Covid-19 had an effect on all of us but when it comes to the class of ‘27 we missed out on the monumental experience kids in worthington look forward, 6th grade camp. 6th grade camp is a tradition in Worthington schools where the 6th grade class goes to a 2 day camp and practice things like wilderness skills, team building skills, the practice of having to come out of your comfort zone, and many other school districts do the same.
For many, this is the first experiences away from parents, first time having to spend entire days with classmates so closely. As highschoolers we are given the opportunity to keep the calm amongst the kids while they have these experiences. We have the opportunity to become the counselors. For many of us it went well when we went to 6th grade camp and that’s why we are glad to volunteer our time. But for me and numerous other Juniors we experienced this for the first time this week just like the 6th graders.
Covid at the time seemed like such a privilege to stay home from school but as eleven-year-olds it didn’t click for us that we were missing out on things. Veronica Zabalaa, a counselor, emphasizes “I feel like to everyone covid was fun at first getting to be at home and having vacations. It was definitely fun to be at home with my family.” But she later goes on to say the frustration she had not being able to go to camp as the pandemic was rising.
Going into camp we did various activities like Big swing, High Ropes course, Canoeing, survival class, axe throwing and so much more all beside the children. The environment at the camp made the counselors and the campers get super close and the counselors get close to one and another. Veronica also says “We got to know the kids and their interests it was easy to see them like brothers and sisters.
We had no expectations coming in, Caroline Campbell expresses “There were definitely some stressful moments involving throwing up, heated arguments, and late nights.” she later goes on to say “Some of the campers were extremely sweet and kind, others were very disrespectful. I was so grateful to have such great co-counselors.” Isabel Chen communicates “Something that was unexpectedly hard was the amount of kids that would just start crying as their reaction to anything that went wrong. We were able to deal with it and have fun with them though.”
We had so much fun at camp and there was not one class of ‘27 counselor who said they would not come back. Caroline Campbell Indicates “I will definitely be signing up as a camp counselor again! Seeing the kids enjoy themselves was such a rewarding experience. Though it definitely had its lows, I think going back there with even greater knowledge and more experience will be the key to having an even better time!” Sadie Peterson had a similar response “I would love to be a camp counselor again because of all the long lasting memories I made. All the other camp counselors helped make this experience so amazing for me and I want to experience it all again.”
Having the full circle experience is part of the fun, and did that end up effecting our counseling experience? Mrs. Hill a science teacher at Perry middle school and main supervisor of 6th grade camp tells The Ravine “I’m excited that Perry was lucky to have such a dedicated group of counselors, who worked hard at making this week a great experience for the sixth grade campers, as well as each other.” So I guess the answer to that question is absolutely not. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to give back to my community, and have grown up in a school district where we can give young kids this opportunity. so huge thank you to Perry staff, Mrs. Hill, Mrs Reik, and Mrs Robertson for making this all possible.
