Camp Colman

 For the past nine years the eighth graders at my current school have spent Thursday and Friday of their first week on an overnight retreat. I have watched the eighth-grade teachers and principal plan for this first week extended field trip with a slight sense of awe at how well it gets pulled together even though many details need to be arranged in advance of school starting, or even homeroom class lists being finalized. This year it was my turn to help plan and lead the retreat. I was glad I had a decade of experience taking fifth graders on a weeklong field trip under my belt. Waking up to the news that the other female chaperone slated to sleep in a cabin with half of the girls was sick and couldn't come and being handed medication by parents as we were walking out the door to load the bus was par for the course rather than reasons for major freak outs. 

Camp Colman is situated in Whitman Cove off of the Case Inlet and features high elevation activities to build leadership and teamwork. Students were offered the chance to participate in three high elevation activities. Sadly, there was not enough time for me to participate in more than one of them, but I was proud of myself for not only climbing up the catwalk (35 feet in the air) but also walking across to the other side 25 feet away before my students lowered me back to the ground.

In the evening our principal led the students in the songs they will lead at the all school Mass of the Holy Spirit on Monday morning. This was followed by an activity to identify one word that will help orient them toward a goal they set for themselves this school year, as a leader of the entire student body. Since it was my first year on this retreat, I participated in the activity and created my own keychain to carry with me throughout the school year.

Then it was time for a campfire and a little down time on the beach at sunset.

After a not so restful night's sleep in an exciting place, surrounded by friends they desperately wanted to chat with, the students woke up to complete the high elevation activities their group had not attempted the day before, attend Mass with our school's parish priest, eat a hasty lunch, and board the bus for home.

As a fan of outdoor environmental education and its strong community building impact on classes who attend in the fall, I can honestly say this was the perfect way to begin the school year. It's a shared experience we will be able to reflect on and build upon throughout the coming months as these students work to reach their academic, spiritual, and community goals. I can't wait to go again next year!