Students from Lakeview High School have recently been invited to be Camp Fitch counselors for the middle schools’ fifth graders. The selection was not open to the entire student body; only the juniors and seniors were able to apply. The application was sent out by the middle school principal Ashley Handrych. She then chose who she felt best met the requirements of a Camp Fitch counselor. The number of Camp Fitch counselors chosen was also based on how many fifth graders signed up for the trip.

The selected juniors were Colben Schick, Katelyn Wutrick, Adrienne Rich, Ava Bacon, Addison Allen, Lacy Gavitt, and Ashley Graczyk. The selected seniors were, Jack Peterson, Samuel Gillis, Tyler Hovance, Saige Muresan, Dylan Clements, Jake Nicholas, and Nolan Toth. Adding up to a total of 14 Camp Fitch counselors to help the fifth graders enjoy their experience. 

Camp Fitch is located in the state of Pennsylvania near Lake Erie. This will be an overnight trip where the Bulldogs will be staying for two nights in dorm-like cabins. The counselors have been split up with their own group of their gender to stay with at night in the cabins. For the activities during the day the counselors have been paired up with an opposite gender counselor for there to be bigger groups during the activities since the counselors only have 6 kids individually.

I asked Senior Samuel Gillis how he felt about being in charge of 6 fifth graders and he exclaimed, “I feel like it is a lot of pressure to be in charge of the well being of six kids, but I also feel like we have all been selected for a reason and it won’t be anything we can’t handle. There will also obviously be adult supervision, so if there is something I can not handle I will gladly grab an adult to help with the problem.” Gillis seems to be very confident that his 6 kids will have a great time with him. 

There will be a total of eight activities that the counselors and children will participate in: pioneer crafts, Lake Erie study, rock climbing, reptiles and amphibians nature center, the survival barn, horsemanship, the challenge course in the equestrian center, and lastly outdoor cooking. The counselors will be divided up into pairs along with two groups of three to participate in the day time activities. 

I asked Senior Jake Nicholas if he was excited to participate in the activities at Camp Fitch and he described, “I am very excited to be able to participate in the activities. I was a Camp Fitch counselor last year and I had a lot of fun with the kids but I also enjoyed being able to participate in the activities myself.” Nicholas, who was a counselor last year can not wait to see what fun the activities bring this year!

The Bulldogs will depart from Lakeview Middle School this upcoming Wednesday at 9 am. They are said to arrive back at the middle school Friday around 12 pm. The fifth graders as well as the counselors have had a lot of packing to do for this two night trip. The counselors and students were sent home with a list of various things they were going to need to bring with them to Camp Fitch. Such as clothes to make it through the two nights, as well as a blanket, sheets, and a pillow in order to sleep comfortably in a place they are unfamiliar with. 

I asked Junior Lacy Gavitt how she felt about packing for this two night trip and she exclaimed, “Packing for this trip has been very fun yet stressful due to not knowing exactly what the weather is going to be like near the lake. Which calls for multiple outfits just in case of the temperature and preparing for snow.” Gavitt seems to be preparing for all possible outcomes of weather at Camp Fitch.

We are sending these Bulldogs off in hopes that they have lots of fun at Camp Fitch. Good luck to them!!!