Look for info about the second week really soon!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
The 1st Week in Pictures!
We'll let these pictures speak for themselves :-)
More pictures from the first week tomorrow!
The 1st Week in Words
With the second week of Bridges starting, let's recap the first week!
Monday & Tuesday: Classes, morning assembly, dining hall meals, and evening activities all started today! From the forensics of science and investigation (in Science class) to learning how to swim, the students got moving on their busy schedule. English class covered short stories, poems, and giving speeches, while the Art class began working with perspective and 3 dimensional design. Math class worked on figuring out where the students were in their studies, while Social Studies started talking about the situation in the Middle East. Finally, College Planning began preparing students for the week's college visit. Tuesday night the younger students began their NCBI diversity workshop, while the older students saw the improv group "Imagine That!" All in all it was a busy but great way to start the new week, and the students have been loving every minute of it!
Wednesday: Field Trips! The Kappa class (the youngest) went on a scavenger hunt of downtown Greenville, where they had to pick up trinkets from locations all over downtown! It was a long and hot morning, but all of the teams finished and everyone went to Saffron's for a well deserved meal break. After some time by the Reedy River falls, the Kappas went to the Bob Jones Museum and Gallery, the best collection of baroque and religious art in the country. The museum guide took the kids through roughly a third of the gallery's collection, and gave them a chance to reflect on what they saw. For some it was the first time they had ever been to an Art museum, but Mr. Grills (the art teacher) did a great job preparing them beforehand for the amazing art they got to experience. After that they went back to Furman for their evening activities. Meanwhile, the Iotas and Thetas (the older students) went to Erskine and Lander colleges to scope out some local options for higher education. Both schools gave tours, and Mr. Frost from college planning was there to help the students make informed decisions about how right these schools were for them. They also made it back in time for their evening activities, and the schedule picked back up for Thursday and Friday, with the Kappas finishing the NCBI workshop Thursday night.
Saturday: The weekends are almost more packed than the weeks during Bridges. Saturday morning the older students worked on community service, ranging from clearing debris for Diligent Hands, Gracious Hearts, to making care packages for the hard working staff at Furman, who help make Bridges possible. The Kappas were on the Furman ropes course all day, which helped them bond with each other, since trust is absolutely necessary for everyone to complete the course. That night, all of the students went ice skating at the Pavilion, and it was a lot of fun!
Sunday: On Sundays, parents are allowed to visit the students, so most of the kids were out and about throughout the morning. By the afternoon, all of the Bridges students were at the pool! Dr. Shi, the president of Furman University, was kind enough to let Bridges use his home and pool for a party, and it was blast, even though it was rained out. For the rest of the night it was back to the dorms for fun and games on the halls.
This week has been back to the classroom, but tonight we're having workshops on how to start a checking account, how to change a tire, proper dinner etiquette and how to get into Furman. More on that and the rest of week 2 later!
Monday & Tuesday: Classes, morning assembly, dining hall meals, and evening activities all started today! From the forensics of science and investigation (in Science class) to learning how to swim, the students got moving on their busy schedule. English class covered short stories, poems, and giving speeches, while the Art class began working with perspective and 3 dimensional design. Math class worked on figuring out where the students were in their studies, while Social Studies started talking about the situation in the Middle East. Finally, College Planning began preparing students for the week's college visit. Tuesday night the younger students began their NCBI diversity workshop, while the older students saw the improv group "Imagine That!" All in all it was a busy but great way to start the new week, and the students have been loving every minute of it!
Wednesday: Field Trips! The Kappa class (the youngest) went on a scavenger hunt of downtown Greenville, where they had to pick up trinkets from locations all over downtown! It was a long and hot morning, but all of the teams finished and everyone went to Saffron's for a well deserved meal break. After some time by the Reedy River falls, the Kappas went to the Bob Jones Museum and Gallery, the best collection of baroque and religious art in the country. The museum guide took the kids through roughly a third of the gallery's collection, and gave them a chance to reflect on what they saw. For some it was the first time they had ever been to an Art museum, but Mr. Grills (the art teacher) did a great job preparing them beforehand for the amazing art they got to experience. After that they went back to Furman for their evening activities. Meanwhile, the Iotas and Thetas (the older students) went to Erskine and Lander colleges to scope out some local options for higher education. Both schools gave tours, and Mr. Frost from college planning was there to help the students make informed decisions about how right these schools were for them. They also made it back in time for their evening activities, and the schedule picked back up for Thursday and Friday, with the Kappas finishing the NCBI workshop Thursday night.
Saturday: The weekends are almost more packed than the weeks during Bridges. Saturday morning the older students worked on community service, ranging from clearing debris for Diligent Hands, Gracious Hearts, to making care packages for the hard working staff at Furman, who help make Bridges possible. The Kappas were on the Furman ropes course all day, which helped them bond with each other, since trust is absolutely necessary for everyone to complete the course. That night, all of the students went ice skating at the Pavilion, and it was a lot of fun!
Sunday: On Sundays, parents are allowed to visit the students, so most of the kids were out and about throughout the morning. By the afternoon, all of the Bridges students were at the pool! Dr. Shi, the president of Furman University, was kind enough to let Bridges use his home and pool for a party, and it was blast, even though it was rained out. For the rest of the night it was back to the dorms for fun and games on the halls.
This week has been back to the classroom, but tonight we're having workshops on how to start a checking account, how to change a tire, proper dinner etiquette and how to get into Furman. More on that and the rest of week 2 later!
Monday, June 26, 2006
The 1st Weekend, Part 2!
When we last left the students, the olders were finishing workshops and helping the younger students move in.The Kappas arrived on June 18th and their check in was smooth and fun (Elijah Brunson talks to Mrs. Swartz)!
After they were settled, the counselors took the students to the field for some ice breakers. It must have been the first time some of the students played Red Rover in years (Luarne Nelson runs around the field)!
They then went on a scavenger hunt of the campus to get ready for class the next day! More on the first week later!
Monday, June 19, 2006
The 1st weekend, part 1!
Bridges to a Brighter Future 2006 has gotten to a tremendous start! The older students checked in on Saturday, and quickly went to a leadership/goal setting workshop with Mrs. Swartz and Miss Turza. Things went really well, as the group playing a "Goal Gameshow", and learned how to set realistic goals for their summer as well as their lives. They went on for the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday writing in their journals and getting reacquainted with the program and each other. Needless to say it was a great success! Sunday morning, the Kappa class moved in and the Thetas and Iotas helped them move in and get settled using a new mentor program, where every older student is paired with a Kappa. The new students are great, and they've already fit into the Bridges program extraordinarily well. More on Sunday's activities and the first day of class later!
Friday, June 16, 2006
It All Starts Tomorrow...
Tomorrow is it! The Theta and Iota classes check in to Bridges! I hope everyone is ready for the most exciting, educational, and FUN summer yet!
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Counselors are Here!
Good news everyone-the counselors are here! Sunday night all 12 of the counselors arrived and got ready for their training, and Monday they left town to do some outdoor team building activities, culminating in a ropes course on Tuesday. The counselors are really coming together as a team, and they can't wait to see the students! Training Wednesday covered a variety of topics ranging from how to be an effective counselor to a screening of the video "People Like Us". The night ended with some funtime for the counselors, which bodes well for the students! I hope everyone is having a refreshing summer!
I know it's been a while, but expect to see this blog updated far more frequently as we get closer to camp-with pictures!
I know it's been a while, but expect to see this blog updated far more frequently as we get closer to camp-with pictures!
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