ABU DHABI // “More entertainment, more knowledge” is the theme of Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer camps this year.
The education authority says its Sayfuna Mumayaz programme, which runs from July 26 to August 18, aims to make learning fun.
“The programming this year is completely different from before,” said Mohammad Al Dhaheri, Adec’s executive director of school operations. “We’re offering all new challenges.”
The six new activities are designed to target children from different age groups and are expected to attract about 38,500 pupils, an increase of nearly 40 per cent over last year, Mr Al Dhaheri said.
As well as holding classes in community centres for registered pupils, drop-in programmes, called Arts Islands, will take place in malls in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Baniyas and Al Gharbia.
To attract more participants, Adec is offering a number of prizes, including shopping coupons or a trip to Spain, as incentives to children who sign up.
“Parents can go shopping and students can go have fun while learning,” Mr Al Dhaheri said, noting that the Arts Island activities would cater to younger children who wanted to learn how to create arts and crafts using recycled products.
Other activities include an English creative writing competition based on a theme related to the UAE.
“Students will be encouraged to include creativity and technology into their writing,” said an Adec statement.
“It aims to improve students’ writing, to include research where appropriate and promote creativity and innovation.” Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries.
The Make Your Own Video competition challenges pupils to produce videos and share them to YouTube and Instagram.
“It aims to develop the acting and directing skills for interested students and increase the use of technology and social media,” said the statement. Three winners from the regional officers will be awarded prizes.
Children in grades four to nine who have an interest in robotics can sign up for Innovation Journey, which allows them to build robots for competition.
An online contest called Mathletics, expected to attract thousands of competitors from grades six to 11 as pupils can play using any computer, tablet or smartphone, will also reward top scorers with prizes.
Pupils from grades eight to 11 can also enrol for Injaz, an academic programme that offers courses in leadership and innovation, social media and digital information.
Boys between the ages of 11 and 15 can sign up for the Real Madrid Academy to enhance their football skills. Of the 640 students expected to participate in the camp, 30 students will be selected to travel to Madrid to receive football training from expert coaches.
“It’s not just for sports, there will also be Spanish language lessons and cultural tours,” said Nasser Khamis, Adec’s director of extra-curricular activities.
Girls from grades six to 12 can sign up for cooking classes. Swimming and jiu-jitsu classes are available to boys and girls.
A social media contest open to the public encourages students and staff to post photos and videos to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram of how they are spending their summer holiday using the hashtag #Wainkum. A grand prize will be awarded for the most creative photo. Registration for the classes can be made online at Adec's website, from July 20.
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