Acera 2023-24 After School Enrichment Programs
Our in-person after school programs are open to all kids ages 5 and older. We offer experiments for curious scientists, skill building for programmers, woodworkers and artists, and rich discussions for future diplomats, all taught by specialist educators with passion and field-based expertise.



Acera has transitioned its registration system to Camp Brain.
On Camp Brain, parents and students can browse classes, access full class descriptions, and register.
All of Acera’s After School programs meet once per week from 3:30-5:30pm and are offered on a trimester basis. Unless otherwise noted on Camp Brain, classes will be offered in all trimesters.
In the 2023-24 school year, the schedule of trimesters is as follows:
Trimester 1 – September 5 through November 21
Trimester 2 – November 28 through March 8
Trimester 3 – March 13 through June 7
Mondays:
- Junior Role Playing Games, ages 5-8
- NEW! LARP: Fairies, Trolls & More, ages 5-8)
- Adventures in Fiber Arts, ages 7-10
- NEW! STEM Soccer & Basketball, ages 7-10
- Creative Computing & Robotics, ages 8-11
- NEW! Ecology, ages 9-14
- Dungeons & Dragons Role Play, ages 10-14
Tuesdays:
- Nature Through the Five Senses, ages 5-8
- NEW! Science Investigators, ages 5-7
- NEW! LEGO Spike Prime Robotics, ages 5-8
- Kids in the Kitchen, ages 7-10
- NEW! Fall Soccer Clinic, ages 7-12
- NEW! Introduction to Theater Arts, ages 9-14
- Live Action Role Play (LARP) Games, ages 7-14
- NEW! Introduction to Electronics & Physical Computing, ages 10-14
Wednesdays:
- Junior Engineering Design Challenges, ages 5-8
- Paper Arts, ages 5-8
- NEW! STEM Soccer & Basketball, ages 5-8
- Kids in the Kitchen, ages 7-10
- NEW! Digital Modeling, Simulation & Fabrication, ages 8-11
- Intro to Woodworking, ages 8-11
- NEW! LEGO Spike Prime Robotics, ages 9-12
- NEW! Introduction to Theater Arts, ages 9-14
- LARP Foundations, ages 9-14
- NEW! Trail Running, ages 12+
Thursdays:
- NEW! LARP Fantasy Quests, ages 5-8
- Experiments in Art, ages 5-8
- NEW! LEGO Spike Prime Robotics, ages 5-8
- Stop Motion Animation, ages 7-10
- Electronic Arts, ages 9-12
- Sewing Arts, ages 9-12
- Model UN Club, ages 10+
- Study Hall & Screen-free Hangout, ages 10+
- Intermediate & Advanced Woodworking Studio, ages 10-17
Fridays
- Forts, Fantasy & Friends, ages 5-8
- Science Investigators, ages 8-11
- NEW! LARP Quests, ages 9-14
- NEW! Ultimate Frisbee, ages 9-14
Refund Policy
Our Cancellation Policy is as follows: for class cancellations 2 weeks prior to the start date, we will provide a refund, less 15% to cover administrative & credit card processing costs. Alternatively, you may transfer enrollment to any other program at no charge. After 2 weeks, only transfers are available, not refunds.
No refund or reduction in fees is possible for a child who arrives late, leaves early, or attends part of a session due to illness (other than hospital stay). The cost for our afternoon programs is $45 per day.
Transportation
Bus transportation is available from Winchester Public Schools. Winchester Public School buses run from Lincoln, Lynch, McCall and Muraco Schools to Acera’s After School programs upon request. Please list Acera as your After School Program bus stop on the transportation application.
Forms
Health, dismissal, technology rentals and other required forms will be requested electronically after your online registration has been processed. New students will have to provide all forms, returning students will only be asked for updated forms as needed.
Waitlists
Once a session is fully enrolled, students can choose to be waitlisted. You can pick another session at the same time and switch should a slot become available; or just be waitlisted. When we begin a waitlist, we will do our best to find an instructor to increase the class size.
Financial Aid
Limited financial aid is available and awarded based on demonstrated need. Please download the Reed Hollett Scholarship Application form, or email us at enrichment@aceraschool.org to request an application.
“The Stop Motion class was great and really captured my son’s interest! He has continued making stop motion movies with his LEGOs.”
“My child was deeply engaged and happy in all his classes, but he particularly was excited about Lions, Tigers & Robots. He just loved making things that moved!”
“My child raves about this class. Mr. Yonatan was the best teacher and they loved reading philosophy and talking about ideas.”
“My child loved the cooking class with Mr. Dylan and became quite confident in the kitchen!”
“This was an amazing new learning experience with very engaging instructors!”
“There was lots of character concept discussion, graphic design of characters, and getting ideas from other students’ work.”
“This class was really valuable to keeping my child engaged with group learning and creative thinking.”

