A Surprising Summer Hotspot: Shore Country Day

Shore Country Day School's summer campus was far from "on vacation" this June, July, and August as numerous programs occupied spaces around the Beverly private school's 17 acres, drawing scores of students from across the region—and some from around the globe—to participate in everything from traditional sports camps to English-language immersion classes.

The season began with Summer Shore's lacrosse, ceramics, and Innovation Lab camps, ever-popular offerings that brought many Shore students back to school for their favorite activities. "The girls' lacrosse session is always special," said Athletics Director Nancy McNall. "We had a number of Shore alumnae return this year as counselors, and traditions like Pink Day made it a great bonding experience for the players, whether they were second graders just starting out or seasoned seventh and eighth graders looking for an edge."

Early in the summer, Boston Children's Theatre (BCT) arrived at Shore's Center for Creativity, taking over the Trustey Family Theatre, drama and music rooms, and several Lower School classrooms for their expansive summer programs. "Boston Children’s Theatre is thrilled to collaborate with Shore Country Day School again this summer," said Burgess Clark, BCT's Executive Artistic Director. "The facilities are ideal for our workshops, performances, and Master Classes with such Broadway professionals as Danielle Ferland, Ashley Park and Andy Mientus."

BCT offers programs for students in kindergarten through high school, and the esteemed organization concludes its summer with a series of professional-quality stage productions, many of which feature Shore students and alumni.

"Our students are thriving in this creative environment!" continued Clark. "It’s wonderful to see our productions come to life in the state-of-art theater and to watch our students in rehearsals for dance, voice and acting in the various classrooms. Shore has certainly become the perfect home for our Summer Studios."

Just a short walk from music and dance rehearsals, children in new enrichment offerings led by first grade teacher Mary Kinahan enjoyed delving into creative projects inspired by the Pete the Cat book series and taking part in traditional camp activities such as arts & crafts.

Meanwhile, older campers had Shore's library all to themselves in science teacher Oliver Hay's in-demand robotics workshop, where inventors designed and built their own robots, then programmed them to navigate around obstacles, respond to sound and motion, and even do battle with each other.

Outdoor action continued throughout the summer as Red Sox Baseball Camps, Boston Soccer Academy (BSA), and 3D Lacrosse took over Shore's spacious and well maintained playing fields. "Shore has always been one of our favorite locations," said Anne Gray of BSA. "We're really looking forward to our second week at Shore with guest coach, Hywel Davies, of the English Premier League team, Crystal Palace."

Shore's grounds and gardens were the setting for many other outdoor activities, as well. Shore families returned weekly throughout the summer to tend the Learning Garden, which was thriving with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, beans, and herbs to be donated to Beverly Bootstraps. Lower School science teacher Whitney Morris, who led the Learning Garden program during the school year, stopped by every Monday to check the plants. By early August, she already had a harvest of vegetables ready to donate.

S.A.I.L. (Science and Art Integrated Learning) teacher Betsey Holland made the most of Shore's summer campus with her nature- and science-oriented camps, and her S.A.I.L. colleague Shay Cajolet saw that campers got their hands dirty with her popular ceramic fairy house session and painting and drawing workshops.

While young artists were having fun in the studio, school appeared to be back in full swing in several Upper School classrooms. They were host to a number of Education First's Boston Language School summer sessions, mainly for students from overseas looking to improve their English-language skills ahead of fall exams or college classes.

Summer Shore concludes with several favorites: marimba band, maker camp with Innovation Lab Manager Cam McNall, and field hockey with Athletics Director Nancy McNall.