St. Michael Indian School youth camps run through July 30

St. Michael Indian School’s youth camps are filling the school gym in St. Michaels with cheer, basketball, running, volleyball and other activities for students in grades K-6, with registration set at $50 through July 30. For Apache County families, the schedule offers an affordable, supervised option during a stretch when rural summer programming is limited and trips to larger towns are not always realistic.

The school’s July camp lineup is spread across the month, giving parents more flexibility than a single short clinic. SMIS’s events calendar lists a soccer camp July 6-9, a basketball camp July 20-23 and a running camp July 27-30, all for incoming kindergarten through sixth grade students and all priced at $50. Coaches Trey Holgate, Kellen Denny and Paige Taliman are named on the calendar, underscoring that the program is being run as a coordinated summer athletics effort rather than a one-off activity.

That approach fits the school’s stated athletics philosophy. On its athletics page, SMIS says it is committed to providing a “positive and formational experience” and emphasizes open communication among athletes, parents, coaches and the Athletic Department. The mix of camps also broadens access: cheer, basketball, running and volleyball invite children with different interests and skill levels, not just those already focused on one sport.

The timing also comes as St. Michael Indian School leans on its campus identity in a bigger way. A Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President release in June reported that the school celebrated a new gymnasium dedication, giving summer programs a fresh setting in the St. Michaels chapter on the Navajo Nation. That matters in a community where school-based activities can serve as one of the most reliable places for children to stay active and connected when classes are out.

St. Michael Indian School traces its roots to St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The first school year began on Dec. 3, 1902, with 76 Navajo students, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian notes that a four-year high school program was added in 1950. More than a century later, the same campus is still being used to keep younger students busy, engaged and close to home before the fall term returns.