By Carmen Ortega
Hemisphere Staff Writer
Those of us who attended Western School District in elementary school have priceless
memories of our time at the YMCA’s Mystic Lake Camp, more commonly referred to as “fifth
grade camp.”
Twenty-four Western High School students missed school this week in order to act as
counselors for the fifth graders.
According to Bean Elementary principal Mike Ykimoff, the high schoolers who attend
fifth grade camp are hand picked by the staff based on leadership and character qualities.
A common theme among counselors was exhaustion.
Senior Megan Arntz said, “I've always wanted a career with kids but until this week I
wasn't sure if I was fit for it. It was definitely exhausting, but completely worth it.”
Many counselors had never faced responsibility as daunting as caring for large groups of
children. Senior George Kline commented he “got outside of my comfort zone and stayed out.
I'm not usually in charge, and I like it that way, so it was certainly new to be responsible for so
many kids.”
However, despite the physical fatigue, the counselors enjoyed the experience.
At camp, the fifth graders have the opportunity to meet lots of new people and “grow and
learn through teamwork and individualized problem solving,” according to senior Annie
Tallman.
She herself “enjoyed going on the giant swing being close to nature for a few days
without the distraction of media.”
According to senior Riki Carroll, “It was awesome to see the many changes and
similarities the camp has compared to when I was in fifth grade. A lot of the activities were the
same, but some were different. It brought up old memories that I cherish.”
Although it seems like everything has changed since fifth grade, many counselors pointed
out the fact they’re still best friends with the very same people they were best friends with in
fifth grade.
Even though fifth grade camp changed some from when counselors attended, the
bonds created there are still strong today.
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