by Emily Leamon
On Sunday, campers arrived for their first day of SCATS. After orientation and a walking tour, we always do ice breakers so campers can meet one another. This year, it started to rain soon after we began the ice breakers, but the weather was not an issue for our campers!
Since we could no longer be outside, we moved inside to have community time, where campers can mingle, play games, make bracelets, etc. with everyone. A lot of the campers took this time to continue making new friends since the icebreakers were cut short.
I stayed in the lobby, where campers usually make friendship bracelets and play board games. It was such a wonderful experience to see them inviting and welcoming each other to join in whatever activity they had chosen — and at SCATS, there are tons of options!
This time is also when returning campers get to see and talk to their former counselors. One of the most rewarding parts of being a returning counselor is catching up with campers from previous years and hearing about all the amazing things they’ve done in the past year. One of my campers decided she wants to pursue botany and told me about all the programs and books she’s learned from. One common theme from talks with returning campers was how excited they were to be back! And I’ve got to say, I’m very excited, too. Campers, counselors, and teachers can’t wait to see what the next two weeks will bring.