In addition to my regular teaching assignment I am also the fifth grade Outdoor Education Coordinator. Each year in May our school takes all eight fifth grade classes to Camp Nawakwa, near Gettysburg, for a four day residence outdoor camp. The students stay in cabins in groups of ten to twelve with a volunteer high school counselor who has been chosen for their leadership qualities, and their interest in working with younger students in an outdoor setting.

All classes and activities at camp are conducted and supervised by our teaching staff. We offer the students classes in such ares as 1) stream study; 2) outdoor survival; 3) owls; 4) hiking; 5) astronomy; 6) birdhouse building; and 7) water safety at the camps large in ground pool.

When students are not attending classes at camp they are in Gettysburg. During their day at Gettysburg they visit and study at the visitors center, tour the battlefield with a licensed guide and complete a scavenger hunt at the wax museum. Free time for souvenir shopping and ice cream goodies completes their day.

For the fun times at camp the students take part in the Civil War Olympics and various evening programs. Their last night at camp includes a camp fire, a civil war sing a long with a visit from an union soldier and a dance. The students get to see their high school counselors and teachers as they have never seen them before! Oh, what fun! Fifth grade camp is the highlight of the year and many fifth graders can not wait until they are in high school so they can come to camp again as a counselor.