The MFS sixth grade enjoys a full day of activities at the Princeton-Blairstown Center.
As buses began to roll out to overnight trips, students gathered with their duffel bags in the Blue Gym, the unofficial headquarters of sixth grade. After group photos and a bag check, we loaded two yellow buses and headed out towards Princeton-Blairstown Center, where a crew of skilled facilitators were waiting for our arrival.
Cabin assignments, day groups, and a photo of the whole grade were followed by Energizers, games that focused on teamwork and communication. Every group chose a name to represent themselves. The Owls, The Goats, The Fish Eagles (because upon our arrival, we witnessed a bald eagle flying over our heads, chasing an osprey who was holding a fish in its claws), and The Grass Eaters filled the woods of PBC as they played, hid, and worked together to solve problems designed to help them think critically and creatively.
A communal lunch was enjoyed in Egner Dining Hall, and The Fish Eagles were assigned the task to clean up and “restore” the dining hall. Groups then headed out to the woods again – crossing a bridge over a dam, weaving through trees as a chained group, swinging over “lava” to get to a safe post, and escorting blindfolded friends to hidden treasures by the lake. Anytime students heard the word “camouflage” yelled out, they would find a hiding spot among the trees, and then chaperones had to seek them out.
As students and facilitators reflected on their successes and struggles in their various outdoor challenges, they shared the following:
“One good thing that our team did was letting everyone share their opinion.”
– Anna, on weaving through the trees as a human chain
“Our group had good strategies and we were able to be flexible.”
– Nathan, on swinging through the “lava”
“The group was encouraging to each other, stayed positive even though the challenge took a long time. No one thought it was impossible, and they kept working until they got it done. They were persistent and patient.”
– Facilitator Alicia
“Our goals are to trust each other, listen to each other, and be good leaders. Good leaders are the ones who listen to everyone.”
– Facilitator Justin
“The group activity that I enjoyed the most was ‘camouflage’ because we got to interact in a different way, by hiding and then the adults had to find us, and it was really fun.”
– Ari
Before dinner, students spent time in their cabins, journaling and unpacking their bags. Between scrambled words and a weather watch science activity, as well as reflection questions, students got to decompress and take a moment to connect in their cabin group.
Jake reflected, “I enjoyed that we could write in the journals and have memories of this time and remember what we did. Something that happened today that I want to remember is playing the reaction-time game called Beast Wars. I liked it because it tested our reaction time and it got me moving and it was fun to play against my friends.”
Chicken meatballs, spaghetti, garlic bread, a salad bar, and a surprise chocolate chip cookie dessert made dinner a total success, with The Owls restoring the dining hall to the sound of the Backstreet Boys.
Groups headed back out for an evening forest exploration, where in one group, two guides were chosen by students to lead them through the woods, while everyone else was blindfolded. In another group, an echolocation game was played, requiring players to listen well to be able to find the source of the sound. Trust, communication, and a good dose of laughter got them from one end of the center to the other, just in time to catch a movie before bed.