HIGHTSTOWN: Talented campers rise to the occasion (With multiple photos)

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
It was standing-room-only at the Rise summer camp’s Talent Show and Artwalk event in the Ethel McKnight Elementary School’s auditorium.
The talent show and the art show are the culmination of the six-week-long Rise Summer Academic Enrichment camp, whose tuition is based on income. Nearly 130 campers – ages 5 to 14 – took part in the talent show and art display.
"The children and staff like to show off what they have learned over the summer," said Leslie Koppel, Rise’s executive director. The parental involvement is most rewarding, she said, because for many parents, this is the first event that they ever attended.
The talent show allows campers to show off their individual and group performances. This year, it included dancers and singers, all performing original work, and a contortionist.
The performances were enhanced by music teacher Jeff Panko and his jazz quartet. Panko, who helped the campers with their performances, said that standing up in front of a crowd requires a combination of courage, commitment and skill.
Many of the children at the talent show came down with stage fright, "but with our strong encouragement, they held our hands and we sang like we practiced," said Jo-Ann Ciobanu, a 15-year-old counselor-in-training at the summer camp.
"We had a lot of appreciation from the parents, because the campers really enjoyed the program," said Efrain Monterroso, the assistant camp director. "This talent show was the best because we had dance acts featuring two solo performances."
After the talent show concluded, attendees could walk through the hallways at the Ethel McKnight Elementary School to look at the campers’ artwork. The artwork was created during the camp’s twice-weekly art classes.
For Artwalk, each camper contributed to a large canvas painting – whether it was a circle or a line. The youngest group generated the initial circles and the older campers added colors and shapes to the painting.
Each student also created his or her own individual piece of artwork, using supplies that ranged from cloth, stickers, foam, sparkles, beads and colored paper. The students created everything from 3D projects to kites.
Many of the art projects were inspired by Jill Lee-You, an art teacher and camp counselor. She said she likes to see the children grow up every year, and that Rise "is like a family, and that’s what makes it so special."
Art class as one of the favorite activities for the 5- and 6-year-olds, said Jo-Ann Ciobanu, the counselor-in-training and a student at Hightstown High School.
"Every time we said ‘art class,’ they started screaming. Every time we walked into the room, they were excited to start painting and gluing," Jo-Ann said.
Camp Director Cris Ciobanu said that sometimes, campers come from an "unpleasant" and "unloving" family, and the camp experience offers them another chance.
"During the summer, we try to understand where they are ‘coming from,’ and give them a chance to experience a level of understanding, someone to pay attention to them and care about what they have to say," Ciobanu said. "Often, the talent show and the art show becomes their primary outlet of expressing who they are and what they believe in."