On a day when the temperature crept toward 90 degrees in Downeast Maine, squeals of delight echoed across the playground during EdGE summer camp at Milbridge Elementary. After lunch, campers sprayed each other with water, running across the field toward their intended targets. Other students lined up behind them, shouting encouragement to their friends and cheering them on while they waited for their turn. They were not the only EdGE students enjoying camps.
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The Mission runs EdGE summer camps for students in kindergarten through eighth grade at three locations: D.W. Merritt Elementary in Addison, Milbridge Elementary, and Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School in Machias. This year, 238 students attended at least one week of camp, with many choosing to attend all sessions. In addition to activities, the USDA Summer Meals Program offers all campers a free breakfast and lunch, which is important for many families.
Down the road from Milbridge, campers at D.W. Merritt, EdGE Site Coordinator and D.W. Merritt teacher Karen Bailey had students line up to grab their lunches. Today’s meal was chicken wraps, cucumber spears, fruit, and milk. As Karen passed them out, she talked with some of the campers, asking them questions about their day, bringing particularly shy or reserved students out of their shell. Across the room, other students grabbed their lunch boxes before settling down at a few tables. After they were done eating, the campers went outside to use the playground. Some grabbed basketballs and started shooting baskets, others ran to the slide and swings, while a few more stayed in the shade and played a game of giant Connect 4.
Karen shares that EdGE camp is a great equalizer for many of the students: “We have students who struggle academically or socially during the school year. EdGE camp is a chance to just be themselves and have fun. It brings us such joy when we see a timid child conquer the ropes course or a child with special needs fit in during a group game without standing out as the ‘different’ one. Our kids play together, eat together, circle up at snack time, and chat together.”
Further Downeast in Machias, staff split campers at Rose M. Gaffney into groups based on their age range. That day, younger students played a game of tag in the gym while older students put their finishing touches on crafts. Missing were the eighth-grade campers, who had joined EdGE Youth Development Coordinators to kayak earlier that day. Camps also offer other field trips and outings, including hiking with the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a touch tank with the Downeast Institute, Meaning Math activities with the Maine Discovery Museum, a children’s concert with the Monteux School & Music Festival, and the always-popular visit to the Mission’s Downeast Campus to use the challenge course.
At Rose M. Gaffney’s camp, this year, students embraced the opportunities they had to be creative. Youth Development Coordinator Jessica Hersha shares, “They took activities and really ran with them. One class built stunning fairy houses out of natural materials they gathered on the nature trail at the school. Another class did some amazing work with beads, making complex pony bead animals.”
Every day at summer camp, students have fun, explore their communities, and learn new skills, with staff members cheering them on at every turn. As EdGE Director Isaac Marnik shares, “We have had a wonderful summer of camps. The Mission has a great team of staff that allows children the opportunities to have fun and explore new things.”
To learn more about EdGE programs visit https://seacoastmission.org/downeast/edge/.