Camp Report: Junior High 1, June 4-9
by Tammy Duvanel Unruh
June 12, 2023
The first week of Junior High Camp at Camp Mennoscah is officially in the books! Starting on Sunday, June 4, 2023, Program Directors, Greg Shelly, Jeff Kaufman, and Addie Kaufman led a group of twenty-five 8th and 9th graders during the first week of the season. Camp ended on Friday, June 9.
Highlights of the week included time in the pool, campfire sessions, and, uniquely, a session of River Play that featured rain! Lillian, a camper from Newton, related that the pre-River Play skit was really good, and Oliver, another camper from Newton, said the Anabaptist Game was his favorite time,
A smaller camp allowed the Summer Staff, which includes five brand-new to the task Staffers, a chance to break in their skills and to work with experienced Staffers and seasoned Directors Greg, Jeff, and Addie. Greg and Addie both saw advantages to a smaller camp. “I like that we all got to do things together,” Addie commented, and Greg mentioned that a small camp meant the Staff and campers got to know each other very well. Summer Staffer Schyler said she had had an opportunity to have a really good conversation with a camper - and that had been one of the very best times of the week.
This week was the first week of another experiment - the somewhat shorter camp week. As of this year, Camp made the decision to shorten by one day camps for Junior and Junior High campers. (Senior High has always dismissed on Friday; Pre-Juniors dismiss on Thursday; First Camp is held Thursday - Saturday.) This shorter schedule allows for more flexibility in using the campground by outside groups as well giving the Staff more time to turn Camp around for the next group of guests. After this year Camp will revisit the question with some data as to how this change was experienced by the campers.
Photos of camp happenings were posted on Facebook throughout the week, and will remain up for the summer. Be sure to visit the Camp Mennoscah Facebook page to look at all the smiling faces!
Watch this space for more Camp Reports as the summer continues.
