 Middle School Day Camp Helps Students Survive
If there is ever a time that kids need guidance, it is when they are entering middle school. That is one reason the STARRY Counseling Program held its Middle School Day Camp this summer.
Through some innovative and sometimes difficult exercises, students learned to cope with their fears, communicate with their parents and, most of all, believe in themselves.
“We had an amazing group of kids,” said Sarah Parnell, STARRY Youth Services Specialist. “They were a very creative bunch.”
Though few in numbers, the students, ages 12 and 13, quickly began getting into the tribal theme, which included creating a mask, adding a little bit each day to coincide with that day’s message.
“They were part of a 'middle school survival group,' which was how we first came up with the tribal idea,” said Sarah.
The main point of the camp was to allow middle schoolers a chance to have positive interactions with adults, as well as to gain some sense of self before diving into the often perilous waters of adolescence.
“Kids are bombarded with so much more information these days that it’s hard for them to know what to do with it all,” said Sarah. “It’s also difficult for them to know where to draw their boundaries.”
That was an issue covered on day four of the week-long camp, following communication, making good choices and conflict resolution. Each day, a demonstration drove home the message. During the “making good choices” section, Sarah showed a clip from the movie Mean Girls, and followed it with a demonstration using what appeared to be cans of tomato sauce.
“We talked to them about not judging something from the outside,” said Sarah. “When they all had guessed what was in the can, they were given can openers. When they opened them, inside was candy.”
On the final day, students and staff were allowed to ask questions of one another. When one staff member asked the middle schoolers what they would want them to tell their parents above all else, the answer was unanimous: “We have a lot of stuff to think about, too,” they said. “Just because it may not seem important to you, doesn’t mean it’s not important to us.”
After years of teaching the program, Sarah never tires of seeing a group of kids become inspired. The case was no different this year, when she saw one particular child grow into leadership.
“He had been having a hard time in school and things weren’t going well for him,” said Sarah. “But, once he started interacting with the other kids in the program, you could just tell he got it. That’s always awesome to see.”
With the school year just around the corner, Sarah and the rest of the STARRY staff know they are sending the kids into the middle school years with a sense of accomplishment and new-found confidence.
“It’s wonderful to see kids become self-assured, where you can tell they don’t feel so alone anymore,” she said. “It’s really rewarding to see kids thrive.”
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