Of Leadership and Memories

What's better than a 5 hour bus ride and a week in the cold with no showers or flush toilets? Not much, according to EFS 8th graders. For the last 16 years, Elmwood Franklin's "seniors" have traveled to Algonquin Provincial Park north of Toronto for a week of leadership development at Camp Pathfinder. For some, this sort of experience is old hat, having spent weeks at camp each summer - many of the boys at Pathfinder itself. For others, it's way outside their personal comfort zone. But to hear each of them talk about their time on the island, the week spent at Pathfinder is a highlight of Upper School.

And who's to argue? Pathfinder is a special place, away from most of the modern conveniences that make life better - indoor plumbing, to name one - as well as those that complicate our lives - cell phones, email, and the like. Instead, the 8th graders are challenged by sleeping in platform tents or unheated cabins and the formal program which includes hiking, canoeing, and a high ropes course. But perhaps more importantly, they are required to find pleasure in simply spending time with each other, in strengthening friendships, and in supporting one another through the experience.

The 8th grade Pathfinder trip holds special memories for all who have gone. From the long bus ride with friends and enough junk food to horrify a nutritionist to the the daily Polar Bear Club swims with Ms. Clark - picture 50F degree water and 35F degree air at 7:00am; no showers, remember - Pathfinder represents a rite of passage at EFS. We count on our 8th grade to set a positive tone for the rest of the school, and no matter  the class, this special place seems to bring out the best in our students, setting them on a course to a great final year at Elmwood Franklin School.