Student creating shirt design at "Make Your Mark" camp

It may be a weekend morning, but smiling students are walking into school, excited about what’s in store. For several Saturdays, school’s in session with Buncombe County Schools Make Your Mark mini camp series. 

The free camps, designed for BCS fourth through eighth grades, started in March at Enka, Erwin, North Buncombe, Owen, Reynolds, and Valley Springs middle schools.  Sessions resume after Spring Break, from 9am to noon every Saturday from April 13 through May 4. Lunch is provided.

“Our activities help connect learning in the classroom with things happening out in the world,” shared Lance Bledsoe, the site director at Reynolds Middle School. 

Campers talking to counselorThe first camp sessions combined creativity and conversation. Students learned about branding and marketing, and had to interview a partner to create a logo for them. 

“It helped students develop that conversation piece, then use writing skills to summarize what they learned,” said Bledsoe. “Then they could get creative with their artwork.” 

Campers capped off the lesson creating t-shirts with their designs.

Campers develop t-shirt designsUpcoming camps include more “making” - including a “create your own board game” activity. It is paired with a field trip to Well Played Board Game Cafe. Other activities include making crafts and music, along with field trips to the Center for Craft and the Moogseum, a museum dedicated to the work of Robert Moog, the creator of the Moog synthesizer. 

Click here for more information on camp schedules and registration. The deadline to sign up for the remaining Saturdays is April 10.