By Francisco R. Behan Morillo
As drowsy campers slowly trickle into the room, they sit at desks, six chairs per group, and start to talk rather quietly for 6th and 7th graders. Later, they start to get a little louder as they begin to break free from their morning grogginess. Soon, teachers Mrs. Bria Carboneau, Mr. Phillip Habecker, and Mr. Rossa Deegan enter the room and give introductions.
Everyone then pulls up a seat, forming an ellipse to play an introductory game to help get to know one another. They are then divided evenly into three groups for more introductory games. Afterwards, they regroup and the campers receive a short briefing of the projects they will work on. Then, it’s lunch time.
Lunch is free, along with everything else in camp. It’s a buffet lunch with a rotating menu. There is a soda machine, a dessert bar, and even an ice cream dispenser. Immediately after the returning campers finish, they go to the ice cream dispenser to continue the “tradition” of making extremely tall ice cream cones.
Next, the campers go outside and start playing some simplistic yet fun games for fifteen minutes and continue walking back to class. Once everybody is seated, the teachers show us some video reports, made by last year’s campers, to show us some good examples of finished reports, as well as some not-so-good examples. This continues until the clock reaches 3:00pm, concluding the first day of camp.