Summer Camp is open. Oakdale’s Super Summer Camp started on June 2 and is an eight-week summer program for children in kindergarten through sixth grades to keep them engaged in fun activities, field trips, and learning opportunities five days a week.

This first week, the kids are “Monkeying Around” and taking a field trip to the Fresno Zoo. Each week has a different theme and a coordinating Wednesday field trip, as well as walking field trips to the City of Oakdale pool and park on Thursdays and Fridays.

Super Summer Camp is operated by the Oakdale Joint Unified School District at the Magnolia Elementary School campus. Campers may attend one week at a time, choose a week here and there, or participate in every week of the camp. Camp ends on July 25.

“This is our fourth year since the school district has taken it over (from the city) and our attendance numbers have increased every single year,” noted Super Summer Camp supervisor Matt Dillon. “We’re very proud of that and it shows the quality of the program. We expect that great trend to continue.”

He reported that there are some new things they have planned for camp this year with different themes and trips.

“Week Two is now themed ‘True Grit’ and the field trip is to Yosemite,” Dillon said. “We’re very excited about this one because there is so much history in Yosemite, yet still so much for the kids to do. Usually when there is this much of an educational component you sometimes lose the fun aspect. But in this case it delivers in both.”

He added that Week Five is now themed “Star Spangled Celebration” and the field trip is to Mistlin Park. There will be barbecued hot dogs and a picnic and water games. It’s a short week due to the Fourth of July, but is different this year because they’re going out on a field trip. Last year they stayed on site and had a magician visit the camp.

“This year we really wanted to make sure we went on eight field trips for eight different weeks,” Dillon said. “We felt it was important to deliver that to the kids no matter what week or how many days in the week.”

Week Six is themed “Walk Like An Egyptian” and the field trip is to the Rosicrucian Museum, Dillon added. He noted that they are expecting it to be one of their bigger attendance weeks this summer.

“We have a lot of really cool activities planned (during) this week for the kids plus the museum is fantastic,” he said.

Of course, there are still some of the favorite field trips and themes that camp organizers brought back again for this year. The Fresno Zoo trip is taking place, there’s the Oakland A’s baseball game, the San Jose Tech Museum, and the Stanislaus County Fair.

“Our motto in these cases is: if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. The kids absolutely love those trips and ultimately it’s our job to deliver activities and trips that they enjoy,” Dillon said.

There are also other activities and clubs daily at the summer camp. The clubs include: Games For Your Brain Club, Technology Club, and Reading and Beyond Club. There are also sports and arts and crafts.

Dillon added that the camp is open to students from Oakdale, Knights Ferry, Valley Home, Riverbank, Escalon, Modesto, and even children from out of the area who are visiting.

The cost for camp is $100 per week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the first child. Each additional child in the same family attends at a reduced rate of $85 per week. There’s an additional charge of $10 from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and a $10 fee from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. per week, if needed. Fees include a camp T-shirt, two snacks a day, a weekly field trip, enrichment sessions, and swimming.

To sign up or for more information, call the school district office at (209) 848-4884, ext. 128.