The senior division at Lake Greeley Camp denotes the oldest campers in camp. It is usually our most populated division in camp, too. The age group for the senior division begins at 13 and ends at 15. The interesting point to mention that many people may not realize with the senior division is that not all seniors at Lake Greeley Camp are returning campers.
Many people believe that campers begin their time at a camp at a young age and continue through into their teens, but that is not always the case. We see a number of campers who begin their camping experience with us in the senior division as well. And when they do, they have the feeling of wishing they had begun at a younger age. And with all these fun points to mention, it's no wonder why.
Elective Program For Seniors
The Senior Division, like the Intermediates, go through their session at Lake Greeley Camp with the Elective Program where they are choosing activities each day when there are activity periods in the schedule. The elective program gives campers a way to experience a variety of activities during their time at camp, so that they can grow, learn, and meet as many people in camp as possible. And each day can be very different from any other because the program is all based around choice.
With the elective program, a particular goal we have in mind is instruction and we want campers, especially Seniors, to find activities that they particularly enjoy at camp and want to become more learned and involved in. It is not uncommon for senior campers at Greeley to become leaders at activity sites and help counselor instructors in operating activity sites. It's a great leadership growing opportunity!
Cabin Clean-Up
Teenages can be very messy and that certainly does not change when they get to camp and begin living in the cabins during their sessions. That is why we have a time in the morning before activities begin when campers and counselors will clean their cabins. Cabins will have chore charts or other ways of dividing responsibilities for campers in taking care of the cabin. These responsibilities will include sweeping, taking out trash, cleaning around the outside of the cabin. Campers are also expected to take care of their own areas within the cabin such as making their bed every morning and maintaining their clothing and other items. It is expected that daily cleaning will keep the cabin a healthy environment for campers and staff alike.
Evening Activities
Evening activities are a great way for senior campers to socialize with one another from the same cabin or in the group as a whole. We have a wide variety of evening activities such as athletic events like our ever popular dodgeball tournament, socials like our Halloween social, pool parties, or other more nuanced activities like CSI night or Catch Me If You Can.
While not every camper is athletic or wants to be the most social, having a balance of these types of activities is important for everyone to experience because it builds not only strengths for the campers, but also the weaknesses in those other areas. It is believed that every experience can be a fruitful one and help grow a person's character.
Goals for Seniors
So why send your teenage son or daughter to camp for a session? For many parents and families, the answer to that question can simply be, "Well, that's what we have always done," and that's because families may have been sending their children to camp for a number of years by this point. It's become a part of growing up, a life experience that children don't otherwise receive in their daily lives with school, sports, or other groups at home or with friends at home. At Greeley, there are a number of campers who have come to camp for some years, but we have also had a number of first time campers come at these later years in their camp career and come out of the experience thinking they should have done this sooner.
No matter what year of camp it is for the seniors in camp, we want the summer to be one of experience and growth for the character and self-esteem of the camper. The teenage years are important formative ones where children are starting to see a larger world and trying to find their place in it. Just doing activities or what's for lunch is not as important as they would be for a junior, per se, but instead, it's do people like me or how do I fit in with the group as a whole? We want to show senior campers that they do fit in and that they do belong within the community at Greeley. We welcome them and invite senior campers to experience everything that Greeley has to offer, and by doing so, the campers will learn more about themselves than they could almost anywhere else.
