The Fort Worth Country Day freshman class recently took a bonding trip to Camp Thurman. This trip included visiting the ropes course, learning about the means of community through the perspective of the freshmen classes’ relationships, and the bonding with one another. Together, they learned how to rely on and trust one another through challenging activities.
Camp Thurman is a Bible camp open to many kinships, spreading the ideals of togetherness through engaging activities and critical thinking. Camp Thurman has been in business for almost 65 years, starting in 1969. Normally, Camp Thurman is reserved for 4-14-year-olds, focusing on spreading the Gospel of Christianity through different kinds of camps, consisting of the Day Camp, the Night Camp, and the Sunshine Camp. The Day Camp focuses on children from the age of 5-11. In our case, the freshman class went on a day camp from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m..
US Spanish teacher and 9th grade class dean Molly Risewick, US community service directory Christy Lennox, and US Division Head Peggy Wakeland were all in charge of allowing the freshman class to bond with one another. After considering other camps, they decided on Camp Thurman because it provided them the best opportunity to be challenged, while also being an overall fun experience.
“It gives them a sense of something a little scary,” Risewick said. The challenges faced through Camp Thurman can be difficult or even stressful at times, but learning to face such situations with a courageous face alongside those who are able and willing to help you overcome these challenges helps the students learn how important it is to tackle intense circumstances with a clear head.
The buses that took the ninth graders finally slowed to a stop, as they had arrived at Camp Thurman. The students poured into the main square of the grounds, and the camp counselors split the freshman class by their advisorys. The advisors were prepared with color-coded bandanas, differentiating the students for convenience. Once each advisory had a designated counselor, the freshmen were off.
There were two separate routines that the freshman class followed: one had more active participation, and the other required more critical thinking. The activities that required active participation were also more physically challenging. Some of these activities included the zipline, the Tarzan Swing, and the Vault Pole. The zipline seemed to be a fan favorite.
“The zip-line was a cultivating experience. It was fun and relaxing, and it was a nice ride,” Leilani Ivy-Chiong ’28 said.
On the other hand, a majority of the freshmen also participated in activities that required more thought. Some examples of these tasks were shaping a rope in the form of a star, moving an object from one side of a tarp to another (without moving the object itself), and pressing buttons in chronological order. To make these more challenging, a competition was held to see which advisory could complete the most amount of tasks within an allotted time. A winner would be crowned by the end of the trip.
As soon as they finished, the freshman class settled down for lunch. Afterward, the groups swapped activities. Once everyone had completed these challenges, the counselors led their advisory off to work on team-building with their group. From connecting pipes to jump rope, each advisory was challenged to think creatively.
“I had a fun group. They have done a good job voicing their thoughts, and trying to do different things,” one counselor named Parachute said.
After doing all the activities the camp had to offer, the freshman headed back to school.
“It’s good that they had a variety of different events and moved students around,” David Hoppe, Upper School math teacher and ninth grader advisor, said. “I liked the order in which [our group] did it. I think it was worthwhile and we got to know one another easier.”
Camp Thurman proved to be an amazing bonding experience for the 2028 freshman class, promising more exciting years to come for each new batch of freshmen.