Dylan Foley is a musician, cooking enthusiast, and Acera enrichment teacher.


Kathy Aluia is a textile arts specialist and Acera enrichment teacher.

Kei Phillip is a creative facilitator, dancer-performance artist, and intraprenuer with over 10 years of experience in community arts and education initiatives.

Danny Fain is Acera's computer science and games specialist

Will Sherwood is Acera's environmental science and enrichment teacher.

Chuck Lechien is a musician, Acera enrichment teacher, and experienced Dungeon Master.

Kathy Aluia is a textile arts specialist and Acera enrichment teacher.

Alexis Hibbler joined Acera in the fall of 2022 as a physics and math teacher. Alexis attended MIT – where she majored in physics – and she also attended North Carolina School of Science and Math for high school, a school for gifted students.

Jazz Xu is a research assistant at Tufts University Center for Engineering Education & Outreach and an Acera enrichment teacher.

Dylan Foley is a musician, cooking enthusiast, and Acera enrichment teacher.

Acera staff will walk the participants to the facility after school. Students will be picked up after class at the Teamworks facility (120 Cross St, Winchester, MA 01890). Led by the Teamworks Soccer Staff, participants will begin by learning basic soccer skills such as dribbling, passing, and shooting through different drills and games. By the end of the program, all players will be competing against each other in "small-sided" team games with the skills they've learned in the previous sessions! Participants should bring a snack, water, shinpads, and cleats. After the final sessions, participants may also opt into playing in the Teamworks Winter Soccer League as part of a team.

Chuck Lechien is a musician and Acera enrichment teacher.


Jonathan has taught science, engineering, and arts at all levels since 1998, at Weston Middle School, The Driscoll School in Brookline, the MIT Edgerton Center, the Rashi School, and various summer programs. Prior to working in education, he was a hospital clinical engineer for many years.

Dylan Foley is a musician, cooking enthusiast, and Acera enrichment teacher.

Kathy Aluia is a textile arts specialist and Acera enrichment teacher.

Kei Phillip is a creative facilitator, dancer-performance artist, and intraprenuer with over 10 years of experience in community arts and education initiatives.

Dylan Foley is a musician, cooking enthusiast, and Acera enrichment teacher.

Danny Fain is Acera's computer science and games specialist.

Adam Rosell is a Acera enrichment teacher.

Jazz Xu is a research assistant at Tufts University Center for Engineering Education & Outreach and an Acera enrichment teacher.

Chuck Lechien is a musician and Acera enrichment teacher.

Todd Wood, LARP’s instructor at Acera School, obtained his BS in Clinical Psychology with a Minor in Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Todd has been involved in community leadership through the 4-H program and has won several awards for his development of youth enrichment programming. Todd began working with L.A.P. in 2017 after discovering that it was in fact feasible to do what you love as a job. Nowadays you can find him running D&D games, teaching core curriculum, Directing events, developing Customer Service, and scheming up new ways to present art and education to the community. In his personal time, he enjoys photography, pyrography, fire spinning, leatherwork, gaming, and hiking.

David Fatula is founder of GuineaFowl Adventure Company.


Camila joined Acera after completing her Ed.M. from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Her previous teaching experience included four years teaching art at the International School of Havana, and three years offering private art lessons in the same city. Before finding her calling as a teacher, Camila lived and worked in Havana, Cuba as a full-time visual artist.

Jazz Xu is a research assistant at Tufts University Center for Engineering Education & Outreach and an Acera enrichment teacher.

Dylan Foley is a musician, cooking enthusiast, and Acera enrichment teacher.

Adrienne Jacobson is Acera's maker space specialist and enrichment teacher.

Kathy Aluia is a textile arts specialist and Acera enrichment teacher.


Jamie has experience as a high school teacher (A.P. LIterature and Composition, History, Sociology, Filmmaking, and Psychology), a department leader, a college counselor, and a student clubs moderator. She also has extensive experience leading – and inventing! – simulation-based learning, which is one of the most powerful ways to enable perspective taking, systems awareness, and deep understanding.

Josh studied and trained as a civil engineer for more than fifteen years prior to changing careers to teaching in 2014. After graduating with dual degrees from University of Notre Dame in 1996, he worked as an engineer in contaminated groundwater assessment and remediation in the San Francisco Bay area. He relocated back to the Boston area in 2000 and worked for a small environmental firm designing restoration solutions for streams and wetlands impacted by human development and stormwater.

Dylan Foley is a musician, cooking enthusiast, and Acera enrichment teacher.

Alexis Hibbler joined Acera in the fall of 2022 as a physics and math teacher. Alexis attended MIT – where she majored in physics – and she also attended North Carolina School of Science and Math for high school, a school for gifted students.


Will Sherwood is Acera's environment science specialist and enrichment teacher.