications: If your child regularly needs Tylenol, ibuprofen, or any other OTC medications or might need Benadryl due to an allergic reaction, you must send it in its original container labeled with your child s name and make sure that we have a medical authorization form on file. We do not stock any medications at camp. If your child needs prescription medications, you must fill out a medical authorization form. Clothing for YAP: YAP, like any art program, can be an active and sometimes messy place. We recommend that campers registered for the Visual Arts Program either wear clothes that can get dirty or provide a smock from home. Those registered in Performing Arts will want to wear loose, comfortable clothing that gives them freedom of movement. All campers must wear shoes (NOT FLIP FLOPS) in class at all times. At the start of each session, campers will also receive a YAP t-shirt to be worn on field trips - and any other time! What Not to Bring to Camp: YAP tries to be an unplugged place. Please discourage your child from bringing lots of money, electronic toys, ipods, or other valuable items to camp. We cannot guarantee the safety of such items.
Cell Phone Policy: YAP is meant to be an unplugged environment. Personal cell phones may not be worn or used by staff or by campers during classes so that we can BE with the people we are with. We do understand we live in a culture bathed in electronic devices, so they may be kept in a backpack or purse in the OFF position until class is over.we will be fairly strict about this, and you may get a call if your camper is having trouble unplugging. If at any time you need to reach your camper, call the main camp office or emergency cell number and we will get that message to them. In an era of endless social media, it is also important to establish media free moments in order to build community and protect boundaries. Not everyone wants to be shared on Snapchat. Rules and Discipline: At YAP, rules are based on common sense. Campers are expected to treat other people, ideas, art projects, and personal belongings with respect. Anyone who has persistent difficulty respecting others or their belongings will move away from the group to figure out ways to work in community. Parents will be notified if their child is having issues and we hope you will contact us if there are things going on outside of camp that will affect camp. Absolutely no physical contact such as pushing, hitting, or kicking is permitted at camp. Parents will be notified immediately if their child is physically aggressive towards a staff member or another camper. In addition, full participation is expected in all classes. YAP also has a no tolerance when it comes to name calling, teasing or bullying however innocent the claim is. Any instance of this will result in intervention. Note: If your child has specific behavior issues (i.e. behavior disorders, learning disabilities, or personality traits that may require extra attention), please specify this on the Emergency and or Camper form. We welcome your suggestions and advice about effective discipline and/or instruction. Your assistance can help to provide a better experience for your child and the others in his/her group. Lost and Found: Each site has a lost and found box. All items not claimed on last day of the camp session are then disposed of. Please check on a regular basis. Note: This camp adheres to the City of Evanston Parks, Recreation, and Community Service Code of Conduct as posted on the Parent Manual webpage.