| Member's News | No.43 January 2005 |
Canadian Student Leadership Camp Andrea Grantham, Canada |
First-ever Canadian Student Leadership Camp – An Outstanding Success In late September, CAHPERD held its first ever Student Leadership Camp. The camp welcomed students studying in their second-year college, or third-year university program in the areas of health, physical education, physical activity, recreation, sport, nursing or other related field. Close to 75 students from across Canada and the United States attended. CAHPERD was also fortunate to have in attendance some of our greatest leaders in the field including Dr. Stu Robbins, retired professor at Toronto’s York University, Dr. Colin Higgs, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Mr. Russ Kisby, president of ParticipACTION, Dr. Andy Anderson, Ontario Institute of Studies in Education – University of Toronto, Dr. James Mandigo, Brock University – St. Catharines, Dr. Glenn Roswal, Jacksonville State University - Alabama, and many others. Ten mentor leaders also gave of their time to lead groups of students through this exciting experience. A major highlight of the guest list was the presence of Dr. Jack Passmore, a CAHPERD member since 1934, past CAHPERD president, and former professor at the University of Toronto. Also known as “Uncle Jack”, he had tremendous stories to tell, and his messages provided all those in attendance (both leaders and students) with a rich understanding of the impact and importance of our incredible field. At the ripe age of 95, Uncle Jack attended the entire camp. Farida Gabbani, CAHPERD past-President was camp director and responsible for the Canadian camp’s inception. Farida has attended the AAHPERD Student Leadership Camp in Alabama, on behalf of the Canadian AHPERD, and was instrumental in ensuring that CAHPERD made this camp a reality. One of the greatest highlights of the camp was the remarkable facility where it took place. Onondaga Farms is a Tim Hortons Children’s Foundation Camp located west of Toronto in St. George, Ontario. This first-class living and learning centre is situated on acres of sprawling farmland and includes an Eco-Centre and Observatory, Creative Arts Studio, hiking and biking trails, duck blinds, sport fields, green housing, a climbing wall, paddling pond, and much, much more. As one student so articulately put it: “This place is not a camp, it is a paradise.” The camp took place over a four-night, three-day period that was comprised of both indoor and outdoor activities. Students were put in groups, each lead by a mentor, to rotate through a half-day indoor and half-day outdoor program. Indoor workshops included: Leadership Development, Innovative Leadership, Creative Leadership, Collaborative Community Initiatives, Communications – Keys to Success, and Legacies 2010 – The Canadian Olympic Experience. The indoor sessions catered to small groups and allowed for easy and open discussions and sharing. Great weather added to the success of the outdoor program that consisted of three primary themes – climbing, biking/bowing, and paddling. Each element of the outdoor program offered a challenge that saw students working either individually or in a group to challenge themselves, solve a problem, or develop new or unique strategies to carry out generally routine tasks. The camp provided great networking and group work opportunities; students designed logos and flags, wrote team anthems, skits, and participated in group challenges. The mini-Olympic event saw the culmination of the group work through the Olympic Ceremony event and individual presentations. This aspect of the program left lasting impressions, and great laughs that we will share for years to come. The camp program ended with a touching presentation by Dr. Colin Higgs and Dr. Stuart Robbins on Dr. Robert Tait McKenzie. This visual and highly moving presentation showed our future leaders of the contribution that this remarkable man has made on our profession, an understanding of why AAHPERD and CAHPERD hold him in such high regard, and an idea of what his message would be to us today. The flow and ease of the program made it easy to see that the CAHPERD Student Leadership Camp was a success. However, the comments by the students themselves truly gave us reason to celebrate. Here are some examples of what some students had to say: “Best leadership conference I’ve ever participated in. Met awesome people, played great games, amazing and inspiring speakers. I am so thankful for the opportunity of being here and being a part of this. You guys did a great job! Thanks so much!” “It was amazing! You are so inspirational and moving, you all made me believe in the right profession. Thank you!” “Awesome, awesome opportunity for students. It is an important step in ensuring that the legacy which our mentors have worked lifetimes to develop gets passed on from generation to generation. I know that every leader here will impact their community to be more physically active because of the lessons we have learned…” “This was the chance of a lifetime. I met so many people and made many new friends. I developed as a professional mentally, psychologically, physically and spiritually. Talking to all the different people made me realize how many people are pushing for the same things. The passion was amazing and made me feel as though we could make a difference. The passion that you guys put into this camp made it a life changing experience.” “This conference was more than I ever imagined and has truly opened my eyes to a whole new world of opportunity and change. CAHPERD and all the staff/mentors should be incredibly proud of everything they have provided to us and inspired in us.” CAHPERD has already started to plan for the CAHPERD Student Leadership Camp 2005 as part of the 2005 International Year of Sport and Physical Education. We hope we can welcome students from across Canada and the United States. For more information, please visit www.cahperd.ca. Andrea Grantham Email: agrantham@cahperd.ca http://www.icsspe.org/portal/bulletin-january2005.htm Canadian Student Leadership Camp Andrea Grantham, Canada