Thanks to everyone who dropped into the blog. We really appreciate hearing from those of you who had a chance to read bit and pieces about our time at Camp Campbell Outdoor Science School.
The teachers took many photographs. Please give us some time to compile them. We will share them with you from a central folder in the next week or so.
Warm Regards,
The 5th Grade Team
Tracey Ananmalay, Eunice Hyun, Mollie Pine, Lindsay Santos.
There were lots of tired smiles today amid the waffles, turkey sausage and other delicious food. Students are doing one final lesson with their field teachers. We'll gather for music and goodbyes in the late morning.
Luggage is already on its way. Please remember that suitcases and garbages look a lot alike. Please double-check before you take things home. We anticipate being on the road 12 to 12:15ish. That should have us back at Los Alamitos around 1:30-1:45.
Students will gather in their classrooms. If you plan to pick up your 5th grader before dismissal, please ensure that you sign them out with the teacher BEFORE you take them home.
Thank you for your support in sending your students with us to Camp Campbell Outdoor Science School!
Dear Los Alamitos Friends & Families,
Camp Campbell has had some ups and downs. For example, it's been hard sleeping, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.
This is being written from Camp on Thursday. Some of the things I like are the pool, picnic hike, and night walk. Some students did archery while others played the greatest game in history, GAGA BALL! Our whole class wants a gaga ball court at Los Alamitos.
For some students the activities were the best. For others, they enjoyed the cabin. It was always fun seeing the teachers at every meal, night, and some of the hikes. (Ed. Note - also the pool, the gaga court, the river study, multi-court, and more😀)
Students also shared a lot of riddles and games, like Family Picnic and Around the World, which they are excited to share with everyone.
See you tomorrow!
~ S.M.
This afternoon some field groups visited the Habitat House. The Habitat House has various living animals such as fish and snakes as well as taxidermy animals like bobcats, raccoon, owl, red throated hummingbird and more! The students were able to hold or touch Milk, Jolene, Sawyer and Grant…all snakes…yikes, these kiddos are brave!
Student reported the snakes being much smoother than they expected. One commented that she anticipated it would feel like a fish but was surprised at the difference.
After a long, engaging day the students had activity time. Each group voted on their preferred activity which included Gaga ball, Capture the Flag, Volleyball, Ropes Course, and Archery. There’s never a dull moment at Camp!
I was able to join Taylor and Caitlin’s field group to hike to the Mole Hole in the pitch black last night! Just like the kids, I was apprehensive about the idea of heading into the forest with no lights on!! We made a single file line and agreed that, with the person's permission, we would hold the backpack strap of the person in front of us so that we stayed together as a group! As we hiked out of camp, up the hill, our eyes started to adjust to access our night vision, which as we learned took a full 45 minutes. We gazed up at the trees to notice how the world looks like shades of black, grey and white. Caitlin and Taylor taught the kids how the rods in our eyes help distinguish shapes, while the cones distinguish color. The rods did all the work last night! We discussed different nocturnal animals and how they used others senses to find their way around at night. We also learned that Wintergreen Lifesavers, when bitten down on, will create a spark of light! So cool! As we headed down the hill, we were all thankful to safely make it back to camp without any falls! What an adventure! ~ Mollie Pine
It has been wonderful watching our 5th Graders get out of their shells at Camp and try new things! Last night each group ventured out for the notorious “Night Hike.” It was quite the experience! Each group hiked to different areas of camp in complete darkness and silence where they settled down to learn about nocturnal animals and how we use echolocation and the other senses to guide us at night. Next, we made “lightening in our mouths.” We learned that when you crunch on wintergreen candies in the dark, you are making light with friction. When you crush sugar crystals, the stress in the crystal creates electric fields. It was a night they won’t forget! ~ Lindsay Santos
Last night, I got to venture out into the wild... in the dark! As nerve-wracking as this may sound to many, the night hike was one very memorable part of camp. Our naturalist began the hike by discussing the different types of animals that are active at different times of day; diurnal, nocturnal, and crepuscular. We continued on, learning about the ways our eyes work in different settings - particularly, how our eyes adjust at night.
Not only did we learn about how our eyes work, but we also got to put them to the test! Walking in the dark, our students were led single file through familiar trails following our naturalist. Making a circle in the woods, we stopped to play a game called Bats and Moths that taught students about how bats catch their prey in the dark using echolocation. Students really loved this game and were begging to partake in it.
