Horizons at New Canaan Country School Joins Thousands of Education Champions across the Country in Celebration of National Summer Learning Week (July 11-15)

Horizons at New Canaan Country School (NCCS) joins the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) in recognizing National Summer Learning Week, a celebration dedicated to elevating the importance of keeping kids learning, safe and healthy every summer, ensuring young people return to school ready to succeed.

That’s why during July 11-15, each day of Summer Learning Week is devoted to highlighting the many ways that summer learning programs contribute to student success, including engaging in academics and learning, participating in arts programming, enhancing social skills, gaining life skills, and understanding the importance of health and wellness.

Horizons at NCCS joins communities everywhere in calling out the importance of high-quality summer experiences that offer children and youth, of all backgrounds, the opportunity to explore their interests and learn in new ways that are not accessible during the school year. Summer learning programming is more important than ever, as students recover from the impact of the lingering pandemic.

The goal of Horizons at NCCS is to provide 275 under-resourced children and youth in grades Kindergarten through grade nine from Stamford and Norwalk public schools with academic and enrichment programming to mitigate the opportunity gap.

The Horizons at NCCS program focuses on individualized student support to help students experience academic and social-emotional growth. During the five-and-a-half-week summer program, students are participating in literacy, math, and STEAM, as well as art, music, woodshop, cooking, and swimming. Events, such as the Arts Happening art fair and Olympics, bring the community together and expose students to new things.

Students learn-by-doing on field trips, as well. For example, they tinkered in the Makerspace at the Westport Library, and experienced aquatic life on the Soundwaters 80’ schooner during a sailing adventure on the Long Island Sound. Executive Director, Nancy von Euler said, “Horizons is a supportive, connected community that exposes students to experiences that fuel their dreams for the future and then provides them with the support to realize those dreams.”

NSLA’s website supports the promotion of National Summer Learning Week with an events tracker, and robust resources for families, summer programs providers, and municipal leaders – all to help keep kids healthy and engaged during the summer break.

Photo Captions:

1. Horizons at NCCS staff welcome students on the program’s first day.

2. Instructional swim in the Horizons pool ensures all students learn to swim.

3. Students at the Horizons Arts Happening outdoor art fair.