The first day of the session can only mean one thing: It’s time to choose! Campers can choose what clothes to put on when they get out of bed. They can choose to some extent what to eat for breakfast (and how much syrup to pour on top). But what makes Owego truly unique is the campers’ freedom to choose their activities. Which brings us to Pioneer Village 4th period choice sign-up and Ridge choice sign-up.
Following lunch and rest hour, all campers, including our new second-session friends who joined us today, made their way across camp to either the Lower Field or the Picnic Grove. Juniors gathered by the rocks on the Lower Field and listened intently as counselors took turns “pitching” their periods. The goal? To entice campers to join your activity. One counselor enthusiastically described his golf period. Another asked campers to join him on the Ropes course. One by one, the counselors appealed to every camper’s interests – on the court, in the water, at the fishing dock, or in the fields. Juniors scattered in every direction, eager to participate in the activity of their choice.
Meanwhile, over in the picnic grove, the Seniors and Hi-Seniors received instructions from a division leader on how to secure their spots in a wide variety of choice periods. Older campers have the privilege of six choice periods a day, and they “refresh” their schedules every week. Owego is a boy’s paradise, where you can go from tennis to lake to rocketry – all in the course of a morning at camp.
Today, after counselors separated into camp “areas” – waterfront on one side of the grove, athletics on the other, creative arts on the dining hall porch – campers dispersed in all directions, excited to secure a signature and a spot in their favorite activities. Friends sat together and strategized on how to match up their schedules, water-lovers rushed the lake counselors, and Scotty signed up campers for the second-session play. Campers who have not yet been a part of Kyle’s BBQ period were given first dibs on the popular choice. The campers’ schedules took shape, one activity at a time, and another week at Owego came into perfect focus.
Same time, same place, next week. Campers will return to favorite periods, try something new, and debate the merits of ultimate frisbee versus hockey. No matter which activities they choose, Owego campers are given the gift to embrace who they are and what they love to do, and to celebrate all of the dimensions that make each and every one of them truly unique.
