On Tuesday, eighth graders loaded the buses at the oval in anticipation of their last middle school Intensive Learning overnight trip. For many years, eighth graders at MFS have traveled north toward the Delaware Water Gap to attend YMCA Camp Mason just outside of Blairstown, NJ. The wooded foothills provide an excellent new environment for the students to explore nature, work on team building skills, and hang out with a break from technology.
After a short two-hour bus ride, students quickly got into their assigned groups at camp and headed straight into afternoon activities. Over the next two days, the kids got a chance to rotate through four different major activities: fire tower hike, ASE (action socialization experience), outdoor cooking, and wood cutting.
The hike was a stand-out for many students, particularly being able to climb the fire tower at the top of the ridge.
“I was really scared to go up to the top, but the encouragement from my friends helped me overcome my fear and I was really glad I did it. The views were awesome!” said one student.
YMCA staff members pointed out that you could see into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York from that one location.
After climbing down from the ridge and getting back to camp, students enjoyed some recreation time where they were able to move freely between the climbing wall, archery, the basketball courts, and arts and crafts. Interestingly, tetherball (which was ubiquitous around camp) became a hit. Of course, Mayor Hilgen was the unbeatable champion.
After some delicious dinner in the dining hall, students had a chance to do a bit of a nature walk in the waning light of the day before heading over to the campfire to enjoy some s’mores and to relax around the fire before heading off to their cabins. All in all a wonderful first day at Camp Mason.
