Central Collegiate Girls Camp a Great Success |
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Sixty-five high school students took a journey of a lifetime that brought them back as "changed" young women that have enhanced the culture of CCI. The camp comprised of nearly all the grade 9 girls from Central Collegiate and 19 trained female "Mentors" from grades 10-12. The vision of the camp was to unite these young women in a powerful, impacting way and to encourage the success of developing great self esteems, the desire to learn outdoors, to find enjoyment in lifelong physical activities, and to bond with an entire group of young females. In addition it is important to recognize that each person has her own story and respecting one another is the first step in creating an "I've Got Your Back" environment. After interviewing all the girls who attended, not one negative aspect has been brought to the table from this experience. The following question was asked in a post reflection questionnaire: " If you were to tell someone whether or not all grade 9 girls in the city should have this opportunity, what would your explanation be?" Response: "YES! YES! YES a million times! I think that everyone EVERYWHERE should get the opportunity to see everyone a little clearer. People should get to know the "bottom of the iceberg" a little better. I feel more free to just be myself!" "That it is amazing, you learn so many things about people, and social/physical skills....It's an overall great experience" " I think that I would tell them that they should because it helps girls become friends, gets rid of petty drama, and helps girls to not be afraid to stand up." The Central Girls have been polled and they believe that thismovement at camp will not stop here. They want to make it their mission and passion to open up to girls in their building, their community, and the girls they meet in their lifetime. Some have already been inspired to take their leadership to the next level. Amina Ally recently applied to "Elle Canada", a conference just outside of Quebec City intended for 20 hand selected students across Canada. She recently learned she was chosen to attend this opportunity to receive training on Female Leadership. The development of this Outdoor Experience has been one in the works for the past year. The first Outdoor Leadership Experience took place last fall when Malinda Strueby decided to take all her grade 9 physical education students to Camp to help create a more welcoming environment as well as develop their leadership skills, self esteem skills, and outdoors/physical skills. Guidance Counsellor Tammy Saylor and Mental Health Employee Kirstin Clark were asked along to be part of the ground level project. After the success and outstanding results seen by the leaders guiding these young ladies, it became a unified decision to continue to build on the successes experienced. Evident instant changes were seen throughout the Building, as well as within the community. At this point, a partnership was created with Mental Health. During the course of the year, strategic planning went into place to further develop the model. The vision of a "Mentorship Outdoor Experience" evolved and the team decided to take applications within CCI and train a group of females from grades 9-12 to become the future mentors of the Fall Leadership Experience intended for all of our Grade 9 girls. The team looks forward to watching this movement grow and most importantly to see the many successes that our young women of Central succeed at.
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The Central Collegiate girls recently returned back from the Second Annual "You Are Beautiful" Mentorship/Leadership Outdoor Education Experience that was held out at Dallas Valley Ranch on Sept 17-19th.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 September 2012 16:46
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