It was interesting to see that more time spent in the dark helped activate our night vision and get our students more comfortable with being in the dark. We ended the hike with a special, sweet treat that students were able to enjoy eating and see light up (you can ask your student about what I mean 😜). Fun times in the dark were had, but it most definitely gave us all an appreciation for the light! ~ Eunice Hyun
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| Night Hikers |
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| Waiting for the hike to begin |
Today is a mirror of yesterday with half of the students on a 4 hour hike and the other half engaged in activities at camp. There are so many warm and wonderful people here. Once we have made rounds during meals, the teachers have an opportunity to sit down with the camp staff, a dynamic, knowledgeable group who hail from Santa Cruz county to Alabama.
They bring another layer of expertise to our camp experience. In the beginning of the year, you brought us understanding of your children which we overlay with instructional and educational psychology expertise. Now we bring an more intimate knowledge of your kids and the staff here are expert on the management of this large facility, deep understanding of the ecological systems of the redwood forest, while carrying a big toolbox of idea to manage problems like homesickness, missing water bottles, and cabin disagreements.
The young volunteers who are heading up the cabins this year are primarily from Santa Clara High School. Under the guidance of their naturalist, they too are learning. In their case, the lessons are how to be leaders, engage and encourage children, manage teams, and more. They were here on Monday preparing for our arrival. We are grateful for both the YMCA staff and the high school and college volunteers who are making this week possible for all of us.
We started our day with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash brown, homemade biscuits, fruit, yoghurt, oatmeal, cereal, milk, and toast. There is always something for the more particular eater.
Ms Alicia, our school counsellor, joined us this morning. Students and teachers alike are delighted to have her here. She popped into our class meetings when we checked in with our students this morning. They had lots of excited tales about their night hike adventures (we'll post separately about that).
Following class meetings, we all gathered in the center of camp under a stand of redwoods for an old-fashioned camp sing along.
This afternoon, Mr. Rousseau and Mrs. Pine hiked with Tarrah’s field group through the forest on the Outer Loop Trail. This trail starts at the back of camp, to the border of the Camp Campbell property. The trail continue into land that is owned by a logging company.
Before we left, the kids packed themselves a lunch by making a sandwich, choosing a piece of fruit and filling their water bottle. After we were packed up, we headed out. The hike, which took about 4 hours round trip, was through much of the area burned by the CZU fire in 2020. Tarrah stopped and taught the kids about some of the good things that occurred based on this fire. We witnessed a massive amount of new growth on the first floor; redwood saplings formed beautiful rings around the base of many redwood trees. These new baby trees, she taught us, are called basal sprouts, which come from the root system of the trees. We also witnessed endocormic sprouting from the middle of the trunks of the redwood tree. This growth adaptation is also a result of the fire. It literally looked like there was green fur growing around the middle of these 200 ft. tall beauties..... incredible.
The kids were troopers, hiking up steep hillsides and down into 2 huge ravines. At one point, we came upon an aluminum bridge that had melted during the fire too. Imagine that... a fire so hot it melted a metal bridge. We carefully hiked down and around this bridge to rejoin the trail on the other side. At the apex of the hike, we stopped to observe an old growth Douglas fir tree that has history with Camp Campbell.
There was a great story about this tree. About 30 years ago, this tree was marked to be cut down. Some students who were visiting Camp Campbell at that time saw this and were horrified by this idea. Upon return from camp, they wrote letters to the logging company, to voice their sadness at the idea that the tree would be cut down. Based on these letters, the president of the company hiked out to see the tree and later, decided not to have it cut down. Wow, our students really got to understand that students do have the power to advocate for change.
We witnessed 2 woodpeckers knocking away at some madrone at this point as well. Did you know that a woodpecker can wrap its tongue around its brain to act like a shock absorber when it’s pecking the hard bark? I learned something new today! We headed back to camp, completing our big loop. I’m sure the kids are going to sleep well tonight!
Tired hikers following their return to camp:
One of the highlights for many students is trying archery for the first time. For young people, there is often an expectation that it will be something they can easily master.
Students followed safety instructions well, staying behind the white line until it was their turn. The staff was very patient as they helped each student master the skills to shoot an arrow. It takes both strength and technique.
It was delightful to hear our students express their excitement followed by genuine satisfaction at the experience. Bows are tricky business - I got a chance to try last year, and it was very satisfying - exactly as one of our students expressed.
Today, groups are on one of two paths: picnic hike or main camp activities including a swim. Mrs. Pine and Mr. Rousseau headed off with our day hikers. Those campers made their own lunches from lots of choices.
Mrs. Ananmalay played to her strength and swam with a group of students. She'll be back in the pool after lunch with another crew.
