A Memory Reignited

Sixth-grade camp has returned with a few changes.

BY RYAN CHO ’25 AND GRETA MILLER ’23

◀ HAPPY CAMPERS After a two-year hiatus, sixth-grade camp is back. Upperclassmen served as counselors for the camp, which was held late last month.

PHOTO BY CAROLINE KEGG ’24

For the past two years, the UA Schools sixth-grade camp has been canceled, along with many other opportunities. is was a huge disappointment for students, as they would miss out on what many would consider their favorite activity of the year. Now, with Covid restrictions lifting, sixth-grade camp has returned. Taking place at Camp Oty’Okwa, near Hocking Hills, sixth-grade camp is a multi-day adventure lled with new experiences. However, it has been changed in various ways. “One of the major di erences is the amount of time that camp is occurring,” said Jordan Walker, a science teacher at UAHS who is in charge of coordinating the UAHS counselors with the middle schools. “In the past, it was three days and two nights, and now it’s going to be two days and one night.” is change decreased the amount of time students spent at the camp, but it was a decision that had both positive and negative connotations. e main positive is that fewer days can help with homesickness, as the camp is most likely the student’s rst time in the wilderness without their parents. “ e reason why they opted to do that was to help address the fact that sixth-graders, for a lot of them, this is their rst time away from home, the rst time in a camping situation,” Walker said. “Homesickness is a really big deal,

and it’s a lot of changes and you’re away from home and so they’re trying to help with that.” is is bene cial because it allows the students to step out of their comfort zone without making them too stressed by being away from home for an extended period of time. Students could have a better time as they won’t be burdened with homesickness and can have a better experience with the camp.

On the contrary, this schedule change also removes time that would be spent doing more activities, as they were not able to do everything that people in the past have done. However, the change to fewer days may have more positive e ects than negative as the sixth-graders will still have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with less likelihood of becoming homesick. e sixth-graders arrived at Camp Oty’Okwa by school bus and were immediately assigned to their cabins. ey were not be able to choose their cabins, but were instead assigned to a cabin by school administrators based on their answers to a questionnaire. ere were also some restrictions concerning who was permitted in cabins together.

“Cabins are divided up by gender, male and female,” Walker said. However, this rule is exible. “For students who are identifying as a di erent gender, there are opportunities for them to have sleeping quarters that both make them comfortable and other campers comfortable. at way, everyone is able to be included and participate.”

In each cabin, a high school counselor will be in charge of the group. ey are responsible for the sixth-graders in their cabin, helping them with whatever they need. ey are also there as a familiar connection for the middle schoolers.

“ e juniors and seniors are essentially there to, number one, make kids feel welcome and support the students who are maybe a little uncomfortable and have never been away from home before,” Walker said.

Toward the end of last school year, juniors and seniors were given a chance to apply to become a counselor for the trip.

“I felt that it was a really good way to give back to the community,” senior Caden Colombo, who was a counselor, said.

With sixth-grade camp occurring on Sept. 20 and Sept. 30, the counselors were given many opportunities to engage with the future generations of students and to become role models.

As the juniors and seniors had most likely gone to sixth-grade camp before, they are familiar with the camp experience and understand the signi cant di erence a good counselor can make.

“I remember [sixth-grade camp] being a lot of fun, and the counselors were a big part of that,” said senior Ryan Nichols who was a counselor. “So if I’m able to serve back to the younger kids who are in sixth grade, that would be a really good experience.” ey are also there to encourage the kids and help them in multiple ways. During hikes, one to two counselors follow the group in the back to make sure none of the sixth-graders fall behind. ey are also the rst people there in the event of an accident, helping students and contacting teachers if there is a major emergency.

“I went to Oty’Okwa a bunch when I was a kid,” Nichols said. “And it [was] cool to go back there one nal time before college.”

GRAPHIC BY SCARLET POOR ’24