CAMPERS WILL EXPERIENCE:
-Weekly field trips
-Weekly themes
-Cooking
-Gardening
-Arts and Crafts
-Sports and Fitness
-Character Education
-Hands on Science
-Recreation
-And so MUCH MORE!!!

The goal of Summer Day Camp is to provide an enriching, recreational program conducive to learning and social interaction… TO HAVE FUN! Campers are encouraged to pursue their interests and develop friendships, independence, confidence and respect for themselves and others. Contact Colleen (208) 939-0385 or truenorthcamps@hotmail.com for more information!

Begins: June 04-August 24
Registration: Begins May 12th
Time: 8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Monday-Friday)
Rates: Full Day: $30/day OR $150/week / Half Day: $15/day or $75 per week (anytime after 1 p.m.)
Multiple child discounts and scholarships available for full days

Fall 2011: Half-time by Anna Eaton-Merkle

I have been teaching for 23 years this fall.  I am also turning 46 this fall.  Even to the mathematically impaired, those numbers mean one thing to me.  I have been teaching for half my life.  I am not sure how I feel about that.  My friend Mike says that if you live long enough, chances are that you will end up doing something for half your life.  While true enough, this is not that simple.  Having been a teacher for half my life brings up images of the doddering old geezers that were my high school teachers.  The reality is that they were probably my age – maybe even younger.  I’ll be honest; to me they seemed really old.

Therefore, logic would have it that I seem really old to my students.  How is it that one day I am hip to everything going on in the world of high school and the next day I am a relic from the past?  Have they been laughing at my outfits and not my wit for the past few years?  Do they have nicknames for me like “Chin-Hair Merkle” or “Ms. ThinksShe’sCoolButReallyShe’sNot?” Do they tell their parents about the old battleaxe who tells stupid jokes and thinks Matt Lauer is sexy?

And if I have been teaching for HALF MY LIFE, why aren’t I better at it?  There are still days when my ideas are far superior to the actual lesson.  There have been several occasions wherein well-meaning kids have to remind me that I have said something already, multiple times. Every day is an organizational labyrinth strewn with papers to grade, reports to sign, and instructional calendars to implement.  You’d think that by this time, I would have gotten the hang of it.  Half of one’s life should indicate some sort of mastery.

This is how one can wake up with half a life spent but still feeling like there is so much more to learn.  More importantly, still feeling like this is exactly where I want to be.  When we are doing our unit on Careers and Colleges at the beginning of the year, I share with my students that I always wanted to be an English teacher.  Sure some of them groan or roll their eyes, but even the most jaded can’t argue with my sincerity.  This is what I always wanted to do; exactly what I wished for back in the day that I was planning for my future (note: this probably reads like an Arthurian Legend in their eyes.) In this way I have been very lucky.  I am also proud of the fact that luck had very little to do with it.

The fact is, I wanted to be an English teacher and so I planned for it.  I graduated from college, even though that meant suffering though math classes that held no meaning for me (still don’t), science labs that were downright scary, and foreign language courses that lulled me to sleep first in French and then Spanish.  I student taught at the very high school from which I had graduated only a few years earlier.  I didn’t get a teaching job right away and so I graded papers for one school district, substitute taught for another, and worked nights at the mall to pay the rent.  My first teaching job was working with the 30 lowest achieving students at an intermediate school of 2000, and I was in heaven.  A lifetime later, I can still remember their trusting faces as they waited for me to teach them something.

Now, I look back on 23 years of faces waiting for me to teach them something and I think I have a pretty good track record.  Maybe they only learned that reading can open your mind or that writing can heal.  Maybe they learned that school can be fun if they let it. Maybe they learned that they hold within themselves the power to do anything they set their minds to do.

Maybe they learned how important it is to be a part of something that is bigger than the little worries that crop up from time to time, bigger than any one of us, bigger than any one life.   I know that after 23 years, that is the biggest lesson of all.

Fall 2011: Youth Classes and Field trips

So Fine Design – Graphic design for beginners

Get ready for some awesome art! In So Fine Design youth will design and make their own T-Shirt using graphic art programs.

Wednesdays from 4:30pm-5:15pm. Available to 3rd grade and up (including teens).

Cost: $10 fee (one time).

Sculpture – POTTERY CLASS FOR BEGINNERS

Prepare to get your hands dirty and explore the world of pottery! This messy class will encourage your creative side.

Tuesdays from 4:30pm – 5:15pm. Available to all members (including teens).

Cost: $10 fee (one time).

