S-W sixth graders learn about science, prepare for middle school at Camp Orkila

Evergreen sixth grader Zachary Gaethle stands on a high platform above the ground, carefully prying himself from the trunk of a tree.

His peers yell encouraging words to help him cross the high-ropes course.
One careful step at a time, Gaethle walks across the highline — his body is protected by a rope and harness. When he makes it across the high rope he lets his accomplishment be known with a whoop.

The high-ropes course is a big confidence booster for Zach, said his father Rick Gaethle. And that confidence will help him in class, he said.
“I know he’s afraid of heights,” Rick said.

Rick Gaethle visited Camp Orkila for a day last week to see what his son and other sixth-grade students from the Sedro-Woolley School District were learning at the Orcas Island camp.

Each year, sixth graders from the district spend four days at the camp. About 30 students from Sedro-Woolley High School serve as counselors.

“(Camp) is awewome,” Zach said. “It’s worth all the hard work, it’s fun and informative and helps you get past your fears.”

Confidence-building activities, like the high-ropes course, are one aspect of the trip. Making connections from the classroom to the real-world and preparing for middle school are other benefits of camp, said David Forsythe, a sixth-grade teacher at Mary Purcell. Forsythe also serves as camp coordinator.

Camp Orkila is the first chance for all sixth graders to come together before entering middle school, said Mark Venn, Sedro-Woolley School District superintendent. Venn spent also visited students at the camp last week.

Students are divided into groups consisting of students from different schools.
If students have been classmates for six years they know each others’ skills, Forsythe said. Breaking them up allows them to really meet other students and learn each others’ strengths and weaknesses, he said.

It’s especially true with activities like the ropes course, he said. Students have to learn to rely on each other and build trust.
The camp began April 8 with a presentation from Cascade Middle School leadership students and counselors and principal Michelle Kuss-Cybula. The seventh graders and principal talked to sixth graders about middle school and making that transition.
Learning about marine invertebrates, plankton, the food chain and discovering pond creatures were some of the science topics covered at camp.
Students attended four hour-and-a-half long classes where they learned different aspects of science.
Some activities included collecting plankton and viewing the organisms through a microscope. Another popular activity was an interactive game of “life and death” — a game that demonstrated the cause and effect of a food chain and the outcomes of different scenarios in an environment.
Everything students learn at camp, like science and communication, ties back to the classroom and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, Forsythe said. The Camp Orkila program made the effort to show educators how activities relate to the test, he said.

It’s important camp activities relate to the WASL because students are spending four days of a school week at the camp, Forsythe said.
A large component of the trip is learning to make connections, especially for reading, Forsythe said.

Students are reading about similar science topics in the classroom, but at camp they have the opportunity to see plankton and can hold and identify invertebrates, he said.

Sixth graders aren’t the only students who gained experience as high school students held leadership roles as camp counselors, Venn said. There are skills the students can take with them at the high school and beyond, he said.

Sedro-Woolley High School senior Stephanie Thornhill said last week was her first time being a counselor at the camp. She said attending camp brought back memories of when she attended camp as a sixth grader.

She said she learned responsibility and patience as she was in charge of about 10 girls.

“My role as a counselor is to be their guardian,” Thornhill said. “I’m helping them learn in a fun way and responsible way.”

Venn said he thinks the Camp Orkila experience is beneficial to all the students.
“It’s great to bring seven schools together not only to get connected but make friends,” he said. “And the fact (the students) will apply all the teaching and learning is a big positive for us.”