Students spread their creative wings at Sea Island School summer camp

Instead of spending their summer vacation lounging by the pool, more than 230 Beaufort County students will spend this week and next studying photography, grammar, psychology and architecture and dozens of other subjects not typically taught in school.

Students across the county are attending the Sea Island School for Arts and Academics, a two-week summer camp for artistically and academically talented students.

On Wednesday, students learned to edit their own photographs and weave baskets. They practiced yoga and created a news broadcast.

Rietta Salters, an eighth-grader at Whale Branch Middle School, attended a dance class emphasizing yoga and creative movement.

"I wanted to do more this summer than sit around all day and be bored," she said. "This is fun."

Tegan Bondy, a seventh-grader at Beaufort Middle School, studied photography.

"I like to take pictures," she said. "I wanted to learn how to make them better."

Sponsored by the Beaufort County School District, the camp offers advanced-level classes for students in third through ninth grade.

"Exceptional and gifted kids are often taught in a group setting, and their full potential is not always tapped on a daily basis," camp director Dora Fletcher said. The Sea Island school's small class sizes and variety of courses ensure the district's most talented students are challenged, Fletcher said.

Students pay between $75 and $300 to attend the camp, depending on the number of classes they take. Those from low-income families who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program attend for free. The school district also receives money from the state Department of Education for the camp.

Bus transportation to the camp, housed at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and Sea Island Presbyterian Church on Lady's Island, is provided to students countywide.

Both Maggie Faciszewski, a fourth-grader at Okatie Elementary, and Joyselin Ford, a third-grader at Beaufort Elementary, attended the junior version of the schoolWednesday. Geared toward students in grades three and four, the junior camp integrates the creative arts with math, science, social studies and reading skills.

Joyselin said her favorite part has been learning about the history and culture of people from different countries, especially those in Australia.

"It's new for me," she said.

Maggie agreed that she's having fun studying topics not typically covered in school.

"It's a long bus ride, but it's worth it," she said.