Hye Camp - Day 2

Hye Camp 2007 enjoyed the first full day of classes and activities, as our exuberant staff guided our eager campers through the daily schedule. A typical day at Hye Camp starts with a hot breakfast served by the great kitchen crew of Camp Hickory, followed by morning prayer services in the chapel. After taking a couple minutes to wash-up and tidy the cabins, the campers start the first of six class rotation periods.

The campers split up by age for the class rotation. Each class period lasts half an hour, with a five minute break in between, and each age group will rotate through four class periods before lunch and two more after lunch. The classes include; Arts & Crafts; Heritage & Culture, with Armenian dance instruction and singing with Maestro Khoren Mekanejian; Armenian Language, led by Talin Hitik; and Religion, led by Yn. Tirouhe Boyajian from the Sts. Joachim & Anne parish in Palos Heights. Also included in the class rotation are two free time periods, allowing campers a chance to spend time together, clean their cabins, and work on projects.

Following the 6 classes, the campers are split into two large groups, teens and pre-teens, and each group spends an hour at the pool and playing organized sports.

This morning, campers made lanyards during their Arts & Crafts period,

and they received Armenian dance instruction from Yn. Patty Dagley, from St. Gregory’s in Cleveland, during Culture & Heritage class.

Talin Hitik, from St. Gregory’s in Chicago, introduced campers to basic Armenian phrases during Language class and Yn. Tirouhe began to discuss our central theme of Transfiguration during the Religion period. Hye Camp Olympics teams were introduced after dinner and then everyone got to spend the evening singing along with Maestro Khoren.

We wrapped up our day with evening prayer services in the chapel.

Finally, after a long, hot, and busy day, all the campers made their way to their cabins to spend some time together before going to bed. Each cabin has a Godparent and a Priest that visits with the campers every night to discuss the day with them and talk about the spiritual and emotional learning experienced during the day. The Godparents will usually be the ones to turn off the lights and put an end to a day at Hye Camp. Every camper falls asleep knowing that no matter how fun and exciting their day was, the next day will be even better!!!