Hello Camp Parents,
We are very excited to have your children with us this summer! If your child is enrolled into Camp Simchah (3 years and up) or Camp Chai this year they will receive daily swim lessons (Monday – Thursday) through the Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy. Our instructors are working hard this week training to prepare to give your child the best swim instruction in town. Each swim instructor goes through an initial 40-hour training that consists of videos, quizzes, hands-on training, and a final exam. Beyond that, we continue to practice our skills each week and we have on-deck supervisors who maintain the quality of our swim curriculum.
If you are not familiar with the Lenny Krayzelburg Swim Academy, we are a year-round, learn-to-swim program that offers lessons seven days a week, nearly all weeks out of the year servicing over 400 students weekly. Lenny Krayzelburg is a four-time Olympic Gold Medalist who founded the LKSA in 2005. The Dallas JCC has been a part of the LKSA family since 2014, and the Swim Right® curriculum is used for our Goldberg Early Childhood Center students as well as the Camp Chai and Simchah camp lessons.
The Swim Right® learn-to-swim curriculum consists of eight levels focusing heavily on water safety, correct body positioning, and proper stroke development. If you have been with us previously, then you may recognize a change from previous summers as we have moved from seven to eight levels. This year we are introducing the Rollers level into our camp program which was previously part of our Streamliners level. The decision to split level four into two separate levels was a result of instructor and parent feedback that indicated children spent too much time in that one level. We have also restructured a few of our skills and drills in all levels providing an enhanced learning experience. As with the children, we continue to learn as well.
Another new exciting feature we are rolling out this year is online progress reports for all students in the camp program. This will be the first year that we will be transitioning to a completely digital reporting process, so we hope to make that endeavor a smooth one. More information will be coming your way on how to access those reports.
During the first week, each child will be evaluated into their swim level and we encourage parents who have had their children enrolled into the LKSA program within the last six months to email me at dtaylor@jccdallas.org to provide that level information. Evaluation information will go out to all parents following the conclusion of the first week testing process. If you feel that your child is in the incorrect level please contact me via email requesting a reassessment and we will be happy to complete that for you.
What to pack? Towels, goggles (if you choose), sunscreen, and water shoes or sandals for the hot pool deck! We recommend you mark your child’s name or initials on anything you send with them to the pool.
I look forward to another happy and swim-safe summer!
Thank you,
Daniel Taylor
Director of Aquatics and Health Services
