Cayla Hoskins-Pfeiffer watched a kid in a super hero cape capture another in a fun game of super hero tag at Q Club. Another child ran by and yelled, “I need a hero!”
Cayla, a 2025 Queensbury grad, was once a Q Club camper and is now a camp counselor. During her Q Club days, she loved participating in the Olympiad and the Arts Fest. She always performed a dance in the Talent Show.
“It was just a fun experience. That’s why I came back as a counselor. I always looked forward to it, especially all the special events.”
She also loved seeing her friends at Q Club every day. Now as a counselor, she looks forward to the same events and working with the campers.
“They’re always so happy,” she said, “and the positive energy that they bring to my life, I always look forward to it. You make some good connections with them as well, and I always look forward to those.”
Q Club is a certified summer day camp run by the town of Queensbury’s Parks and Recreation Department that has been run on Queensbury’s campus since the summer of 2000. It is just one of the many programs offered on the school campus through a strong partnership with the town of Queensbury. The school also hosts Parks and Rec programs in tennis, basketball, volleyball, art, swimming and wrestling throughout the year.
Children from ages 5-12 spend their summer days dressed like super heroes or sporting silly socks while they gear up for fun activities like talent shows and the cherished Olympiad Competition.
Nearly 300 kids registered for Q Club this summer, and about 150 show up daily to participate in a variety of passive and active recreational activities.
Q Club was first known as the Playground Program, and it was the brainchild of long-time Queensbury teacher and coach Jack LaBombard and former Athletic Director Lloyd Mott when they were members of the Queensbury Recreation Commission back in the 1970s. Harry Hansen expanded the program in the 1980s, when it was held at various satellite parks around Queensbury. It officially became known as Q Club in 1984 under Patty Borgos.
Steve Lovering, who just retired as the director of Parks and Rec, centralized the program to the Queensbury school campus in 2000.
New Director Jennifer Baertschi-France attended Q Club when she was a child and now brings her own daughter.
“I worked through high school and college as a counselor and a director, and when I got out of college, there was a full-time position with the Recreation Department that I applied for and got in 2005,” she said. “So I’ve been here since summer of 2000, but full time since 2005.”
In her new role, Baertschi-France wants to bring back the vibrant after-school programs that boasted upwards of 80 students during the school year.
“We’d all like to start offering more programs again and fresh ideas,” she said.