Stir Fry – Asian Cooking Class

Learn the fine art of making Asian cuisine.

Thursdays from 4:30pm-5:15pm. Available to 1st-5th grade.

Cost: $10 fee (one time).

Community Heroes – Leadership Group

Every community needs a hero to stand up and make a real difference in peoples live. Community Heroes gives youth an opportunity to make a positive impact on our community.

Mondays from 5:30pm-6:15pm with Clint. Available to 4th and 5th graders.

Cost: Free to members. Limited space per class, so sign up today!

Friday Fieldtrips
September/October Friday Fieldtrip Calendar
Available to the first 22 members who sign up and PAY!
ONLY $5-15 per fieldtrip
From 4:00pm-6:30pm (some times may vary)
9/23 – Bowling at Westies
9/30 – Rock Climbing – CANCELLED
*10/07 – Old Penitentiary
*10/14 – Jumptime *$15 Fieldtrip
10/21 – Corn Maize
10/28 – Swimming at the YMCA

*Landing Full day, 7:30am-6:00pm, Fieldtrip from 1:00pm-4:00pm

And a special thanks to Brooke Reche, Vikki Miller and Angelina Long for planning, organizing, securing sponsors and loving youth, families and Eagle enough to put in the extra hours to make this such a wonderful event.

Home Federal

Porterhouse

Virtual IT

US Bank

Bank of the West

Bank of the Cascades

Washington Trust

Key Bank

BOE

School of Rock

Eagle Fire Department

Eagle Police Department

Scottish Athletes

Amazing Athletes

Jukebox Party Express

Eagle High Cheerleaders

Parents Directory

The Gang @True North Tutoring

Crossfit

Gameface

Food Service of America

Albertsons

And a special thanks to Brooke Reche, Vikki Miller and Angelina Long for planning, organizing, securing sponsors and loving youth, families and Eagle enough to put in the extra hours to make this such a wonderful event.

I found that definition apropos, as community is the foundation of everything we do at the Landing. It’s the purpose for its being, the reason why it’s here and is even the theme of our name. The “community” at the Landing is definitely a “group of interacting people,” that has made a commitment to provide our neighborhood (where we live in close proximity), with our “shared common values.” At the core of our values is to provide a safe and clean environment where children can learn, grow, and most importantly enjoy being kids. We love the “social cohesion” (yeah, we all get along) in our “shared geographical location” (right in the heart of beautiful downtown Eagle, Idaho) and on any bustling summer day, one can observe that are social units are made up of numerous households. Wow…we are so “wiki” friendly at the LCC.

As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, our main and only goal is to have a lasting and positive influence on the lives of the children of Eagle and beyond. We want the Landing to be a place where a child learns to like themselves, a place where confidence prospers and inspiration, wonder and vision become the norm.   Our wish is to foster an environment where a child feels free to become their truest self.

A key component of the Landing goes back to that word commitment. Our commitment to parents and kids alike is that once a child sets foot on the grounds of the Landing, his or her race, ethnicity and background simply cease to exist.  ”All are created equal” is a central value to our staff and the children learn by example that the difference between them does not have to separate them. They can come together as one, in a community, our community, the Landing Community.

There was a  heated competition to see who would come out as the winner  in the “friendly” confines at Emerald Lanes, but in the end, Java emerged victorious.   ”My favorite part of the week was going bowling because I won and shot a 174.” said Java.

The “beach” at Eagle Island was a a big hit said Kolvin, ” I really liked hanging out on the beach and swimming at Ealge Island.”

The kids didn’t have to leave The Landing  to have a good time and many just enjoyed kicking back on campus under clear blue and sunny skies.  Field trips are just one aspect to a full and rich summer experience.  but every day the kids enjoy free time where they can hang out, play pool, listen to music, play foosball and have some hotly contested ping pong matches.

“I just love handing out at the teen center, I am always beating Daniel at foosball.” Said Josh.  ” I really like The  Landing because it offers us kids a place to hang out in downtown Eagle that doesn’t feel like a daycare, we can have fun and be ourselves.”

As we get full into a great summer schedule, next week should be no different and we all look forward to our new adventures next week.

Every day a new game is introduced while on The Landing campus and hide and go seek is becoming a camp favorite as The Landing property offers some creative and secretive hiding places. But the kids also really enjoy Lava Tag,  Down Down Dodge ball, Bump, and football. Everyday the kids are kept busy while having a great time, building character skills and forming friendships and being mentored by a great staff!