By Jen Clancey DIGITAL PRODUCER
With school days ending at about 3:30 p.m. in the Big Sky School District and a few minutes earlier at Discovery Academy, it can be hard for working families to coordinate after-school child care. Starting Aug. 26 and following the Ophir Elementary School academic calendar—except Fridays—BASE continued its BASEcamp program, an after-school care and enrichment program.
Parents can register children from kindergarten through sixth grade in the program which will run from 3:30 to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday. New this year is a discount for multiple children in the same family, and extended hours to accommodate Discovery Academy’s schedule. A BASE pass is not required for registration.
“We wanted to keep our program operational because it is centrally located here in Town Center, and that was hugely important to a lot of parents that work around here and who live around here as well,” said Madeleine Feher, Big Sky Community Organization’s director of operations.
BSSD students registered for BASEcamp and within route one (trout) and route two (bison) school buses can catch their regular bus to BASE. BASEcamp staff will meet the kids at the bus stop. For families not included in the bus route, parents often get creative with carpools to transport kids to BASEcamp.
From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., BASEcampers will have a snack and work on homework. Afterward, staff will carry out an activity from 4:30 to 5:30 followed by free play from 5:30 to 6 p.m.
“I think for working families, especially since I’m a working mom, I think [it’s] just the peace of mind that your kids are being well looked after and having a great time in those after-school hours,” Feher said of the program.
“We spend a lot of time working on social, emotional learning and how to better support these kids, and I’m just really proud of our staff and how we handle the programs, activities and children and their needs within the after-school program.”
Tuition is $15 for one child, $20 for two children and $30 for three children each day. Parents can learn more about the program on the BASE website.
In the future, BASEcamp plans to incorporate Big Brothers Big Sisters into BASEcamp through BASE Buddies, inviting Big Sky middle schoolers to mentor younger campers and assist in activities and programming.
