While Camp Kern is well known to most in the area as a staple of middle school, each year sixth graders get to experience it for the first time.
For those who don’t know, located near Lebanon, Ohio, Camp Kern is a YMCA-owned site that houses cabins and many different adventure activities. From learning survival skills to teamwork skills, Camp Kern is a fundamental part of the work Bellbrook Middle School does to make their building as cohesive a unit as possible.
Students and teachers alike value the experiences from their two days in the woods, even if they can’t participate 100 percent.
Lena Manley, who went on the trip with her foot in a boot, said despite that she was enjoying the entire experience.
“I went canoeing and all we did was splash each other and had so much fun on the water,” Manley said. “I also went to survival and it was fun working on the fire to get that going. But we all worked together to make it happen. I also did Escape and we had to work together to get to the top of the wall.”
Manley said she’s been working with both friends and others she’s known for years, but doesn’t typically spend a lot of time with. She said that will pay dividends in the end.
“For that wall, we couldn’t have done it with just one person,” she said. “I feel like people will be working together to get school work done and help people with their homework. I feel like since we’ve been together, they’ll be more comfortable asking anyone for help.”
While Manley has been in the area most of her life, Easton Stadem-Heinemann moved in this year from South Dakota.
He said he appreciates the different format and exposure to others in his grade, mentioning he’s become fast friends with another 10-12 kids.
“This is really good for team building and helping kids meet new kids for school purposes,” Stadem-Heinemann said. “I’ve made a lot of new friends.
“I really liked the campfire by the lake. It was really funny, everyone was able to talk and interact with one another. Anything could happen here. You can meet a lot of new people. You don’t have to write a worksheet about it. It’s just fun.”
It was a little extra fun for Stadem-Heinemann, too, as it was his birthday on September 19. He was knighted and sung to by the entire 6th grade class.
“I love that kids get to bond together as a class outside of the traditional classroom walls,” BMS principal Jenna Hill said. “Students get to see teachers differently as they get to have different experiences with one another and teachers get to see students differently as they all experience activities you wouldn’t see inside the classroom.”
And Hill said the learning doesn’t stop at Camp Kern. Indeed the lessons the 6th graders learned over two days in the woods will be brought back throughout the year as the school continues to build its culture of soaring together.
Students from the middle school have been going to Camp Kern for about 10 years, but to various other camps since the 1970s.