The Camp Echo Lake Trail

JUNIOR GIRLS HEAD COUNSELOR – Kelly Godzac

TRIBAL

This past week, Tribal broke for the entire camp.  All of the Junior Girls found out which team they would be representing this summer – Mohawk or Iroquois.  On Monday, the girls competed in Tribal Tug on the beach, where they showed their physical and mental strength.  Tribal games will take place every Sunday moving forward.

CAMPFIRES WITH LAURIE

The Frosh and Lower Juniors took part in their first campfire of the summer (hosted by Laurie Rinke). Campfires are always an exciting time to come together, sing songs, make s’mores, learn a little about Echo Lake and appreciate the beauty of camp. It was great to see a majority of campers experience their first campfire. The returning campers did a great job helping the new campers during the campfire songs.

Campfires are one of my favorite activities at camp because it is a great time for a group to be fun and silly together.  It also gives the group a chance to take in the surroundings in the beautiful Adirondacks and really appreciate where they are and who they are with.

GROUP SING

This past week, the Junior Girls took part in Group Sing.  Each group made up their own camp-related song and performed it in front of the entire camp in the field house.  I was so proud of the confidence and enthusiasm that the Junior Girls showed on stage during this event.  They blew away the camp with their performances.  As each performance came to an end, the crowd erupted with applause.

The Junior Girls showed their creativity and collaboration skills during Group Sing.  All of the campers and counselors gave input on the performance, from selecting the song to creating the choreography to choosing the outfit.  Every Junior Girl was a team player.

CAMP ECHO LAKE SWIM MEET

Some of the Junior Girls participated in a swim meet hosted by Camp Echo Lake on Friday.  The girls competed against multiple camps in different swimming events, placing in multiple events. They showed great enthusiasm and sportsmanship during the event.

OTB (Off Track Betting)

The Junior Girls loved participating in OTB (Off Track Betting) this past week.  The girls used “Stein Bucks” to bet on the different races that the head staff competed in.  Most of the events were pre-taped, including:  a hoops-shooting competition, relay races, a tennis match, and even a competition between two of the camp dogs to see who would make a better staff member.  The girls participated with enthusiasm and had strong opinions about who would win each event.  It was a night filled with many laughs, cheering, and collaboration amongst the groups.

BONDING

If I had to choose one word to describe each group this week it would be “performing.”  All of the girls seem to have settled into the routine of a day at camp, and are going through each day upholding the values of Echo Lake.  It is hard to tell which campers are returning and which are new at this point; it seems like everybody is feeling comfortable with the camp lifestyle.  Each group seems bonded and is performing well every day.

COMING UP

The Upper Junior Girls will have their first campfire in this upcoming week.

In the upcoming days, the girls will be participating in the Girl’s Camp World Cup.  This is when the girls are broken up into teams and compete in soccer.  I think that this will be an even more special day this summer as the girls got to watch the female American team dominate in the actual World Cup. Hopefully this inspired them to get on the field and do their best!