Free month-long summer math camp set for June 7

Caption: From left to right, high school students Maria Guerra and Javier Cardenas eagerly await as Title V math instructor Jose Santa Cruz finishes placing 4,500 grams of rocks inside a bucket connected to the team's hand-made balsa wood bridge during last year's Title V Math Summer Camp.

Incoming high school freshmen are encouraged to attend the fourth annual Laredo Community College Title V Math Summer Camp from June 7 through July 2.

The free, month-long camp will take place at the LCC Fort McIntosh Campus Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The camp is open to students who have completed the eighth grade and will enter the ninth grade in the fall semester.

Students in the Laredo, United, Webb County Consolidated independent school districts, and area private schools are encouraged to apply.

The application deadline is Tuesday, June 1. Space is limited and students will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The math summer camp will feature guest speakers, hands-on technology training, and campus tours.

"We want students to retain the knowledge they received during the last year in middle school," Pablo David Morales, LCC math instructor and camp coordinator, said. "With this camp, students will still have their geometry, algebra, and their general creativity still lit during the summer months as they enter their freshman year in high school."

"The camp will not be focused too much on numbers, but on creativity, and students also will be exposed to the graphic calculator, a critical instrument they'll be using during their high school and college years," Morales added.

Each year, Morales is asked whether there will be homework during the camp. "The answer is, no. We want students to have fun and enjoy their summer as well," Morales said.

The Title V Math Summer Camp is made possible by a cooperative grant shared by LCC and Texas A&M International University via the U.S. Department of Education's program: Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

For applications or for more information, contact Pablo David Morales at 721-5404 or e-mail pablo.morales@laredo.edu.