Toronto School Group at Camp Ahmek

This past weekend was one for the books! We had every type of weather you can imagine – warm sun, warm rain, cold rain, cold wind and general grey cloudiness. The group of Toronto students who made the trip to Canoe Lake this weekend, experienced an authentic Canadian Summer camp adventure! Did a full day of rain stop these kids? Nope. Their spirits were high and their enthusiasm for the activities was great. All students participated in activities such as canoeing, camp craft, arts & crafts, swimming, orienteering and trust & risk games.

To the students, this weekend is called Character Education camp, or Character Ed for short. Approximately 100 students are organized into 6 groups, each named after an ideal human characteristic. The names of the groups are confidence & creativity, honesty & loyalty, altruism, patience & determination, respect and optimism & kindness. Beyond regular camp activities run by TSC staff members, there are 2 activities run by the grade 12 group leaders. These activities promote team building, trust, independence and creativity.

The students arrived at 2pm on the Friday and the days were jam packed with camp activities until 2pm on the Sunday, the day of departure. Not only did the students participate in activity rotations throughout the day, but the evening was busy as well. One evening activity that stood out in particular this year was the Human Scavenger Hunt. Each character group had to find someone in their group who was able to complete a specific task or do something unusual. Some tasks included a push up contest, a joke telling contest and a dance off. One of the most impressive tasks completed this year was the beat box competition. Even the teachers took part! What a talented group!

This weekend at camp for this school has been a regular and successful event. We have had multiple students from this school become staff members. Some have been counsellors, who eventually lead long trips such as Kipawa and Quetico, and some have become program staff. Samantha Cole, who was on staff for a 2^nd consecutive summer at Camp Ahmek, attended Character Ed camp as a high school student and has never looked back. She has been a dishwasher, head of dining hall and music instructor. This year she attended Character Ed camp for the second time as a staff member, helping to provide her school peers with the same experience she was given. When asked about her experience as a student and the desire to be a staff member, she said; “I felt like I could really fit in with the people and have a good time even if it was something completely new plus the camp and lake are just so beautiful – I had to come back!” Samantha, along with many of us at TSC hope that students from this year’s and future Character Ed camps apply to be future staff members as well.

For many students, this was their first time out of the Toronto area. It may have been a bit of a culture shock but as an observer, you would never know. This incredible group of students jumped right into it without hesitation. The Taylor Statten Camps staff who lead the weekend, are extremely proud of all the students accomplishments. How How to all!