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Health & Fitness

Sixth Grade Students have Own Community Within Stow's

Lakeview 6th graders pull together at Pilgrim Hills for an Outdoor Education Camp.

Last week I volunteered as a parent chaperone for the annual 6th grade trip to the Outdoor Education Camp at Pilgrim Hills. For those of you who have had a daughter or son that has been a 6th grader at , you know about the trip. If not, let me assure you it is three days filled with adventure, excitement and learning! 

Sixth grade students have their own community, own way of communicating with each other (not to mention with adults) and spending an extended period of time with more than 100 of them drove that point home. 

As adults, we were assigned to chaperone nine students per cabin and sit with a table of six students at every meal.  During the course of our time at Pilgrim Hills, I was consistently impressed with how polite, attentive and interesting the students I interacted with are. 

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The students had to work together to accomplish all the tasks that needed to be done at camp. During every meal, a student at the table volunteers to “hop,” or set the table ahead of the meal and then bring out the food and seconds for everyone else at the table. 

In the cabins, the students had to schedule showers, clean up the cabin as a group and be respectful of the students and adults they were “bunking” with.  On the field hikes and in other classes, the students collaborated to solve problems, assist classmates who were in need of help and encourage each other to forge ahead when they wanted to give up on challenges. Our 6th graders rose to the challenge of coming together as a team every time and our community can be proud of how they all represented Stow. 

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One of the more unique experiences at camp is an activity that is part of every meal:  trying to get to zero “ort,” or leftover food on plates that isn’t eaten. You haven’t really lived until you have sung a song or chant about ort and then participated in weighing the total amount of food left on the plates of a cafeteria full of 6th graders!  It was a good lesson, though, in being mindful of the amount of food we all take for our plates and how to think about what we each really need to eat at a meal. 

For three days, the 6th graders of our community pulled together and had a great experience together. As one of the adults who were lucky enough to be along for the ride, I am so proud of the students and what they accomplished.

I wish all of the 6th grade students and their families a wonderful summer and good luck as the new school year starts at in August.

If the trip to Pilgrim Hills is any indication of what lies ahead for this group of students, the future looks bright! 

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