PRYSE Academy Weeks 1 & 2 Recap
Week 1: A Day in the Life of PRYSE 2025
On the first day of PRYSE Academy, we welcomed 94 students, both new and returning, to our 13th year of our flagship summer program. This year, the ages of students range from 10-21 with students split into 6 different classroom groups based on their age.
One of our counselors, Mariam, writes "We 💜PRYSE" with chalk.
During the planning process for this summer, Cody, the PRYSE Program Manager, made two changes to the structure of PRYSE Academy: the addition of English instruction during classroom time and the weekly rotation of creative workshops. During this first week, we were able to see these changes in action and are so excited to continue the summer with this new structure.
Students participated in 45 minutes of English instruction led by three ESL teachers, two from Pittsburgh Public Schools and one from Woodland Hills School District. This addition was in response to student feedback to have more structured English learning at camp. The other 45 minutes in the classroom was dedicated to community building activities led by our senior and junior counselors, and 4 of our 13 senior counselors are ARYSE students!
Following class time, students gathered outside on the Cathedral of Learning lawn for recreation time, or recess. This time is spent hanging out with their friends, playing soccer led by Open Field, participating in other sports like cricket, volleyball, and badminton, making bracelets, and making chalk drawings. A special thank you to our volunteers for this summer who manage the set-up and clean-up of recreation time. We appreciate your time and energy!
Students spend the final part of the day in the 5 creative workshops we have for this summer: mural making with Conor Coleman, printmaking with The Warhol, STEM with Carnegie Mellon STEM Ambassadors, Zines with Maggie Negrete, and Acting with City Theater. Each week on our Instagram and LinkedIn, we will be highlighting one of these workshops. During the first week, we highlighted the mural making workshop with Conor Coleman. All of our students will experience each workshop for 1 week allowing for more creative exploration and skill building.
Week 2: A Trip to Phipps Conservatory!
For the past 3 years of PRYSE Academy there has been a field trip, or two, for our students to experience different parts of Pittsburgh. Our students have been on the Gateway Clipper, visited the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, and explored all of the Carnegie museums, the Science Center, and library, so we know this year had to be special.
This year's field trip is to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens! Each of our classroom groups will go on a guided tour of the summer flower show, Jungle Quest, and our first two classes visited yesterday, Thursday, July 17th.
One of our counselors, Mapenzi, guides one of our students through Phipps.
At Phipps, our oldest students from our blue and green classes were split into groups that were led by docents, or guides, who shared information on all the different species of flowers and shared information on the creation of the summer exhibit.
We can't wait for the rest of our students to experience Phipps and their Jungle Quest over the next two weeks of camp! A special shoutout to one of our counselors and Youth Steering Committee Members, Reol, for taking beautiful photos yesterday!
Field trips like these wouldn't be possible without the planning efforts of our PRYSE Academy Operations Assistant, Amya Mebane, and our Program Manager, Cody Weisel. We're grateful to have you both on our team and look forward to seeing what other exciting activities are in store for this summer!
