By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Camp Hawks is up and running, and this year all the kids are bringing beach towels.
But they’re not for swimming.
“Every child is bringing a big beach towel, which is about five feet or six feet apart,” said Diane Zedan, director of special education and preschool for the Brandon school district. “And they put that on the floor, and if they go outside and they’re on the grass, and they’re using that as their physical distancing space.”
Camp Hawks is a six-week annual summer program for Brandon elementary students, a latchkey type program to keep kids busy during the day, and though the amount of students enrolled is far less this year, the program is still rolling along with safety in mind.

“Parent’s aren’t coming in, staff is wearing masks, and custodial staff does touch-point and bathroom cleaning every couple of hours, we do hand washing with the kids every hour to an hour and a half,”said Zedan. “We’re not doing any field trips, but we’ve had fantastic weather so they’ve been able to go outside almost every day.”
Kids are still doing crafts, such as sand art, but they’re more spaced out at the tables, which is easier with less students. They are also getting temperature checks daily and families are being asked health screening questions.
“The idea of ‘you’re on your own space’ with their beach towel, it’s worked out really well,” said Zedan.