We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. If “it takes a village to raise a child”, imagine how much more of a village it would take to run 150+ summer camps full of children! Luckily, at Highlander Summer not only do we have counselors, volunteers, coaches, leadership team members, and instructors to rely on, but we have a wonderful group of outside vendors playing their part on our team as well! Read below to learn more about who they are, what they bring to the table, and what they love most about Highlander Summer!

Board One Chess Academy is a full-service chess coaching organization in Florida that has collaborated with LHP summer camps and academies for the last 4 years. This year, coaches Stephen Crookston, Kiani Walker, and Mishal Ahuja are offering two weeks of Chess camp to rising 2nd-6th graders. Coach Steven and his team provide a daily lesson, opening workshop, and observation and analysis of tournament games. From one-on-one coaching to book and software recommendations, they give campers and their parents the tools that are needed to help campers excel at the game.

These custom lessons are more engaging and relevant to the campers but getting to know your child and giving great consideration to determine which strategies will work best for them, is the priority. Whether a beginner or a novice, the goal is to make the game of chess fun and accessible to campers of all skill levels.

Creative Jane Art Studio started when a homeschooled mother, Becky Jane, decided to turn art play into a profession after her own kids grew old. Her studio, located in Winter Park, offers children and their families classes, workshops, celebration packages and more! Becky and her team, Izzy Henderson and Noelle Chung, share a passion for inspiring young minds to explore, learn, and grow in the process of making art, leading them to become certified in education (from early childhood education to art to science). 

This will be Creative Jane’s second summer season with Highlander Summer and will be

offering two weeks of “Art With Creative Jane” to rising K-1st graders. Each week they will explore art and artists through a different theme. Mixed-media projects will fill their days, including painting, paper mache, polymer clay, and fiber arts! There are SO many fun projects in store with this camp!

Creative Jane Art Studio’s favorite part of Highlander Summer: “We see so many LHPS families at our studio. It is so fun to be a part of the school community and offer classes on campus!”

Culinary Kids Academy, LLC is a STEM certified hands-on culinary program (located in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties) that explores different types of ingredients, foods, and culinary cultures from around the world in a fun learning environment. They are the only STEM Certified Culinary program worldwide that helps reinforce school-taught math and science with everyday applications through cooking. Through their classes, Chefs Andrea, Tom, Sarah, & Robbie help students develop their knowledge behind the food and have successfully opened minds and pallets to a variety of healthy foods (yes, even vegetables!). 

For children who love to eat, Culinary Kids helps them learn more about the history, culture, and science behind the ingredients in creating amazing healthy dishes. For those who are a bit finicky with food, the chefs help open their minds to tasting new ingredients by exposing them to flavors and creating something tasty and fun with their class. They also reward them with a “Taster Pin” for each new item they try. This simple reward and reinforcement program helps encourage the exploration of food and flavors! Culinary Kids has collaborated with LHP for 3 years, and this summer, they are offering two weeks of “Culinary Kids” to rising K-2nd graders. Don’t be surprised if your child comes home asking for quinoa pancakes!

Special Note: In this program, campers will not make any recipes with beef, pork, chicken, fish, shellfish, nuts and very few seeds so dietary restrictions along with personal and religious beliefs are not impacted.  The chefs also understand allergies and food intolerances which helps students stay safe in class.  Students may not be able to taste something due to an allergy or food intolerance, but they still get to work together as a team to make that recipe.  Whenever possible we always make adjustments to a recipe so that everyone can enjoy it. Lastly, students will not be working with knives or cooking with heat to keep them safe. We leave that to the professional chefs. However, they will participate in all other aspects of the class. 

Exploding Bacon is an internationally recognized high school robotics team that includes students from schools and homeschools across Central Florida. They are a member of the FIRST Robotics Competition Hall of Fame, having won the top award at the World Championship event in 2019. Exploding Bacon members are designers, engineers, electricians, programmers, project managers, teachers, and more.

Exploding Bacon has been a part of Highlander Summer for two years, and this summer they are led by Dominic Canora, one of our beloved LHP teachers. In this camp, Science and coding go hand in hand. Students learn Scratch™️ to code their own interactive stories, animations, and games. In the process, they learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively  — everything leads up to a friendly end-of-week competition. Hands-on science experiments are incorporated into each day and teach campers about Chemistry, Engineering, Physics, and Astronomy. In addition, exciting team-building games and pool time will round out the fun! This camp is offered twice to rising 2md-4th graders.

Exploding Bacon’s favorite part of Highlander Summer: “We love having the opportunity to share our excitement for science and engineering with younger students around Central Florida and hope to ignite and inspire a similar passion for STEM in them.”

FC Highland is a youth soccer club based in Central Orlando led by former pro and international player (2010 World Cup), and professional coach, Jeremy Christie. Their club team offers programs for players 5-19 years old. FC Highland has been a part of Highlander Summer for four years offering coed camps to rising 2nd-5th graders.

Coach Christie, Coach Max Dixon, and additional coaches teach the fundamentals of the game, including dribbling, passing, and shooting, while also promoting team culture, respect, discipline, hard work, honesty, and integrity. Through soccer, they emphasize building a culture where their players learn that no matter what they do, their character defines who they are. This will help them reach their true potential as a soccer player and set them up for success wherever their future may lead them. This camp is open to players of all skill levels and is the perfect opportunity for young players to improve their skills while having fun in a safe and supportive environment.

SPARK Business Academy is the financial literacy partner at 250+ public and private schools, including many of the top schools in the country and internationally. The founder, J. Chuchi Arevalo, earned his MBA with an emphasis in finance from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and his BA degree in Economics from the University of West London, England. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. Chuchi created SPARK Business Academy to educate younger students and campers in business, finance, and entrepreneurship through programs like My First Lemonade Stand, Jr. CEOs, Bulls and Bears, Budding Entrepreneurs, and Sports Management.

Through these programs, participants engage in future-ready learning as they work together to generate business-oriented solutions to real-world problems, identify careers aligned with their personalities and interests, develop a personal brand, and create the assets needed to bring their start-ups to life. This summer, Samantha Wheeler, one of our beloved fifth-grade teachers will be partnering with SPARK Business Academy to lead our Money Math and My First Food Truck camp for rising 3rd-5th graders. This innovative camp on financial literacy and entrepreneurship will empower your camper with essential 21st-century skills!