Social studies teacher Jen Winchell doesn’t have the countless memories as a kid of going to camp as a camper. However, as a camp counselor in college she says she understood the experience for herself. 

    “I think a lot of us grow up watching movies about camp and being really excited about that, and I never got to go,” Winchell said. “I did get to be a camp counselor when I was in college, and that experience helped show me just how fun and amazing camp can be.”

     Nowadays, she finds herself teaching a new class being offered at West, Outdoor School Leadership, that’s intended to prepare high school students to be outdoor school counselors for a week in the spring at Silver Creek Park. There students will help middle school sixth graders learn about such topics as animal identification, as well as lead team building activities that were practiced and learned beforehand in class.

     While in the classroom, Winchell says that students will learn skills such as CPR, conflict resolution, group collaboration, and leadership, among others that she hopes will be applicable outside the week spent at outdoor school. And after returning from camp they will create a career portfolio with an updated resume and an essay about their experience.

      “I hope they feel empowered by all the things they learn and the amazing experience that is outdoor school,” Winchell said, “and that maybe they get to relive some of those great outdoor school memories, but now in a different role.”