Julie Philips

Years at Camp: 2nd year in 2011

Department: Visual Art

Camp Bio:

This will be Julie's first year at Camp Ballibay.

Professional/School Bio:

During the school year, you will most likely find Julie up to her elbows in clay or printing ink, helping teenagers to make their amazing art work in a magnet visual and performing arts middle school in Silver Spring, Maryland. When not at school, she is usually laughing with her three daughters or working in her studio, painting, drawing, and piecing mosaics.

A teacher of 4th and 5th grades, middle school math, and middle school art, Julie also developed a small art school offering small group lessons to children and teens after school. After studying art at Yale College, and earning a MS in education from Bank Street College, she was smitten with the power of a child-centered, inquiry based approach to student learning. Her journey carried her to teach in an alternative public school in Brooklyn, NY, an elementary in Scarsdale, NY, and a progressive private school outside Washington, DC. When teaching art to young children and teens, she believes in the importance of developing a strong foundation, while also opening the door to individual vision and creativity. The interconnectedness of learning in varied disciplines is a great motivation; visual artists draw inspiration from their own experiences, from their cultural observations, from reading and their own creative writing, and from mathematical phenomena.

Arrival Date at Camp: July 17, 2010

Home Town: Kensington, Maryland

Keywords: Farm Arts Camp Staff, Camp Parent, All Staff

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About the Staff of the Ballibay Camps

A key to the success of any camping season is staff. We spend a great deal of time screening and selecting our staff before every summer, and we have been fortunate to have many talented counselors and teachers remain with us season after season. Our staff members are predominantly educators and university students from the United States, although we also have a strong international component to our staff.

Our staff members come to us with outstanding credentials: professional experience, a background in teaching, and/or exceptional skills in their specialties. Most of all, we seek good, caring people who are interested in the well-being and growth of children. We look for people who, knowing something of the competitive nature of the adult world, are excited to put those concerns aside for a summer and focus on "the journey" in a non-competitive, fun, friendly environment.