Making waves
All work and no play? Hardly. Matt Foley, a life guard at Mint Springs Lake in Crozet, pans the surface of the water while kids paddle around. Of the 11 lifeguards on duty this summer, half were Western Albemarle High School students and all enjoyed a good deal of time goofing around when not on duty, be it wakeboarding or skateboarding. Come work time, however, each scaled a tall red chair and picked up watch.
Shooting stars
Everyone wants to see the bright lights, but students involved in a number of workshops at Light House Studio this summer learned how to make those lights shine. For two weeks in July, nine students—all between the ages of 12 and 16—turned out for "Reel Stories," a crash course in documentary filmmaking that saw them film, edit and produce their own five- to eight-minute glimpse into local life. Here, a team of students connect their audio equipment to their camera outside of the Live Arts building and Light House Studio space.
Pooling together
There’s nothing more refreshing than a long-overdue dip in the pool, and these kids waited patiently for Meade Park’s Onesty pool to open on June 7. Between the hours of noon and 6pm each weekday—save for the 15 minutes of "adult swim" each hour—kids ruled the water, especially favoring Onesty’s sizeable diving board to send them plunging into the wild blue oasis, splishing and splashing all the way.
Flipping out
It ain’t all extra cheese and paradise for some of us in the summertime: Chad Baber, a rising junior at Western Albemarle High School, has worked as a pizza maker at Sal’s in Crozet for almost two years, and pitches pies five days a week during the school year. Despite his work schedule, Baber says he enjoys his gig: "It’s the only job I’ve ever had," he says. And who can’t use the extra dough during the summer?
Working it
If summer jobs build character, then 17-year-old Western Albemarle High student Matt Fitzgerald will need a bag to carry all his excess "character" around. Fitzgerald works roughly three days each week at Great Valu, a grocery store in Crozet’s IGA shopping center, where his duties as a bag boy include cleaning the check-out areas, stepping in for a cashier at a moment’s notice, and ensuring that all types—paper or plastic—get their groceries from the conveyor belt to their cars.
Studying up
As most kids say "farewell" to health with hours of videogames and junk food during the summer months, this group of Albemarle High School students bid their textbooks and worksheets for Charlie Morris’ Health II class "hello." This summer, a total of roughly 600 students enrolled in one of two summer school sessions; each spent three weeks repeating a failed class or simply getting a jumpstart on course credits.
Shadowing heroes
The few, the proud: Charlottesville High School students Shaniqua Brown, 17, and Jamal Johnson, 16, were the two students selected to the Charlottesville Fire Department’s six-week summer internship program. For four hours per day, four days each week, Brown and Johnson join firemen on calls to observe them in action and knock out a few station chores. While Johnson brushes the headlights of the station’s antique display fire engine, Brown practices her flame-dousing skills on the truck’s hubcaps.
Washing cares away
At Camp Holiday Trails—a nonprofit summer program that offers sessions for kids and families affected by cancer, hemophilia and diabetes, among other health conditions—strength and teamwork help campers forget their illnesses and bask, carefree, in the summer sun. Above, members of the "Red Team" and a counselor paddle ashore after a canoe race against the "Yellow Team" during a day of CHT "Color Wars."
Riding in style
Now that’s a horse of a different color! During the school year, Karly Bilotta (a rising senior at Tandem Friends School) does her best to fit in a few hours of quality time with her favorite horse, Eddie, on weekends and after class. When schools are out, Bilotta heads to Judith Moore’s Hidden Acre Farm to teach riding lessons and to clean barns (not to mention Eddie!) for the chance to train and ride her very own Brown Beauty.
Lending a hand
Seven-year-old Ava Milstein cradles a week-old lamb on her grandmother Kathryn Russell’s Majesty Farm in North Garden. Russell, who serves on the board of Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers and sells eggs, dairy and meat locally, allows her kids and grandkids (including Ava) to lend a hand each summer, whether it be milking cows or herding the ducks that populate Russell’s land.
Casting off
Gene Crawford checks his fishing line while his son Arin, 6, and daughter Aly, 10, watch the water at the reservoir near Earlysville Road. Papa Crawford says that he takes his kids fishing nearly every day during the summer to relax. In the distance, Crawford’s 11-year-old son, Genesis, keeps his hook, line and sinker in order, angling for the best catch of the day.
Beating the heat
With foosball tables and Magic Markers at their disposal, the nearly 400 members of the Boys and Girls Club (located at Buford Middle School) had more than enough indoor games to escape some of the scorching afternoons. And, while the club hosts a wide variety of programs that encourage a deeper involvement in academic and community activities, a little bumper pool never hurt anyone.
Going wild
Each summer for the last eight years, 50-60 kids turn out for Field Camp, a range-roving program based at Free Union’s Camp Albemarle. When not stationed in Free Union, where the campers (ranging from age 6 to 13) run amok playing "Capture the Flag" and taking nature classes, Field Camp picks up its stakes and heads off for hiking and swimming trips, like this journey to Paul’s Creek in Wintergreen. Many campers pack it in after a week, while loads of others dive into multiple sessions each summer.
Text by Brendan Fitzgerald.
