Melanie's Blog
This is my first post after returning with K.B. from a week at Discovery Camp. Mr. Bittner, our science teacher, offers a hands-on Mr. Wizard program that K.B. went to last summer. As my lab partner, she showed me how fun science can be.
We signed up for camp and heard the next day at school we weren't alone -- Cassandra, Mimi and Bibi were planning to come the same week! We talked about what to do that evening. K.B., do you want to pick up the story from here?
Sure, Mel. My first thought was "It might be scary meeting new people at Discovery Camp but we'll get through it." We've been "nobodies" before. Then I remembered my Mom saying that I could always talk to her about bullying. And, she has seen how Cassandra rules her "inner circle" and excludes anyone who's different.
Having been part of the "cool girls" once, I know how it feels to be on both sides now!
My Mom was quick to act. She called the camp director to find out about the camp's rules on bullying. The Stop Bullying Now! Web site has tips for parents on Understanding Bullying Within the Camp Setting that mention the right questions to ask. The camp director and the counselor for our cabin went into action and knew what to do before we arrived.
I'll say. Let me take it from here. We were met by our counselor, Tricia, when we arrived at camp. She explained that we'd be sharing a cabin with girls who weren't from Springdale. We found out later that the same was true for Cassandra, and she wasn't in the cabin with Bibi and Mimi.
The first afternoon all the campers met in the lodge to learn about camp rules and the activities planned for us. The camp director and staff put on a funny skit about the challenges of making new friends, and the challenges of living with quirky girls. There was a skit about girls who form cliques and spread rumors to intentionally hurt someone—the "gossip girls"—which they explained was a form of bullying. They said that this behavior is against the camp rules and would be dealt with on-the-spot and with consequences. But, the event ended positively with a message of shared hopes and the vision of a camp where campers and staff would care for and respect each other.
The vision painted that first day really happened! It didn't come without hard work and many reminders. Cassandra actually met some new friends and seemed to get along without taking over. Oh, yeah. Another great thing about camp week was that we all wore cool camp t-shirts with shorts and created caps with our cabin's name and logo on it.
That's about it for our science camp report. Mr. Bittner was really into his "elements" (LOL) and so were we—chemistry elements that is—we mixed them up without a single explosion. It was great!
