The Tampa Bay Area Writing Project
at the University of South Florida is proud to announce its fourth
consecutive young writers’ camp. The Tampa Bay Area Writing Project
(TBAWP) is a local site of the National Writing Project (NWP) that
began in 1974. This year’s I.C.E. Writers will again take place at
Independent Day School in Old Carrolwood. The lush, natural setting
of the campus is an encouragement to creativity and writing. Camp
will be from July 9 - 20 from 8:30-3:00 Monday through Friday each
week. The cost is $300.00 per participant. Scholarships are
available with a letter of need written by a teacher or parent.
Students who have finished at least the second grade and have not
yet become seniors in high school are eligible to apply. Campers
from previous years are welcome to apply again, as the curriculum is
changed every year. Students from Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas
County private and public schools are encouraged to apply.
Acceptance is based on students’ enjoyment of writing, not on
current skills.
I.C.E. Writers’ Camp is an
opportunity for students to hone their writing skills through
creative methods of stressing best practices of writing. Camp is
not geared toward timed, demand writing; however, students will
improve their writing skills and enjoy their time with diverse
cultural, social, economic and educational backgrounds of other
campers. Students will be assigned to grade appropriate writing
groups of approximately six writers with a teacher consultant of the
Tampa Bay Area Writing Project. Jeff Righter, a teacher at
Clearwater Catholic High School will be the director this summer.
Jeff recently earned his MA in writing from Northeastern University.
Other facilitators include National Board Certified teacher, Freda
Abercrombie who has been a facilitator three of the four years.
Facilitators come from Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough schools and
teach elementary, middle school, and/ or high school. Individual,
small group and large group participation take place in a caring and
safe environment. Students will submit at least two pieces to the
final anthology that will be shared with parents, friends, and
teachers on Friday, July 20th.
Former participants made these
comments about their experience: “I love having the opportunity to
express my thoughts through writing. Just to have an excuse to
write is great.” “ It was fun!” “An awesome camp!” “ I have learned
tons and I am going to come back next year.” “I would attend this
camp again because it gives us a chance to let our minds go wild.”
Parents had this to say: ”This camp is such a wonderful experience
for young writers to share and learn their craft with their peers.”
“I was impressed with the curriculum and so pleased that she learned
so much in a fun environment.” “She came last year and liked it
even better this year.” “It was a long drive for me coming from
Zephyrhills, but it was worth it.”
