Seventh graders leave for their annual camp Camp Erdman on Sept. 20.   Activities  will include star gazing, a teamwork-building course intended to strengthen trust and to instill collaboration among team members, and a fear-busting activity, the Odyssey, which sports a 30-foot high swing.  Camp Erdman is in Mokuleia on the North Shore.

The Camp Erdman experience encourages a spirit of exploration and adventure.  Staff is friendly and creates an environment where cooperation and understanding prevail.  The goal of the experience is to send campers home feeling confident about themselves.  Camp Erdman provides education, fun, challenge, responsibility and adventure that define campers’ lives, according to the YMCA of Honolulu.

Eighth grade students who went to Camp Erdman, described it as an enlightening experience.

“Camp Erdman was really fun, and it helped me gain skills that I can use in the future, such as leadership,” said eighth grader Mayleen Gonzales.

Bonnie Chapman,  an eighth grader agreed.  “The ropes course was definitely very scary, but with teamwork and communication I gained confidence, and trusted in my classmates.”

Eighth grader Amber Young agreed. “The Odyssey was really scary, but when I knew I could trust in my team to help pull us through, it got a lot better after that.”