It has been more than a month since our high school life first started. During the first few days of school, we were informed that there would be an overnight camping trip on September 14th to 15th at Camp Bernie. Everyone was thrilled and excited, including us. 

Camp Bernie is an overnight trip located in Port Murray, New Jersey. The activities offered mainly require high coordination and communication with others. It was the perfect way to allow more communications and interactions to happen. It created an opportunity to make new friends as we had just entered the next chapter of our academic life. 

We did rock climbing, escape rooms, and many other activities. They were challenging but fun, and of course, safe.

 The last time I did rock climbing was seven years ago while many of my peers had prior experience. The 50-foot wall seemed daunting but with the encouragement of friends and staff members, I scaled my way up. 

For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, waiters were assigned for each rotation. Their job is to set up the table and clean up before and after each meal. People who were not on their shift were also enthusiastic about helping out. 

Overall, the experience was great. The most memorable part was the “Stargazing” at 8 p.m. Phones and any source of external light were not allowed. We sat together on a field under the sky. Thousands of stars filled above our heads. It was exhilarating. Everyone was scared of the dark, but we seized the moment under the star’s light. 

 -Yanling 

Indoor Camp Bernie was also great!

Meanwhile, students who didn’t go to Camp Bernie were doing indoor Millennium Camp. Indoor Camp was just a regular school day, following our same schedules but staying in the same room with different teachers for each period. On the first day, we got to know one another more by doing an activity learning each other’s names and favorite food. It was fun, but it could get boring sitting around with a packet in front of you.

Everyone was curious about how indoor camp works but no one expected that we would be getting a packet to do for the whole day. The packet had different activities that brought students together to know one another better and do teamwork. We had activities such as a scavenger hunt, a hot chocolate river, and untying the knot. The scavenger hunt was enjoyable because we could make our own game and share it with other groups. Untying the knot was very confusing at first but we could work while communicating with one another. 

-Wendy

We recommend future freshmen to go to Camp Bernie so that they don’t miss out the chance to make many friends as a new high school student. (It’s a once in a lifetime experience) You may also figure out new hobbies you like that you never knew you would.