Leadership Lessons from Leap Camp 2014 by Lisaani Thangavadivelu

Lisaani Thangavadivelu is a 3rd year student at York University, majoring in Sociology. She spent the month of July working at Leacock’s Leap Into Literacy Derrydown P.S. summer camp as a teacher’s assistant and camp counselor.  

During the month of July, I was given a great opportunity to be able to work at the summer camp located at Derrydown Public School, and funded by the Leacock Foundation.  During the camp period, I learned many valuable lessons and skills which I will be able to use later on in my school years and career.  To the students at camp I was Miss.Lisaani/Miss.Mango (the grade 5 students called me this because I had told them that mango is my favorite fruit); to my coworkers and peers I was Lisaani; but to everyone, I was a leader.

A leader is someone who has the ability to inspire individuals surrounding them to achieve anything and everything.  A leader is someone who is a good role model, someone who is able to help and guide other individuals, someone who respects others and in return is respected by others, is self-critical, going above and beyond to do better, and someone who has the ability to develop the positive potential in others.  What the world needs these days are individuals who can serve as good role models for the people surrounding them.  Good role models have to be committed, have the desire to help, support, and serve, hold energy and enthusiasm, and always desire to achieve more.

Lisaani with some Leap Campers!

Lisaani with some Leap Campers!

My role at camp was a teacher’s assistant/counselor.  I participated in both administrative and classroom duties.  Some administrative duties I coordinated were photocopying, calling home in regard to student attendance, organizing activities, creating bulletin boards, and making PowerPoint presentations to share with the students.  Some of the classroom duties I helped with included student supervision, leading students during community-building time, assisting teachers in maintaining a safe and productive environment, identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses, and planning a strategy to assist them, providing instructional and clerical support for the classroom teacher, and assisting the children in learning class material using the teacher’s lesson plan.

This summer at camp, I met a lot of different students from different families with different lifestyles, cultural backgrounds, wants and needs.  These students ranged from grades 2-5.  When I first met some of the students, many of them were shy and not out-going.  They were really quiet and kept to themselves or just spoke amongst their group of friends.  Some students needed more attention than others. Overall, I learned every child is unique and we cannot assume every single child to be a replica of each other.

During camp, both students and staff had the great opportunity to go on many field trips to Havergal College, President’s Choice Cooking School, and Kortright Center.  We also had the opportunity to enjoy and learn from many guest speakers, from places such as Lego, Calm and Balanced Canine Centre, and Hands on Exotics.  The last two guest speakers, Calm and Balanced Canine Centre and Hands on Exotics, brought in many different animals, providing students an opportunity to participate in interactive learning, and surpass any fears attributed to these animals.

During a regular camp day with no guest speakers or field trips, the first half of the day is dedicated to academics such as math and literacy, while the other half is dedicated to community-building and recreational activities.  For community-building, myself and the other camp leaders came up with games and activities for the learners to participate in, facilitating involvement and cooperation with each other.  These games and activities were fun but at the same time, educational.  During recreational activities, the students were given 5 options of activities they would do with a teacher.  Some of the activities included:  dance, learning to use iPads, outdoor sports, and arts and crafts.

I had a really great time at camp and I really enjoyed working with the students.  I acquired many valuable lessons on leadership and learning, from both the students and staff.

The Derrydown P.S. Leap Camp group

The Derrydown P.S. Leap Camp group

 

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