Every year, the students of the Upper Elementary community go off to Camp Capers for a couple of days. All year they have been reminiscing about funny moments and memories from the Capers trip they took the year before, which was my first clue as to how much this event meant to them as a community. This year, the children created a countdown chart on the classroom door during the weeks leading up to their annual Camp Capers get away – that’s how excited they were! Before departing at the end of the day, they would mark one more day off the chart and excitedly announce the wait that remained.
Camp Capers is an amazing hill country camp facility run by the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. It is stunningly beautiful, and you can feel it’s sacred energy as soon as you enter the gates. Much of our down time was spent playing “gaga ball”, a ball game that is played on a specially designed court, and that was tremendous fun for adults and children alike! But the highlights of the trip for me were the organized camp activities: team building exercises, the high ropes swing (“The Screamer”), and the nature walks around the gorgeous property.
During the team building exercises, the students worked together to achieve different challenges. And let me tell you – those kids were amazing! The communication, problem-solving, and leadership that emerged during those few hours warmed my heart; I was watching them put into practice all the skills that they have been working so hard to develop.
After that, the students were eager to get on The Screamer (where you swing down from the top of a pole while attached to a climbing harness and rope). Although not all of us originally were planning to participate, we eventually all decided we could do it! Every single student (along with myself and Ms. Jennifer) got on The Screamer, and we all felt really proud of the 100% participation!
Other highlights of the trip included an outdoor evening chapel service, a campfire with songs and s’mores, a night hike in the dark (those stars!), and a nature hike with one of the directors of the camp. On this hike, we learned about the importance of some of the native trees and plants, and worked to identify various trees that we saw around us. We brought much of this interest back with us to the classroom and have been working in botany, identifying trees, learning about the plant kingdom, and studying the fungi kingdom.
The connection with Nature and with each other was truly special while at Camp Capers, and it has had a lasting effect on the dynamic of our community. This special experience changed the way the students understand each other and themselves, it grounded them in the stunning beauty of God’s work around them, and it created more memories to talk about until we return again to Camp Capers next year.
Written by Macleay Martinez